WHO on Thursday has warned for probable spread of Zika virus across the North and Central American countries. Ahead of rising concerns for Zika spreading, drug makers and scientists have commented that manufacturing of an appropriate vaccine may even require a decade. These warnings has opened a huge business potential for Oxitec, an Intrexon subsidiary. Oxitec’s gene modified mosquitoes are capable of ensuring security against Zika for large populations.
Legal & Regulatory
Food Safety: US Meat Supplier Disputes Chinese Court Verdict Over Selling Expired Meat in China Restaurants
The supplier's subsidiary units in China was convicted for selling substandard and expired meats to restaurants including McDonald's and KFC. However, the company argued that the verdict was unjust and inconsistent with the evidence presented in court.
Mass arrest in China over Ponzi scheme; investors lose almost $7.6 billion
21 people were arrested by the Chinese police on account of a huge online financial scam. The P2P online lender Ezubao had almost pulled off the biggest scam in wealth management product industry, with almost 900,000 investors losing around $7.6 billion (50 billion yuan).
Yen Falters Against Stronger Dollar, BoJ’s Further Rate Slashing Attempts May Go In Vain
US Dollar has been witnessed to gain some value against yen in both Tokyo and Japan on Monday. The appreciation of dollar has taken place due to BoJ’s surprise move for slashing the interest rate to (-) 0.1%. Even BoJ Governor has hinted further rate slashing events, if situation demands. But economists have referred the attempt as an attraction drawing stance aiming to prevent yen from rising to boost up the sluggish economic growth.
Apple Patents Smaller Camera Modules For iPhones And iPads
Lesser light falls on the small smart-phone image censor and thus the image quality appears better in larger cameras. But smart-phone industry is in the trend for getting slimmer. Apple has recently been awarded with a patent that is capable of providing better image quality through small, spherical curved lenses. The patented imaging gears are suitable for iPhones and iPads.
Latest News
The Republican Debate is going to be held in Iowa State on Thursday. The fast food workers under the banner of ‘$15 per hour minimum wage movement’ have called strike on the very day apparently due to gain media attraction. The strike has been called demanding immediate implementation of the said minimum wage rate across the country and union rights. However, the demands have already been supported by many Democratic candidates and furnished in their election manifesto.
Childhood obesity has increased drastically worldwide and WHO seeks political involvement in handling the issue. About 48% of obese and overweight children aged 5 and below reportedly belong to Asia and Africa.
Malaysia has trimmed its growth forecast mainly due to plunging oil prices. A miscalculated assumption has messed up the 2016 budget, which has the government groping for damage-control measures. One of the key outcomes were increasing the household spending of the country, which can give the sluggish economy a much-needed boost.
Aedes mosquitoes are the bearer of Zika virus which is available across the US. WHO warns the US for a probable Zika virus induced epidemic. Brazil has appeared as the most Zika affected country. The US and other governments have issued a travel alert for the pregnant women forbidding to visit the Zika prone region. The travel alert has offbeat the organizers of the Rio de Janeiro olympic scheduled to be held in August.
The MTA has banned hoverboards from the New York City transit system for safety reasons. According to the latest rules, riders will not be allowed to bring the two-wheeled motorized devices on buses, subway platforms and trains
President Obama has rolled out a new set of regulations that lifts the Cuban trade embargo to a certain extent. The relaxed rules allow easy facilitation of trade, travel and finance between the two governments, a move taken to end the age-old cold war between them. While the embargo cannot be lifted completely unless Congress gives their consent, the Obama administration is convinced that this is a step in the right direction for improving the condition of the island.
Introduction of risk based regulation centering Basel III accord has pushed up costs of fund. As an aftermath, the January 20 auction of the UK sovereign bonds has witnessed the lowest demand in nearly seven years. Ahead of rising concerns over the increasing challenges in the UK gilt market, many of the world’s biggest banks are shrinking their bond-trading activities. However, concerns of the investors and dealers have been communicated to the regulators concerned through a meeting held on Tuesday.
The policy making committee of the Federal Reserve Bank has announced keeping key interest rates unchanged on Wednesday. The inflation rate exists below predictions and job growth remains satisfactory. But ahead of global economic turmoil and considering strong Dollar outlook, Fed has decided to let the tightened monetary policy to go further. However, it hints for hiking interest rates during its next meeting scheduled to be held in March.
Wynn Palace, an under construction casino, is widely expected to attract Chinese consumers and thus transform Macau to a popular tourist region. The casino project has been expected to be completed by June 25 followed by a revision on deadline. But work progress seems to be slow and the contractor for the $4.1 billion project is probably going the miss the extended time frame further. Steve Wynn, founder of Wynn Macau Ltd. has sent a letter to the construction company cautioning to count compensation up to $200 million if it fails to meet the revised deadline.
