Category: Tools and Information

GSK boss says US is the best country to invest in | BBC News

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The US is the best place for a business to invest, the boss of one of the UK’s biggest pharmaceutical companies has said.

Dame Emma Walmsley, chief executive of vaccines and medicines giant GSK, said it will invest $30bn (£23bn) in the US by 2030.

It comes as other major drug makers have pulled UK projects worth billions after years of frustration on NHS drug budgets and pressure from President Donald Trump to set up production in the US.

However, Dame Emma, who will leave GSK in January after eight years in charge, welcomed a new deal which will see the NHS pay more to help secure zero tariffs on shipping UK pharmaceuticals to America.

Speaking to the BBC from the firm’s central London headquarters, Dame Emma said she would not “shy away” from GSK’s investment plans for the US, where it makes more than half of its turnover.

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The Swiss city that lets you pay for most things with Bitcoin | BBC News

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In a McDonald’s by a lake surrounded by mountains, in the centre of the Swiss city of Lugano, a customer orders coffee.

“Can I pay with bitcoin?” he asks, and the person behind the counter holds out what looks like a credit card payment terminal.

It is, in fact, a machine for paying with cryptocurrency. The equipment has been distributed free to local retail businesses by the city council.

The buyer pays by contactless, from the Bitcoin wallet on his mobile phone. The bill comes to 0.00008629, which is roughly $8.80 (£6.60).

Few people who have bought Bitcoin would probably think about using it to purchase actual things in shops. It is instead generally seen as an investment, a bet on its value going up.

But in Lugano, in the Italian-speaking part of Switzerland, it’s a different story.

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Three in 10 US teens use AI chatbots every day, but safety concerns are growing | TechCrunch

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The Pew Research Center released a study on Tuesday that shows how young people are using both social media and AI chatbots.

Teen internet safety has remained a global hot topic, with Australia planning to enforce a social media ban for under-16s starting on Wednesday. The impact of social media on teen mental health has been extensively debated — some studies show how online communities can improve mental health, while other research shows the adverse effects of doomscrolling or spending too much time online. The U.S. surgeon general even called for social media platforms to put warning labels on their products last year.

Pew found that 97% of teens use the internet daily, with about 40% of respondents saying they are “almost constantly online.” While this marks a decrease from last year’s survey (46%), it’s significantly higher than the results from a decade ago, when 24% of teens said they were online almost constantly.

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7 tips to get the best sound quality out of your Samsung TV | Mashable

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Samsung is undoubtedly one of the best TV brands out there. It sells a variety of budget, mid-range, and luxury models that deliver excellent performance across multiple verticals. These include design, low-latency gaming, picture quality, and smart home integration. One area that doesn’t receive much attention is sound.

The average consumer will be satisfied with their TV’s default sound settings. Those who value detail and nuance — not so much. Don’t get me wrong now. Samsung TVs are fine for enjoying music performances, movies, and video games. But many critics agree that their sound quality could be improved. Well, let’s change that.

Whether you already own a Samsung TV or plan to buy one, know that you can tweak the audio output on these devices for optimal listening. Numerous upscaling sound features are sitting on the backend waiting to be discovered. You just need to know what they are and where to find them. We assembled this guide to help you get started.

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When it makes sense to help your adult kids financially — and when it doesn’t | CNN Business

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Spending the holidays with your adult children and the grandkids?

If so, their futures may be on your mind, especially if you sense – or they just flat-out say – they’re not flush enough to buy a home, put their own kids through school, or pay off big debts they’ve acquired.

As a parent, you may wonder if you should help them or if it makes more sense to stay out of it and leave them money after you die, if that’s an option.

To figure out what is right for you, here are four questions to consider:

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Are biodegradable plastics really worth the hype? | Live Science

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We constantly see images of unsightly plastic pollution — rivers clogged with floating rafts of debris so dense you can’t see the water, beaches piled with plastic trash rendering them unfit for even walking on, plastic bags fluttering from roadside vegetation. Aesthetics alone make a compelling case that something must be done.

But unsightliness is the least of many problems with plastic pollution.

In a paper published July 2025 in the journal Nature, scientists presented an inventory of 16,325 known plastic chemicals and identified more than 4,200 as chemicals of concern — meaning they’re toxic, do not naturally break down in the environment, or accumulate in organisms. Released throughout the plastic life cycle, these chemicals constantly expose people and environments, often with serious consequences.

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Businesses Are Collecting Data. How Are They Using It? | Business News Daily

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Modern businesses run on data. Companies regularly capture, store, and analyze large amounts of quantitative and qualitative data on consumer behavior, to which they can apply predictive analytics to make better strategic decisions. Some companies have built an entire business model around consumer data, whether they sell personal information to a third party or create targeted ads to promote their products and services. Here’s a look at some of the ways companies capture consumer data, what they do with that information, and how you can use the same techniques for your own business purposes.

Types of consumer data businesses collect

The consumer data that businesses collect break down into four categories:

  1. Personal data. This category includes personally identifiable information such as Social Security numbers, date of birth, and gender, as well as non-personally identifiable information like browser fingerprints, IP addresses, web browser cookies, and device IDs (which both your laptop and mobile device have).
  2. Engagement data. This type of data details how consumers interact with a business’s website, mobile apps, text messages, social media pages, emails, paid ads, and customer service routes.
  3. Behavioral data. This category encompasses transactional details such as purchase histories, browsing patterns, product usage information (e.g., repeated actions), session recordings, and qualitative data (e.g., mouse movement information and heat mapping).
  4. Attitudinal data. This data type includes metrics on customer satisfaction, purchase criteria, product desirability, brand perception, and customer feedback scores.

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Direct Costs vs. Indirect Costs: What’s the Difference? | Business News Daily

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As the owner of a startup or small business, understanding the distinction between direct and indirect costs is essential when pricing your products or services. When you know the true costs involved in producing and providing your goods or services, you can price them competitively and accurately. Additionally, many costs are tax-deductible according to current IRS guidance, so properly tracking both direct and indirect costs can help maximize your deductions.

What are direct costs?

Direct costs are expenses that a company can easily trace to a specific “cost object,” which may be a product, department, or project. Examples include software, equipment, and raw materials. Direct labor is also included, as long as it relates to a product, department, or project.

For example, when an employee is hired for a project either exclusively or for a set number of hours, their labor is a direct cost. If your company develops software and needs specific assets, such as purchased frameworks or development applications, those are direct costs.

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Nvidia forecasts fourth-quarter revenue above estimates | Fast Company

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Nvidia forecast fourth-quarter revenue above Wall Street estimates on Wednesday, betting on booming demand for its AI chips from cloud providers against the backdrop of widespread concerns of an artificial intelligence bubble.

The results from the AI chip leader mark a defining moment for Wall Street, as global markets looked to the chip designer to determine if investing billions of dollars in AI infrastructure expansion had resulted in towering valuations that potentially outpaced fundamentals.

The world’s most valuable company expects fiscal fourth-quarter sales of $65 billion, plus or minus 2%, compared with analysts’ average estimate of $61.66 billion, according to data compiled by the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG).

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How to Undersell and Overdeliver | AllBusiness.com

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We’ve all met them. The person who tells you they’ve found the only marketing firm worth hiring, developed the greatest product ever made, or bought the best (fill in the blank!) They speak in absolutes and hyperbole. They radiate certainty. And yet, instead of convincing us, their words plant seeds of doubt.

Why? Because the moment you speak in absolutes, most people stop believing you. The higher and more definitive the claim, the more it feels like an overreach. Overpromising—even with good intentions—almost always backfires.

The smarter, quieter alternative is to undersell and overdeliver. It’s a strategy rooted in humility, realistic self-awareness, and one often-overlooked skill: being approachable.

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