Wednesday, November 16, 2016

Finland has one of the best education systems in the world — here are 4 things it does better than the US

Finland has one of the best education systems in the world — here are 4 things it does better than the US

Finland Schools TeenagersA totally different approach to education. Getty: Tony Lewis
Finland is an innovative country when it comes to education, and its innovation yields results.
It's consistently one of the highest performing developed countries on the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), an important tool for measuring education systems worldwide.
While Finland's ranking dropped to 12 in the most recent PISA ranking, it's still a lot higher than the US ranking of 36.
Here are some things Finland does differently — and arguably better — than the US when it comes to education:

1. Better standardized tests

Finnish students only take one standardized test during their entire primary and secondary schooling.
By contrast, the US, driven by No Child Left Behind and Common Core mandates, requires students in third through eighth grade to take annual standardized tests to track their performance. Critics claim constant testing doesn't make students any smarter but instead creates a "teaching to the test" environment in schools.
Karen Magee, the president of the largest teachers union in New York, went so far as to urge parents to boycott standardized tests recently.
The Finnish test, called the National Matriculation Examination, is taken at the end of high school and graded by teachers, not computers, as Pasi Sahlberg a professor and former director general at the Finland Ministry of Education, explained to the Washington Post in 2014. The test also doesn't shy away from controversial or complex topics.
Here are some typical questions, according to Sahlberg:
"In what sense are happiness, good life and well-being ethical concepts?"
"Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels predicted that a socialist revolution would first happen in countries like Great Britain. What made Marx and Engels claim that and why did a socialist revolution happen in Russia?"
Sahlberg added, in the Washington Post, "Students are regularly asked to show their ability to cope with issues related to evolution, losing a job, dieting, political issues, violence, war, ethics in sports, junk food, sex, drugs, and popular music. Such issues span across subject areas and often require multi-disciplinary knowledge and skills."

2. More time for play

Students in Finland spend relatively little time on homework, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). A 2014 study of 15-year-olds around the world by the OECD said that on average, Finnish students spend 2.8 hours a week on homework. This contrasts noticeably from the 6.1 hours American students spend per week.
Screen Shot 2015 03 30 at 4.44.31 PMFinnish law mandates that for every 45 minutes of instruction, students must get 15 minutes to play. onlineclasses.org
Finns place a lot of value on free time and play. By law, teachers must give students a 15-minute break for every 45 minutes of instruction.
It's a different story in the US where kids typically get less than half an hour of recess every day.
This "deficit of play" for US students may lead to additional anxiety and other mental health issues, the psychologist and research professor Peter Gray has written.

3. College is free

In Finland, not only are bachelor degree programs completely free of tuition fees, so are master and doctoral programs. Students pursue higher education goals without the mountains of student loan debt that many American students face. And the same goes for foreign students. Tuition is free for any student accepted into a college or graduate program in Finland.
This contrasts greatly with the US, where the average student loan debt now approaches $30,000, according to the Institute for College Access and Success's 2014 report.

4. Elevated teaching profession

Screen Shot 2015 04 02 at 2.56.33 PMHours per year teachers required to spend teaching for 2012. OECD
In Finland, teaching is one of the most revered professions with a relatively high barrier to entry.
Only one in 10 students who apply to teacher education programs are admitted, according to the Center on International Education Benchmarking (CIEB).
Teachers in Finland are treated like professors at universities, and they teach fewer hours during the day than US teachers, with more time devoted to lesson planning.
They also get paid slightly more in Finland. The average teacher in the US makes about $41,000 a year, compared to $43,000 in Finland, according to OECD data.
And while teachers in the US make less money than many other countries, the OECD found that they work the longest hours of all.
It's easy to understand why America's teachers — who are overworked and get relatively little respect — might not be as effective as teachers in Finland.

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

Trump just announced he will not repeal Obamacare

Trump just announced he will not repeal Obamacare

 


After meeting with President Barack Obama, President-elect Donald Trump appears to have reversed his position on repealing Obamacare.
One of the President-elect’s biggest promises on the campaign trail was his vow to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, particularly in the wake of health insurance providers pledging to raise the price of coverage by double digits in coming years. However, it appears the outgoing president has convinced Trump to keep his signature legislation. As of this writing, Trump has only said he would amend it, and that repealing the law outright may not be his plan going forward.
The position is a shocker to many, particularly Congressional Republicans like Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Speaker Paul Ryan. McConnell has said repealing Obamacare is “pretty high” on his list of priorities for the next four years, and Ryan is asking Trump to allow him to privatize Medicare and gut Obamacare, according to Salon.
The UK-based Independent reported that President-elect Trump and President Obama discussed some of the ongoing difficulties the country faces, but also reflected on the highlights of the past 8 years, which has been interpreted as praise for the Affordable Care Act. The healthcare law, which has allowed over 20 million Americans to have access to health insurance since 2010, is proving popular in the wake of the election, with over 100,000 Americans signing up for Affordable Care Act plans on healthcare.gov in the past 48 hours.
Americans have until January 31, 2017 to enroll in or change existing health coverage for the 2017 calendar year.

Zach Cartwright is an activist and author from Richmond, Virginia. He enjoys writing about politics, government, and the media. Send him an email at zachcartwrighr88@gmail.com, and follow his work on the Public Banking Institute blog

German economy slows in third quarter

German economy slows in third quarter

The German economy has picked up only moderately in the third quarter, the statistics office has reported. Private consumption was the main driver of GDP expansion, while exports suffered from a global trade slump.
Machine tools workers (picture-alliance/dpa)
The National Statistic Office, Destatis, reported Tuesday the German economy rose by 0.2 percent in the third quarter compared to the previous three months which economists said was "neither good nor bad."
Analysts had penciled in 0.3-percent growth for the July-to-September period, but a slump in German shipments abroad and lower investment by companies in machinery spoiled the overall result.
The moderate expansion of gross domestic product was primarily driven by strong domestic consumption and more government spending on the integration of migrants.
Full-year outlook intact
In the first quarter, the German economy had still grown by 0.7 percent, followed by a 0.4-percent expansion in Q2, Destatis said.
 
Watch video02:40

German economists call for fiscal discipline

"The third-quarter growth rate is neither exciting nor alarming," VP Bank economist Thomas Gitzel said in a statement. "Early indicators suggest that things are looking up again and that we might well see a stronger performance in the final quarter of 2016."
Both the European Commission and German economists expect the German economy to grow by 1.9 percent on an annualized basis as Britain's pro-Brexit vote is not seen to have any immediate negative impact on Europe's powerhouse.
hg/sgb (dpa, AFP)

Nasdaq just crowned one of the most senior women on Wall Street

Nasdaq just crowned one of the most senior women on Wall Street

Adena FriedmanNasdaq
NDAQ Nasdaq
 63.99 -0.73 (-1.10 %)
DisclaimerMore NDAQ on Markets INSIDER »
Nasdaq has a new CEO.
The exchange group has named Adena Friedman as chief executive, replacing Bob Greifeld, who will become chairman of the board.
Friedman has long been considered the heir apparent at Nasdaq. Greifeld had the CEO role for 14 years, turning the company in to what he has called a cutting edge technology company
The appointment of Friedman as CEO cements her position as one of the most senior women on Wall Street. It also arrives as Nasdaq and establishment rival the New York Stock Exchange come under pressure over their pricing of market data
In better news, the IPO market looks ready to make a comeback. Nasdaq vice chairman Bruce Aust told Business Insider earlier this month that he expects four or five technology IPOs before the end of the year. On Monday, Trivago filed to go public on Nasdaq in what could be one of the biggest IPOs of the year
Here's the statement:
Nasdaq is today announcing its Board of Directors has named Adena Friedman President and Chief Executive Officer, and she will also join the Board of Directors, effective January 1, 2017.
After nearly 14 years leading the company as CEO, Bob Greifeld will become Chairman of the Board. Nasdaq Chairman Borje Ekholm will step down as Nasdaq's Chairman on December 31, 2016, and will remain on the Board of Directors. On October 26, 2016, Ekholm was named President and CEO of Ericsson, a position he will start on January 16, 2017.
"Naming Adena CEO represents the successful conclusion of a rigorous, multi-year succession planning process," said Ekholm. "Adena is uniquely qualified for this role. For nearly two decades she has steadily risen through the leadership ranks, beginning as a Nasdaq intern. During this time, she acquired deep expertise across a broad range of business and operational areas, as well as instituting a sharp focus on technology, all of which will drive the future of Nasdaq."
"We want to thank Bob for his nearly 14 years of leadership as CEO, guiding Nasdaq's growth from its humble beginnings as a single equities exchange with 200 employees, to a global technology leader with 4,400 employees in 26 countries," Ekholm continued. "Bob had the vision to reimagine Nasdaq as a financial technology company, and navigated the organization through a period of tremendous innovation and diversification. This resulted in delivering incredible client and shareholder value --  increasing the company's market capitalization from $600 million in 2003 to $11 billion today. His strong leadership provides an amazing trajectory for Nasdaq's next chapter."
"I am truly excited about the opportunity to lead this exceptional company," said Friedman. "Over my nearly 20 years here, the great people at Nasdaq, with their tremendous entrepreneurial spirit, have driven our success as a global leader of markets, a technology pioneer, and a high integrity exchange operator. Together, we will continue our journey from one of the earliest fintech companies, to a global leader whose technology powers more than 100 marketplaces around the world. We are a relentless, client-centric organization and we will continue that focus, always striving to develop new products that meet our clients' most critical needs. Importantly, I want to thank Bob for his tremendous leadership that brought us to this point, as well as his mentorship and friendship over the years. I look forward to our continued work together in his new role as Chairman."
Friedman joined Nasdaq in 1993, and later served in a variety of leadership roles, including Head of Data Products, Head of Strategy, and Chief Financial Officer. In 2011, she joined The Carlyle Group as its CFO, helping to lead the firm through its initial public offering in 2012 and overseeing the firm's Finance and IT organizations for three years. In June 2014, she rejoined Nasdaq as President, responsible for Listing Services, Information Services (Data and Index solutions), and Technology Solutions (Market Technology and Corporate Solutions), totaling more than half of the company's profit.
In December 2015, Friedman was named to the additional role of Chief Operating Officerof Nasdaq, tasked with identifying new growth opportunities as well as finding ways to optimize the company's product and service offerings. In that role, she had P&L responsibility and oversaw day-to-day operational business decisions.
"I believe Nasdaq is in its strongest competitive position ever," said Greifeld. "Our client franchise is expanding, our technology is uniquely differentiated, and our investments in the future successfully position us for years to come. As such, it is the right time to transition leadership of this company to its next phase of evolution, and I take great personal pride that the Board has selected Adena to lead Nasdaq. I've had the opportunity to watch Adena grow and develop over the last 14 years, and can confidently say she is the right person for this role and is unquestionably as passionate about the company's future as I am. Adena has played an instrumental role in building this organization into one of the most innovative leaders, with a tremendous disruptive spirit. I know she will do exceptionally well for clients, shareholders and employees."
Greifeld continued, "Importantly, Nasdaq would not be where we are at today without Borje's guidance, counsel and dedication. He has been invaluable to me and this organization in helping shape our vision and strategic direction, and we wish him the best in his new role."
More: NASDAQ

Apple is working on smart glasses

Apple is working on smart glasses

tim cook google glassNot a real photo of Tim Cook. AP / Matthew Sumner for Getty Images
Apple is working on a pair of smart glasses.
The product would be introduced in 2018 at the earliest, Bloomberg reported Monday, citing an unnamed source. The project is advanced enough to be in talks with suppliers, the report said.
The smart glasses would be Apple's first in a category of product that was originally pioneered by Google with its Google Glass product. Like Google Glass, Apple's smart-glasses product would be geared toward information conveyance instead of immersive augmented-reality experiences like the products that Magic Leap is developing and Microsoft's HoloLens.
Bloomberg cited sources saying the glasses "may use augmented reality." The project is in "early product testing," the Bloomberg report said.
The smart glasses would be designed to connect to an iPhone for processing to keep their weight down and keep the design of the frames stylish without adding too many additional electronics.
A main component of any pair of Apple smart glasses would be the lenses. Last week, Upload VR entrepreneur-in-residence Robert Scoble wrote in a Facebook post that Apple's optics partner was Carl Zeiss, which produces a lens called Zeiss Smart Optics.
Thomas Alt, who joined Apple after the company bought Metaio, an AR company he was the CEO of, is listed as an inventor on a glasses patent assigned to Carl Zeiss. His LinkedIn profile lists him as "Director of Procurement, Strategic Deals Team" at Apple.
A Zeiss representative declined to comment on any partnership with Apple.
"I do think that a significant portion of the population of developed countries, and eventually all countries, will have AR experiences every day, almost like eating three meals a day, it will become that much a part of you," Apple CEO Tim Cook said last month in Utah.
Apple develops many projects internally, and those efforts often do not ultimately result in a full product that goes on sale. Apple is working on integrating augmented reality into its software, and the glasses would most likely be its first hardware product targeted the AR market.
Know what Apple's smart-glasses project is called? Contact the author at kleswing@businessinsider.com.
More: Apple Apple AR

Monday, November 14, 2016

Siemens is buying a software company for about $4 billion

Siemens is buying a software company for about $4 billion

Joe KaeserSiemens CEO Joe Kaeser. REUTERS/Hannibal
It's official: Siemens just announced it was buying the semiconductor-design software company Mentor Graphics for $37.25 a share in cash, or about $4 billion.
That's a 21% premium to Mentor's closing price Friday, and it values the Oregon-based company at about $4.5 billion, including debt.
"Siemens is acquiring Mentor as part of its Vision 2020 concept to be the Benchmark for the New Industrial Age," Siemens CEO Joe Kaeser said in a statement. "It's a perfect portfolio fit to further expand our digital leadership and set the pace in the industry."
Kaesar has made it a priority to sell off core units to boost profitability since taking control in 2013.
Mentor Graphics has been fending off interest from activist investors for years. Carl Icahn fought and won a proxy fight to get three board seats in 2011, but he later exited the trade. Elliott Management in September reported a stake in the company, saying the shares were deeply undervalued, according to Reuters.
Reuters in October reported that Mentor Graphics had hired Bank of America to explore strategic alternatives.
Here's the press release:
Siemens is further building its Vision 2020 to shape Digital Industrial Enterprise by expanding its unique portfolio for industrial software. Siemens and Mentor Graphics (NASDAQ: MENT) ("Mentor") today announced that they have entered into a merger agreement under which Siemens will acquire Mentor for $37.25 per share in cash, which represents an enterprise value of $4.5 billion. The offer price represents a 21% premium to Mentor's closing price on November 11, 2016, the last trading day prior to the announcement. Mentor's Board of Directors approved and declared advisable the merger agreement, and Mentor's Board of Directors recommends the approval and adoption of the merger agreement by the holders of shares of Mentor common stock. Mentor shareholder Elliott Management has committed to support the transaction.
This acquisition decisively extends Siemens' leading Digital Enterprise Software portfolio with Mentor's well established electronics IC and systems design, simulation and manufacturing solutions. These capabilities are essential for today's smart connected products such as autonomous vehicles. The combination provides mechanical, thermal, electronic and embedded software tools which will allow Siemens' customers to further accelerate their innovation, drive production efficiencies and optimize the operation of their products in the field. Now, for the first time, quality, efficiency, flexibility, safety and speed can be optimized across technical domains, throughout the entire lifecycle and for the entire extended enterprise.
"Siemens is acquiring Mentor as part of its Vision 2020 concept to be the Benchmark for the New Industrial Age. It's a perfect portfolio fit to further expand our digital leadership and set the pace in the industry," said Joe Kaeser, President and CEO of Siemens AG.
"With Mentor, we're acquiring an established technology leader with a talented employee base that will allow us to supplement our world-class industrial software portfolio. It will complement our strong offering in mechanics and software with design, test and simulation of electrical and electronic systems," said Klaus Helmrich, member of the Managing Board of Siemens.
Mentor is headquartered in Wilsonville, Oregon, U.S., and has employees in 32 countries worldwide. In its fiscal year ended January 31, 2016, Mentor had over 5,700 employees and generated revenue of approximately $1.2 billion with an adjusted operating margin of 20.2%. Siemens expects these attractive margins to continue in the future and contribute significantly to the Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) software business of Siemens Digital Factory (DF) Division, which Mentor will join. Mentor serves a large, diverse customer base of marquee systems companies and IC/semiconductors companies with over 14,000 global accounts across communications, computer, consumer electronics, semiconductor, networking, aerospace, multimedia, and transportation industries. Mentor is viewed as a global leader in strategic industry segments including IC design, test and manufacturing; electronic systems design and analysis; and emerging markets including automotive electronics.
"Combining Mentor's technology leadership and deep customer relationships with Siemens' global scale and resources will better enable us to serve the growing needs of our customers, and unlock additional significant opportunities for our employees," said Walden C. Rhines, chairman and CEO of Mentor. "Siemens is an ideal partner with financial depth and stability, and their resources and additional investment will allow us to innovate even faster and accelerate our vision of creating top-to-bottom automated design solutions for electronic systems. We are excited to join the Siemens family, as it is clear they share the same values and focus on customer success, and are pleased that this transaction provides immediate and certain value to our stockholders."
Siemens expects to achieve synergies through a combination of revenue growth and anticipated margin expansion, with a total EBIT impact of over €100 million within 4 years from closing the transaction. Additionally, the transaction is expected to be EPS accretive within three years from closing. Closing of the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and is expected in Q2 of calendar 2017. Mentor will be part of the PLM software business of Siemens' DF Division. DF is the industry leader in automation technology and a leading provider of PLM software.
"By adding Mentor's electronic design automation solutions and talented experts to our team, we're greatly enhancing our core competencies for product design that creates a very precise digital twin of any smart product and production line," noted Helmrich."

China's storming economic performance this year may be fading

China's storming economic performance this year may be fading

Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images
China’s economic resurgence showed some signs of fading last month, at least compared to recent standards, with both industrial output and retail sales undershooting expectations.
According to China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), industrial output grew by 6.1% in October from the levels of a year earlier.
The result was unchanged from the level seen in September but missed expectations for an acceleration to 6.2%.
The NBS said crude steel output grew by 4.0% year-on-year to 68.51 million tonnes, the fastest annual increase seen in over a year. It left output so far in 2016 at 672.96 million tonnes, up 0.7% on the levels of a year earlier.
Reflective of the boost in steel output, electricity output grew by 8% year-on-year, leaving it up 3.9% compared to the same period in 2015.
Growth in glass and cement output also accelerated in year-on-year terms compared to the levels reported in September.
Elsewhere coal output slumped 12% from a year earlier to 281.85 million tonnes. Year to date output dropped to 2.74 billion tonnes, down 10.7% on a year earlier.
While the increase in headline industrial output was roughly in line with expectations, the news on retail sales was a disappointment, at least compared to the lofty standards now expected from the Chinese economy.
They grew by 10% in nominal terms from the levels of a year earlier, well below the 10.7% pace seen in the 12 months to September. Economists had been expecting an unchanged reading in October.
It was the weakest year-on-year growth recorded since May.
In real terms, adjusted for inflation, real retail sales grew 8.8% from a year earlier, down on the 9.6% pace reported in September.
Not a great sign for household consumption, now a major part of the Chinese economy.
However, it wasn’t all bad news.
Urban fixed asset investment was the one area to outperform, growing by 8.3% between January to October compared to the same period in 2015.
Markets had been expecting an increase of 8.2%, unchanged from the level seen in the first three months of the year.
Fixed asset investment has now accelerated in year-on-year terms over the past two months, and is now growing at the fastest pace since June.
According to the NBS, investment from private firms grew by 2.9% this year compared to the same period a year ago, overshadowed by a 20.5% increase in public investment over the same period.
Despite the gap between public and private investment, the gap between the two narrowed compared to the levels reported in September.
Private investment accounts for around 60% of total investment in China.
“Although state sector investment remains strongest, much of the recent recovery has come from a marked rebound in private investment, which had stagnated earlier this year,” said Julian Evans-Pritchard, China economist at Capital Economics.
Property investment grew by 6.6% year-to-date year-on-year, faster than the 5.8% pace seen in September.
Despite the rebound in investment seen in October, Evans-Pritchard says the factors underpinning the recovery will likely diminish in early 2017.
“We expect growth to hold up well for another quarter or two,” he said following the release of the October data.
“However, with credit growth now slowing and the property market beginning to cool the drivers of the recent recovery look set to fizzle out early next year.”
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