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Business & Economics

Updates every hour. Last Updated: 20-Oct-2026 20:16 ET (21-Oct-2026 00:16 GMT/UTC)

Nearly half of intoxicating hemp posts on Instagram use youth-oriented marketing; Just 2.5% carry warnings

Public Health Institute
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Brands selling intoxicating hemp products such as Delta-8 THC are using memes, cartoons and pop-culture references to market on Instagram while rarely warning about health risks or age limits, according to a new study in the journal Addiction. Nearly half of posts included youth-oriented content. Recreational marketing was widespread. Safety information was rare. Appeals varied by product type. Use of intoxicating hemp products has grown in the United States in recent years, alongside reported poisonings, emergency department visits and psychotic episodes. The study authors note that largely underregulated social media marketing may be contributing to that growth. The findings come at a pivotal moment for federal policy.

Journal: Addiction

New startup Surzen Biotherapeutics aims to innovate pain management

Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) Graduate University
Business Announcement

By targeting opioid receptor pathways differently compared to traditional approaches, Surzen Biotherapeutics, a new startup from the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST), plans to develop effective pain relief without the severe side effects.

Rotman School Professor among the world’s leading executive coaches

University of Toronto, Rotman School of Management
Grant and Award Announcement

Maja Djikic, an associate professor of organizational behaviour and human resource management at the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management, has been named to the Thinkers50 2026 Coaches50 list of the world’s leading executive coaches.

The hidden health cost of dollar store groceries

University of California - Riverside
Peer-Reviewed Publication

New UC Riverside research shows a link between dollar store food quality and higher rates of obesity, high blood pressure, cholesterol, and type 2 diabetes.

Journal: BMC Public Health

Study on impact of changes to information reporting on gig workers’ behavior uncovers unreported income

Carnegie Mellon University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

In a new study, researchers explored what happened when the reporting threshold for many gig workers suddenly rose from $600 to $20,000.

Journal: Journal of Public Economics

How workplace conflict expression shapes team performance

Carnegie Mellon University
Peer-Reviewed Publication

In a recent paper, researchers developed a new measure of how conflict is expressed among workers that highlights how the ways individuals voice their dissent vary in terms of their oppositional intensity and directness.

Journal: Small Group Research

How 35% of US employees are left on the margins

Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Book Announcement

MIT economist Paul Osterman’s book, “Disposable Workers: The Transformation of Employment,” examines the wide range of workers with no prospects of promotion, or in short-term, part-time, or freelance roles, who now make up 35 percent of the U.S. workforce.

Digital farmer networks boost collective bargaining power in Uganda - but don't close the gender gap

The Alliance of Bioversity International and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture
Peer-Reviewed Publication

A study of 653 Ugandan common bean farmers finds that belonging to a digital market-linkage network significantly increases farmers' ability to act collectively, especially in group marketing, but this boost in "collective agency" is not shared equally between men and women.

Across both networked and non-networked farmer groups, men consistently reported greater confidence in taking on leadership roles and higher rates of collective marketing than women; network membership did not close this gap and, on some measures, appeared to widen it.

While network membership improved collective agency overall and was positively associated with women's agency, these gains were insufficient to eliminate underlying gender inequalities in leadership and participation.

The researchers conclude that market-access programs alone cannot deliver gender equality in agriculture, a finding that lands directly in 2026, the UN-designated International Year of the Woman Farmer, which is calling for this kind of deliberate, gender-transformative action.

Journal: Food and Energy Security

Q&A: How does public sentiment on the economy affect hedge fund returns?

Penn State
Peer-Reviewed Publication

Timothy Simin, professor of finance in Penn State's Smeal College of Business, discussed the value of newer economic sentiment measures and what they reveal about both hedge funds and the risks — and potential rewards — involved in betting against public perception.

Journal: Journal of Banking & Finance

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