New Omicron variant XBB.1.5, dubbed Kraken, doesnt differ enough from other Omicron strains to warrant its own Greek letter, WHO officials said Wednesday. 

While Kraken, rapidly spreading in the U.S., is incredibly transmissible and spreads faster than other circulating variants like BQ, it still belongs in the Omicron family, Maria Van Kerkhove, technical lead for COVID-19 response at the WHO, said at a news conference.

Canadian biology professor Ryan Gregory recently nicknamed the high flying variantthe projected cause of the majority of COVID cases in the U.S. Northeastafter the aggressive mythological Scandinavian sea monster Kraken. He argues that new variants rising to prominence need memorable names that convey to the public the evolving threat of Omicron, instead of just a string of numbers and letters. The WHO, in charge of assigning Greek letter names to significant new COVID variants, hasnt assigned a variant a new name since Omicron roughly a year ago, arguing that developing variants havent evolved enough to do so.

Kraken is expected to escape immunity from prior infection and vaccination at about the same level as XBB, from which it evolved. XB and BQ COVID variants are the most immune-evasive yetbut it doesnt appear that XBB.1.5 takes that evasiveness much, if any, further, according to WHO officials.

Its still unknown if the illness caused by XBB.1.5 is more severe than that caused by other recent COVID strains. Data on the variant is limited and mostly comes from the U.S., which is seeing the lions share of detected cases, Van Kerkhove added.

So far, new Omicron strains are all behaving in the same way, aside from becoming increasingly more effective at spreading, she said, adding that the WHO expects to see more growth advantage and immune escape in variants as they evolve.

When new variants begin behaving differently, were not afraid to use these Greek letters, she said, referencing the organizations system of assigning names like Alpha, Delta, and Omicron to notable new COVID variants.

The organizations risk assessment on XBB.1.5 should be published shortly, the WHO said Wednesday.

This is a developing story and please check back for updates.

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At a recent working lunch, Renee Fellman was told that someone wouldnt network with her because shes Jewish. 

Fellman, whos a corporate turnaround consultant based in Portland, Oregon was stunned not by the mere existence of antisemitism, she said, but that her brush with it was so overt. 

I doubt theres more antisemitism now than 10 or 20 years ago, said Fellman, who previously had more subtle or difficult to interpret experiences of discrimination, such as snubs. People are just expressing it. Its become OK to say it.

Across American culture, politics, and even business, expressions of antisemitism have grown louder in recent years. Its not just high profile statements made by the rapper Ye and basketball star Kyrie Irving or politicians increasingly cozying up to White supremacist groups. Incidents of antisemitic harassment, vandalism and assault reached a 42 year high in 2021, the most recent year with available data, according the Anti-Defamation League. And theres evidence that discrimination is seeping into the workplace, too. 

A 2022 study published in the academic journal Socius surveying 11,356 workers of all faiths found that more than half of the Jewish respondents experienced discrimination at work a higher percentage than any other religious group, besides Muslims. A smaller survey from November of 1,131 hiring managers and recruiters commissioned by ResumeBuilder.com had even starker findings: Nearly a quarter said they wanted fewer Jewish people in their industry and a similar share admitted theyre less likely to advance Jewish applicants. Among the top reasons cited for those discriminatory behaviors: Perceptions that Jewish people have too much power and wealth. 

It would seem to confirm our concerns that the growing antisemitism in our society is also spilling over into the workplace, said Vlad Khaykin, national director for programs on antisemitism at the Anti-Defamation League. It suggests that contemporary workplaces can often be hostile to Jewish employees. 

Bloomberg News spoke with a dozen Jewish workers in industries as varied as public relations and supply chain logistics, living in cities across the country. Many expressed a sense of increasing discrimination in their daily work lives, including overhearing antisemitic comments from co-workers or noticing the ranks of Jewish workers thin at their organizations. Most didnt want to use their names fearing it might damage their careers or draw further harassment.

One communications executive from the Midwest said that shes experienced astonishing antisemitism in the workplace and that her Jewish friends and family advise her to not tell anyone her religion or to work with Jewish-owned organizations. Another diversity and inclusion coach said that a non-Jewish employee reportedly put a face mask on his head like a yarmulke and sang The Chanukah Song by Adam Sandler. In a separate incident, that same employee used the phrase Holocaust moment to describe his groups poor performance. He later told investigators he thought his behavior was permissible because he didnt think any Jewish people were present. 

Its something on my mind. Im scared about it, said Andy Heller, a San Francisco real estate investor and entrepreneur. His fears were, in part, realized by the ResumeBuilder.com surveys findings: that some perceive Jewish people as money-grubbing, cheap or power hungry.

Too much control, power and wealth these are long standing antisemitic tropes that have been used to justify violence against Jews, said Rachel Schneider, a religious studies researcher at Rice University and one of the authors of the Socius study. Antisemitism is alive and well. We need to attend more to its presence in the workplace. 

Heller said that he feels a responsibility to counteract caricatures of Jewish people by providing substantial bonuses, paying vendor bills promptly and in full, and tipping generously. Some people may only interact with one or two Jews in their entire lifetime, he said. We need to do our part to ensure that those touch points dont advance stereotypes.

Antisemitism is alive and well.

While Jewish Americans overall have relatively high incomes compared to other groups half live in households making at least $100,000, compared to 19% of US adults they span the economic spectrum. A Pew Research Center survey released in 2021 found that a quarter of Jewish respondents had difficulty paying for medical care, their rent or mortgage, food or other bills. Roughly half of Jewish Americans said they live comfortably, the survey found, but 15% said they only have just enough to meet basic expenses. 

Religious discrimination complaints from workers to the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission are up from two decades ago. The numbers, however, only go through 2021 and the agency doesnt break out Jewish-related incidents specifically.

According to Jocelyn Samuels, vice chair of the EEOC, the commission has fielded a consistent series of allegations involving anti-Jewish discrimination over the years and she expects there was an uptick in the last two years. When you have high profile people like Ye or Nick Fuentes or Kyrie Irving making explicitly antisemitic remarks, that emboldens people to say aloud things that reflect centuries of bias and stereotype, she said. 

The ADL runs an initiative called Shine A Light that helps organizations such as J. Crew, Airbnb Inc. and the National Basketball Association to integrate antisemitism education into their trainings and to start Jewish employee resource groups. Still, most workplace diversity and inclusions trainings dont explicitly mention antisemitism, and instead broadly counsel employees to avoid religion-based harassment.

Im not aware of any organizations that directly and specifically address it, said Tracey Levy, co-founder of harassment-prevention company Impact Workplace Training. 

Levy herself just added an example of office antisemitism to her own curriculum and advises organizations to do the same. In it, a worker expresses support for a celebritys antisemitic remarks. When a coworker expresses interest in reporting it to his manager or human resources, a colleague encourages him not to saying, its best if everyone gets along.

Levy advises employees to identify antisemitic behaviors, tell their managers and see that they report it to human resources. The response should never be to ignore it, she said. 

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The big idea

Students who work while enrolled in college are about 20% less likely to complete their degrees than similar peers who dont work, a large and meaningful decrease in predicted graduation rates. Among those who do graduate, working students take an average 0.6 of a semester longer to finish. This is mainly because students who work large amounts over 15 hours a week take fewer college credits per semester.

These findings come from a new study in AERA Open, a peer-reviewed open-access journal published by the American Education Research Association.

To learn more about how work might affect a students chances of graduation, we examined 17 years of data 2001 to 2017 from the state of Tennessee. We matched college student records to employment records for about 600,000 students. We compared working students with those who did not work but were otherwise similar in terms of family income, high school GPA, location and demographic characteristics. We also looked at college progress for students who worked during some semesters but not in others, to see whether they were more successful in completing their classes in semesters when they did not work.

Ultimately, we found that working students signed up for about one less credit on average per semester than students who dont work. This is likely because they had less time available for classes. Students who worked were every bit as successful in their classes after signing up, with similar course completion rates and similar GPAs. But because they signed up for fewer courses, their progression through college was slower, and they were less likely to graduate.

Notably, we did not see a decrease in graduation rates among students who worked smaller amounts, especially less than eight hours per week. These students signed up for similar numbers of credits as their nonworking classmates, and they completed their degrees at similar rates. This suggests that smaller amounts of work may not affect a students progress toward graduation.

Why it matters

Working while in college is very common, especially with the rising price of college tuition and the burden of student loan debt.

Recent estimates show that 43% of full-time students and 81% of part-time students work while enrolled in college. In Tennessee, we found that working is especially common among community college students, first-generation students and students returning to college as adults.

With so many students trying to juggle work and school, colleges and policymakers could take more steps to support working students and help them meet their needs.

If working students take longer to complete college, policymakers could extend access to financial aid for longer periods if needed. For example, students can access federal Pell Grants for only 12 semesters. This may leave some students without an important source of aid if their work causes them to take longer to finish their degree.

Students should be aware of the challenges that work might pose in their college journey. Work may be crucial for paying bills and creating opportunities for professional development. However, when students work 15 hours or more, they could have a more difficult time earning a college degree, which can ultimately enable a person to get a higher-paying job in the future.

What still isnt known

One important question is whether certain jobs may work better for college students than others. Some research suggests on-campus jobs might be more convenient and help keep students focused on their classes. Students working in a job related to their major might find real-world connections between their jobs and classes like a nursing student working in a hospital. Given that work is a necessity for many students, educators can do more to guide students to jobs that might work best for their college success.

Walter G. Ecton is Assistant Professor of Education Policy, Florida State University; Carolyn Heinrich, Professor of Public Policy, Education and Economics, Vanderbilt University, and Celeste K. Carruthers is Associate Professor of Economics, University of Tennessee.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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The unrelenting series of storms and high winds that have been battering Northern California since late December arent showing any signs of slowing down. Forecasters are warning that the cyclone off the West Coast will bring another round of heavy rains and wind gusts to the area today.

So far, roughly 100,000 people have been evacuated from their homes, or were under evacuation orders/warnings, and at least 17 people have been killed. The latest storm will be the sixth in the ongoing atmospheric river, a meteorological event that is akin to a river in the sky, dumping huge amounts of rain in a certain area. Calif. Governor Gavin Newsom said the storms are expected to last through Jan. 18, with at least three more storms likely to hit.

The good news for the state is the incoming storm is expected to hit north of the areas that have been hardest hit so far.

An enormous cyclone rotating well off the West Coast will bring the next round of heavy precipitation and gusty winds today, this time targeting northern California, the National Weather Service warned. Unlike the recent atmospheric river events, this upcoming event is forecast to impact areas farther north from northern California.

The storms are expected to bring a few inches of rain to the area.

Residents in Central California will welcome the brief respite. The near constant rain has brought rain totals in the past few weeks to as much as 600% above their average amounts. Creeks and rivers are already swollen and the threat of several more storms has residents concerned.

In Los Angeles, sinkholes are swallowing cars and mudslides have been seen. Some familiar roads, like the 101, have been flooded and are not drivable either. Forecasters in Sacramento have warned of waves reaching as much as 23 feet high.

The storms hitting California are being caused by a shift in the jet stream. Normally, these would be funneled more to the Pacific Northwest, but as it has moved south, it has resulted in this flooding.

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There are many different types of personal loans available to cover lifes significant expenses or purchases. The most common options include unsecured personal loans, which do not require providing any collateral, and secured personal loans, which are backed by an asset such as a car or a home.

Peer-to-peer (P2P) loans, which allow individuals to borrow money without relying on a conventional financial institution, are perhaps a less well-known option. These loans are made by investors and can offer many benefits, including being easier to qualify for and more flexible in terms of how the proceeds can be used.

What is a peer-to-peer loan? 

A P2P loan is a loan made by one or more investors to individual borrowers. These transactions are typically facilitated through online platforms rather than traditional banks. Some of the best-known P2P platforms currently operating include Kiva, LendingClub, Upstart, and Prosper.

This type of unconventional loan dates back to about 2005 when a fintech named Zopa launched whats considered to be the first P2P lending model, according to the industry website, BeyondP2P. Prosper and LendingClub followed shortly after.

Over the years, some of the P2P platforms have evolved their lending model to include more than just individual investors.

As Kivas P2P lending platform has grown and proven effective, weve scaled our investing activities to go beyond P2P lending alone and include funding from institutional investors and high net worth individuals through Kiva Capital, our asset manager that supports underserved communities, Kathy Guis, a vice president with Kiva, a non-profit that allows people to lend money to others. 

How peer-to-peer loans work 

Peer-to-peer loan agreements between borrowers and lenders are facilitated and enabled by an intermediary such as a fintech platform. These platforms process applications and move them through underwriting, collect funds from the investor lenders and then provide the money to selected borrowers. 

These same intermediary companies will also collect the repayments and distribute the proceeds to investors, says Michael Sullivan, personal financial consultant with the non-profit debt management and credit counseling agency, Take Charge America.

One of the major attractions of P2P loans is that the proceeds can be used for pretty much anything, including home improvement, debt consolidation, and other major expenses. The uses for a P2P loan can even include paying for the cost of office supplies for a new business startup or even to support traditionally overlooked or marginalized borrowers. 

Kivas P2P loans most often support people who the traditional financial sector too often fails to reach, particularly women, refugees and displaced populations, small farmers, and historically underserved minorities here in the US, says Guis. 

Nearly any type of loan request is potentially fundable if the investment is attractive to a particular lender.

How to apply for a peer-to-peer loan

The process of applying for a P2P loan is fairly straightforward and not all that unlike applying for other types of lending or even lines of credit.

The entire process is typically online and simple, says Sullivan. It often mirrors applying for a store credit card.

1. Research the options

The first step when applying for any type of borrowing should be to research your options and ensure youre getting the most competitive rate and loan terms possible.

As with any financial transaction, the first consideration for a borrower is cost. Some lenders offer terms that include fees in the payments, but many require upfront fees of 1% to 8% or even more, says Sullivan.

Its also important to make sure youre working with a reputable lender. To ensure this is the case, research customer reviews for a lender or look for their profile or rating on the Better Business Bureau (BBB) website.

2. Apply for pre-approval 

Once youve identified a few P2P lenders youre interested in working with, you can seek pre-approval. This step would be followed by completing a full application with the specific P2P lending platform youd like to move forward with. 

Submitting a full application can take anywhere from 20 to 30 minutes and typically involves providing various financial details, including income documentation, along with a breakdown of your monthly debt payments. 

If youre seeking P2P funding for business-related needs, you will likely be required to provide additional information. If you need a P2P loan to start a business, then a detailed, forward-thinking business plan will make your company and loan application stronger, says Guis. You should also start thinking about your cash flows and how you would repay a loan if you get one.

3. Wait for investor funding offers 

Once your application is approved, there may be a waiting period while potential investors review your request and decide whether they want to take part in funding the loan. This may be followed by the applicant being provided with various lending offers from investors to review. The applicant can then select one of the options to move forward with.

4. Receive proceeds

Once the loan has been funded, the proceeds will be electronically transferred to an account that you designate.

Fees associated with P2P loans 

As with any type of loan, there may be fees associated with P2P borrowing, and these should be figured into your repayment budget. Some P2P loans include origination fees, and these can be as high as 8% of the loan amount.

Origination fees are substantial for most peer-to-peer loans since they represent the bulk of the companys income, says Sullivan. Interest rates are also typically higher than most traditional loans in order to provide motivation for the lenders to accept the risk.

However, not all P2P platforms charge borrowers a fee. Some dont charge any fees for domestic borrowers.

Pros and cons of peer-to-peer loans 

As with any type of loan, there are benefits and drawbacks to consider before proceeding, including fees, repayment terms, interest rates, and more.

Pros: 

  • May be easier to obtain approval: Because P2P lenders take more than simply ones credit profile or income into consideration, these loans can be easier to obtain, even if you have a low credit score. P2P loans have provided a valuable option for typically underserved populations.
  • More flexibility with how funds are used: P2P loans can be used for nearly any purpose, including helping to cover the costs associated with a small business and even small farming operations.

Con: 

  • Approval and funding process can take longer: Because these loans are made by individual or institutional investors rather than traditional banks, the timeline between approval, funding, and deposit of proceeds into your account can take somewhat longer than other types of loans.
  • Not widely available: Though this style of loan was established years ago, theres still only a handful of platforms offering them.
  • Higher fees: Some P2P lenders may charge origination fees as high as 8% of the loan amount. Though this is not the case with all. Some P2P loans dont have any fees at all.

The takeaway 

P2P loans offer a valuable funding alternative for significant expenses, particularly for individuals who may have trouble qualifying for traditional loans. These types of loans take far more into consideration than simply your credit score. But a P2P loan may not be the best choice if you need cash quickly or youre concerned about paying steep origination fees.

Because shortages, delays and bottlenecks can hurt their bottom line, many companies that didnt go bust during the pandemic have been rethinking their supply chains and implementing changes to make them more resilient.

As a supply chain expert, I have observed three major shifts in how companies manage their supply chains changes that will significantly affect consumers and businesses alike.

1. Bringing supply chains home

One of the main downsides of having supply chains that span the globe is that they are more vulnerable to problems outside of a companys control, such as an earthquake that strikes a key supplier or a citywide lockdown that shuts down factories.

Thats why companies in every industry have been working to relocate suppliers and production facilities closer to home or geographically spreading them out so that theyre not so dependent on one country or region. The goal is to ensure they can withstand disruptions and maintain business continuity.

The pace of reshoring the process of shifting production and manufacturing to domestic locations from overseas factories has surged in recent years. Over 60% of European and U.S. manufacturing companies expect to reshore part of their Asia production in the next three years, according to a survey conducted in early 2022.

A more recent survey found that U.S. transport and manufacturing reshored about 350,000 jobs in 2022, up 25% from the previous year.

This trend not only has support from government subsidies but retailers as well. Walmart, one of the worlds biggest retailers, has committed to help its suppliers reshore by increasing its purchases of U.S.-made products by US$350 billion over the next decade. In the U.K., a survey of 750 small businesses found that 2 in 5 are considering switching to domestic manufacturers to avoid COVID-19 disruptions and high shipping costs.

At the same time, other companies are trying to diversify their sources of supply, often away from China, which until recently was regularly locking down whole cities to maintain its now-lapsed zero COVID-19 policy. India and Vietnam are popular destinations.

U.S.-based Apple, for example, frustrated by product delays in China, where 98% of its iPhones are made, recently started producing models in India. In addition, Foxconn, its largest supplier, agreed to expand production in Vietnam. Overall, U.S. manufacturing orders from China are down 21% since August 2022.

In Europe, carmaker Volvo announced in July plans to open its first European factory in 60 years in Slovakia. And leaders of the U.S., Mexico and Canada are meeting to discuss ways to encourage more investment in the region, which may result in more reshoring.

2. Investing in more technology

One of the biggest issues when the COVID-19 pandemic began was that companies often didnt know what was going on with their suppliers because of poor technology. For example, prior to the pandemic, over 50% of companies didnt communicate with or know the locations of all their suppliers, making it difficult to anticipate shortages.

Companies have since learned, if they didnt already know, that being able to see what is happening along their supply chains is critical to avoiding and adapting to disruptions. And modern digital technologies are key to making this happen.

This includes everything from state-of-the-art software to better communicate with suppliers to cloud computing for efficient data storage, artificial intelligence tools to make better decisions and robotics for automating processes. Implementing these new technologies is the biggest global corporate priority for 2022, according to strategic consultancy the Hackett Group.

3. From just-in-time to just-in-case

One of the great supply chain advancements in recent decades is a Japanese management philosophy known as just-in-time.

While the essence of the philosophy is eliminating waste, businesses reduced just-in-time to the idea of having low or even zero inventory. That meant carrying as little stuff in warehouses as possible to minimize storage costs, maximize efficiencies and yield higher profits. As long as there were no disruptions, the system worked.

However, just-in-time made businesses vulnerable to even small disruptions. Companies super-lean supply chains meant the disruptions caused by the pandemic and pretty much anything else were amplified considerably, making even a hiccup potentially cascade into a major problem.

Companies now fearful of shortages are moving toward carrying more inventory. Since the pandemic began, many have been shifting from just-in-time to a just in case model. While having more inventory will make it less likely companies will experience shortages, its also more costly because it can lead to a lot of excess stock and products becoming obsolete before theyre sold.

But this trend, like the others, is unlikely to change anytime soon despite the elevated costs theyll incur. That is, companies learned that the cost of empty shelves was higher than the cost of some inefficiency. In most cases, these costs will be passed on to consumers in terms of higher prices which may be bad news for consumers tired of inflation.

This article is part of Global Economy 2023, our series about the challenges facing the world in the year ahead. You might also like our Global Economy Newsletter, which you can subscribe to here.

Nada R. Sanders is Distinguished Professor of Supply Chain Management, Northeastern University.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

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The Mega Millions prize has grown again to an estimated $1.35 billion after there was no winner of the lotterys latest giant jackpot.

The numbers drawn late Tuesday night were: 7, 13, 14, 15, 18 and gold Mega Ball 9.

The new jackpot drawing on Friday night will be another milestone in the game, Mega Millions said in a statement early Wednesday.

Now at $1.35 billion, the Mega Millions jackpot is moving up and making history as the second highest Mega Millions jackpot ever, Pat McDonald, Ohio lottery director and lead director of the Mega Millions Consortium, said in the statement.

The only Mega Millions jackpot larger than Fridays prize is the $1.53 billion won in South Carolina in 2018, Mega Millions said.

The largest jackpot in the U.S. to date was a $2.04 billion Powerball won by a single ticket in California in November.

The estimated $1.35 billion jackpot in the next drawing would only be distributed to a winner who chooses an annuity paid over 29 years. Nearly all grand prize winners opt to take a cash payout, which for Friday nights drawing is an estimated $707.9 million.

There have been 25 drawings over three months since the last time a player matched all six numbers and claimed the jackpot.

Despite the games long odds of 1 in 302.6 million, players continue to purchase tickets as the size of the grand prize grows.

Mega Millions is played in 45 states as well as in Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

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