News

Hard Numbers: Russia off ransomware Zoom, Venezuela burns cash, Chinese soy sauce inflation, Americans resign

Hard Numbers: Russia off ransomware Zoom, Venezuela burns cash, Chinese soy sauce inflation, Americans resign
Gabriella Turrisi

30: Russia was not invited to a 30-country virtual meeting led by the US on fighting ransomware. Washington maintains that while the Kremlin doesn't necessarily oversee the activities of Russia-based hackers directly, it turns a blind eye to their activities so long as they don't attack Russian interests.

40 million: Venezuela's central bank is spending $40 million per week to shore up the recently-minted new bolivar, which lopped six zeros off the denomination of the old one as a result of hyperinflation. The new bolivar's exchange rate with the US dollar has dropped from 5.2 to 4.1 since the October 1 launch.

7: The maker of the top-selling brand of soy sauce in China, which by far consumes the most of the condiment in the world, says it'll increase the prices of all its products by seven percent later this month. The company's margins have taken a hit from the rising cost of almost everything these days, especially power.

4.3 million: About 4.3 million Americans — nearly 3 percent of the US workforce — quit their jobs in August, the highest monthly number in over 20 years. Researchers aren't sure what prompted the mass drop-off, but workers' greater bargaining power amid a resurgent economy, persistent shortages of child care, and potential fears about the delta wave all seem to be part of the equation.

More For You

Geoffrey Hinton, the ‘Godfather of AI,’ joins Ian Bremmer on the GZERO World podcast to talk about how the technology he helped build could transform our lives… and also threaten our very survival.

- YouTube

Is the AI jobs apocalypse upon us? On Ian Explains, Ian Bremmer breaks down the confusing indicators in today’s labor market and how both efficiency gains as well as displacement from AI will affect the global workforce.

Members of the Uyghurs diaspora gather in front of Alberta Legislature during the protest 'Stand in Support of East Turkistan' to commemorate the 1990 Barin Uprising, on April 6, 2024, in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The East Turkestan independence movement seeks the region's independence for the Uyghur people from China. They advocate renaming the region from Xinjiang to East Turkestan, its historical name.
Photo by Artur Widak/NurPhoto

Remember Xinjiang? There was a time, not long ago, when China’s crackdown on the Uyghurs, a Muslim minority group living in Xinjiang province in Northwestern China, was a hot topic. But these days the attention has faded.