spur | Common News Update

Mar112020 by adminNo Comments

Italy passes 10,000 infections as clusters spur worry in US

Health

ROME -- Expanding clusters of the new coronavirus were eyed warily Wednesday as the outbreak upended daily life and reshaped everything from the United States presidential race to Pope Francis’ travel. In the U.S., the caseload passed 1,000, and outbreaks on both sides of the country were stirring alarm, while in Europe, an increasingly locked-down Italy counted more than 10,000 infections and recorded soaring deaths among its aging population. “Right now, the epicenter — the new China — is Europe,” said Robert Redfield, the head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Rome’s usual boisterous hum was reduced to a whisper as Italy’s 62 million people were told to mostly stay home. Though shops, cafes and restaurants remained open, police around the country were enforcing ru...

Nov12018 by adminNo Comments

Blockchain's potential will continue to spur public and private investment

Finance

The many big companies disrupted by blockchain have now made it a priority to harness this technology. As is typically the case when faced with disruption, large companies are seeking to defend their territory by adopting the very tool that threatens them. With blockchain there's a lot at stake. The global market for blockchain-related products and services is about $ 700 million and is projected to exceed $ 60 billion annually in 2024, according to Wintergreen Research. Among the big corporate blockchain players are Accenture, Facebook, Google, IBM and Microsoft. ...

Aug302018 by adminNo Comments

Global warming could spur more and hungrier crop-eating bugs

Technology

A warmer world likely means more and hungrier insects chomping on crops and less food on dinner plates, a new study suggests. Insects now consume about 10 percent of the globe's food, but that will increase to 15 to 20 percent by the end of the century if climate change isn't stopped, said study lead author Curtis Deutsch, a University of Washington climate scientist. The study looked at the damage bugs like the European corn borer and the Asiatic rice borer could do as temperatures rise. It found that many of them will increase in number at key times for crops. The hotter weather will also speed up their metabolism so they'll eat more, the researchers report in Thursday's journal Science . Their predictions are based on computer simulations of bug and weather activity. "There's going to...

Jul232017 by adminNo Comments

An overhaul of Brazilian labour law should spur job creation

Finance

IN THE litany of bosses’ gripes about Brazil’s inclement business climate, rigid labour laws vie for pride of place with its convoluted tax laws and its licensing rules (on everything from health and safety to protection of cultural heritage). No wonder: Brazil ranks a miserable 117th out of 138 countries on labour-market efficiency, according to the World Economic Forum. Its rigid labour law was transplanted from Benito Mussolini’s Italy in 1943. Employers find it thoroughly unsuited to a modern economy and cheered on July 13th, when the president, Michel Temer, signed into law the biggest overhaul of the unwieldy statute in 50 years.The reform is a big victory for the unpopular Mr Temer, who is under investigation in a corruption scandal (he denies wrongdoing). It introduces more flexibl...

Jul62017 by adminNo Comments

Why taking pictures will spur you to donate stuff to charity

Finance

Before you start de-cluttering your closet, get your camera ready. It could have a financial payoff.People are more likely to donate clothing and household goods if they take a picture of the item first, according to new research in the Journal of Marketing. The study, which tracked a donation drive advertised to 797 Penn State students in six different university residences, found that participants who were encouraged to snap pictures donated 15 to 35 percent more."There are lots of things we hold on to, not because of the item usefulness or monetary value, but because the items have sentimental value," said study co-author Karen Page Winterich, an associate professor of marketing at Penn State.(Case in point: Winterich came up with the idea for the study after finding it hard to part wit...