A box of Pfizer drug Viagra and a bottle of Allergan product Botox are seen in a combination of file photos.STAFF/Reuters
Surely it's a marriage made in pharma heaven: The makers of Viagara and Botox ended their months-long courtship by announcing Monday they would tie the knot.
The proposed tie-up between Pfizer and Allergan, known as a corporate inversion, has caused plenty of controversy in the United States, but the happy couple feel that dodging brickbats now is well worth the reward of dodging taxes down the line.
Despite the cries of outrage, it's unlikely the U.S. Congress will (or even can) do anything to put a halt to the nuptials. Even if it could, the pair's prenuptial agreement means it'll cost just $400-million (U.S.) if either party gets cold feet before the big day.
With the two high-profile drugs soon to be living under the same roof, maybe the merged company should consider a new motto: "Making people look great in bed since 2016."
Defusing the debt bombs
Scandinavian countries lead the world in many quality-of-life metrics, but things are not so hunky-dory in one area: Nordic nations lead the world in household debt as a percentage of net disposable income, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.
The most recent data put Denmark at the top of the list at a whopping 315 per cent. Norway, in fourth position, clocks in at 220 per cent, and in seventh place comes Sweden, with a relatively modest, in Scandinavian terms, 167 per cent.
By comparison, Canada, where economists have been sounding alarm bells over growing household debt, comes in just behind Sweden at 163 per cent. But in other countries, the threat is seen as far worse.
"Household debt seen as S. Korea's potential time bomb" blared a headline in The Korea Observer on Tuesday. The debt ratio reached a record high of 138 per cent at the end of March, according to the Bank of Korea.
In a similarly incendiary metaphor, access to easy credit was called "the biggest time bomb" facing the country, according to Ismail Momoniat, a deputy director-general at South Africa's national treasury. There, the debt-to-income ratio was 78 per cent, according to a Bloomberg report on Thursday, making citizens appear frugal in comparison with those in other countries.
Even Canada has been warned to brace itself: "The time bomb under Canada's economy: Soaring household debt, and sudden delinquencies!," a headline screamed in economics blogger Wolf Richter's Wolf Street report in September.
The media just can't seem to restrain themselves when it comes to explosive comparisons.
Is it okay to file my nails?
"Wait, does the ad specify which century the job exists in?"
One response on Twitter to an ad from a Toronto Web design company specifying that females were best suited to the Web writer position it wanted to fill as the job sometimes required pitching in as receptionist.
The story was picked up by media outlets worldwide, appearing in publications ranging from Britain to Croatia to India to New Zealand.
Big sales in the forecast
Yet another dress has made headlines. You might recall that, earlier in the year, a frock that came to be dubbed "that dress" made the rounds on all sorts of media outlets because of an optical illusion it presented. To some, the dress was blue and black, while to others, it appeared white and gold.
Now there's one that's become a sort of go-to dress for American meteorologists. Dozens of them across the country have snapped up a "Homeyee stretch tunic pencil sheath dress" for $22.99 (U.S.) on Amazon, as Business Insider reports.
The dress, available in a range of solid colours, is apparently ideal for TV, as wardrobe options are limited to outfits that don't clash with the green screen or have patterns that look too busy. The other attraction is the price. As meteorologists need to have a well-stocked wardrobe, many people assume they have a clothing allowance. Not so.
"We have consultants that give us advice, but they don't give us money or clothing," April Warnecke, a meteorologist for 3TV in Arizona, told Business Insider. Still, at least they'll know when they're dressed for the weather.
Stabbed in the back?
Unemployment in Italy just ticked up a tad this week after a decree from Rome's city commissioner Francesco Paolo Tronc.
Actors who dress up in gladiator garb hoping to make money by posing for pictures with tourists have been banned from outside the Colosseum and other famous Roman landmarks, the BBC reported.
Mr. Tronc is on a mission to clean up the city as it ushers in the Catholic Jubilee Year, beginning Dec. 8, which marks the 50th anniversary of the Second Vatican Council.
In announcing the decision, he denounced the pseudo-gladiators' "inappropriate, insistent and sometimes aggressive" behaviour as they demand between €5 ($7.08) and €10 for a photo.
Harassing tourists is just one of the reasons for the ban. The impersonators have also been known to attack each other in turf wars over the most lucrative spots.
It's tough enough for a gladiator to earn a living. Spare a little pity for them now that they've been thrown to the lions.