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New research shows how to expand the pool of tomorrow's leaders

Americans are dissatisfied with the state of leadership in the United States across several sectorsβ€”business, education, government and health careβ€”a Harris poll showed in 2025. The survey raised a foundational question about developing the next generation of leaders: How can today's young people be encouraged to become CEOs, principals, directors and even presidents?

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China is funding African farmers but not food processing and storage: Why it's a problem

China has become one of Africa's largest development financiers. Since 2000, Chinese and other state-backed institutions have committed more than US$180 billion in loans to African countries. The money has been used to finance roads, railways, power stations, ports, water infrastructure and industrial projects. Agriculture has also become part of this expanding partnership. Food systems specialist Adrino Mazenda analyzed Chinese loans to African countries between 2000 and 2024 to find out about China's agricultural spending.

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New study analyzes how electronic trading is changing the retail investment market

The decades-long switch from human-centered to electronically-based trading has changed the way investors participate in and access financial markets. In a new article, researchers analyze how technology has shaped the retail investment market in the United States. While retail investors have seen dramatic drops in costs, hurdles remain in specific markets. The article addresses the implications of the changes for regulations and regulatory oversight.

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Simple acknowledgment boosts repeat customer participation in take-back programs

Companies may only need to send an acknowledgment message to boost repeat customer participation in recycling and reuse programs for used goods like laptops and coffee pods, according to a new study led by Penn State researchers. The idea for the study arose over a cup of coffeeβ€”more specifically, the single-use pod used to make the coffee. Over a series of experiments, the researchers found that a simple "we received your item" email was all it took to encourage less-engaged customers to become repeat recyclers and to raise the company's sustainability profile.

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Looking at AI startups to predict which jobs AI will affect

A study of funded AI startups provides a glimpse of which jobs may be most affected by AI. As AI tools are embraced by industry after industry, the impacts of these tools on jobs remain unclear. Previous analyses have focused on the theoretical capabilities of LLMs, but social factors are also likely to play a role in shaping what aspects of work see AI integrationβ€”or full automation.

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Venture debt acts as a bridge between funding stages for tech startups, global study finds

A new international study has found that venture debt is reshaping how capital moves through technology startup ecosystems around the world. Analyzing data from 59 countries between 2015 and 2024, the researchers show that greater venture debt availability is associated with lower early-stage equity funding, higher late-stage equity funding, and a positive overall effect on the total capital available to startups.

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Podcasts move stocks but fail to beat market, analysis of 25,000 episodes shows

Investment podcasts can prompt investors to take action. However, they do not provide a reliable return advantage. This is shown in a new working paper by Prof. Dr. Marten Laudi of KΓΌhne Logistics University (KLU) and Janik Ole Wecks of the University of Bremen. Using more than 25,000 episodes, the study examines how podcast content about publicly traded companies and stocks correlates with trading activity, price movements and investment returns.

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Both rich and poor buy more counterfeits than the middle class, study finds

Conventional wisdom suggests that counterfeit luxury goods are primarily purchased by consumers who cannot afford authentic products. But recent research published in Marketing Science challenges that assumption, finding that both lower- and higher-income consumers are significantly more likely to purchase counterfeit goods than middle-income consumers.

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Building more apartments won't ease housing crisis

Building more apartments will not solve Australia's housing affordability crisis unless policymakers address rising house prices and investor activity, new research shows. Australia's housing affordability crisis is being driven less by a shortage of apartments than by systemwide price pressures originating in the market for freestanding homes, according to new research.

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AI teaches asset traders not to sweat the small stuff

Financial markets are governed by a combination of rational and irrational forces, statistical probabilities and "animal spirits." It takes fluency in both to understand the market, let alone beat it. Yet market actors, including asset traders, now frequently use machine-learning techniques to help generate predictions of future asset prices.

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Early-career scientists build national infrastructure to bridge science and policy

A new Special Report in the journal BioScience introduces the Scientist Network for Advancing Policy (SNAP), a student-led, nonpartisan, grassroots coalition founded in 2025 to empower early-career researchers to engage with science policy, advocacy and public communication. The report details the ways in which SNAP is reshaping the role of scientists in their communities.

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