SCROLL NEWS / DISCOVERY
Search headlines
Find the stories shaping the conversation.
Results for " equity " 734 found 🔀 AI-powered Shuffle
Siris to Acquire 19.1% Stake in Agfa-Gevaert
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., Sept. 28, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Siris Capital Group (together with its affiliates, “Siris”), a leading private equity ...
Dealroom.co | Trinity Hunt Partners: Dallas private equity firm building business and consumer services platforms
What's the deal?Trinity Hunt Partners is a growth-oriented priva…
AP Labs Cut as District Aims to Spread Science Time More Evenly
SOMSD pulled the extended lab period from AP STEM courses to spread science time more evenly. The board debate over equity, data and pacing.
WHO recognizes healthy, innovative cities across the Western Pacific Region
Nine Healthy City champions from across the World Health Organization (WHO) Western Pacific Region received special recognition at an awarding ceremony during the 11th Global Conference of the Alliance for Healthy Cities in Sydney, Australia.The WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific has presented the Healthy Cities Recognition Awards every two years since 2004 to celebrate innovative and impactful city-led initiatives that improve the health and well-being of urban populations.Eight cities received awards for their best practices, and one National Forum received the WHO Regional Director’s Special Award in recognition of its long-standing leadership in advancing the Healthy Cities movement.Awardees were selected through a rigorous evaluation process and recognized for demonstrating measurable, innovative and sustainable approaches to health challenges faced by cities.Remarking on the significance of the awards, Dr Huong Tran, Director of the Division of Health Promotion, Disease Prevention and Control at the Regional Office, said that, “There is no single blueprint for a healthy city. What works in one context may need to be adapted to another. But by sharing our experiences, including what worked, what was challenging, and what we learnt along the way, we can help one another move faster and further.”Award-winning cities and initiativesThis year's awards recognize outstanding city-led initiatives that have demonstrated measurable impact, innovation and sustainability in advancing health initiatives for urban populations.Baguio City (Philippines) – Data for equity: informing action, improving healthDr Donnabel Tubera-Panes, City Epidemiologist – Medical Officer IV of the Health Services Office accepted the award on behalf of Baguio City. Photo credit: Maria BoyadgisBaguio City was recognized for developing a pioneering Livability Index that provides village-level data across all 128 barangays (villages), enabling evidence-based planning and more equitable allocation of resources. By integrating community participation and institutionalizing the index within city planning and budgeting processes, the city has demonstrated how data can drive action to reduce health and social inequities.Eunpyeong-gu (Seoul, Republic of Korea) – Communities living in vulnerable situations: advancing health equity through community engagementVice Mayor Honourable Ahn Hyoung Jun accepted the award on behalf of Eunpyeong-gu. Photo credit: Maria BoyadgisEunpyeong-gu was recognized for its inclusive health equity programme supporting vulnerable populations, including isolated older adults and LGBTQI+ communities. Through peer-led community networks, social cooperatives and inclusive service design, the district has strengthened access to care, promoted social inclusion and advanced community ownership of health initiatives.Madiun City (Indonesia) – Adapting and mitigating climate-related crises: building heat resilience and preventing flood-related health risksMs Yuni Dwi Purwani, Secretary General of the National Forum for Indonesian Healthy Cities/Regencies, accepted the award on behalf of Madiun City. Photo credit: Maria BoyadgisMadiun City was recognized for its SUPERMIE (Sustainable Public Environmental Management Initiative) – a community-based environmental governance model that addresses urban flooding, climate resilience and environmental sustainability. The initiative contributed to reductions in flood-prone areas, greenhouse gas emissions, diarrhoeal disease and dengue fever, while at the same time improving food security through neighbourhood food gardens. The programme has already been replicated in 15 cities and regencies across Indonesia.Macao Special Administrative Region (China) – Protecting communities from tobacco and alcohol-related harms: tackling commercial drivers of riskDr LO Iek Long, Director of the Health Bureau, Macao SAR, China accepted the award on behalf of Macao. Photo credit: Maria BoyadgisMacao SAR was recognized for implementing a comprehensive and integrated approach to tobacco and alcohol control. Through legislation, monitoring systems, enforcement, public awareness campaigns and multisectoral partnerships, the programme has strengthened protection against major risk factors for noncommunicable diseases and established a model that is highly transferable to other urban settings.Phnom Penh Capital City (Cambodia) – Safe, active and health-enabling transport: advancing health and reducing inequities in urban mobilityH.E. Khoung Sreng, Governor of Phnom Penh Capital City accepted the award on behalf of Phnom Penh Capital City. Photo credit: Maria BoyadgisPhnom Penh received the award for its Safe School Zone Project, which combines infrastructure improvements, speed management, enforcement, education and stakeholder engagement to protect children and communities. The initiative has demonstrated measurable reductions in crashes and vehicle speeds while providing a scalable model for safer urban mobility across the country.Quezon City (Philippines) – Transforming food environments: addressing policy, market and urban design drivers of health and nutritionMs Jirah Asa M. Sideco, Chief of the Nutrition Section of the Quezon City Health Department accepted the award on behalf of Quezon City. Photo credit: Maria BoyadgisQuezon City was recognized for its public food procurement policy that promotes healthier diets through government-run institutions and feeding programmes. Supported by strong policy frameworks and monitoring systems, the initiative improves access to nutritious food for vulnerable populations while serving as a benchmark for other local governments.Samarinda City (Indonesia) – Preventing violence and promoting gender equality: transforming urban systems, norms and spaces Mrs Rinda Wahyuni, Chairperson of Samarinda Healthy City Forum accepted the award on behalf of Samarinda City. Photo credit: Maria BoyadgisSamarinda City was recognized for its multisectoral approach to preventing violence and advancing gender equality. Responding to local evidence on violence against women and children, the city has positioned violence prevention as a public health priority, bringing together health services, schools, social welfare institutions, law enforcement, civil society and community leaders to strengthen prevention, reporting, survivor-centred support and legal protection. Through inclusive policies, community engagement and sustainable city financing, Samarinda has developed a locally owned and scalable model for creating safer, more equitable and inclusive urban communities.Singapore – Age-friendly cities: transforming systems to bridge generations for a healthier tomorrowDr Tan Weng Mooi, Director, Integrated Health Promotion, accepted the award on behalf of Singapore. Photo credit: Maria BoyadgisSingapore received recognition for its Healthy Precinct Framework, which translates national healthy ageing priorities into neighbourhood-level action. The initiative integrates preventive care, social support, service coordination and age-friendly environments while actively engaging older persons, caregivers and community organizations. Its expansion across multiple precincts demonstrates its scalability and long-term sustainability.WHO Regional Director’s Special AwardNational Forum for Indonesian Healthy Cities/Regencies (Indonesia)Ms Yuni Dwi Purwani, Secretary General of the National Forum for Indonesian Healthy Cities/Regencies, accepted the award on behalf of the National Forum. Photo credit: Maria BoyadgisThe WHO Regional Director's Special Award was presented to the National Forum for Indonesian Healthy Cities/Regencies (FKKSI) in recognition of its long-standing leadership in advancing the Healthy Cities movement across Indonesia. As a national platform bringing together local governments, communities, academia and civil society, FKKSI has played a critical role in promoting collaboration, capacity-building, knowledge exchange and advocacy. Its efforts have strengthened and institutionalized healthy urban development nationwide and established a model for multisectoral engagement in the Region. Healthy Cities for allThe 2026 Healthy Cities Recognition Awards highlight how cities can lead transformative action on health by addressing climate change, inequity, ageing, nutrition, mobility, social inclusion, violence prevention and the commercial determinants of health. The recognized initiatives demonstrate that local governments, communities and partners can work together to create healthier, safer and more resilient urban environments for everyone. As urban populations continue to grow across the Western Pacific Region, WHO remains committed to supporting cities in advancing health, equity and sustainable development through the Healthy Cities approach and the Alliance for Healthy Cities. ###Note to editorsSince 2004, the WHO Healthy Cities Recognition Awards have provided a platform for cities to share innovative and effective approaches to improving health and well-being. The awards recognize achievements in areas including climate resilience, healthy ageing, health equity, gender equality, tobacco and alcohol control, urban mobility, nutrition and data-driven governance. In 2026, more than 150 submissions were received from cities and local governments across the Western Pacific Region. The titles and affiliations of awardees are presented as they were at the time the photo was taken.______________For more information, or to arrange media interviews, contact: WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific: wprocom@who.int
“Remarkable committment to global health, equity and stronger health systems” - AORTIC congratulates Dr Gevorg Tamamyan on recent recognition as WHO Director-General candidate
“Remarkable committment to global health, equity and stronger health systems” - AORTIC congratulates Dr Gevorg Tamamyan on recent recognition as WHO
Gene therapy & health equity in Sickle Cell Awareness Month
Dr. Lakiea Bailey, Executive Director of the Atlanta-headquartered Sickle Cell Community Consortium, joined us for National Sickle Cell Awareness Month to discuss breakthrough medical developments and healthcare disparities affecting sickle cell patients nationwide.
How Investors May Respond To AMC Entertainment Stock Stronger Theater Attendance
AMC Entertainment Holdings recently approved changes to its certificate of incorporation to declassify the board, shorten director terms to the next annual meeting, and remove limits on board size, while also arranging large new secured debt facilities and a US$71.75 million shelf registration tied to 25,000,000 Class A shares for an ESOP offering. The combination of a simpler, annually elected board, sizeable refinancing of secured borrowings, and equity made available for employee...
What a Documentary About Cats Taught Me About Private Equity
CBHR’s Michael Goldhaber, featured in the new documentary New York Cat Crisis, explains how private equity’s roll-up of veterinary clinics is driving up pet care costs and leaving struggling New Yorkers to abandon pets they can no longer afford to treat.
Private Equity Was Catastrophic for CT Health Care. Now It’s Coming for Public Schools
Read an op-ed by CEA President Kate Dias published in Hearst CT Newspapers.
Pioneer of China NewCo model sued in US over trade secret misuse, double-dealing
A legal feud unfolding in New York is putting a spotlight on the work of a business development veteran who is credited for pioneering one of biopharma’s hottest dealmaking mechanism: the China “NewCo” model. In a lawsuit originally filed in New York state court and recently moved to federal court, China’s Lepu Medical Technology has alleged that biopharma business development consultant Su Zhang, who was hired to help shop its GLP-1 weight-loss candidates to Western partners, engaged in corporate double-dealing and trade secret leaks. According to the complaint, while acting as Lepu’s primary dealmaking liaison for a group of obesity and metabolic disease drug candidates, Zhang was secretly double-dipping as the acting chief business officer for a direct competitor, BrightGene Pharmaceutical. “She never adequately disclosed the role, never sought Lepu’s consent, and never proposed any safeguard,” Lepu alleged in its complaint, which was filed in July after Zhang’s consulting firm, CoDevCo, sought certain transaction-based success fees from its angry customer through an arbitration process in Singapore. Lepu, the parent company of Lepu Biopharma, has asked Zhang to pay back its $500,000 retainer and disgorge all benefits she received during the alleged breaches of fiduciary duty, plus other damages and relief. The company has also requested the court grant injunctions to protect Lepu’s trade secrets. The ill-fated partnership officially kicked off in December 2024, when Lepu tapped CoDevCo as its “exclusive business development mechanism” to identify collaborators for the company’s drug candidates. According to Lepu’s complaint, Zhang personally negotiated and signed the agreement as managing director for CoDevCo, which used her home address. Before the Lepu deal, Zhang made a name following a short stint as the global head of business development for Hengrui Pharmaceuticals. It was during her tenure that Hengrui signed a landmark deal granting exclusive rights for a portfolio of GLP-1 assets to Hercules, which was at that time newly established by a group of private equity and venture capital firms. In addition to the regular upfront and milestone payments, Hengrui also gained an equity stake in Hercules, which later became Kailera Therapeutics. The Hengrui-Hercules deal opened a new paradigm, where a Chinese biopharma company spins off certain early-stage assets to investors for further development through the creation of a new company abroad. The “NewCo” model quickly came into vogue as it allows Western investors to access high-potential assets originating from China at an early stage while giving the Chinese licensors an opportunity to reap long-term benefits through equity stakes in the new firms. The NewCo model proved its value when Kailera staged a record-breaking $625 million IPO on Nasdaq this April, merely two years into the Hengrui deal. Related Kailera CEO 'knew we were in a good spot' before obesity biotech's record-breaking $625M IPO On her LinkedIn page, Zhang described her work at Hengrui as “[b]uilding team and capability from the ground up,” forming NewCo and major pharma partnerships worth billions of dollars. Lepu clearly wanted that kind of track record to help boost its own cardiometabolic portfolio, which includes a range of assets for obesity, Type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease and muscle preservation during weight loss treatment. “Lepu’s pipeline is very valuable, but only if Lepu could secure the right international partner to expand into the overseas market during the available commercial window,” the company argued in its complaint. The Chinese biotech said it had little knowledge of U.S. laws, customs or business practices in the business development field, and therefore “needed to rely entirely” on the expertise of Zhang and her team as the firm’s first engagement of a U.S.-based BD consultant. “Zhang’s dominating influence on the business development strategy is further evidenced by the fact that she personally controlled the business-development communications on behalf of Lepu with potential partners,” Lepu said in its complaint. After entering the deal, Zhang introduced Lepu to her four associates. According to Lepu’s version of events, all of them were allegedly employed at different time points to perform similar jobs at other Chinese companies that Lepu described as its competitors, while having access to Lepu’s confidential information. As such, Lepu described Zhang’s team as “a roster of individuals whose primary professional loyalty, by virtue of their concurrent full-time employment, ran to Lepu’s competitors.” As well as the specific examples set out in the case, a look at Lepu’s deals over the period suggests Zhang may have been involved in at least one transaction. During their partnership, Lepu, through its subsidiary Shanghai Minwei Biotechnology, also out-licensed its GLP-1/GIP/FGF21 agonist MWN105 to a NewCo called Sidera Bio in the fall of 2025. The deal included an upfront and near-term payment of $35 million, up to $1.01 billion in milestones, and a 9.99% stake in the Danish startup. It seems likely that Zhang facilitated the Minwei deal given that Lepu is on record as having used CoDevCo as its “exclusive business development mechanism.” The big shock for Lepu came in the form of a news article on June 25, 2025. The article, reporting on phase 2 data for BrightGene’s GLP-1/GIP receptor agonist BGM0504, identified Zhang as acting chief business officer of the Lepu rival. Blindsided by her association with BrightGene, Lepu confronted Zhang in July 2025. “Lepu was given assurances that there was nothing to be concerned about and told that Zhang would explain the matter to Lepu,” Lepu alleged in its complaint. “Zhang never did.” Lepu claimed that Zhang had the motive and opportunity to steer potential prospective partners toward BrightGene or other competitors. Later, in February 2026, one of Zhang’s associates joined BrightGene as the vice president for global business development, according to the complaint. Around the same time, Lepu sent written demand letters asking Zhang to account for her BrightGene role, identify what confidential data were shared with the rival firm, and provide any conflict-of-interest or firewall policies during the engagement. According to Lepu, neither CoDevCo nor Zhang answered the questions in their responses. Related Novo vs. KBP: How a $1.3B deal turned into a fraud accusation and an international legal fight In a motion to dismiss filed with the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of New York on Sept. 4, Zhang’s legal team argued that Lepu’s agreement was signed with CoDevCo, and that an employee of the contractor does not owe fiduciary duties to the client. In its complaint, Lepu said: “That CoDevCo was the contracting entity does not insulate Zhang from personal liability for duties she personally undertook and personally breached.” Taking the argument one step further, the defending party argued that the consulting agreement “does not create a fiduciary relationship even between CoDevCo and Lepu; instead, it identifies CoDevCo as an independent contractor retained to market Lepu’s business to potential western partners.” Although CoDevCo was Lepu’s exclusive business-development contractor, there were no terms stipulating that the consulting firm should serve only Lepu, Zhang’s lawyer noted. As to Lepu’s claims that Zhang misappropriated trade secrets, the defendant argued that Lepu authorized the use of the information so Zhang’s team could perform their service per the agreement. In a rebuttal filed on Sept. 11, Lepu’s lawyer set out why they believe the Chinese biotech satisfied New York law’s misappropriation definition by alleging that the defendant used a trade secret “in breach of a duty or through improper means.” As an alternative to dismissing the suit, the defendant suggested the action should be stayed pending outcomes from the arbitration of a separate case in Singapore. While NewCo pioneer Zhang is defending her business arrangements, momentum behind the NewCo trend has continued unabated into 2026. Through August, Chinese biotech assets have spurred 15 NewCo deals this year, according to local trade publication PharmaDJ.
AMC Entertainment Shareholders Reject Governance Changes, Back Equity Plan
AMC Entertainment (NYSE:AMC) shareholders rejected several corporate-governance amendments at the company’s 2026 annual meeting, while approving an increase in shares available under its equity incentive plan and electing three Class 3 directors. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Adam Aron said
Is metascience being co-opted?
In July, the White House released a report that argued academia is deeply dysfunctional and in need of radical reform.Science: A New Golden Age sets out a litany of problems many academics will recognise: interminable waits for grants; short-term funding rather than support for longer, more ambitious projects; ballooning administrative requirements; pressure to publish, and many more. “The scientific machine is getting bogged down,” it says. At least on the face of it, Science: A New Golden Age is a triumph for the metascience movement, a loose-knit, global group of academics, philanthropists and think tankers that want far more testing and experimentation in how we fund public research and innovation. The report tells US research funders to set up internal metascience units to do just this. But it has also set alarm bells ringing that metascience is being conveniently deployed to help justify the defunding of US universities, which US vice president JD Vance has openly labelled “the enemy.” “Just because you have an issue with your plumbing in your house doesn't mean you light the entire house on fire and burn it to the ground,” said Colette Delawalla, chief executive of Stand Up for Science, a group campaigning against what it says are attacks on scientists by the Trump administration. No one is arguing that academia doesn’t need reform, but there’s debate over how far and how fast the system should be shaken up. Does public R&D need slow and steady evidence-based adjustment, or radical new experiments?One of the key arguments in Science: A New Golden Age is that there’s not enough funding for what it calls “mid-level” science: engineering-heavy projects that require tens of millions of dollars, involve ten to a hundred people, and last around five years. Such a project might develop a brain-computer interface for people with Alzheimer's disease, for example. As such, the US National Science Foundation (NSF) has already announced $1.5 billion to set up so-called X-Labs, effectively new research organisations to pursue breakthroughs in areas such as quantum sensing and new scientific instruments. Funding divertedBut there’s a catch: this money has squeezed NSF budgets for more traditional, fundamental research grants, Science reported in June, likely meaning less cash for university-based scientists. Science: A New Golden Age also makes various swipes at universities, accusing them of extracting overheads from scientists to fund administrative bloat. “We have become dependent on a narrow set of legacy institutions,” it says. The report doesn’t mention it, but the US government is simultaneously seeking greater powers over federal funding, which would allow political appointees at funding agencies to screen or cancel research grants mid-project. The White House is also seeking to slash the NSF’s budget by more than half in 2027, although similar cuts proposed for 2026 were blocked by Congress. Convenient hookThis has worried some that the metascience agenda could be misused as a kind of smokescreen to further weaken universities. James Wilsdon, executive director of the Research on Research Institute at University College London, said that the report contains lots of “interesting ideas” and agrees that in places, academia is a “pretty broken system.” But the risk is that metascience is being deployed as a “convenient hook” to support cuts and a “political land grab” to transfer grant power from scientists to political appointees in US funding agencies.So far, the metascience agenda hasn’t been seized on by radical right parties in Europe. But Wilsdon worries it will cross the Atlantic, politicising research reform efforts and making them more difficult to carry out. The report is already making some in Europe sceptical of the entire idea. “The system is not without flaws, but the metascience discussion is not likely to improve the system but rather to generate munition to undermine it,” said Claes de Vreese, a professor of AI and society at the University of Amsterdam. Peter Thiel protégéOfficially, Science: A New Golden Age has just one named author: Michael Kratsios, the director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy and a former chief of staff to Silicon Valley mogul Peter Thiel. He also served as chief financial officer of Thiel’s Clarium Capital Management. Since the 1990s, Thiel has criticised US universities for moving away from teaching what he views as the classic works of western civilisation, and drifting towards “anti-Western zealotry.” And since 2011, he has offered two-year fellowships of $250,000 to young people to skip or drop out of university, and instead start companies or pursue scientific research. “College can be good for learning about what’s been done before, but it can also discourage you from doing something new,” according to the Thiel Fellowships website. In other areas, the Trump administration has promoted academics with a longstanding interest in metascience. For example, the head of the National Institutes of Health, Jay Bhattacharya, in 2020 co-authored a study arguing the funder backs overly conservative proposals, although he achieved wider prominence as a critic of pandemic lockdowns. Careless talk costs fundingEven before the Trump administration embraced the metascience agenda, some metascientists privately wondered whether they should be careful not to overstate dysfunctions in academia, in case this gets used as ammunition against universities. But others think being cautious with criticism is pointless. After all, last year, the Trump administration sought to cut funding from US universities on an entirely different premise: supposed antisemitism on campus. “I don't think these governments need a technical metascientific excuse to attack the universities, they will want to do so anyway,” said Will Stone, a researcher at Science Works, a new think tank advocating for a “metascience revolution” in the UK. “I think researchers should report what they find, even when the findings may be used to advance policies they disagree with,” echoed Russell Funk, a researcher at the University of Minnesota, who in 2023 co-authored a highly influential paper that argued scientific papers were becoming less disruptive over time. No justificationThat said, Funk thinks that metascientific research certainly doesn’t justify a weakening of universities. Instead, scientists need “time, resources and stability to pursue unfamiliar ideas,” he said. “Taking away those conditions works against the very goal the reforms are supposed to achieve.”The Institute for Progress, a Washington DC-based innovation policy think tank that has championed X-Labs and metascience units, also says that reforms should complement, not supplant, universities. “Unpredictable, unreliable, and reduced federal funding to researchers is destabilising to the very foundations of research and development and is bad,” said Jenn Gustetic, the institute’s director of metascience and R&D policy.Evolution or revolution?This points to a much bigger divide in the metascience community: how far and how fast should public R&D be shaken up? Does it need evolution or revolution? For example, Science: A New Golden Age says the science system relies too heavily on traditional “workhorse” project grants, the type that pay out around $250,000 a year to fund “hypothesis-driven science by small teams on tractable questions.” However, in criticising project grants, the report “decisively picks one side of a debate that is far from settled,” David Hilmer Rex, a metascientist based in Denmark, has written. In June, Pierre Azoulay, a metascientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, defended project grants, saying that the alternative of X-Labs “merits scepticism.”A-B testingOne challenge in metascience is that it’s easier to generate evidence for some types of change than others. Most straightforwardly, research funders can run A-B tests on different ways of awarding money. For example, Germany’s Volkswagen Foundation recently trialled distributed peer review, where applicants rate each other’s proposals, and measured its results against traditional review panels. Distributed peer review made quicker decisions, although awarded money to largely different ideas. However, much of the focus of the metascience movement has been on founding fast-moving and free-acting new research organisations and funders, in contrast to the alleged stodginess of mainstream academia or public innovation grants. A culture of speed and freedom are the animating principles behind Germany’s Sprind or the UK’s Advanced Research and Invention Agency (Aria).Related articlesViewpoint: it's time to experiment with how Europe funds science European researchers sound the alarm that Trump rule changes will hit cooperationHowever, while it’s possible to closely study previously successful bodies, such as the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa), for historical clues to their secret sauce, it’s impossible to guarantee in advance that the likes of Sprind or Aria will actually work as hoped. But advocates of new organisations say this inherent uncertainly shouldn’t stop us trying. “If we wait for definitive proof that something will work before we try it, I don't know where your proof is coming from,” said Stone. Trade-offsUp until now, experiments in metascience haven’t generally come with hard trade-offs over money. In the US, new ideas such as focused research organisations have often been funded by billionaire philanthropists. In Europe, new innovation agencies such as Sprind and Aria, or the Netherland’s new National Agency for Disruptive Innovation, haven’t needed explicit cuts elsewhere in the research system. But with the $1.5 billion establishment of X-Labs by the NSF, the trade-offs are becoming clearer. Some metascientists privately wonder whether a smaller pilot would have been more appropriate, given that the idea is untested. The Institute for Progress counters that the $1.5 billion X-Labs budget is spread out over a decade, so will account for less than 2% of the NSF’s annual budget. “It’s important to remember that [Darpa] was once an institutional experiment as well. Now it’s one of the most cited innovative funding models in the world,” said Gustetic.As for Europe?The US isn’t the only country placing metascience at the heart of its research strategy. Science: A New Golden Age looks admiringly at the UK, which in 2024 set up a Metascience Unit to scrutinise how it funds research. In Brussels, it’s more of a mixed picture. In 2018, the EU set up the European Innovation Council to funnel grants and equity to start-ups, although it’s sometimes criticised for awarding money too slowly. Recently, the council has started experimenting with challenges, where teams of inventors compete to overcome a technological challenge. The European Commission also wants to experiment with partially randomising grant winners, to cut down on bureaucracy. However, the Commission’s own advisers have said the EU’s own research schemes are too conventional. They want the Commission to establish a new dedicated unit to scrutinise and experiment with funding. But there’s no sign of a such unit emerging in Brussels’ plans for the next Horizon Europe programme, which from 2028 is set to distribute more than €160 billion over seven years. Sam Bogerd, director of breakthrough innovation at the Brussels-based Arq Foundation, an AI-focused think tank that also looks at metascience, says that Europe might have the opposite problem to the US: universities and basic research funding are still reasonably well supported, but there’s not enough experimentation. “We're not taking a close enough look at where this money can achieve the most, and I am worried that the good ideas around metascience will be tainted politically by their association with the Trump administration,” he said. He’s still lobbying for the Commission to set up an experimental unit. But in the meantime, the Arq Foundation plans to do its own research, and is currently hiring two metascience researchers to run the rule over how Brussels spends research funding.
JoAnn Fabrics fans seek to stitch void left by private equity with crafts co-op
US crafters are looking to build a communal network to replace the company after it was bankrupted by private equity investors in 2025
HSBC plans India equity broking return after 13 years amid IPO boom, sources say
HSBC is re-entering India's equity broking business after an absence of more than a decade, seeking to capitalise on a robust pipeline of share sales and rising demand from wealthy clients for equity market products, two people with direct knowledge of the matter said.
Nonprofit Black Health Matters No Longer Says 'Health Equity'
In a new political climate, the nonprofit revises its mission statement -- but not its mission.
Trump SBA to Extend Comment Period After Ranking Member Markey Leads Effort to Rescind SBA Policy that Reclassifies Billion-Dollar Businesses as “Small Businesses”
Trump admin policy would reclassify 114,000 larger businesses as “small” to access small business resources and win federal contracts meant for small businesses Letter (PDF) (Washington, September 23) – This week, the Small Business Administration (SBA) announced its plans to extend the deadline to submit comments on its controversial proposed rule regarding small business size standards until November 20. The Trump SBA’s announcement came shortly after Ranking Member Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), alongside 12 of his Senate colleagues, sent a letter to Administrator Kelly Loeffler demanding that the Trump SBA rescind a harmful policy that would dramatically redefine what a small business is. The Administration’s proposed policy would change the small business size standard to designate 114,000 larger companies some with annual revenue above $1 billion—as small businesses, giving these businesses access to small business resources and federal contracts typically set aside for actual small businesses. In the letter, Ranking Member Markey and the lawmakers emphasized that small businesses will be shut out of the federal contracting space as government agencies award contracts to larger businesses, causing small businesses to lose revenue, lay off workers, or close their businesses entirely. “For more than 70 years, SBA’s mission has been clear: promote and protect the interests and viability of small businesses. By proceeding with this proposed methodology and rule, SBA moves further away from its mission of facilitating healthy small business participation in the U.S. economy. We urge SBA to rescind these proposals, meet in earnest with small businesses across the country, and discuss the proposal and methodology with congressional committees of jurisdiction. SBA must be committed to developing measured increases to the size standards that do not reward large, billion-dollar companies but instead helps our small businesses survive, grow, and thrive.” The lawmakers highlighted the following points in their letter: Under the Trump SBA’s new size standards, the highest receipts-based standard would exceed $1 billion in annual revenue—more than 20 times the current $47 million maximum—and the highest employee-based standard would reach 3,600 employees—more than twice the current 1,500 employee maximum. Specific increases include an increase in size of nearly 492% for banks, 1,500% for law firms, and more than 2,051% for private equity firms. Of the 114,000 businesses that would be newly classified as small, more than 37,000 of these businesses have collectively won more than 100,000 federal contracts worth approximately $71 billion in Fiscal Year 2025 alone without a small business designation. If SBA included the awards won by these 37,000 businesses in its Fiscal Year 2025 analysis, small business contracts would have accounted for 38% of all federal contracts, instead of the 27% that SBA announced this summer. The letter was co-signed by Senators Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii), Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Christopher Coons (D-Dela.), Elissa Slotkin (D-Mich.), Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Mark Warner (D-Va.), and Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.). Ranking Member Markey is fighting to protect small businesses in Massachusetts and across the country from the Trump SBA’s harmful policies that put big businesses and billionaires over American small businesses, workers, and families. In August, Ranking Member Markey slammed the Trump SBA’s proposal to overhaul its small business size standards to benefit big businesses over small businesses. In July, Ranking Member Markey and House Small Business Committee Ranking Member Nydia M. Velázquez (D-NY-7) introduced a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to rescind the Trump administration’s policy that bans green card holders from accessing essential Small Business Administration (SBA) loans to start and grow their businesses. Also in July, Ranking Member Markey and Senator Hirono submitted a comment letter to the Small Business Administration (SBA) opposing a proposed rule change by Trump’s SBA to the 8(a) Business Development Program that would harm underserved small business owners and entrepreneurs. In June, Ranking Member Markey released a new report highlighting Trump’s drastic reduction in federal contracting dollars awarded to American small businesses. ###
Here’s What Strengthened CVS Health (CVS) in Q2
Polaris Capital Management, an investment management company, released its second-quarter 2026 investor letter for “Global Equity Strategy”. The letter can be downloaded here. Global markets delivered strong gains during the quarter, supported by an AI-driven earnings rally despite elevated interest rates, inflation concerns, and geopolitical uncertainty. Polaris Global Equity Composite (net of fees) returned 13.26% […]
NC Supreme Court candidates spar over past rulings, racial equity proposals
North Carolina’s Supreme Court currently has a 5-to-2 Republican majority, and just one of those seats will be on the ballot this November. Justice Anita Earls, a Democrat, faces former N.C. Rep. Sarah Stevens, a Republican who stepped down from the legislature earlier this year.
Platinum Equity Completes Sale of Global Environmental Services Business Urbaser to Blackstone and EQT for $6.6 Billion
Sale of Madrid-based environmental infrastructure platform follows multi-year transformation process LONDON (September 22, 2026) – Platinum Equity announced today that the sale of Urbaser to Blackstone and EQT in a transaction valued at approximately $6.6 billion (€5.6 billion) has been completed. Urbaser is a global integrated environmental infrastructure platform specialized in the collection, management and […]
Opinion: A Call for a Community Advisory Board for Data Center Business Development
"As a proactive measure, I propose that the City of Alameda form a community advisory board to set clear policies for data center- and AI-related business development to protect human safety, environmental health, and economic equity," writes Christina Liebner. {Opinion}
BDHEA Releases New Health Equity Playbook to Help Safety-Net Institutions Turn Community Needs into Actionable Solutions
/PRNewswire/ -- The Black Directors Health Equity Agenda (BDHEA), a national nonprofit dedicated to advancing health equity through healthcare governance,...
Stonepeak Announces Investment in AMPYR Distributed Energy
Equity investment to accelerate ADE’s growth across the UK and Europe
Private-equity legend David Rubenstein on owning the Baltimore Orioles, and how sports ownership became big business
The Carlyle co-founder is a billionaire and a giant name in modern finance. His new book looks at sports ownership through a different lens.
Intermountain Health ACO Ranked Among Nation’s Top Five for Medicare Savings in 2024
Intermountain Health’s accountable care organization (ACO) generated more than $67.6 million in Medicare savings through the Accountable Care Organizations Realizing Equity, Access, and Community Health, or ACO REACH, program in 2024.The results placed the ACO fifth nationally among participating organizations and marked the third consecutive ...
Trump administration gave firm with ties to ballroom donor the green light to do business with a sanctioned Russian bank
Private equity investor Konstantin Sokolov was also appointed to run a government enterprise fund.
Health Equity Is Women’s Equity: Why Access Still Depends on ZIP Code
Read Health Equity Is Women’s Equity: Why Access Still Depends on ZIP Code by YWCA for SaportaReport here.
Platinum Exits De Wave Group
Beverly Hills-based buyout shop Platinum Equity has sold a yacht and cruise outfitter to Italian private equity firm Renaissance Partners. Neither
Chelsea Stake To Clearlake
Santa Monica-based private equity firm Clearlake Capital Group has taken full control of Chelsea FC after buying Mark Walter and Todd Boehly’s minority
My Husband's Vending Machine Business Put Us $1M In Debt In 3 Years. He Drained All Our Bank Accounts, 401(k) And Home Equity
Three years ago, her husband left a stable job to start a vending machine business. Today, the couple is nearly $1 million in debt, their retirement savings are gone, their bank accounts are empty and they have virtually no equity...
Big Tech stock compensation: Why workers stay, leave, or lose equity
Big Tech workers say stock compensation can make leaving difficult, but layoffs, AI startups, and years of stock gains are changing the calculus.
As the Rich Buy Bigger Boats, Private Equity Is Investing in the Booming Marina Business
The private equity firm Blackstone now owns more marinas than anyone in the world.
Kylian Mbappe Drops Nike for On Sponsorship Deal
Kylian Mbappe ended a 20-year Nike partnership Friday to join Roger Federer-backed On, taking equity in the brand as it launches football boots in 2027.
Murphy wades into midterms, CT voter turnout: CT politics news
Plus: Connecticut's unemployment rate falls as private sector jobs grow, and Connecticut's education department puts focus on STEM equity.
Angle Health secures $600M equity financing at $2.7B valuation
The financing consists of $200 million in Series C funding and a $400 million tender offer.
Who supports policies for 'health equity'? It depends on how you're asking
Kennedy speaks at the Children's Health Defense, medical facilities under attack in Sudan, and more health news form Morning Rounds
UA to use rural health money to develop Thrive Radar, online tool expanding on work of Arkansas Health Survey
FAYETTEVILLE -- More than $750,000 received through the Arkansas Rural Health Transformation Program will be used to help communities know where health resources exists, gaps remain and investment is needed, according to the director of the Arkansas Health Equity and Access Lab.
Broadband access predicts health tracker use, UWM research suggests
As Fitbits, Apple watches and Oura Rings grow ubiquitous, UWM research suggests digital inequity doesn't allow them to reach those who could benefit most.
APPLY Appoints Adam Steingart as Global General Manager, Entertainment
APPLY, the global Agentic Customer Experience (ACx) partner backed by Interlock Equity, today announced the appointment of Adam Steingart as Global General Manager, Entertainment.
Prosper Health Raises $10M to Support Adults with Autism
Prosper Health, a virtual behavioral health provider focused on working with adults with autism, has raised about $10 million in an equity sale.
Here’s Why Sotera Health Company (SHC) Surges 25% in Q2
Broyhill Asset Management, a Charlotte-based firm, issued its second-quarter 2026 investor letter, which is available for download here. The Broyhill Equity Composite gained 8.8% in Q2, trailing the MSCI All Country World Index’s 15.1% and the MSCI ACWI Value Index’s 10.8%. For the first half, the Composite returned 2.3%, versus 11.5% for the Index. The […]
Taylor aims to rein in private equity in healthcare, restore Medicaid funding and ACA subsidies
Taylor, who was first elected to her current role as Henrico County Commonwealth’s Attorney in 2011 and who is vying to unseat longtime Republican incumbent U.S. Rep. Rob Wittman, would also explore ways to more tightly regulate private equity in healthcare, if she’s elected.
I sold my company for $47.5M. My 15-year-old daughter got rich, too.
Ashley Tyrner-Dolce gave her daughter equity in FarmboxRx before its $47.5 million sale. Her daughter's money is now held in a trust.
Hain Celestial to Sell International Business to AURELIUS for $323 Million
Hain Celestial agrees to sell its International business to AURELIUS for $323 million to reduce debt and streamline operations.Quiver AI SummaryHain Celestial has announced the sale of its International business to the private equity firm AURELIUS for approximately $323 million. This agreement is part of Hain's strategic review aimed at maximizing stakeholder value and simplifying its operations. The sale includes numerous well-known brands such
Banking & Finance Quarterly: Private Equity's Two-Minute Drill
A sports team worth $12.5 billion. A wealthy owner scrambling to cash out 10 months after buying in. And a bright spotlight on the deep pockets vying for
Lineage Sues Solar Firm for $1 Billion
Cold storage giant Lineage blames the “reckless conduct” of rooftop solar developer Altus Power – a subsidiary of private equity firm TPG – for igniting
Özgür Tuncer: Health and vaccine equity
Cold-chain dependence is not just a logistical burden, it is a primary driver of global health inequality. Following promising Phase 1 results for SPVX02, StablePharma’s chief executive discusses how thermostabilisation technology can redefine global health equity.
Was there ever a Colorado city that required racial segregation by law?
The answer is “yes.” The Black Racial Equity Study Commission, led by Colorado Senate President James Coleman, has learned the city of Fruita had laws forbidding black people from being on the city streets at night and from being buried in the all-white local cemetery. Fruita is a small city located to the west of […]
Moderna, 10x Genomics, Oscar Health, and Novavax Shares Are Soaring, What You Need To Know
A number of stocks jumped in the morning session after Morningstar reported that challenging macroeconomic conditions across broader equity markets drove a rotation into healthcare, lifting the sector index by approximately 7% quarter-to-date to reach a 5% valuation premium.
Birch Hill Equity Partners supports Data Sciences Institute pathway
This new stream will expand opportunities for undergraduate students to work with U of T’s leading data scientists and AI researchers.
Moderna, 10x Genomics, Oscar Health, and Novavax Shares Are Soaring, What You Need To Know
What Happened? A number of stocks jumped in the morning session after Morningstar reported that challenging macroeconomic conditions across broader equity ma...
How Medicaid ACOs can lead the US toward maternal health equity
As the largest insurance program for maternity care, Medicaid is uniquely positioned to shape maternal health in the United States, where maternal mortality rates far outweigh those of other wealthy nations ...
Marjorie Mesidor
Marjorie Mesidor is the founder and chief visionary officer of Mesidor PLLC, a nationally respected employment and workplace discrimination law firm dedicated to advancing justice, equity and accountability in the workplace.
Experts examine ethical risks of using AI in public health
Artificial intelligence (AI) holds profound potential to reshape public health. Although its application accelerates threat detection and targeted interventions, the rapid deployment has outpaced the regulatory, validation, and equity safeguards standard to traditional health interventions.
What Health Equity Champions Can Learn from Pharmaceutical Sales
The same mechanics can now help people meet new Medicaid work requirements or exemptions, increase referrals to evidence-based health interventions, and dramatically increase enrollment in vital programs that improve health outcomes and reduce inequities.
Broad Payer & Consumer Coalition Urges Congress to Close Loopholes in No Surprises Act That Inflate Health Costs
Two new issue briefs highlight the abuse of the appeals process by private equity and corporations, and also successful solutions at the state level that suggest a federal fix WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, as Congress comes back into session next week, a broad range of 67 consumer, labor, and employer organizations, led by the patient […]
TIME Convenes Leaders Shaping the Future of Health for Third Annual TIME100 Health Leadership Forum
TIME convenes the third annual TIME100 Health Leadership Forum in New York City, featuring conversations on equity, longevity, and solution-driven care with leaders taking action toward a world with more reliable healthcare solutions.
Private Equity’s Next Focus: Profitable Niche Businesses
After years of targeting industries like veterinary practices and plumbing companies, experts say private equity is focusing on more profitable niche businesses.
How one org taps into neighborhood power to address climate change and health equity in Memphis
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text] Q&A with Center for Transforming Communities For the Center for Transforming Communities, climate change and health equity are not abstract concepts. They show up in the soil, in the quality of drinking water, in neighborhood walkability and in access to food. The organization works closely with residents and institutions to minimize negative impacts of … Continue reading
Hartford HealthCare’s health equity summit aims to give clinicians practical lessons
HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — Health equity is about listening, learning, and creating change. Today’s health equity summit aims to give clinicians practical lessons they can take back to th…
The bill for Trump’s Medicaid cuts is coming due
Though much attention has centered on the closure of rural hospitals, quieter transformations could reshape healthcare for all patients.
Exclusive: Two of gaming’s biggest names are making a big investment in gaming’s future
The first thing to know about the Nova Games Foundation is that it isn’t about The Game Awards. And it’s not about PlayStation. The ambitious new grant program is the brainchild of Geoff Keighley and Mark Cerny. Keighley is the host of The Game Awards, Summer Game Fest and Opening Night Live. Cerny is a game designer of some 45 years and the lead architect for the PlayStation 4 and 5. But this new thing, which they’re revealing through Game File, isn’t about their day jobs. It’s an unaffiliated, standalone philanthropic project. It’s a bet on the artistic future of video games and a way, they tell me, to give back. “I’m nearing the end of my career,” Cerny recently told me over email. “I’m not done yet, but paying it forward—in the best way possible—is very much on my mind these days,” The Nova Games Foundation is a university-affiliated fellowship program, intended to offer six-figure grants to 20 young game designers each year, potentially for decades to come. It will offer no-strings-attached funding along with mentorship from games industry leaders, a combination intended to aid the development of groundbreaking new games, Cerny and Keighley told me. Nova will begin accepting applications in December, from class of 2026 and 2027 students from 13 affiliated gaming programs at universities in eight countries. The schools working with Nova include the New York University and the University of Southern California in the U.S., along with Abertay University in Scotland, Cnam-Enjmin in France, TH Köln in Germany, and the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in Australia, Cerny and Keighley said. The plan: $100,000 per recipient, with about a quarter of Nova fellows eligible for up to $500,000 more for projects that are shaping up particularly well. Payments will be delivered based on development milestones, and recipients will own their games. Nova will help promote the work, and developers will be free to pursue the publishers and platforms of their choice. Nova can help introduce fellows to publishers, but won’t take a cut. “I’ve always wanted to give back, but given my role in the industry, I’ve never felt it appropriate to commercially invest in games,” Keighley told Game File. “I’ve never owned stock in a game company or taken a financial stake in a game. Nova is philanthropy: we aren’t taking equity or looking to recoup the grants. The return we’re hoping for is creative—helping new voices make games and find their footing. “Mark and I have each made multi-million-dollar donations to establish the foundation, and we intend to keep contributing. We hope others will join us.” Cerny and Keighley have already hired an executive director, John Maconga, and a head of grants, recent Game Developers Conference director Ashley Corrigan, to help launch the effort. They’re working to recruit game industry leaders to join the effort. Keighley says “dozens of leading game directors have already expressed interest in contributing their time.” To name one, they’ve already gotten Josef Fares, lead designer from It Takes Two and Spit Fiction studio Hazelight on board with a donation and pledge to help out. “I’m proud to support Nova because it gives the next generation of creators the freedom to explore their creativity and hopefully bring their unique visions to life,” Fares told Game File. A plan forged from a friendship Keighley and Cerny have known each other a long time. It’s been so long, Cerny isn’t even sure exactly when they met. “We travel in much the same circles and I’m sure first intersected in the 90s or early 2000s,“ Cerny said. Keighley thinks it might have been during his stint writing a column about the mid-’90s console 3DO for a gaming magazine while Cerny was working on games with Crystal Dynamics or on Way of the Warrior with Naughty Dog. They became genuine friends about a 10 years ago, Keighley said, as they bonded over a shared love of games and a hope to improve the industry. “About a decade ago, we started having dinner a few times a year in LA,” Keighley said. “Just to catch up on life and the industry. Those conversations continued over Zoom during COVID. Nova grew out of that friendship and a question we kept coming back to: ‘What could we do to help the next generation of game directors get started?’” Keighley credits Cerny with the idea to figure out a way to put their money and time back into the industry. At one of those dinners, Keighley proposed the idea of a fellowship program. He’d recalled applying for a Rhodes Scholarship when he was younger. “Spoiler: I didn’t get it,” he said. He’d admired the MacArthur Foundation’s so-called “genius grants.” He liked these kinds of programs that recognized people’s talents and gave them the financial boost and the freedom to realize their potential. With Cerny, he had pondered what a game industry version of that could be. Keighley liked the idea of centering the fellowship on students, drawing inspiration from the accomplishments of Jenova Chen, the USC game design graduate who went on to lead the creation of gently moving, ambitious games such as Flower and Journey. Keighley also thought it could be useful to help promising graduates bridge the transition from student to professional. “Joining an established studio isn’t always possible—especially in today’s market—and even then, it isn’t the right path for everyone,” Keighley said. A fellowship, he realized, could give “graduates the time, resources and guidance to pursue a game of their own and not worry about the commercial viability.” As the idea took shape, Cerny also saw an opportunity to enable more games of a certain type: “The target with the grants is games as an artistic medium,” Cerny told me. “We like to say games with ‘artistic, literary and societal value.’” He added: “I’m a pretty big gamer myself, though I tend to gravitate towards the smaller and more unique or artistic titles, games like Neva, Abzu, Gorogoa, Stray or Outer Wilds. I was just playing and Roger on a flight to Japan, and was getting misty eyed to a degree that I was concerned that a flight attendant would ask me if I was OK. “So one fun benefit here is the games that will come out of the Nova Games Foundation – I can’t wait to play them myself.” Cerny believes it will also be useful for Nova fellows to hone their craft and team leadership skills. “We are looking for the next generation of visionaries,” he said. “The trick is that they will also need to have the executive function necessary to drive a small project to completion.” Game File is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my reporting, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Subscribe Going big with this Keighley and Cerny may have started Nova and may be the ones primarily backing it right now, but they’re dreaming of something that goes beyond them. “Mark and I may have helped get it started, but one of our measures of success is that Nova grows into something the entire games industry feels a sense of ownership in,” Keighley said. “Our ambition is to build a lasting endowment supported by people and companies across the industry, and an equally broad community of creators willing to give their time and experience to the next generation.” The industry has a lot of knowledge that it can pass to the next generation, Keighley said: “Nova can hopefully become a way to connect that generosity with talented young creators at the moment when it can make the biggest difference.” Cerny, who told me he believes Nova can mature “over the next 10 or 20 years,” sees an opportunity to give generations of game makers momentum. “The industry has changed immeasurably since I started in games in 1982,” he said. “These graduates have talent, training and tools that outclass what we had back in the day by an astonishing amount. But they face a tough road ahead getting traction in the industry, and many could benefit from our support. We want to be there to give it to them.” “There’s a personal side to this, too,” Keighley said. “I don’t have children, and I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what I can do for future generations. Games have been my entire career. I’ve been incredibly fortunate, and helping someone else build a life in this industry feels like a meaningful way to give back.” Cerny’s oeuvre dates back to Marble Madness and Sonic the Hedgehog 2. He has stood on stage multiple times to reveal the future of PlayStation hardware. He’s been an executive producer for a string of modern PlayStation classics such as The Last Guardian and Marvel’s Spider-Man. Nevertheless, of Nova, he said, “It’s certainly not like anything I’ve done before.” Nova Foundation applications will be due in December and the first wave of fellows will be announced in March 2027. A full list of participating universities and steps students and recent graduates can take to apply to become a Nova Fellow is forthcoming.
NFL media hires two veterans as new analysts
NFL Media is bolstering its ranks ahead of the 2026 season with a pair of familiar names. The league’s media arm is undergoing a transition this season with NFL Network now under the umbrella of ESPN. That arrangement is part of the equity deal that now sees the league as a minority owner in the…
Ariel Investments names new leadership for private equity unit
The firm named Rodney Cohen co-CEO of Ariel Alternatives alongside Mellody Hobson.
Mistral raises €3B as sovereign AI becomes big business
The French AI lab has raised €3 billion at a €21 billion valuation in a Series D round led by Samsung, Scaleup Europe and PSG Equity.
Health Ministers of WHO South-East Asia Region adopt Dili Declaration to advance equity in specialized care
Health Ministers of the WHO South-East Asia Region today adopted the Dili Declaration on Human Resources for Health: Equity in Specialized Care, committing to strengthen the health workforce and ensure that all people, including those living in rural, remote and underserved areas, have access to quality specialized health care. The Declaration, adopted at the Seventy-ninth Session of the WHO Regional Committee for South-East Asia, recognizes that while access to quality specialized care is critical to achieving universal health coverage, it is far too often limited for those most in need. While the Region has made major gains in expanding its health workforce, significant challenges remain in ensuring equitable access to specialists. Shortages persist across many specialties. Moreover, specialists are often concentrated in urban centers, tertiary and private-sector facilities, leaving rural, remote, poor and underserved populations with limited access to essential specialized services.
Clean & Science co., Ltd announces an Equity Buyback for 209,205 shares.
Clean & Science co., Ltd announces a share repurchase program. Under the program, the company will repurchase up to 209,205 shares. The purpose of the program is to stabilize stock price and enhance...
Revitalizing Mississippi Food Systems for Health and Equity
Food is Medicine programs and local non-profits are uniting to tackle chronic disease and build more sustainable Mississippi food systems.
Will AMC’s New Leawood Films Distribution Arm and Tokenized Share Dispute Change AMC Entertainment’s (AMC) Narrative?
In August 2026, AMC Entertainment Holdings launched Leawood Films, a low-risk film distribution arm based in Los Angeles and Leawood, Kansas, designed to fill excess theatre capacity by focusing on fully financed small and mid-sized titles while respecting traditional PVOD and SVOD windows. Around the same time, CEO Adam Aron’s public clash with Robinhood over tokenized AMC shares highlighted rising tensions between traditional equity markets and emerging digital trading products, raising...
How Medicaid ACOs Can Lead the US Towards Maternal Health Equity
A new study details how Medicaid Accountable Care Organizations can improve maternal healthcare quality and equity in the US by aligning performance mandates with innovative care coordination and social needs support among patients before, during, and after pregnancy.
Ashley Hinson fought to save private equity’s favorite loophole
Now her campaign is being powered by Wall Street Cash.
BlackSun’s Seattle NBA bid could include sports-entertainment complex on tribal land
BlackSun Private Equity is pursuing a Seattle NBA expansion bid that could place the team in a new arena on Tulalip Tribes’ land near Marysville, about 30 miles north of Seattle.
Genesee Brewing parent company sold to private equity firm
Saothair Capital Partners acquires Genesee Brewing's parent company, renaming it North American Breweries and investing in Rochester operations.
Sony's PlayStation disc plant is losing 10 percent of its volume in 2028, not 90
Sony’s PlayStation disc plant is losing 10 percent of its volume in 2028, not 90 Sony won’t license disc pressing to anyone else, Microsoft does, and a former PlayStation boss thinks that’s the whole problem. When Sony DADC chief Dietmar Tanzer spoke with an Austrian broadcaster in July about PlayStation disc production at the Thalgau plant, a number of press outlets misunderstood the report, writing that production would fall to a tenth of current levels. It won’t. Sony DADC confirmed to Game this week that the figure is a 10 percent decline, not a decline to 10 percent. “To clarify and avoid any misleading information: in that statement Dietmar anticipated an overall product volume decline by 10 percent, not a decline down to 10 percent,” a spokesperson with Sony DADC told Game. That figure covers 2028. Tanzer didn’t put a number on the years after, and the spokesperson declined to comment further. What we do know is that on July 1, PlayStation announced that physical game disc production for all new games releasing on PlayStation consoles will be discontinued starting January 2028 and that the transition has no impact on games that have already released in disc format or will be releasing in disc format prior to that month. “So, there will be reorders going to the market after January 2028,” the Sony DADC spokesperson said. “For details around that I would ask you to liaise with the PR team from PlayStation, as we can’t speak or comment on their behalf.” PlayStation officials did not respond to questions about reorders or other disc-related matters. But I did recently speak with Shawn Layden, Game Industry Strategic Advisor and former chairman of SIE Worldwide Studios, who called a future without physical PlayStation discs “depressing, but solvable.” then added, “I think.” The chief hurdle to third-party manufacturing of collector’s editions or any other version of a PlayStation game disc is that Sony owns the proprietary process to press those discs, Layden said. “And unless they decide or determine a way to license that to some of these bespoke disc manufacturers, there’s no way to make it happen,” he said. Layden was careful to add that he understands the concept but doesn’t have “line of sight on the particulars.” “Depressing but solvable, I think.” — Shawn Layden Microsoft already licenses replication to outside plants. Xbox discs are pressed by manufacturers Microsoft certifies as Authorized Replicators, a term defined in its publisher agreements, with the approved list set at the company’s sole discretion and Microsoft retaining the right to halt manufacture. The structure is still in place today: publishers select an Authorized Replicator in Partner Center and submit a bill of materials created with a Microsoft representative. Sony, by contrast, presses PlayStation discs through Sony DADC, its own manufacturing subsidiary. No one I spoke with said they were in discussions with Sony about doing that, and PlayStation hasn’t responded to questions about whether it would be open to a licensing deal. There is an obvious reason Sony might not want to. Niko Partners analyst Daniel Ahmad pointed it out on the day of the announcement: it’s a platform-led decision, he wrote, designed to cut costs, eliminate the resale market, and drive all revenue through the PlayStation Store. The math is not subtle. On a $70 third-party game sold through the PlayStation Store, Sony keeps $21. Sold at retail, Ahmad says, it earns about half that. Licensing disc replication to an outside manufacturer might not be worth it. And even if it were, it seems unlikely that such a deal would come from boutique companies like iam8bit, which sells collector’s editions of video games. “We would absolutely love to find a way forward to continue making physical PlayStation games,” said Jon Gibson, co-owner and co-creative director of the company. “We are big believers in giving humans the option to truly own media. If we can play a role in helping make that a reality for the future of PlayStation games, count iam8bit in!” If it were to happen, it would most likely be with a company like Conectiv Supply Chain Solutions, a Memphis-based manufacturer of optical discs and vinyl records that also runs third-party logistics, fulfillment and distribution for packaged media. The company, which was formed in 2025 when Los Angeles private equity firm Variant Equity Advisors purchased Vantiva’s Supply Chain Solutions division, traces its lineage back to Technicolor. When it sold the division, Vantiva described the business as having served video game creators for more than 25 years. Conectiv is also buying, not shrinking. Last month it acquired SDS, the distributor for Universal and Warner Bros. home entertainment, consolidating those studios’ packaged-media pipeline from pressing plant to retail shelf. I reached out to Conectiv and its CEO, but haven’t heard back. Layden pointed to music and books in our discussion about the ongoing value of physical media. “No one ever saw the comeback of cassette tape,” he said. “And vinyl didn’t so much come back. The flame went down, the fire’s dying, but the ember was always there, and it just kind of came back. Much like the book business. We thought we’d all be on Kindles right now. “I believe that physical media is crucial and important. One of the things that makes us gamers, one of the core game mechanics, going back to the beginning of time, is collecting stuff. “Did you get all the diamonds in Crash Bandicoot? Did you get all the stars in Mario? And we like to collect our games. And we have a game shelf. And we put all our boxes up there. And if you’re super hardcore, when you buy a game, you buy two copies, right? One stays in the shrink wrap, and you play the other one. What happens to that important cultural part of the gaming world? You know, we buy the steelbook and the three-disc Final Fantasy set and the figurine and, you know, you can’t download any of that. “What happens to that?” And Layden believes it shouldn’t have been a revenue question for PlayStation. “This was a core thing to the experience of our most devoted fans,” he said. “Yeah, it’s fan service. Why would we take that away? Well, we can’t afford to. It’s already 120 bucks, you know, limited edition special purchase onyx box version of whatever, and those sell at a higher rate than the box selling at $69.99 does. So yeah, the market has said they will continue to buy them. You’re just saying you just don’t want to make them anymore.” Layden said he was recently talking with someone about these sorts of business decisions and how they’re made. Too often, he said, it’s all about the financials and nothing else. “OK, we can do this and save this much money, or we can invest this to look at that outcome, or we can do this and have this happen over there, or move this team to Sri Lanka,” he said. “But each one of those, someone also has to have a ledger there saying, ‘OK, what is the brand impact from that move?’ “Iif you can’t resell it, do you really own it?” — Shawn Layden “If we do that, dollars and cents work out. I get it. That’s just math. But what’s the brand impact? Are people going to say, ‘Good move, you guys?’ Or are they going to say, ‘We hate you guys. Quit doing that.’ And sometimes they say, ‘We hate you.’ Then you take a note and say, OK, how much of that can we live with? How much ‘we hate you’ is OK. And when does it go over the line? “I see a lot of companies making decisions which, objectively speaking, I don’t know what the dollar end of that was for you, Mr. Company, but your brand value just dropped 30 percent. So I hope it was worth it.” Of course, shifting to a digital-only model for games raises other issues beyond simply wanting to collect. The biggest is ownership. Layden pointed out that once you go to a streaming-only or download-only model, it’s just a digital footprint on a hard drive. “What does ownership mean anymore?” he said. “It’s a genuine question. Well, in fact, it’s not even a question anymore. It’s like you are shifting the model from ownership to accessibility. “And what’s always been true, which people forget, is you’ve never been able to sell your iTunes library. And you can’t sell your PlayStation download library. So if you can’t resell it, do you really own it?” The touching tribute found in the credits for Star Wars Zero Company. Resonance: A Plague Tale Legacy Interview and Hands-On with a Minoan Masterpiece Star Wars Zero Company hands-on: Attack Astromechs, permadeath, and delightfully fatal Rube Goldberg tactics Control Resonant opens up as you get stronger — and as characters start trusting you
New LEAD model builds on REACH, offers role for home health agencies
As healthcare providers, including home health agencies, gear up for the start of the Long-term Enhanced ACO Design (LEAD) model on Jan. 1, they take comfort that the new model will continue the work of the soon-to-be-completed model, Accountable Care Organization Realizing Equity, Access, and Community Health (ACO REACH), in serving high-needs patients with complex needs.
Private equity faces existential crisis in US as unsold companies pile up
Private equity firms and the companies they own employ over 13 million, from startups to rural hospitals and large retailers, but experts’ concerns of collapse are growing
Outbreaks, Equity, and Public Health Policy
Outbreaks reveal who we protect and who we leave behind.
Backed By More Than $100M Investment: DEAG Founder Peter Schwenkow's New European Live & Family Entertainment Group
Peter Schwenkow is planning the launch of a new European live and family entertainment group, bolstered by up to €100 million of equity from Swiss private
Why health equity is now a business imperative in cardiology
For health systems under value-based care payment initiatives, there a direct financial incentive to invest in programs that improve access and outcomes among underserved populations. Cardiologist Dipti Itchhaporia, MD, shared her thoughts on this important topic.
Tech parties are becoming major players in the sports ownership industry: Sportscorp's Marc Ganis
Marc Ganis, Sportscorp founder and CEO, joins 'Closing Bell' to discuss the recent spate of sports team sales, the role private equity has played and much more.
Cook County Department of Public Health Launches Building Healthier Communities 2030, a Community-Driven Roadmap to Advance Health Equity Across Suburban Cook County - Cook County Department of Public Health
Today, Cook County Department of Public Health launched Building Healthier Communities 2030, suburban Cook County’s Community Health Improvement Plan. The plan was announced together with Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, Cook County Department of Public Health, community organizations, healthcare providers and cross-sector partners. Building Healthier Communities 2030 serves as both a collective vision and a practical roadmap that will guide public health efforts across suburban Cook County through 2030.The plan aligns with President Preckwinkle's Policy Roadmap and reflects a shared commitment to advancing health equity through coordinated, community-informed action.
Keurig Dr Pepper sells stake in Chobani ahead of split; Corgan enters new market with M&A
Keurig Dr Pepper is selling its stake in Chobani and using the proceeds to reduce debt ahead of a planned split. Private equity firm Align Capital Partners completed an exit, while architecture firm Corgan revealed its latest acquisition to enter another fast-growing market. Read on to learn about these deals and more as September gets off to a quick start.
Nestle Inks $1 Billion Deal to Sell Health-Supplements Brands to Private Equity Firm
Nestle will sell its mainstream vitamins, supplements and minerals business to Yellow Wood Partners, the latest move to tighten its portfolio and focus on core categories.
Nestle Inks $1 Billion Deal to Sell Health-Supplements Brands to Private Equity Firm
Nestle will sell its mainstream vitamins, supplements and minerals business to Yellow Wood Partners, the latest move to tighten its portfolio and focus on core categories.
Yellow Wood Partners Agrees to Acquire Nestle's Holistic Health Platform of Leading Vitamins, Minerals and Supplements Brands
/PRNewswire/ -- Yellow Wood Partners ("Yellow Wood"), a private equity firm focused exclusively on investing in consumer brands and companies, today announced...
Nestle to divest mainstream supplements business for $1 billion
Nestle on Tuesday agreed to divest Holistic Health platform, its mainstream vitamins, minerals and supplements (VMS) business, to private equity firm Yellow Wood Partners for $1 billion, according to a statement from the two companies.
Digital Science's 2026 Catalyst Grant Seeks "Agentic AI Workflows You Can Trust"
Up to £25,000 to be won for early-stage solutions building research agents - with audit, governance and provenanceLondon, United Kingdom--(Newsfile Corp. - September 1, 2026) - Digital Science, a leading technology company serving stakeholders across the research ecosystem, today launches its Catalyst Grant round for 2026 to support innovative technology ideas. This year's theme is: Agentic Workflows You Can Trust.Up to £25,000 will be awarded equity-free to individuals, startups or research...
A Summer of Continuing the Fight: Defending Coverage, Demanding Health Equity
Families USA opposed PRWORA and fought throughout the 90’s to ensure that all people can access affordable health coverage.
Private Equity Wants to Invest in College Sports. Some Schools Are Wary.
As desperate as many athletic programs are for money, they are proceeding cautiously when it comes to deals with private equity.
Who is behind Monarch Collective? The 10,000-fan bet that changed women’s soccer investment
Understanding the private-equity fund behind several successful women's sports ventures
Opionion: Generational health is generational wealth
To close Connecticut's racial wealth gap, we must start treating health equity as an economic development strategy.
Why Alphabet (GOOGL) Is Proving AI Can Strengthen Its Search Business
Aristotle Capital Management, LLC, an investment management company, released its “Value Equity Fund” Q2 2026 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. The Fund delivered a 4.32% total return in Q2 2026, underperforming the 13.87% gain for the Russell 1000 Value Index and the 15.20% return for the S&P 500, while […]
City Staff Attend Dedication of New Behavioral Health Inpatient Unit at OSF HealthCare Sacred Heart
City staff from the Champaign Police Department and the Equity and Engagement Department recently attended the blessing and dedication of the new behavioral health inpatient unit at OSF HealthCare Sacred Heart Medical Center.
ASCO Remembers Dr. Harold P. Freeman, Preeminent Health Equity Expert and Pioneer of Patient Navigation
ASCO joins the oncology community in mourning the death of Harold P. Freeman, MD, a world-renowned expert on and advocate for health equity and the pioneer of patient navigation services in oncology. ...
Bazzell on Unrivaled’s Five Year Plan
Alex Bazzell on Unrivaled's new $650 million valuation and player equity model.
Healthcare should serve Iowans, not Wall Street
Iowa's healthcare institutions are increasingly becoming targets for private-equity firms whose first duty is to investors, not patients.
DAZN acquires EverPass, rebrands it DAZN for Business
DAZN has acquired EverPass -- and the commercial distribution rights to NFL Sunday Ticket along with it -- as the London-based company continues to infiltrate the U.S. sports marketplace. It will rebrand EverPass as "DAZN for Business" with the NFL's 32 Equity as a minority shareholder.
County Announces Actions, Leadership Transition After Release of Misconduct Claims in Behavioral Health Services
The County is making changes as a result of investigations into misconduct to ensure integrity, equity and accountability in our work, including serving some of our most vulnerable residents.
As states tighten oversight, private equity’s healthcare deals decline
New state oversight laws are pumping the brakes on private equity’s push into health care, according to new data. The number of private equity-involved healthcare deals has declined since last year, and the value of those deals in the first half of 2026 is lower than it was for the same time in 2025, according to […]
QXO (QXO) is Rebuilding Business Models for Greater Value
Orbis Investment Management, an investment management company, released its Q2 2026 investor letter for “Orbis Global Equity Strategy”. The letter can be downloaded here. In the first half of 2026, the Global Equity Strategy returned 19.9%, surpassing the MSCI All Country World Index by 7.8%. The market faced narrow breadth in the quarter. The strategy focuses […]
Private equity's role in pro sports is here to stay
Private equity helps owners make more money