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Mental health staff accept pay offer to end strikes
Workers will get a one-off payment but no extra pay rise after the months-long dispute.
Extra Belly Fat, Not BMI, Is a Better Predictor of Heart Problems, Study Finds
Extra belly fat and waist size may be more strongly associated with heart failure risk than BMI, new research finds.
German infrastructure fund failed to spur extra investment, IW says
Germany's special fund for infrastructure has largely failed to generate additional investment one year after its approval, the German Economic Institute (IW) said in a study seen by Reuters on Tuesday.
Patch Notes 1.20.0
ARC Raiders is a multiplayer extraction adventure, set in a lethal future earth, ravaged by a mysterious mechanized threat known as ARC.
Apple’s Smaller M5 Pro MacBook Pro Suffers From Severe Thermal Constraints, With Larger 16-Inch Model Being 30% Faster With Just 3 Extra Cores
In one CPU-focused benchmark, the 14-inch MacBook Pro is unable to cool the M5 Pro properly, leaving the 16-inch M5 Max model to register a major performance difference
Still crazy: chaotic Six Nations showed the timeless appeal of great sporting drama
France’s dramatic triumph in the most extraordinary tournament was proof Test rugby played at full throttle ranks among the most compelling spectacles
Fate Extra/Record delayed again. Bandai Namco Entertainment will no longer be the publisher
Fate/EXTRA Record delayed to unannounced date, publisher changed
TYPE-MOON has delayed Fate/EXTRA remake Fate/EXTRA Record from its previously planned spring 2026 release window, as well as announced a revision of the game’s development structure and a cha…
What do Maine’s fishermen and restaurateurs have in common? Mental health challenges.
Both our fishing and restaurant sectors shoulder extraordinary strain. If we them to endure here, we must take that into account.
Scientists Unveil Cheaper and Faster Way To Extract Lithium From Massive Untouched Reserves
A new solvent-based technique could change how lithium is extracted from brines, potentially making the process faster, cheaper, and viable in places where conventional methods fail. Few elements are as key to the clean energy transition as lithium, and global demand for it is soaring. The metal
How to Gauge Your Personal Risk For a Hernia
By Carole Tanzer Miller HealthDay ReporterSATURDAY, March 14, 2026 (HealthDay News) — If you’re carrying extra weight, smoke, or have a cough or sneeze that won’t go away, you may be at higher risk for a condition many people don’t think about: A hernia. Your risk is even higher if you’ve ever had ...
What Earth’s longest-lived animals can teach us about aging better
Inside the growing scientific quest to understand what creatures with the extraordinary ability to defy the ravages of time can teach us about making human aging better.
MINNEAPOLIMEDIA ENTERTAINMENT | This Weekend in the Twin Cities Entertainment Guide: March 14 to March 15, 2026
Shakespeare. Kurosawa. Irish dance. Wild hockey. Dessa. Food and wine at Target Field. The Twin Cities delivers a full weekend. Pick your stage.
US’s new scramble for Africa is biomedical imperialism
From Zimbabwe to Zambia, US health deals are raising fears of a new era of biomedical extractivism.
Glade politics
I have an extraordinary penchant for projection. I place myself in someone else’s shoes to such an extent that I assume talking and learning from my subjects of study themselves
Health Care Workforce: Federal Grants Supporting Mental Health
Health professionals often work in stressful environments that can affect their mental health. From 2022-2024, the Department of Health and Human...
World Baseball Classic news, live updates: Team USA likely into quarterfinals, barring extra innings in Italy-Mexico
PlayStation Plus Extra February games for March leak
It seems that PlayStation's upcoming PS Plus Extra games for March have leaked.
Barzal scores OT winner to cap rally, and Islanders edge Blues 4-3
Mathew Barzal scored in overtime to cap the New York Islanders' rally from a three-goal deficit for a 4-3 win over the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday night. In addition to his goal at 2:11 of the extra period, Barzal had two assists. Calum Ritchie had a goal and an assist and Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Bo Horvat also scored for the Islanders.
Windows 11 KB5079473 released with features, direct download links for offline installers (.msu)
Windows 11 KB5079473 is now rolling out as part of Microsoft’s March 2026 Patch Tuesday, and it has up to nine new features, including Emoji 16, Internet Speed Test, Extract all options in Explorer, and more. You can download it via Windows Update or use one of the direct download links for KB5079473 offline installers […]
K&C Sports & Entertainment Law Weekly Roundup
A Florida appellate panel on Friday blocked a lower court's temporary injunction giving an extra year of eligibility for a college basketball player, ruling in a split opinion that the order's...
Patch Notes 1.19.0
ARC Raiders is a multiplayer extraction adventure, set in a lethal future earth, ravaged by a mysterious mechanized threat known as ARC.
CA health officials warning beachgoers of bird flu for pets after elephant seals contract virus
People and their canine companions are urged to be extra careful now at the beaches because of a new warning from the California Department of Public Health about bird flu.
4 Underrated Smart TV Features You Need To Start Using
Smart TVs make the entertainment watching experience more enjoyable, but it's the more extraneous features that may prove useful outside of just watching TV.
MINNEAPOLIMEDIA ENTERTAINMENT This Weekend in the Twin Cities Entertainment Guide | March 7 to March 8, 2026
Broadway, live music, Gophers hoops, dinosaurs, taiko drums and maple syrup. The Twin Cities is packed this weekend. Get out there, March 7 to 8. Winter is not done with us yet.
MINNEAPOLIMEDIA ENTERTAINMENT | This Weekend in the Twin Cities: Entertainment Guide - March 7 to March 8, 2026
Broadway, live music, Gophers hoops, dinosaurs, taiko drums and maple syrup. The Twin Cities is packed this weekend. Get out there, March 7 to 8. Winter is not done with us yet.
Apple iPhone 17 vs. iPhone 17e: Read This Before Spending the Extra $200
The new iPhone 17e is $200 cheaper than the iPhone 17—but does that lower price make it the better deal? We break down the key differences to find out which model delivers the best value.
Slay the Spire 2 Dev Never Thought It Would Actually Pass Marathon in Steam Concurrents, Says Congratulations Post ‘Seems a Bit Meaner Than Intended’
Some might have thought Bungie’s Marathon was going to be the big launch on Steam this week, but it turns out Slay the Spire 2 has quadrupled Bungie's extraction shooter in terms of concurrent player numbers on Valve's PC gaming platform.
PlayStation 6 Reportedly Won’t Be Delayed Due to RAM Costs: “It Would Cost More to Delay Than to Pay Extra”
Sony is reportedly unlikely to delay the PlayStation 6, as it would cost more to delay the system than to pay the extra RAM costs
Jefferson Township schools may lose sports programs, extracurriculars due to budget shortfall
Students and parents in New Jersey are outraged after their school district said that they may be forced to eliminate its sports program because of a massive budget shortfall.
Why Trump Soured on Kristi Noem
Congressional questions about contracts, ads, and extramarital sex ended her tenure.
OnePlus 15T officially gets a 7,500mAh ‘Glacier’ battery
OnePlus’ upcoming compact Android phone is getting some extra power, with the company confirming the OnePlus 15T will house a...
7 Tips On How Not To Die In ‘Marathon’
Marathon is an extraction shooter, a genre that will have you die a lot by its very nature. But here's how to survive as best as you can.
What the Extraordinary Market Volatility in Asia Says About Energy and A.I.
Stocks in South Korea and Taiwan, the center of global chip making, plunged on fears about energy prices. Their recovery shows the bullishness over artificial intelligence.
Browns extend tenders to six different Exclusive Rights Free Agents
NFL free agency is set to begin next week, but the Browns are tendering ERFAs ahead of next week's extravaganza.
'Truly extraordinary': Mega-laser shooting at us from halfway across the universe is the brightest 'cosmic beacon' we've ever seen
Astronomers have discovered the brightest and most distant "megamaser" to date. The cosmic energy beam is shooting toward Earth from 8 billion light-years away and was spotted thanks to a weird space-time trick first predicted by Einstein.
The Best Oils for Managing Cholesterol—And 3 Mistakes You're Probably Making
Extra-virgin olive oil, avocado oil, canola oil, soybean oil, and walnut oil are heart-healthy options with different uses.
Germany Sixteen Tons Entertainment Hire
In this image released on Monday, March 2, 2026, Sebastian Nussbaum, new Chief Creative Officer at Sixteen Tons Entertainment. (Sixteen Tons Entertainment/news aktuell via AP Content Services)
Conexeu Sciences Appoints Jean-Romain (JR) Falconnet as Head of Business Development & Licensing
Reno, Nevada--(Newsfile Corp. - March 2, 2026) - Conexeu Sciences Inc. ("Conexeu" or the "Company"), a biotechnology innovator redefining regenerative medicine through a next-generation extracellular matrix platform, is pleased to announce Jean-Romain (JR) Falconnet as Head of Business Development & Licensing.In his role at Conexeu, JR will lead business development, licensing strategy, and strategic partnerships—supporting the company's growth roadmap and expanding opportunities to bring...
Will Buccaneers make a move for Maxx Crosby?
The asking price was made clear last week to interested teams.
Updating list of winners at the 2026 Actor Awards
The 2026 Actor Awards are being handed out at a ceremony that honors the best performances in film and television. Kristen Bell is hosting Sunday's ceremony, which is being held
Mendoza’s Business Honors Program fosters principled community
Created with a mission to challenge its students with extra rigorous coursework and specialized programming, Mendoza’s Business Honors Program prepares students for not only business-related ventures but also ethical practices.
If Iran Strikes Backfire, Voters Will Know Who’s to Blame
President Donald Trump begins his conflict with Iran on a narrow ledge in public opinion. So long as the mission’s costs to America remain small, he’s unlikely to face insurmountable political pressure to end it. But he starts the war extraordinarily vulnerable to backlash if things go wrong.
Massive asteroid impact 6.3 million years ago left giant glass field in Brazil
For the first time ever, scientists have uncovered a vast field of tektites in Brazil — mysterious glassy fragments forged when a powerful extraterrestrial object slammed into Earth about 6.3 million years ago. Named “geraisites” after Minas Gerais, where they were first found, these dark, aerodynamic droplets of natural glass stretch across more than 900 kilometers and may mark one of South America’s most significant ancient impact events.
The hidden science and beauty of bird feathers
LUNENBURG — Bird feathers are among nature’s most extraordinary creations — engineered for flight, designed for survival and often dazzling in beauty.
Today’s NYT Strands Hints, Spangram, Answers: Sunday, March 1 (Dressing Down)
Looking for help with today's NYT Strands puzzle? Here's an extra hint to help you uncover the right words, as well as all of today's answers and Spangram.
7 Creative Side Hustle Business Ideas for Gen Z
Looking for extra income? These creative side hustle ideas for Gen Z have the potential to grow into a full-time business.
Nebraska Baseball Upsets #7 Auburn 9-8 in Extra Innings
Late inning heroics by Carey and Jesske were enough to outlast the Huskers’ closing woes.
Trump says he's not mulling a draft executive order to seize control over elections. Here’s what we know
The 17-page proposal, a working document reviewed in full by PBS News, would give him extraordinary power over the 2026 midterm elections.
U.S. energy policy and what it could mean for your electric bill
Increasing demand is driving up electricity costs. Where is that extra energy going to come from?
Everyone has something to say at the Supreme Court. Why the tariffs ruling had more than 160 pages
The extraordinary number of dueling opinions in the Supreme Court’s tariff case, laying bare divisions among the justices, also became the basis for a punch line.
Janesville business leaders, SMART Girls join in Boys & Girls Club program
JANESVILLE – Local business leaders got a chance to connect Thursday with members of the SMART Girls program at the Boys and Girls Club of Janesville.
Ode to Minnesota’s individual-sport athletes: ‘It’s just you’
State tournament season reminds us that some sports require extra doses of courage, confidence and conviction.
Trump, seeking executive power over elections, is urged to declare emergency
Activists who say they are in coordination with the White House are circulating a draft executive order that would unlock extraordinary presidential power over voting.
Official: Samsung launches 5,000 mAh magnetic power bank with kickstand for Galaxy S26 series
The new Qi2 Magnet Wireless Battery Pack is Samsung's first magnetic power bank. Announced at Galaxy Unpacked, it delivers up to 15W wireless charging for the new Galaxy S26 and S25 series while adding convenient extras like a built-in kickstand and a 25W USB-C port.
One type of olive oil has a surprising effect on brainpower during aging
New study reveals extra virgin olive oil may protect brain health by improving gut bacteria and cognitive function in older adults.
'Extraordinary' Constitution Hill to pursue career on Flat
Constitution Hill will prepare for "the next chapter" in Flat racing after being ruled out of this year's Champion Hurdle and any further races over jumps.
Can solar storms trigger earthquakes? Scientists propose surprising link
Scientists have proposed a surprising connection between solar flares and earthquakes. When solar activity disturbs the ionosphere, it may generate electric fields that penetrate fragile fracture zones in Earth’s crust. If a fault is already critically stressed, this extra electrostatic pressure could help trigger a quake. The idea doesn’t claim direct causation, but it offers a fresh way to think about how space weather and seismic events might interact.
AMC Entertainment Holdings (AMC) Posts Q4 Loss That Challenges Bullish Margin Narratives
AMC Entertainment Holdings (AMC) just posted its FY 2025 numbers with Q4 revenue of US$1,288.3 million, a basic EPS loss of US$0.25, and net income excluding extra items showing a loss of US$127.4 million, while trailing 12 month figures sit at US$4.8 billion of revenue, a basic EPS loss of US$1.34, and a net loss of US$632.4 million. Over recent quarters, the company has seen quarterly revenue move from US$862.5 million in Q1 2025 to between roughly US$1.3 billion and US$1.4 billion through...
Shrouded Sky - Patch Notes 1.17.0
ARC Raiders is a multiplayer extraction adventure, set in a lethal future earth, ravaged by a mysterious mechanized threat known as ARC.
SGMC Health Honors Wallace with BEE Award
SGMC Health recognized Shantonitt Wallace, Patient Care Technician, as the recipient of the Being Extraordinary Everyday (BEE) Award
2026 Business Leaders of the Year
Central Massachusetts is full of amazing professionals, each with their own unique skills, talents, and dedication to their companies, industries, and communities. You could make a strong case for hundreds of them to be considered as WBJ’s Business Leader of the Year. Yet, to actually win the award, you need to have that little something extra: a magic spark, an insight no one else sees, years of knowledge that pay off with the right decision at the right time, a leadership style inspiring people to follow, a push for a paradigm shift at a stagnant organization. Business Leader of the Year is WBJ’s oldest award, launched in 1982 when Herb Dunnington of First Safety Fund Bank won the sole award. In the decades since, BLOY has expanded to honor winners from different corners of the economy: small businesses, large businesses, nonprofits, innovation, families. Each of the six winners this year has that something special setting them apart as true leaders in our Central Massachusetts business community: Neelu Mohaghegh’s creativity, Nick Haritos’ compassion, Nicolette Sacco’s adaptability, Julie Bowditch’s energy, Sean Rose’s steadiness, the Vaccaro family’s culture. You can read more about each of them through the links below.
DHS suspends TSA PreCheck and Global Entry lanes at US airports
The closures are expected to significantly increase wait times, so travelers should budget extra time at the airport.
Scientists Discovered the Ancient, Unassuming Creature That Invented Salads
The 300 million-year-old Tyrannoroter heberti had an extra set of conical-shaped teeth, indicating it likely ate plants. It’s one of the earliest species to do so.
How Jesse Jackson used the South to reshape Democratic politics
"He was a child of the South, and he understood the extraordinary power wielded by the state," Stacey Abrams said.
Florida lawmakers aim to boost high school sports, extracurriculars
A roundup of Florida education news from around the state
Albanese on ex-prince Andrew, Hanson and Islamic state families
The prime minister tells political editor Tom McIlroy the ex-prince has had an extraordinary fall from grace. He also hits back at Pauline Hanson’s comments about Muslim Australians and discusses what could happen to the Islamic State families trying to return to Australia
Colorado Democrats Push to Rip Up 2028 House Map for an Extra Edge
A proposed ballot measure to give Democrats more seats for the 2028 and 2030 elections signals that the nation’s gerrymandering fight is likely to persist for years.
An Update on Recent Exploits and Corrective Actions
ARC Raiders is a multiplayer extraction adventure, set in a lethal future earth, ravaged by a mysterious mechanized threat known as ARC.
iOS 26.4 Enables Stolen Device Protection by Default for All iPhones
Starting with iOS 26.4, Stolen Device Protection will be enabled by default and turned on for all iPhone users. Stolen Device Protection adds extra security in case of physical iPhone theft. Apple implemented Stolen Device Protection back in 2023 after reports about a new iPhone theft method. Thieves would spy on an intended victim to learn their passcode, then steal the target's iPhone. With the passcode, criminals were able to empty bank accounts, access passwords, and turn off Find My.
I Was Wrong About These 12 Foods. Their Secret Health Benefits Surprised Me
You don't have to spend extra money on pricey organic superfoods to eat healthy. In fact, these common foods are healthier than I thought.
MINNEAPOLIMEDIA ENTERTAINMENT | A Valentine’s Weekend in Full Voice: What’s Happening in the Twin Cities Music World February 14
Twin Cities Valentine's weekend features Bad Bad Hats at First Avenue, Tchaikovsky at Orchestra Hall, and Cory Henry at the Dakota. Events range from indie to jazz and metal.
MODRIĆ IS THE MVP FROM PISA v AC MILAN
AC Milan secured an important victory against Pisa, winning 2-1 thanks to an extraordinary performance by Luka Modrić. The Croatian midfielder once again showcased his class, scoring the decisive goa...
SGMC Health Honors Edwards with DAISY Award
SGMC Health recognized Michael “Mike” Edwards, RN, charge nurse in the Emergency Department at SGMC Health Smith Northview, as the February recipient of the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses. Edwards […]
Paris says 'oui' to booming business of romantic proposals
STORY: This Texan couple have been dating for one year.And Josue Perales wanted extra special celebrations with his girlfriend Kayla Balboa. On a candlelit terrace, overlooking the Eiffel Tower, she says "yes".Balboa had always wanted a Paris proposal. "She's always been mentioning how...""This is my dream place.""This is her dream... well, here we are."To make sure every detail was perfect, Perales employed the help of a local marriage proposal planning agency.And he's not the only one.Paris is seeing a surge in demand for elaborate marriage proposals like this one.Thanks to social media, TV shows and events showcasing the "City of Love", the entire industry catering to love-struck couples willing to pay thousands for unforgettable moments is booming.Les Entremetteuses, or "The Matchmakers", helped Perales get his "yes".Founder Pauline Le Tendre says Valentine's Day is her "busiest day of the year."But she says she's busy all year round - after demand started growing in 2019, with a brief lull during the pandemic."Once the borders reopened, it steadily increased. After that, there were a couple of boosts with (the TV show) 'Emily in Paris,' the Paris Olympics also. We had a lot of work after the Games."The company's proposal packages start at 590 euros, or just under $700, for a proposal on the Seine river banks.The average spend can go up to $2,400 - with some clients spending more for extras, like performers.:: Kiss Me in Paris/Artem Martynov & Anastasia KalynaFor those wanting to splurge even more, Kiss Me in Paris has them covered.The agency says its clients typically spend an average of about $12,000 on their experiences - or as much as some $118,000.:: Kiss Me in Paris/Tuan Nguyen FilmsLuxurious proposals are choreographed in high-end hotels, aboard yachts on the Seine, or in authentic French chateaux."To just be able to, in your social circles, say, 'We got engaged in Paris,' is great, right? It has prestige, it has cachet." That's Cengiz Ozelsel, who co-founded Kiss Me in Paris with his wife Chantelle Marie Streete.They say bookings have more than doubled since 2015.While the more budget-friendly Oui Love Paris agency told Reuters, its bookings have quadrupled since 2020.For many planners, though, the payoff is more than just numbers."I absolutely love it because... people are inviting you into their lives at one of the most special times in their lives."
Advancing AI for science: extracting and fusing cross-disciplinary expert knowledge with data to accelerate alloy discovery
High-entropy alloys are promising advanced materials for demanding applications, but discovering useful compositions is difficult and expensive due to the vast number of possible element combinations. Now, researchers have developed a novel AI-driven framework that integrates experimental data, computational modeling, and cross-disciplinary expert knowledge extracted from scientific literature. By combining these sources in a way that accounts for uncertainty, their approach can make reliable predictions even for poorly studied alloy compositions, outperforming conventional data-driven machine learning methods that rely on training data alone.
Google Reports State-Backed Hackers Using Gemini AI for Recon and Attack Support
Google finds nation-state hackers abusing Gemini AI for target profiling, phishing kits, malware staging, and model extraction attacks.
Goldman Sachs ups daily dinner allowance $5
Sometimes, the only thing that makes life at the office after 8 p.m. bearable is an extra side of guacamole. Now, Goldman bankers can afford it.
The extraordinary GPU, from entertainment to supercomputer
Continuous integration and improvement over decades.
Wine-Staging 11.2 Brings More Patches To Help Adobe Photoshop On Linux
Building off Friday's release of Wine 11.2 is now Wine-Staging 11.2 as this experimental/testing version of Wine with hundreds of extra patches that have yet to be introduced in upstream proper for this open-source software enabling Windows games and applications on Linux
Why Dr. Oz wants you to retire later
Mehmet Oz says Americans should get healthier so they can work an extra year and boost the economy. That’s hard for the poor and less educated, who tend to retire earlier.
MINNEAPOLIMEDIA ENTERTAINMENT | What’s Happening in the Twin Cities Music World February 7
Twin Cities music: Eric Church at Grand Casino, Drone Not Drones at The Cedar, and Mason Jennings at The Dakota. From arenas to indie rooms, the local scene is thriving.
I toured a luxury Texas tiny home village for retirees: See photos
Touring Liberty Tiny Village, a tiny home village for older people, left me wondering what matters more in old age: extra space or a built-in community.
Something supercharged Uranus when Voyager 2 flew past
Voyager 2’s flyby of Uranus in 1986 recorded radiation levels so extreme they baffled scientists for nearly 40 years. New research suggests the spacecraft caught Uranus during a rare solar wind event that flooded the planet’s radiation belts with extra energy. Similar storms have been seen near Earth, where they dramatically boost radiation levels. The discovery reshapes how scientists think about Uranus—and why it deserves another visit.
The Sports Economy's $8.8 Trillion Potential
"Sport can reinforce today’s extractive patterns—or it can model a new definition of success," writes Sebastian Buckup.
This QLED TV Was Already Affordable, and Now It's an Extra $450 Off
The 65-inch TCL QM5K is a great QLED TV that's on sale for 50% off.
Preparing for your second Expedition
ARC Raiders is a multiplayer extraction adventure, set in a lethal future earth, ravaged by a mysterious mechanized threat known as ARC.
Extra SNAP benefits, small business loans available in N. Louisiana after winter storm
Food stamp recipients and small business owners in parts of North Louisiana are eligible for federal disaster assistance to cover their losses from the recent severe winter weather.
The mystery Fallout Season 2 countdown on Amazon's website revealed a remaster of sorts, but it's not a remake of New Vegas
Fallout Season 2 is now over, and its mystery countdown on an interactive site revealed no new games or remasters, but fans got a nice little extra.
Watch your favorite reality TV, entertainment shows with Sling passes
Don't miss a must-see pop culture moment, get Sling's Entertainment Extra to keep up with all of you favorite shows.
Creating a Data Pipeline to Monitor Local Crime Trends
A walkthough of creating an ETL pipeline to extract local crime data and visualize it in Metabase.
New bill would allow bets on entertainment and award shows in Illinois
ILLINOIS (WCIA) — An Illinois lawmaker wants to make sure the state and businesses aren’t missing out on extra revenue from a growing entertainment betting industry. A new bill, SB 2667, intr…
Maryland Moves to Give Democrats Extra House Seat, but Big Hurdles Remain
The state’s House of Delegates passed a new map that would be likely to eliminate Maryland’s lone remaining Republican seat in the U.S. House, but the State Senate may well block the measure.
Intesa Sanpaolo presents its 2026–2029 Business Plan: scaling a proven model with sustainable profitability and strong capital returns
MILAN, Feb. 02, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Intesa Sanpaolo unveiled its 2026–2029 Business Plan, setting out a strategy built on businesses already in place, investments already made and a proven operating model. The Plan targets a sustainable ROE >20%, confirms the Group’s Zero-NPL profile and is underpinned by a technology- and fee-driven business model. It is designed to be delivered with no execution risk, supported by Intesa Sanpaolo’s long-standing ability to extract intragroup synergies. Ov
Dominican-Mount Carmel gets settled in shootout, the winner by someone who put in extra work with dad
Dominican senior Kristian Champagne has not had many goal-scoring chances while in high school.
China Makes Major Advancements in Space Mining Technologies
China is making significant strides in space mining technologies, with a focus on extracting resources from asteroids and other minor planets.
Tulsi Gabbard inserts herself into 2020 election fraud probe
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has taken the extraordinary step of inserting herself into a federal probe of the 2020 election as she hunts for elusive evidence of voter fraud.
New signing Bannan will provide 'extra quality'
Millwall boss Alex Neil has backed new signing Barry Bannan to provide the "extra bit of quality" his side will need to earn promotion to the Premier League.
Medicare Advantage Insurers Face New Curbs on Overcharges in Trump Plan That Reins in Payments
Proposed Trump administration changes to federal Medicare Advantage payments would stop health insurers from mining patient data for extra medical diagnoses that generate more bills to taxpayers even without treatment.
Investment and Statecraft: The International Politics of Sovereign Wealth Funds - Georgetown Journal of International Affairs
In 1953, Kuwait established the world’s first sovereign wealth fund to invest the country’s oil revenues and generate returns that would reduce its reliance on a single resource. Since then, over 100 separate funds have been created to preserve national wealth and ensure long-term fiscal sustainability. Today, they manage over $10 trillion in global assets. In this discussion with GJIA, political economist Kathryn Lavelle explains the increasingly novel dynamics that surround fund behavior and what the world can come to expect from their growing presence in international financial markets. GJIA: When it comes to the roles sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) play in global markets and politics, what would you say makes them unique? Kathryn Lavelle: Sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) operate on behalf of governments as investors. That in itself is a strange relationship. Within them, a core contest takes place between the state’s interests (or sovereign) part of the dynamic, and the money interests (or wealth) part of it, and these two aspects are frequently in contradiction, serving fundamentally different goals. SWFs are also quite fascinating because when you talk to the people who manage these funds, they have an interest in convincing you that the decisions are made almost exclusively on a financial basis—they really will go to great lengths to differentiate their government owners and those who make the management decisions. At the same time, these people ultimately answer to someone in power. Therefore, for most SWFs, it remains deeply unclear who is actually making the investment decisions and for what purposes. Of course, it is not always clear how other vehicles, such as hedge funds and private equity make the decisions they do, but I think what a lot of people find particularly disconcerting about SWFs is that they seem to act on behalf of people who have a different identity from their own. People who could be trying to manipulate politics and markets in a way that would have a long-term effect on their own populations. Regular investors come and go at will, and they only share an interest in profit as far as most of us understand. However, SWFs have that extra “sovereign” part right behind them that obscures their true interest. GJIA: These funds can be found in countries all across the globe, in both authoritarian states and democracies. Would you say SWFs differ in their goals and structures between regime-type? KL: It is not necessarily regime type that makes the goals and structures of SWFs different. It has to do with their economies. Let’s look at a country like China. There’s going to be a debate about exactly how to characterize the regime, but it is a country with many different kinds of sovereign wealth funds, and a particularly opaque state connection to each. At one time, some of the state-owned Chinese oil companies created specialized investment vehicles listed outside Chinese markets that excluded parts of the firms that were more associated with human rights violations. At the same time, the China Investment Corporation (CIC)—China’s largest SWF—draws a lot of concern, not necessarily because of its investment activities, but because of the dynamics of global politics. So, I wouldn’t really tie differences to regime types themselves in a wholesale way, but rather to how such funds are perceived and how they are structured. Saudi Arabia’s SWF is getting all kinds of attention for its involvement in Hollywood, and this takes me right back to when I was a student in the 1980s, when people were concerned about Japanese investment entities buying assets in Hollywood. They aren’t quite the same in financial terms, but it’s the same kind of concern about foreign investment that drives people to be suspicious, and the whole idea that “foreigners are influencing Hollywood.” This holds true across industries, and it reflects where politics are in places like the United States right now. One metric we can try to look at is transparency, where all the funds will tell you, “we are transparent.” The problem you’ll keep running into with this approach is how you value things. When trying to do comparative studies of equity markets, you’ll find that every country doesn’t use Generally Accepted Accounting Principles like we do in the United States. A fund may appear opaque politically and not want people to show what they’re invested in or what their intent with that investment is, but they could also just not be able to report it because of the way it was purchased, or the kinds of shares they purchased. There are some assets out there that really are difficult to put a monetary value on. GJIA: To what extent do domestic politics shape SWF behavior in both the investing “home” country and the recipient “host” country? KL: This depends on the type of fund present and also on the extent to which voters’ political views are able to influence the fund. For example, in a democratic home state like Norway, the SWF doesn’t invest in nuclear weapons or tobacco because of social concerns, but there is a continuing debate over whether it should invest in oil, even though that’s where most of the money comes from. The degree to which Norway will continue to make those investments, and whether they contradict the government’s overall climate goals, is an open question in Norwegian politics. Because of the way the fund’s governance is structured, it may not be easy to resolve. On the other hand, some people consider pension funds, like the State Teachers Retirement System (STRS) in Ohio, to be quasi-SWF. They have a very strict separation between the people who make up the management division and the fund owners. No teacher or professor would want to invest in things that may harm the future of their students. At the same time, a fund manager might see an opportunity in a diversified multinational corporation that offers a good return, despite it deriving part of its revenue from e-cigarettes. These contests are very apparent. Domestic politics can work in host countries too. A good example is Singapore’s SWF, Temasek, investing in Thailand’s telecommunications sector. If you study political economy, you already know that countries everywhere are uncomfortable with foreign ownership of their telecom sectors because a foreign entity could monitor or manipulate our communications with each other. In the case of Temasek, there was significant pushback from Thai citizens surrounding the deal, which went on to influence national political sentiment toward Singapore as a whole, underscoring the risks some SWFs may face with their investment choices. In this case, fund behavior led to the dissolution of the entire Thai government in 2006 and a subsequent coup d’état. GJIA: To address some of this unease, the Santiago Principles were established in 2009 to ostensibly promote trust and transparency. From your perspective, have these mechanisms actually changed fund behavior? KL: In international relations theory, we always like to have a clear set of norms and best practices—the orientation we want the proverbial ship to be going in. In that regard, the Santiago Principles at least got the discussion going about which direction SWFs should take at a time when people were very skittish about the growing size of these funds. Nobody wanted them to be out there and potentially destabilizing economies, so talks about disclosure, conditions for withdrawal, and the independence of managers were helpful when initiated. The biggest stumbling block was that there wasn’t exactly a good way to measure compliance with the Principles, let alone how to hold funds to them. If you read the Principles, they’re overall quite vague. In general, a fund doesn’t want to reveal how and why they make certain investment decisions because that information is proprietary—a fund makes money off of how and why it makes decisions—so how do you reconcile that with loosely-defined ideas of openness? Some decisions might have a political purpose. The bottom line is that trying to figure out and assign a score to compliance is not easy, and it is therefore the reason why the Santiago Principles never really got off the ground to the point where they could truly direct fund behavior. GJIA: Many emerging markets are looking to build their own SWFs from mineral and oil revenues. Historically, have funds shaped development trajectories in these countries? KL: I think the big story in international emerging markets investment is that the investment is increasingly no longer unidirectional. In the past multinational corporations of primarily Western background were the main form of foreign direct investment in a country. That has changed dramatically, to the point where you have companies from so-called “developing countries” taking over companies in the United States. Therefore, the landscape of international investment has changed, and I think SWFs are certainly a possibility to be the next step in the game. Historically, you didn’t need an entire financial vehicle to reinvest commodity revenues in your country, but as emerging markets get more financially sophisticated, their capacity to operate such funds has increased. SWFs would allow treasuries to move from relying on holding foreign exchange assets like cash or government bonds to having broader financial markets and targeted growth areas, while easing pressure on welfare expenditures. GJIA: With their increasing financial weight, do you see the presence of SWFs being a factor in the political choices leaders will have to make with regard to domestic and foreign policy? KL: It will depend on just how big the funds get. One of the reasons people are already apprehensive is because of their scale, and if certain SWFs in certain countries achieve a large-enough size, the presence will absolutely be cause for concern. The other factor political leaders will have to consider are their objectives. It’s not always clear how to define a SWF, or even where its activity is concentrated, but it is certainly a worry from the perspective of national security of opaque external investment. More than that, I think one of the most interesting questions going forward is whether the United States, the home to the world’s largest financial markets, will develop its own fund, for which the Trump administration announced a plan. There have also been several proposals in Congress. Were it to come into being, it would have tremendous weight. At the same time, one of the hallmarks of U.S. capitalism is a lack of government ownership of shares, so it would not be clear how such a fund would be received in domestic politics, or which direction it would take. Given how politically fragmented the country is, a Democratic administration would likely be concerned about different sectors of the economy, such as healthcare, and want investment there, rather than a Republican administration, which might prefer defense industries. No investment vehicle could thrive under conditions of such instability. Moreover, it remains unclear where the money to fund a theoretical U.S. SWF would come from. It would be a fundamentally different entity depending on whether it is financed with debt, economic surplus, commodities, or the sale of state companies, as in the case of Singapore. If it is debt, or government borrowing of some form, then the fund would have to outperform whatever the cost of that debt is, which is not an easy thing to do. I think our political leaders have enough on their plate. Our system has worked well keeping political and investment functions generally separate. We have seen different forms of business rise and fall, and even the perception of different countries, all of which funds are tied to. Unless a major SWF either starts—like in the case of the United States—or collapses—an issue that concerns the Saudis, I don’t see any political tsunamis on the horizon. . . . Kathryn Lavelle is the Ellen and Dixon Long Professor of World Affairs at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. Her research explores the exchange between domestic and international and political institutions with a particular emphasis on political economy and multilateralism. Dr. Lavelle’s first book, The Politics of Equity Finance in Emerging Markets, explored the political circumstances that surround large issues of stock in the developing world. After being granted tenure at Case Western, she was awarded an American Political Science Association Congressional Fellowship and named the William A. Steiger fellow, a designation given to the most promising political scientist in her class of fellows. While in Washington during 2006-2007, she worked on the staff of the House Committee on Financial Services on issues related to domestic and international monetary policy. Dr. Lavelle holds a PhD in political science from Northwestern University; an M.A. in government and foreign affairs from the University of Virginia; and a bachelor’s degree in international economics from Georgetown University. She is a permanent member of the New York Council on Foreign Relations. This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity and length. Interview conducted by Sid Mehrotra. Image Credit: Jason Leung, Unsplash Content Licenses, via Unsplash