The financial industry has undergone several changes in recent years: the emergence of new technologies, the entry of fintechs, and the transition from a physical branch- based business model to an increasing reliance on digital services. These trends can foster competition and the democratization of financial services. In our recent working paper, we investigate how the … Read more
What fresh apocalypse is this? In a world already acutely attuned to end-times, it’s increasingly hard to keep track of all the fictional dystopias that books and movies and TV shows seem so eager to throw at us like Mardi Gras beads. (You get a plague! You get a plague!) But Armageddon, of course, is … Read more
To strip, perchance to dream; such were the humble hopes of Channing Tatum’s “Magic” Mike Lane when this all began. And what the first film delivered back in 2012 was a kind of movie magic: a scrappy, scampish novelty about Florida men who take their pants off for a living, delivered with loose-limbed auteur style … Read more
It is probably not great news for your project if you spend half the press tour defending your lack of red-carpet chemistry with your co-star. The carpet may be kinder, though, or at least mercifully briefer, than actually sitting through Your Place or Mine, an experience that often feels like watching two movie stars try … Read more
This review initially ran out of the Sundance Film Festival in February 2021. CODA will be released Aug. 13 in theaters and on Apple TV+. The Sundance Film Festival is still often a place for small unpolished gems. But CODA, which premiered there on Thursday night, is the kind of movie that seems to arrive … Read more
Movies and video games have changed a lot since the last time Mario and Luigi were on the big screen. When Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo played the titular roles in 1993’s Super Mario Bros., the concept of adaptation was very loose: The idea wasn’t to replicate the experience of playing a Mario video game … Read more
Ghosted, available now on AppleTV+, is an apt name for a film given that it will haunt me forever for the ways in which it wastes its central talent. Directed by Dexter Fletcher (Bohemian Rhapsody, Rocketman), Ghosted is a fish-out-of-water action comedy in the vein of Spy (divine) and The Spy Who Dumped Me (dismal). … Read more
A second-hand pop-up store in Tokyo by casual clothing giant Uniqlo was a first for the Japanese firm, but also a sign that a local aversion to used garments may finally be fading. Uniqlo is a major player in an industry blamed for immense carbon emissions and other pollutants like microplastics. It has ridden a wave of … Read more
When it comes to thingamabobs, Disney’s got plenty, but as far as saving graces go, one tale rises to the surface. In 1989, when The Little Mermaid made its initial box office bow, it reinvigorated Disney animation and launched what has been dubbed the Disney Renaissance. It marked the studio’s first animated feature-length hit since … Read more
Eco footwear specialist Vivobarefoot has revealed what it says is a “ground-breaking collaboration” with material science specialist Balena on a 3D-printed shoe made entirely from compostable materials. They’ve unveiled a prototype trainer that they said “represents a significant leap towards sustainable and personalised footwear”. It comes after news from Puma in November that the sports giant had proved it can “successfully … Read more