A Laboratory of the Future Human Experience
Sperm from the US and Denmark dominate the market because those countries currently have the most supply, experts say.
Ella Rasmussen’s doctors started to prod her about children when she turned 30. She was single, suffered from endometriosis, and contemplated a hysterectomy. After several years, the nudges took hold. Because she wasn’t a good candidate to freeze only her eggs, she was advised to undergo IVF and freeze fertilized embryos.
Continue reading… “America’s hottest export? Sperm”
China announced its latest growth figures on Thursday. The speed of growth attracted most of the attention, but the source of growth is perhaps more striking. At a press conference, the National Bureau of Statistics pointed out that in the first three quarters of this year consumption* contributed over half (55%) of China’s growth, exceeding the contribution from investment. If that pattern holds, China’s growth this year will not be investment-led (let alone export-led), but consumption-led.**
Continue reading… “Consumer-led growth in China”
North Dakota’s ticket to success is energy.
Some regions of the U.S. anticipate future prosperity even as the national economy struggles. Though unlikely to surpass powerhouses of the U.S. economy such as California’s Silicon Valley, Boston’s Route 128 corridor and North Carolina’s Research Triangle, these five cities may well give better-known up-and-comers such as Austin, Texas, Charlotte, N.C., Denver and the Sun Belt’s auto centers a run for the money.
A severe drought destroyed one-fifth of the wheat crop in Russia and wildfires swept in to finish off some of the fields that remained.
A temporary ban on Russian grain exports will boost income for U.S. farmers this year, but more demand could cause shipping bottlenecks.Russia, one of the world’s largest exporters of wheat, is facing a shrunken crop due to a severe drought. Its announcement Thursday that it will ban grain exports through the end of the year to control domestic prices raises the possibility of stronger-than-expected U.S. exports.
Continue reading… “Ban on Russian Grain Exports Causes Surge in U.S. Wheat and Corn Prices”
Factory representatives put up boards marked with hiring details wait for job seekers at a street labor market
In the labor market’s pecking order, Chen Xiulan is at the very bottom. She is female, middle-aged and from the countryside and stands barely 5 feet tall. (Height requirements are common with Chinese employers.) Yet when the nearly 60-year-old grandmother from Sichuan province showed up in Shanghai last fall looking for work on the construction site of the sprawling World Expo, nobody laughed. Chen was handed a hard hat and a broom and put to work with the crew that sweeps up debris.
Continue reading… “1.3 Billion People But China Still Faces a Labor Shortage”
A large portion of newly generated foreign trade is expected to be via shipping.
There is a notorious delay in turnaround times at Indian Ports, in Mumbai it typically takes about three days to turn a container ship around, it Shanghai it takes eight hours. Massive investment is required to combat problems with inadequate berths, road links, and related infrastructure constraints. The major Ports highlighted for redevelopment are namely Kandla, Mumbai, Mormugao, New Mangalore on the east coast, Cochin and Tuticorn to the South, and Chennai, Ennore, Vizag, Paradip and Kolkata on the east coast.
China surpassed $1.2 trillion in exports in 2009.
China overtook Germany in 2009 to become the world’s top exporting nation, another milestone in China’s rapid rise and growing economic influence. But in a year of global economic turmoil and weakness, China achieved the top ranking because its exports fell only 16 percent, while Germany’s exports fell more steeply.
Continue reading… “China has Overtaken Germany to Become World’s Top Exporter”
The world’s first cargo ship partly propelled by solar power took to the seas on Friday in Japan, aiming to cut fuel costs and carbon emissions when automakers ship off their exports.
Continue reading… “World’s First Solar Cargo Ship Launched”
