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Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh chosen to host the 2030 World Expo

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Read time : 2 mins

Level : Intermediate

A supporter of the candidacy of Busan, South Korea, jokes with a supporter Riyadh , Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, Nov. 28, 2023 in Issy-les-Moulineaux, outside Paris. In a high-profile showdown, Rome, Busan, and Riyadh are the top contenders as the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) prepares to vote on Tuesday in Paris for the host city of the 2030 World Expo. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

By THOMAS ADAMSON and SYLVIE CORBET Associated Press

ISSY-LES-MOULINEAUX, France (AP) — Saudi Arabia’s capital Riyadh was chosen on Tuesday to host the 2030 World Expo, beating out South Korean port city Busan and Rome for an event expected to draw millions of visitors.

Riyadh was picked by a majority of 119 out of 165 votes by the member states of the Paris-based Bureau International des Expositions, or BIE.

The vote has been held behind closed doors in Issy-les-Moulineaux, a southwestern suburb of the French capital. The result was greeted with cheers by the Saudi delegation. Busan got 29 votes and Rome 17.

With the stakes high, each city has escalated its campaign efforts, showcasing unique visions and ambitious promises to secure the rights to the globally prestigious event. Continue reading

Supporting nonprofits on GivingTuesday this year could have a bigger impact than usual

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Read time : 4 mins

Level : Advanced

FILE – Sgt. Kevin Fowler organizes food at a food bank distribution by the Greater Cleveland Food Bank, Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021, in Cleveland. Supporting nonprofits on GivingTuesday this year could have a bigger impact than usual as nonprofits and industry groups say donations so far are down compared with previous years. Many organizations will be looking to make up the difference on GivingTuesday, which is the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, Nov. 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak File)

By THALIA BEATY Associated Press

Supporting nonprofits on GivingTuesday this year could have a bigger impact than usual. Why? Because nonprofits and industry groups say donations so far are down compared with previous years.

Many organizations will look to make up the difference on GivingTuesday, the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, which started as a hashtag in 2012 and has grown into one of the biggest fundraising dates on the calendar. Many nonprofits will run matching campaigns, meaning a supporter has pledged to double or sometimes triple the donation of other, smaller donors.

Combine that boost with businesses that match employee donations and it can really add up, said Tim Pries, who runs a small production studio in the Bay Area matching employee gifts to nonprofits of up to $1,000.

“It’s just kind of exponential, which makes me happy in my heart that a little bit goes a much longer way, especially on that day,” Pries said. Continue reading

Unlocking Your Career Potential: Learning a Second Language is a Job Market Game-Changer

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Read time : 5 mins

Level : Intermediate

By Caitriona Maria | Wealth of Geeks undefined

Only 21.9% of Americans speak two or more languages in a world where over half of the globe’s population is estimated to be bilingual.

Although the United States is a global leader in some respects, a new generation of Americans is growing up in an increasingly interconnected world and will need to speak more than English to succeed.

Parents seeking advantages for their children in the global market should prioritize bilingualism. With various leading languages to choose from, knowing which to study is half the battle.

According to the World Economic Forum, Spanish and Mandarin are the top two languages in the world. Experts also suggest French as the language of international diplomacy; it’s one of the two official working languages of the United Nations. Continue reading

Company that created ChatGPT is thrown into turmoil after Microsoft hires its ousted CEO

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Read time : 4 mins

Level : Advanced

File – Sam Altman participates in a discussion during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) CEO Summit, Thursday, Nov. 16, 2023, in San Francisco. Microsoft has announced that it’s hired Sam Altman and another architect of ChatGPT maker OpenAI after they unexpectedly departed the company days earlier in a corporate shakeup that shocked the artificial intelligence world. Microsoft Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella also tweeted Monday, Nov. 20, 2023 that the major investor in the chatbot that kicked off the generative AI craze is committed to its partnership with OpenAI. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg, File)

By COURTNEY BONNELL and MATT O’BRIEN AP Business Writers

The company that created ChatGPT was thrown into turmoil Monday after Microsoft hired its ousted CEO and many employees threatened to follow him in a conflict that centered in part on how to build artificial intelligence that’s smarter than humans.

The developments followed a weekend of drama that shocked the AI field and fueled speculation about the future of OpenAI, which named a new chief executive on Friday and then replaced her on Sunday. The newest CEO vowed to investigate the firing of co-founder and CEO Sam Altman, who’s been instrumental in OpenAI’s transformation from a nonprofit research laboratory into a world-renowned commercial startup that inaugurated the era of generative artificial intelligence. Continue reading

Side Hustles: Red Flags or Great for Boosting Employee Performance?

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Read time : 4 mins

Level : Intermediate

By Ananyaa Bhowmik | Wealth of Geeks undefined

A study conducted by Lending Tree late last year found 44% of Americans have a side hustle. As the cost of living surges, many Americans resort to busting into the gig economy to feed their lifestyles. This may make bosses across industries more than a little worried.

The study shows a whopping 13% rise in Americans with a side hustle since 2020. Gen Zs make up a considerable portion of these growing numbers, with 62% saying that they have a side hustle.

But the expert consensus is that a little side action, employment-wise, actually may improve employees’ performance at their primary jobs. Continue reading

Navigating Troubled Waters: Moody’s Credit Review and The Struggles of The U.S. Banking Sector

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Read time : 4 mins

Level : Advanced

Amaka Chukwuma | Wealth of Geeks undefined

In August, ratings agency Moody’s announced six major United States banks, including Bank of New York Mellon, State Street, and Northern Trust, were at risk of having their credit rating downgraded. An additional 10 mid-sized banks had their credit ratings slashed, exposing the “ongoing strain” within the U.S. banking sector.

This development sent shockwaves through the financial markets, with investors growing concerned about the potential challenges ahead for the banking sector.

The tension evident in Moody’s report is compounded by mounting pressures on funding and potential “weaknesses” in the capital reserves that lenders must maintain. A credit rating downgrade could further elevate the funding costs for these banks, intensifying their financial challenges. Continue reading

Apple’s sales fall for the fourth straight quarter despite a strong start for latest iPhones

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Read time : 3 mins

Level : Intermediate

FILE – Customers shop in an Apple store in Pittsburgh Jan. 30, 2023. Apple reports earnings on Thursday, Nov. 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar, File)

By MICHAEL LIEDTKE AP Technology Writer

Apple’s sales remained on a downward slope during the summer, resulting in a full year of declining revenue at the technology trendsetter with a long history of steady growth that turned it into the world’s most valuable publicly traded company.

The slight sales deterioration announced Thursday for the July-September period marked the end of Apple’s fiscal year — a stretch that saw the company suffer a revenue decrease from the prior year in each quarter.

Although this past fiscal year’s revenue only dipped by 3% from the previous fiscal year, it was still a noteworthy anomaly in a business that has been so successful that Apple became the first U.S. company to be valued at $3 trillion earlier this year.

It’s the first time Apple’s fiscal year revenue has dropped since 2019 when sales fell by 2%. Continue reading

In a first, MIT trains students to resolve clean energy conflicts

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Read time : 4 mins

Level : Advanced

Leyla Uysal, a design school student from Harvard University with an urban planning background, center, speaks during a course concerning the conflicts that arise in the siting process of renewable energy projects, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Friday, Sept. 15, 2023, in Cambridge, Mass. Mike Giovanniello, left, and Kailin Graham listen to the discussion. “It’s going to be difficult, but I will educate myself not to take sides,” Uysal said. (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds)

By AMY HARDER, Cipher News undefined

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — As the United States injects hundreds of billions of dollars into clean energy through its signature climate law, known as the Inflation Reduction Act, criticism is growing louder about where, how and whether new development should be allowed.

As opposition grows, once-routine regulatory processes are taking several years, if they are completed at all. Some communities are concerned about landscape changes, some property values and others wildlife preservation. Layered on top of these debates is misinformation, which sows doubt and mistrust among developers and communities.

A new class at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology offers a glimpse into a novel way of resolving these types of conflicts.

MIT is offering a first-of-its-kind course that trains students to be mediators in conflicts over clean energy projects. Supervised by a professional mediator, students work directly with developers, local officials and community members. Students get academic credit and hands-on experience addressing real-world dilemmas, while the community and developer get free help resolving conflict. Continue reading

Less boo for your buck: For the second Halloween in a row, US candy inflation hits double digits

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Read time : 3 mins

Level : Intermediate

An assortment of Halloween candy is shown in this photo taken on Friday, Oct. 27, 2023 in New York. For the second year in a row, U.S. shoppers are seeing double-digit inflation in the candy aisle. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan)

By DEE-ANN DURBIN AP Business Writer

Spooked by the high price of Halloween candy? There’s not much relief in sight.

For the second year in a row, U.S. shoppers are seeing double-digit inflation in the candy aisle. Candy and gum prices are up an average of 13% this month compared to last October, more than double the 6% increase in all grocery prices, according to Datasembly, a retail price tracker. That’s on top of a 14% increase in candy and gum prices in October 2022.

“The price of candy has gotten to be outrageous,” said Jessica Weathers, a small business owner in Shiloh, Illinois. “It doesn’t make sense to me to spend $100 on candy.” Continue reading

In early 2029, Earth will likely lock into breaching key warming threshold, scientists calculate

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Read time : 4 mins

Level : Advanced

Steam rises from the AES Indiana Petersburg Generating Station, Wednesday, Oct. 25, 2023, in Petersburg, Ind. In a little more than five years – sometime in early 2029 – the world will likely be unable to stay below the internationally agreed temperature limit for global warming if it continues to burn fossil fuels at its current rate, a new study says. (AP Photo/Joshua A. Bickel)

By SETH BORENSTEIN AP Science Writer

In a little more than five years – sometime in early 2029 – the world will likely be unable to stay below the internationally agreed temperature limit for global warming if it continues to burn fossil fuels at its current rate, a new study says.

The study moves three years closer the date when the world will eventually hit a critical climate threshold, which is an increase of 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) since the 1800s.

Beyond that temperature increase, the risks of catastrophes increase, as the world will likely lose most of its coral reefs, a key ice sheet could kick into irreversible melt, and water shortages, heat waves and death from extreme weather dramatically increase, according to an earlier United Nations scientific report. Continue reading