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More than one in every two Americans say they aren’t getting enough sleep on weeknights, a phenomenon that has wide-reaching implications for public health, worker productivity, and the economy at large. Binghamton University researchers released a new study in the journal Cognitive Therapy and Research, which linked sleep deprivation to higher levels of both stress and depression. People suffering from depression or anxiety can enter a feedback loop when it comes to insomnia. Lack of sleep contributes to mental health … Continue reading “Lack of Sleep Depresses Both People and the Economy Writ Large”

A recent study has given America the dubious distinction of having some of the highest rates of drug addiction and drug-related deaths in the world. According to the New York Daily News, statistics from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) has shown that only Iceland suffers more drug overdose deaths per year than the U.S., and it is also the only country that ingests more marijuana than America. Most notably, the rapid increase of pain pill and heroin … Continue reading “New Study Highlights Increasing Rates of Drug Abuse and Overdoses in U.S.”

The oil and gas industry, perhaps more than any other, is uniquely tied to geopolitical forces. For instance, experts say the recent glut in oil supplies has occurred in part because of U.S. efforts to depress the Russian economy, and increased cooperation between the countries has some energy analysts feeling optimistic again. This November brought another clear example of the way geopolitical tensions can impact the oil market. When Turkey shot down a Russian fighter jet near the Syrian border, … Continue reading “Downed Russian Warplane Highlights Volatility of Oil Market”

While new technologies are always on the rise, one of the most recent and revolutionary services is cloud computing. Because of the ease of use, accessibility, and cost-effectiveness that this technology offers, companies are quickly moving to take advantage. According to Business Insider, Amazon’s cloud-computing business, Amazon Web Services (AWS), is growing rapidly and is estimated to be worth as much as $160 billion on its own. This number could even grow considering that by 2018, more than 60% of … Continue reading “Are We Seeing a New Age in Technology Companies?”

As the technological age continues to expand, exceedingly more information is being stored digitally. Even though this allows for easier access and larger storage, the security risks involved are substantially more dangerous than previous methods of data storage. Recently, America has come under fire on numerous occasions from cyber security breaches, with nearly a 680% increase in security breaches over the past six years. According to Naked Security, a new strategy was unveiled by the White House focusing on modernizing … Continue reading “Are United States Security Programs at Risk of Breaches Themselves?”

The variable annuity market is showing signs of growth, according to new data from the Insured Retirement Institute (IRI). This is in stark contrast to recent trends in the industry, which had seen variable annuities steadily declining, but that was not the case this past quarter where they increased by 12% from the previous quarter and even beat out fixed annuities by 2 percentage points, according to the financial magazine FA-Mag.com. “It makes sense,” says Andy Barnett of Sarasota, FL-based … Continue reading “Data Finds Variable Annuity Market Seeing Some Positive Changes”