POLL: TWO THIRDS OF AMERICANS SUPPORT HUMAN GENE EDITING TO CURE DISEASE

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by futurism.com -- The majority of U.S. adults support human gene editing to protect babies against disease, according to a new poll. But they wouldn’t support gene edits that make babies smarter or taller, according to the new research by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, which polled about a thousand U.S. adults this month to learn about public attitudes toward genetic engineering. The AP research found that 71 percent of respondents support gene editing to protect a baby from an inherited condition, and 67 percent support reducing the risk of diseases like cancer. But just 12 percent would be okay with tampering with intelligence or athletic ability, and only 10 percent would consider altering physical characteristics like eye color or height.

Questions about using technologies like CRISPR to gene edit human embryos gained immediacy last month, when Chinese scientists claimed to have edited the genes of two babies in order to protect them against HIV — a move that prompted an international outcry, but also questions about when the technology will be ready for human testing. “People appear to realize there’s a major question of how we should oversee and monitor use of this technology if and when it becomes available,” Columbia University bioethicist Robert Klitzman told the AP of the new research. “What is safe enough? And who will determine that? The government? Or clinicians who say, ‘Look, we did it in Country X a few times and it seems to be effective.

Amazon dominated retail in 2018 — and no one else even came close to touching it

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by business-insider - Dennis Green- For retail in 2018, there was really only one word that was on everybody's lips: Amazon. Just a mere mention of the online shopping giant sends other companies into a flurry of speculation — whether Amazon competes directly or not. It's easy to see why: Amazon is seeing incredible growth for a company of its size, making it one of the biggest retailers in the US and the world both online and off. In the US, Amazon will close out the year nabbing nearly half of all online sales, according to analysis by Emarketer, up from a 43.5% in 2017. Amazon will generate $258.22 billion in online retail sales in the US by the end of the year, a staggering increase of almost 30% from the year prior.

But impressive sales aren't the only thing that Amazon got right in 2018. Amazon Web Services and Amazon Advertising are both also experiencing phenomenal growth, and its Alexa-enabled products remain the most popular smart devices. It's moving increasingly offline with Amazon Go stores, and its new 4-Star concept. As a company, it was able to perform to this impressive standard despite a growing set of detractors, both from elected representatives and the public. Despite a glitchy Prime Day that made customers upset. Despite HQ2 backlash. Despite competitors like Walmart nipping at its heels. Despite a trade war waged between China and President Trump and shipping costs becoming incrementally more expensive. Despite it all, Amazon will head into 2019 more confident than ever that nothing will hold it back. Now that is impressive.

Lebanese finance minister warns of financial crisis as political deadlock continues

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By reuters -- BEIRUT: Lebanon's finance minister has said the heavily indebted country is in a state of economic crisis and warned it faces becoming a financial crisis, as politicians struggle to form a new government, state media reported. Nearly eight months since parliamentary elections, Prime Minister-designate Saad al-Hariri has been unable to bring Lebanon's rival parties together into a national unity government that can deliver fiscal reform. The repercussions and consequences of the economic crisis today are at their highest. The crisis started to turn into a financial one," said Ali Hassan Khalil late on Saturday (Dec 29) according to the state news agency NNA. "We hope it will not become a monetary crisis," he said. With the world's third-highest ratio of debt to GDP, Lebanon has endured years of weak economic growth and was urged by the International Monetary Fund this year to carry out "urgent" measures to put public finances back on a sustainable footing. Efforts to finalise a government hit new snags last week after having looked close to a resolution. The parties are jostling over how many seats each faction will get in the cabinet and the distribution of the main portfolios. The banking system is the lynchpin of its economy and holds much of the government's debt.

When to abandon your career plans?

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While having a long-term career plan is important, there are times when a rethink might be needed. For instance, if your job is impacting your wellbeing or it no longer gives you a sense of pride, then it might be time to reassess. Your reputation is also a factor. If you find yourself developing a persona at your company or in your industry that you no longer want, it might be time to reinvent yourself — and your career.

The Problem With Dominant Mark Zuckerberg Types

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by bloomberg.com -- by Chris Hughes -- It irks investors in America, and now it’s irking them in Europe too. The U.S. stock market’s permissive attitude to initial public offerings that give founders super-voting rights is the subject of an international campaign. Rightly so. The U.S. new-issues market is the de facto standard setter for the rest of the world. Undemocratic voting structures are an unwelcome export. The “one-share, one-vote” principle is fair and gives outsiders some sway to hold management to account. True, Google parent Alphabet Inc.’s stock price has thrived with dual-class shares giving its founders control. But it’s the exception.

Shares in Snap Inc., Altice USA Inc. and Blue Apron Holdings Inc. have performed terribly since going public in 2017. The controversies swirling around Facebook Inc. raise questions about whether founder CEO and Chairman Mark Zuckerberg’s dominant position still benefits the company. Of course, no one is forcing investors to buy a stock with imbalanced voting arrangements. And removing super-votes would usually leave incumbent management with a controlling stake still. The tech companies argue that “founder control” supports long-term investment decisions. Index providers are creating separate indices that exclude stocks with bad voting structures. But academic research backs up fears that inequitable structures become a liability more often than not. It would be better if stock exchanges cleaned up the market overall.

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Carlos Ghosn’s Daughters See a Nissan Revolt Behind His Arrest -- Pictures

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Carlos Ghosn, the ousted chairman of Nissan, with his daughters Nadine, left, and Caroline. He also has another daughter, Maya, and a son, Anthony.CreditCreditGhosn Family

Mr. Ghosn in 1996 with, from left, Caroline, Anthony, Maya and Nadine. The family was living in Greenville, S.C., at the time, but the children consider Tokyo their hometown.CreditGhosn Family

Anthony, Nadine and Caroline, right, with their father in Tennessee in 2015. Referring to his life in a jail cell, Caroline Ghosn said, “Every detail we learn is heartbreaking.”CreditGhosn Family

by nytimes.com -- By Amy Chozick --  The children of Carlos Ghosn, the jailed auto executive who oversaw an alliance that sold more than 10 million cars a year, believe accusations of financial misconduct against him are part of a revolt within Nissan against exploring a possible merger with Renault. Caroline Ghosn, the eldest of Mr. Ghosn’s four children, said that when she saw Hiroto Saikawa, the chief executive of Nissan, condemn her father during a televised news conference after his arrest, she suspected that Nissan’s investigation was rooted in opposition to proposed changes to the Nissan-Renault alliance and “the merger my dad was setting up.” “For Saikawa to so adamantly denounce someone who had been his mentor and then immediately without any benefit of the doubt condemns him?” Ms. Ghosn, 31, said in a phone interview. An entrepreneur, she had awakened hours before that briefing to the news that her father, who was Nissan’s chairman and Renault’s chief executive, had been arrested on suspicion of violating Japan’s financial reporting laws. She and her sister Maya Ghosn, 26, do not have direct knowledge of their father’s business discussions, but both said watching Mr. Saikawa address the national news media had cemented their belief that internal company dynamics were at play.

Mr. Saikawa told the reporters that one problem with the alliance was that “the top of Renault is concurrently serving as the top of Nissan with 43 percent of shares.” In the future, he said, the company would “look for a more sustainable structure.” “Wow,” Caroline Ghosn said. “He didn’t even waste a breath. He didn’t even try to cover up the fact that the merger had something to do with this.” Maya Ghosn, who works in philanthropy, agreed. As Mr. Saikawa was “talking about the alliance, it was clear to me that there was way more associated with it,” she said. “My gut reaction was that this was bigger than the accusations against my dad.” The interviews were the first time since the arrest that the sisters, now living in San Francisco, have spoken publicly about their father, who was deposed as chairman of the board of Nissan after creating an empire that included Nissan, Renault and Mitsubishi.

Mr. Ghosn, 64, was arrested on Nov. 19 as he arrived in Tokyo for a board meeting. He was later charged with underreporting his compensation for several years in securities filings and has been detained in Tokyo. Nissan’s internal investigation of what it calls “substantial and convincing evidence of misconduct” has taken on global dimensions, encompassing teams of compliance people who have tried to secure potential evidence at residences used by Mr. Ghosn, including an apartment in Rio de Janeiro. “Our own investigation is ongoing, and its scope continues to broaden,” the company said in a statement Friday, suggesting that Mr. Ghosn’s legal problems could deepen. His family maintains he is innocent. Like Mr. Ghosn, Greg Kelly, a Nissan board member, was indicted on financial misconduct changes. Nissan was indicted, too, and said it would review its compliance procedures. Asked to respond to the Ghosn daughters’ claims — that animosity about a potential merger drove Nissan’s investigation — Nicholas Maxfield, a company spokesman, said: “These claims are baseless. The family would never have had any reason to be privy to discussions related to the future of Nissan and the alliance.” “The cause of this chain of events is the misconduct led by Ghosn and Kelly,” Mr. Maxfield said. “During the company’s internal investigation into this misconduct, the prosecutor’s office began its own investigation and took action.” (Asked specifically whether a merger had been discussed, Mr. Maxfield said a previously announced six-year plan had called for “additional synergies and further convergence among the member companies.”)

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