Colleges should encourage — not suppress — a diversity of viewpoints

  A specter is haunting academia, the specter of specters — ghosts, goblins and “cultural appropriation” through insensitive Halloween costumes. Institutions of higher education are engaged in the low comedy of avoiding the agonies of Yale. Last October, the university was rocked to its 315-year-old foundations by the wife of a residential college master (a title subsequently expunged from Yale’s ...

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Donald Trump should be more like Richard Nixon

  At the first presidential debate, Donald Trump said he would “absolutely” accept the outcome of the election as the will of the people. But that was before poor debate reviews rolled in and boasts of sexual assault surfaced, sending his campaign into a tailspin. Trump has since backtracked, claiming that the election might be stolen from him. And if ...

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Greening of urbanization process crucial to growth

Urbanization has contributed hugely to economic and social development. Cities today represent 80% of global GDP. Urban areas have created livelihood avenues and made societies stronger. However, rapid urbanization has brought in its wake a host of formidable challenges. Some climate change and environmental problems are very urban-specific. Around 70% of the global population will be urban in the next ...

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Global productivity gains may have slowed for good

  Thomas Malthus was wrong for one simple reason. Humans have survived his 1798 forecast that growing populations wouldn’t be able to feed themselves because innovation and productivity gains allowed them to produce more and more with the same amount of labour and capital: Irrigation, fertilizers, higher-yielding plant species and mechanization have enabled farmers to grow 5 to 6 times ...

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The ECB can’t afford to risk a taper tantrum

  With inflation in the euro zone starting to show signs of life, European Central Bank watchers are beginning to speculate about when quantitative easing might taper off. Germany’s Bundesbank, which has been uncomfortable with the bond-buying program from the get-go, is likely to be a leading advocate of scaling back purchases. But there are significant risks to moving too ...

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China is poised to win most if the US withdraws

  Both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have made clear, to varying degrees, that they’re suspicious of big free-trade agreements. Trump has gone further and questioned some of America’s most durable and valuable relationships with other nations. While some of this can be dismissed as campaign rhetoric, the consequences of such talk are far-reaching. At a time of major economic ...

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SABIC profit boosts Saudi, Qatar hit by weak earnings

  Reuters Saudi Basic Industries (SABIC) helped lift Riyadh’s stock market on Wednesday after it reported a third-quarter net profit at the top end of forecasts, but a loss at Qatar’s third- largest bank dragged that market lower. Egypt slid for a fourth straight session. Riyadh’s stock index rebounded 1.1 percent, ending three days of declines and trimming its loss ...

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World stocks steady amid firm Chinese growth, earnings

  TOKYO / AP Global stock markets were steady Wednesday after China reported its economy expanded at a firm pace in the July-September quarter and investors awaited more U.S. corporate earnings reports. KEEPING SCORE: Germany’s DAX edged down 0.1 percent to 10,616 and the FTSE 100 in Britain lost 0.2 percent to 6,989. France’s CAC 40 was flat at 4,507. ...

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Google’s Pixel not much new, but still a standout

  NEW YORK / AP Google’s ambitious new smartphone, the Pixel, doesn’t offer a lot that’s new. Yet it’s still one of the best out there. Google achieves that by pulling together the best features from Apple, Samsung and other phone makers and offering them at prices comparable to iPhones — starting at about $650 for the regular, 5-inch model ...

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Apple gets ready to end Mac update drought

  Bloomberg Apple Inc.’s long drought of Mac updates is soon coming to an end ahead of the important holiday sales period. After launching new iPhones and Apple Watches last month, the Cupertino, California-based technology company is turning its attention to its oldest product category. It currently plans to announce the Mac updates at an event on Oct. 27, according ...

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