Pressure is growing on government to act on legal threats designed to ‘harass and intimidate’ opponents Verity Nevitt was just 21, a student living away from home for the first time, when she learned she and her twin sister, Lucy, were going to be sued in the high court. Someone knocked on the door of her London house share with a big bundle of papers and asked her to sign for them. A year earlier...
Pressure is growing on government to act on legal threats designed to ‘harass and intimidate’ opponents Verity Nevitt was just 21, a student living away from home for the first time, when she learned she and her twin sister, Lucy, were going to be sued in the high court. Someone knocked on the door of her London house share with a big bundle of papers and asked her to sign for them. A year earlier, the sisters had reported a man to the police, accusing him of sexually assaulting Verity and then, after she had left the house, raping Lucy. When the case was dropped by police, they decided to name him on social media, in order to warn others. The man responded by suing them for misuse of private information, harassment and eventually defamation. Continue reading...
Listen to Odd Lots on Apple Podcasts Listen to Odd Lots on Spotify Watch Odd Lots on YouTube Subscribe to the newsletter Today's guest Mariana Mazzucato is one of our most requested. Mazzucato, who is the director of the University College London Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, specializes in the political economy of technological development and public sector investment. In our conve...
Listen to Odd Lots on Apple Podcasts Listen to Odd Lots on Spotify Watch Odd Lots on YouTube Subscribe to the newsletter Today's guest Mariana Mazzucato is one of our most requested. Mazzucato, who is the director of the University College London Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, specializes in the political economy of technological development and public sector investment. In our conversation, recorded in Madrid while at the Bloomberg CityLab conference, she explains her concept of the \
Today’s guest Mariana Mazzucato is one of our most requested. Mazzucato, who is the director of the University College London Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, specializes in the political economy of technological development and public sector investment. In our conversation, recorded in Madrid while at the Bloomberg CityLab conference, she explains her concept of the “mission economy,”...
Today’s guest Mariana Mazzucato is one of our most requested. Mazzucato, who is the director of the University College London Institute for Innovation and Public Purpose, specializes in the political economy of technological development and public sector investment. In our conversation, recorded in Madrid while at the Bloomberg CityLab conference, she explains her concept of the “mission economy,” her definition of state capacity, how to prevent top talent from fleeing to the private sector, and
Global food prices rose to their highest in more than three years as the Iran war disrupted supply chains, raising the prospect of higher bills for shoppers. The United Nations’ index of food-commodity prices gained 1.6% in April, led by higher vegetable oil, meat and cereal prices, according to a Friday report. That’s 2.5% higher than a year ago. Now in its third month, the Iran war has effective...
Global food prices rose to their highest in more than three years as the Iran war disrupted supply chains, raising the prospect of higher bills for shoppers. The United Nations’ index of food-commodity prices gained 1.6% in April, led by higher vegetable oil, meat and cereal prices, according to a Friday report. That’s 2.5% higher than a year ago. Now in its third month, the Iran war has effectively shut the critical Strait of Hormuz, curbing flows of essential farm inputs such as diesel and fertilizer and boosting prices. Vegetable oils led the UN index higher, climbing 5.9% from March to hit its highest since July 2022. Vegetable oils “are experiencing stronger price increases, driven largely by higher oil prices, which are increasing demand for biofuels and putting additional pressure on vegetable oil markets,” said FAO Chief Economist Máximo Torero. The index monitors raw commodity costs rather than retail prices, meaning there will still be a lag for an increase in farmgate prices to reach consumers. Still, the increase from March’s level is the first sign that food inflation is likely to pick up, even as the US and Iran weigh a peace deal that would reopen the strait. The increase in the gauge — which tracks grains, sugar, meat, dairy and vegetable oil costs — marks the third consecutive month of gains, having risen for the first time in five months in February. The meat index hit a record high, climbing 1.2% from March. The cereal price index rose by 0.8% from March on weather concerns and expectations of reduced wheat plantings in 2026, as farmers consider sowing less fertilizer‑intensive crops due to the conflict in Iran. Global growers are already warning of decreasing planting areas and crop yields, with the cost of diesel and fertilizers surging since the wear began in February. Some top European producers, France and Romania, have signaled lower output as farmers curb corn sowing in a bid to deal with higher input costs. Sign up for the Business of Food...
Following its RMB 1 billion strategic round in March, robotics company ROBOTERA has raised over USD 200 million in a new financing round led by SF Group. The round also saw participation from leading financial investors including HSG, IDG Capital, Hillhouse Investment, CICC Capital, Jingming Capital, SparkEdge Capital, Luxin Venture Capital Group, Unite Pioneers Capital, and Longqi Investment; alo...
Following its RMB 1 billion strategic round in March, robotics company ROBOTERA has raised over USD 200 million in a new financing round led by SF Group. The round also saw participation from leading financial investors including HSG, IDG Capital, Hillhouse Investment, CICC Capital, Jingming Capital, SparkEdge Capital, Luxin Venture Capital Group, Unite Pioneers Capital, and Longqi Investment; alongside major industrial partners such as KENGIC, Dongfeng Asset Investment, ICBC Capital, and funds