By any measure, Shanghai is one of the world's biggest cities. It's home to more than 24 million people. Its subway system is the longest ever built, extending to its rural limits. Crowds are so thick that burly "shovers" get paid to help pack the trains. Now the local government is saying enough is enough: Documents released this week reveal that Shanghai intends to admit a mere 800,000 new residents over the next 24 years, on its way to becoming an "excellent global city." Housing in Shanghai and Beijing has become so expensive that non-wealthy residents have been pushed to the furthest reaches of the suburbs, where commuters often face extended waits just to enter a subway station -- let alone actually get on a train. The result is a large labor force that can't be put to work by employers, largely defeating the purpose of urbanization.
How Big Can China's Cities Get? - Bloomberg View
This is the “health halo” that has surrounded the alcohol industry for decades, allowing it to operate under the guise of being medically beneficial, and avoid such scrutiny like the tobacco industry faced in the 90s. However, in January, the United Kingdom’s Chief Medical Officer Sally Davies said, “there is no safe level of drinking,” in a move aimed at tightening recommended alcohol use. The U.K. has lowered the threshold for what is deemed moderate alcohol use, at least for men, from 21 “units” down to 14. Women already were recommended 14 units, and guidelines did not change for them. Mark Bellis, a public health official in Wales, said new science, being able to effectively isolate alcohol’s effects from other factors like diet and exercise, had shown there is a correlation between “cancer and alcohol,” The Wall Street Journal reports. The alcohol industry is planning on fighting back against these new claims. “We can’t let them gain traction,” Beer Institute President Jim McGreevy said in an April conference about alcohol critics.
World Health Agencies Deny Decades-Old Science Alcohol | The Daily Caller
When Rodrigo Duterte, the Philippines' president, took office in June, he announced a sweeping crackdown on drug trafficking in the island nation. In the seven weeks since, nearly 1,800 suspected drug dealers have been killed. Under Duterte, 712 drug suspects had been killed in police operations since July 1, while 1,067 killings were carried out by vigilante groups during the same time frame, National Police Chief Ronald dela Rosa, told a Philippines Senate committee on Monday, according to The New York Times.... Approximately 600,000 suspected drug dealers or users have surrendered to the police since Duterte's drug crackdown began, Philippines' authorities said, according to The Times.
Philippines' Duterte's drug war has killed nearly 1,800 people - Business Insider
Much of the plastic packaging we see in the grocery store can be recycled, from egg containers, to milk jugs, to butter tubs. But what about that thin plastic film stretched around wedges of manchego in the cheese bin or the 16-ounce rib-eye in the chiller case? It turns out that kind of plastic is tougher to recycle and might even be adding harmful chemicals to your food. Oh, and it’s not even good at doing what it’s supposed to do: prevent food spoilage. Luckily, researchers are investigating alternative forms of food packaging—the kind you can eat.
Milk, Not Plastic, Will Protect Food in the Future - Bloomberg
Hedge fund managers seem to be waiting for the world to change. It's well known at this point that these funds are having a tough time of it. They've returned about 3% this year on average, according to Goldman Sachs, while the S&P 500 is up by about 7%.