Tuesday, January 7

BUSINESS

The Latest Blow To A Film Industry On Life Support, Regal Cinemas’ Decision To Close Its Theaters
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BUSINESS, IN OTHER NEWS

The Latest Blow To A Film Industry On Life Support, Regal Cinemas’ Decision To Close Its Theaters

A film industry in free fall just suffered its latest blow. Cineworld Group, the owner of Regal Cinemas, announced that it would suspend operations at all of its locations in the U.S. and U.K. as crowded theaters continue to be seen as petri dishes for a virus that shows no sign of abating. Studios are in no better shape. Familiar blockbuster franchises that Hollywood banks on to balance ledgers have been delayed, including the 25th James Bond film, “No Time to Die,” “Mission: Impossible 7,” and Marvel Universe’s “Black Widow” and “Wonder Woman 1984.” The billions of dollars invested in producing and marketing these films alone are sums that could make or break the studios. Meanwhile, streaming services like Netflix, Hulu and Apple TV have capitalized on the trend of people’s spending m...
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Here’s How Companies Can Prevent Women From Losing Decades Of Workplace Progress Due To COVID-19
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BUSINESS, Journalism

Here’s How Companies Can Prevent Women From Losing Decades Of Workplace Progress Due To COVID-19

American women have made strides in the workplace over the past half-century in terms of earnings, employment and careers – in no small part thanks to the efforts of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. The COVID-19 pandemic risks undoing many of these gains in a matter of months. Without concrete action, I believe a generation of women may never fully recover. One group of women who are at particular risk are those in professional fields. While fortunate enough to have quality jobs, many are being forced by the increased demands of child care to reduce working hours – or to stop working altogether. Mothers have always handled more of a household’s child care than fathers have, but it has become further lopsided since lockdowns began earlier this year. As a result, more than one in fou...
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It’s time for states that grew rich from oil, gas and coal to figure out what’s next
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BUSINESS, VIDEO REELS

It’s time for states that grew rich from oil, gas and coal to figure out what’s next

These are very challenging times for U.S. fossil fuel-producing states, such as Wyoming, Alaska and North Dakota. The COVID-19 economic downturn has reduced energy demand, with uncertain prospects for the extent of its recovery. Meanwhile, rising concern about climate change and the declining cost of renewable energy are precipitating a sharp decline in demand for coal in particular. A surface coal mine in Gillette, Wyoming, photographed in 2008. Greg Goebel/Flickr, CC BY-SA As a result, fossil fuel-dependent states and communities face the prospect of budget shortfalls and lower employment for the next several years. As researchers who study energy from economic, cultural and public policy perspectives, we believe that it is time for these states to develop long-term plans to diversify t...
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Banning apps like TikTok and WeChat is a good way to ensure a country will trail in tech leadership and profits
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BUSINESS, SOCIAL MEDIA

Banning apps like TikTok and WeChat is a good way to ensure a country will trail in tech leadership and profits

The Trump administration’s decision to force the sale of TikTok to a U.S. buyer is, to many, the latest sign the global internet is splintering into national and regional blocs. This has been a concern for several years now, as authoritarian countries such as Russia, China and Iran erect walls around their cyberspace, and democracies like the U.S., India and the European Union cite national security when blocking specific foreign companies like ByteDance’s TikTok and Tencent’s WeChat. The reality, however, is a lot more complicated – at least when it comes to social media companies. I study global media design and the localization of technology. My research suggests that while social media users are indeed splintering regionally and nationally, the companies themselves are becoming more...
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Big pharma’s safety pledge isn’t enough to build public confidence in COVID-19 vaccine – here’s what will
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BUSINESS, HEALTH & WELLNESS

Big pharma’s safety pledge isn’t enough to build public confidence in COVID-19 vaccine – here’s what will

Americans are increasingly concerned that regulators and manufacturers will rush a vaccine to market without an adequate review. That prompted nine vaccine front-runners, including Pfizer and Merck, to promise to abide by clinical and ethical standards in an effort to increase the public’s confidence in any vaccine that ultimately comes to market. As a scholar of law, public health and bioethics, I have extensively studied vaccine policy, as well as the laws and regulations governing human subject research and FDA-regulated medical products. In my view, the pledge is little more than a public relations strategy, with companies simply reaffirming that they’ll follow FDA guidelines and standard scientific practices. While I doubt the biotech pledge will do much to increase public confiden...
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The pandemic has revealed the cracks in US manufacturing: Here’s how to fix them
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BUSINESS, IN OTHER NEWS

The pandemic has revealed the cracks in US manufacturing: Here’s how to fix them

The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed glaring deficiencies in the U.S. manufacturing sector’s ability to provide necessary products – especially amidst a crisis. It’s been five months since the nation declared a national emergency, yet shortages of test kit components, pharmaceuticals, personal protective equipment and other critical medical supplies persist. Globalization is at the heart of the problem. With heavy reliance on global supply chains and foreign producers, the pandemic has interrupted shipping of parts and materials to nearly 75% of U.S. companies. Decades of “offshoring” domestic manufacturing to other countries have led the U.S. to the current crisis. It has seriously damaged the nation’s industrial base, increased income inequality and caused stagnation in U.S. living stand...
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Business liability shield is holding up another coronavirus bailout – a legal scholar explains why immunity is unnecessary and even harmful
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BUSINESS

Business liability shield is holding up another coronavirus bailout – a legal scholar explains why immunity is unnecessary and even harmful

Senate Republicans’ push to grant companies sweeping immunity from civil liability for failure to adequately protect workers and customers from infection has been one of the key sticking points in negotiations over another coronavirus relief bill. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has warned of an “avalanche” of lawsuits that will stymie economic recovery efforts if Congress does not act quickly. McConnell said he won’t let another bailout pass the Senate unless it also shields companies from coronavirus-related liability. The Senate is expected to debate their latest measure as it returns from recess on Sept. 8. My research on the role of civil lawsuits in reducing foodborne illness outbreaks suggests that fears of excessive litigation are unwarranted. What’s more, the modest liabi...
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What the CDC eviction ban means for tenants and landlords: 6 questions answered
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BUSINESS

What the CDC eviction ban means for tenants and landlords: 6 questions answered

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued an order on Sept. 1 banning evictions of people who lost work as a result of the pandemic. To benefit, renters must sign a declaration that they don’t make more than US$99,000 a year or $198,000 for those filing a joint return and that they essentially have no options other than homelessness. But the order, which takes effect on Sept. 4, leaves some questions unanswered. We asked Katy Ramsey Mason, an assistant professor of law and director of the University of Memphis Medical-Legal Partnership Clinic, to answer some of them. 1. What does the order do? The order prohibits property owners from evicting covered tenants from any residential property because of nonpayment of rent before Dec. 31, 2020. It does not apply to any evictions that...
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US unemployment data fail to capture COVID-19’s full impact – here’s how to fix it fast
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BUSINESS

US unemployment data fail to capture COVID-19’s full impact – here’s how to fix it fast

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed dangerous weaknesses in America’s aging public data system. In one of the greatest jobs crises in the past 100 years, the labor force measures of employment and unemployment are too slow, not local and too often unreliable and irrelevant. The consequences are serious. Governments at all levels are trying to make decisions about how to reduce the cost of joblessness – including whether to provide supplemental unemployment benefits. And they are doing this without sufficient evidence. On Friday, Sept. 4, the latest federal labor force report will come out, and it will not portray the extent of job loss in the communities that desperately need government help. The current system is not designed to respond to such massive shocks, but there are ways to fill t...
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Trump greenlights drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, but will oil companies show up?
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BUSINESS, VIDEO REELS

Trump greenlights drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, but will oil companies show up?

The Trump administration has announced that it is opening up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil and gas development – the latest twist in a decades-long battle over the fate of this remote area. Its timing is truly terrible. Low oil prices, a pandemic-driven recession and looming elections add up to highly unfavorable conditions for launching expensive drilling operations. In the longer term, the climate crisis and an ongoing shift to a lower-carbon economy raise big questions about future oil demand. I’ve researched the U.S. energy industry for more than 20 years. As I see it, conservative Republicans have backed oil and gas production in ANWR since the 1980s for two overriding reasons. First, to increase domestic oil production and reduce dependence on “foreign oil,” a euphemis...
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