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☆ Razor-thin solar panels could be ‘ink-jetted’ onto your backpack or phone for cheap clean energy
▼ + stars: | 2024-08-09 | by ( Kara Fox | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

Today’s solar panels that use silicon cells, by comparison, typically covert up to 22% of sunlight into power. Another important factor fueling solar’s rise is its growing efficiency in converting the sun’s energy. But Wang noted that the research group is not advocating for the end of solar farms. “I wouldn’t say we want to eliminate solar farms because obviously we need lots of areas or surfaces to generate sufficient amount of solar energy,” he told CNN. Some coatings in lab settings have dissolved or broken down over short periods of time, so are regarded as less durable than today’s solar panels.

Persons: aren’t, Junke Wang, Martin Small, Wood Mackenzie, Wang, ”, Henry Snaith, Snaith Organizations: CNN, Oxford, Oxford University's Physics, Oxford University Physics Locations: Germany

☆ Meet the Dubai artist whose work has sold for millions — and turns down 99% of prospective buyers
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-26 | by ( Lucy Handley | In | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

watch nowContemporary artist Sacha Jafri prides himself on his unique way of working. The artist Sacha Jafri at his studio in Dubai, U.A.E. He said he goes into a meditative state when creating his work. So, I'm in a meditative state, I'm in a complete trance, I have no clue what I'm doing. Artist Sacha Jafri painting on the helipad at the Burj Al Arab Jumeirah hotel in Dubai.

Persons: Sacha Jafri, Jafri, I've, Andre Abdoune, Emad Salehi Organizations: Oxford, Ruskin School of Art, CNBC, Burj, Burj Al Arab Jumeirah Locations: Dubai, London, U.S, British, U.A.E, Burj Al Arab

☆ See the pitch deck that helped a former Goldman Sachs exec raise $5 million for an AI-powered networking startup that feeds deal ideas to bankers
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-22 | by ( Bianca Chan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Doctor, then a Goldman Sachs managing director who ran the bank-solutions group based in Hong Kong, was visiting the bank's London office. The AI startup was built to suggest potential deals based on the data it's exposed to. Louisa AI knows that a current Goldman employee used to work at the semiconductor company, and the AI knows a project-finance employee in New York. In an article about solar panels, Louisa AI would link the words "solar panels" to "solar" and then to "renewables." Here's the pitch deck Louisa AI used to raise $5 million to fund its AI-powered deal prompter.

Persons: Rohan Doctor, Goldman Sachs, Doctor, Jim Esposito, Louisa AI, Louisa, Janet Yellen Organizations: Business, Blue9, Insight Partners, Goldman, Oxford Locations: Hong Kong, London, Asia, Oxford, Canada, Here's, Taiwan, New York

☆ Bedrock exec questions, without evidence, if a former OpenAI board member is a Chinese agent
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-28 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

After Sam Altman's ouster, many are wondering why OpenAI board members booted him. Bedrock Capital's founder, an OpenAI investor, is more concerned with a board member's background. Geoff Lewis said, without offering evidence, he thinks an ex-board member's ties to China should be examined. Instead of debating Toner's reason to oust Altman, Lewis said the "right set of questions" should be aimed at her background. AdvertisementToner, along with Tasha McCauley, the only two female board members of OpenAI, were removed from the board following their votes to vacate Altman from his role as CEO.

Persons: Sam Altman's, Geoff Lewis, —, Sam Altman, Altman, Helen Toner, Lewis, Toner, CNBC's Rebecca Quick, Tasha McCauley Organizations: Service, Chinese Communist Party, CNBC, Oxford University's Center, Twitter, US Social, Foreign Affairs, Bedrock, Business, The New York Times, Microsoft Locations: China, OpenAI, Beijing

☆ Italy's possible withdrawal from China's Belt and Road program could pave the way for future exits
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( Clement Tan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Workers produce large building materials and equipment for export to countries along the Belt and Road. Hai 'an city, Jiangsu Province, China, June 15, 2020. Italy's reported withdrawal plan may set a precedence for a constructive exit from China's global trade and infrastructure initiative, setting the stage for future exits. Italy remains the only Group of 7 industrialized countries that is a signatory of Beijing's signature Belt and Road Initiative, a centerpiece of President Xi Jinping's foreign policy program that was launched a decade ago. At a time of shifting geopolitical alignments that's fragmenting the world's economy, Rome is coming under pressure to recast its relationship with Beijing to placate its western allies as Italy assumes the rotating presidency of the Group of 7 developed economies in 2024.

Persons: Italy's, Xi, Giulio Pugliese, CNBC's Organizations: Initiative, Oxford University's School of Global, Area Studies Locations: Jiangsu Province, China, Italy, Rome, Beijing, Washington

☆ China's auto workers bear the brunt of price war as fallout widens
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-05 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +9 min

Millions of auto workers and suppliers in China are feeling the heat as an electric vehicle price war forces carmakers to shave costs anywhere they can. State-run China Automotive News estimates there are over 100,000 auto suppliers in the country. Suppliers typically negotiate prices once a year, but many have been pressed to lower prices on a quarterly basis in 2023, two senior executives at auto suppliers said. And in June, a group of small suppliers wrote to state-owned Changan Automobile to push back against 10% price reductions. Three months later, he told Reuters that price cuts had been more aggressive in 2023 than in previous years.

Persons: Aly, Mike Chen, Chen, carmakers, Tesla, George Magnus, Elon Musk, Mike Chen's, Li Auto, Liu, Changan Automobile's, Chen Yudong, They've, Zhang Yan, Brenda Goh, Kripa Jayaram, Marius Zaharia, David Clarke Organizations: SAIC Volkswagen, REUTERS, Rights, Shanghai, SAIC, Volkswagen, VW, Oxford University's China, China Passenger Car Association, Tesla, GM, HK, Changan Automobile, Mitsubishi Motors, Toyota, Hyundai, China Automotive, Automobile, EV, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Shanghai, China, China's, Beijing, Shenzhen, Hefei, Chongqing, Chery's, Qingdao

"The culture wars are coming to UK businesses, including the financial sector," said Andre Spicer, dean of City University's Bayes Business School. It also cited "risk factors including... controversial public statements which were felt to conflict with the bank's purpose". However, data from watchdog the Financial Ombudsman Service showed complaints about account closures represented a tiny fraction of a bank's overall customer base. Experts say other banks will now be scrambling to ensure their own policies and committees are behaving appropriately, to avoid further scandals. The CEO of Britain's biggest domestic bank Lloyds said on Wednesday the bank's own policies did not include looking at customers' political or personal beliefs.

Persons: Nigel Farage, Coutts, Andre Spicer, Howard Davies, Alison Rose, Rose, Peter Flavel, Charles Dickens, Queen Elizabeth II, Spicer, Harriet Baldwin, Bill Winters, Samuel Gregg, Banks, Gregg, University's Spicer, Rupert Younger, ", Sinead Cruise, Iain Withers, Lawrence White, Daniel Wallis Organizations: Brexit Party, NatWest, Bayes Business School, Coutts, Treasury, Bank of England, BBC, Standard Chartered, Farage, American Institute for Economic Research, Facebook, Financial, Service, Barclays, Lloyds, Centre, Oxford University's Said Business School, Thomson Locations: America

NatWest lifer Rose climbed up the ranks over more than three decades from graduate trainee to boardroom, becoming the first woman to run one of Britain's major banks. "You can be a hero one day, a zero the next, as Alison Rose has found out." Davies lamented the "sad moment" while Rose paid tribute to colleagues who had helped her build solid foundations for the bank, in a statement accompanying the news. RBS TO NATWESTRose succeeded Ross McEwan as CEO of NatWest in 2019, becoming the lender's first female boss. But under Rose's supervision, the bank became one of Britain's biggest participants in government-designed loan schemes to keep ailing businesses afloat.

Persons: Alison Rose, Nigel Farage, NatWest lifer Rose, Coutts, Rishi Sunak, Rupert Younger, Rose, Howard Davies, Rose's, Davies, Charlie Nunn, Farage, impinging, NATWEST Rose, Ross McEwan, McEwan, Stephen Hester, Fred Goodwin, Lawrence White, Conor Humphries Organizations: NatWest's, Brexit Party, NatWest, Oxford University's, Lloyds Banking Group, Britain's, RBS, NATWEST, Royal Bank of Scotland, Thomson Locations: Europe, Westminster, Britain

☆ US Declining Population, Worker Shortage Will Cause Economic Crisis Without a Fix
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Gadel Valle | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +15 min

That means that unless people start having a lot more kids, the US population could eventually start to shrink — just like China's population has. While the US population has managed to avoid an outright drop, population growth reached an unprecedented low of 0.12% in 2021. One way the US could encourage more immigration is by focusing on temporary visas for specific industries that need workers. And the treatment of workers in the country on temporary visas has been a problem for decades. After all, the US is running out of options, and soon its growing people shortage is going to spell economic disaster.

A smoke billowing from a chimney is pictured, as the UN Climate Change Conference (COP26) takes place, in Glasgow, Scotland, Britain, November 6, 2021. Just 32 of the 100 biggest private firms have set a target to reach net-zero carbon emissions, compared with 69 of the 100 largest public companies, the study showed. In high-emitting sectors such as energy, infrastructure and manufacturing, only 14% of the private firms' annual combined revenue is covered by such a target compared with 77% of revenues from listed firms in the same sector. “Private firms are falling devastatingly short on net zero compared with their publicly-listed cousins," said John Lang, project lead of the Net Zero Tracker. As listed companies increasingly face mandatory climate-related disclosures, Thomas Hale, professor at Oxford University's Blavatnik School of Government, said there was a risk private firms escaped scrutiny and gained an unfair advantage.

☆ Beijing focuses on security to draw attention from U.S. semiconductor sanctions, says researcher
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-17 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailBeijing focuses on security to draw attention from U.S. semiconductor sanctions, says researcherGeorge Magnus, economist and research associate at Oxford University's China Centre, weighs in on Chinese President Xi Jinping's message for his country at the opening of Communist party congress.

☆ AstraZeneca's COVID vaccine suffers a setback in nasal spray trial
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Also, the immune response measured in the blood was weaker than that from a shot-in-the-arm vaccination. India's health minister last month approved Bharat Biotech's COVID-19 nasal spray vaccine while China's CanSino Biologics Inc (6185.HK) last month won emergency approval by the country's drug regulator for an inhaled version of its COVID-19 vaccine. The British trial enrolled 30 previously unvaccinated participants as well as 12 volunteers, who had previously received a standard two-dose vaccine course by injection. "The nasal spray did not perform as well in this study as we had hoped," said Sandy Douglas, chief investigator of the trial at Oxford University's Jenner Institute. No serious adverse events or safety concerns were reported during the trial, which was funded by AstraZeneca, according to the statement.

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