Bloomberg Japan’s aging and shrinking population is causing labor shortages that should be helping workers win higher pay. But it’s not working out that way, in part because of low productivity in the areas of the greatest shortage, according to economists including Hideo Kumano at Dai-ichi Life Research Institute in Tokyo. Labor intensive sectors like hotels, restaurants and elderly …

  Brussels / AFP EU and US consumer watchdogs announced they are filing complaints against a clutch of smart toys that can “spy” on children and their homes, for allegedly breaching privacy and data protection laws. The complaints target smart toys My Friend Cayla, i-QUE Intelligent Robot and Hello Barbie, according to the European Consumer Organisation BEUC and US groups …

  Bloomberg A plastic based on soft contact-lens technology may solve some of the biggest challenges facing electric vehicles by letting them recharge in seconds and travel from London to Edinburgh without stopping, scientists say. Researchers at the University of Surrey developed a polymer that may dramatically boost the performance of supercapacitors, lightweight electronic components that store and distribute high …