The sharing economy, represented by companies like Airbnb or Uber, is the latest fashion craze. But many supporters have overlooked the reality that this new business model is largely based on escaping regulations and breaking the law.

Airbnb is an internet-based service that allows people to rent out spare rooms to strangers for short stays. Uber is an internet taxi service that allows thousands of people to answer ride requests with their own cars. There are hundreds of other such services.

The good thing about the sharing economy is that it promotes the use of underused resources. Millions of people have houses or apartments with empty rooms, and Airbnb allows them to profit from these rooms while allowing guests a place to stay at prices that are often far less than those charged by hotels. Uber offers prices that are competitive with standard taxi prices and their drivers are often much quicker and more trustworthy.

But the downside of the sharing economy has gotten much less attention. Most cities and states both tax and regulate hotels, and the tourists who stay in hotels are usually an important source of tax income. But many of Airhnb’s customers are not paying the taxes required under the law.

Airbnb can also raise issues of safety for its customers and trouble for hosts' neighbors. Hotels are regularly inspected to ensure that they are not fire traps and that they don't form other risks for visitors. Airbnb hosts face no such inspections.

Since Airbnb is allowing people to escape taxes and regulations, the company is simply promoting thefts. Others in the economy will lose by bearing an additional tax burden or being forced to live next to an apartment unit with a never-ending series of noisy visitors.

The same story may apply with Uber. Uber is currently in disputes over whether its cars meet the safety and insurance requirements imposed on standard taxis. Also, if Uber and related services flood the market, they could harm all taxi drivers' ability to earn a minimum wage.

This downside of the sharing needs to be taken seriously, hut that doesn't mean the current tax and regulatory structure is perfect.

 Millions of people die of hunger in southern Africa every year, but when Zambia was offered thousands of tons of free corn by the US, the government politely said no.

“We don’t know whether the food is safe,” said Zambia’s Commerce, Trade and Industry Minister Dipak Patel.

His worries are shared by countries around the world that are in two minds about America’s genetically modified (GM转基因) crops. Just last week, EU (欧盟) member nations were discussing whether or not to import GM sweet corn from the US.

Ever since people started farming, they have tried to crossbreed (杂交) plants to make them stronger or better tasting. At one time, only related plants could be crossed with each other.

But when GM techniques were developed in the 1970s, scientists were able to put a single gene from a living creature into an unrelated creature.

This means they can make crops more productive and resistant (抵抗的) to disease by adding genes from other species. They can also create food with special characteristics, such as “golden rice”, which is enriched with vitamin A. But many people believe GM foods are a health risk.

“If left to me, I would certainly not eat GM foods,” said Scottish scientist Arpad Pusztai. “We are putting new things into food which haven’t been eaten before. The effects on the immune system (免疫系统) are not easy to predict.”

At the moment, the official argument is that GM foods “are not likely to present risks for human health”. But there are still many questions to be answered as the foods are produced in different ways.

Some experts believe the genetic material added to plants can transfer to humans and give damage to our bodies. Further harm could be caused by the genes from GM plants crossbreeding with naturally produced crops.

Half off usually unaffordable products? Only $49.99 for that $100,00 dinner? That’s the magic of Groupon, but for some small business owners the “great business” offered by Groupon can be equal to the kiss of death. How could that occur?

    The math of Groupon seems simple at a glance, but upon further inspection the numbers don’t add up when it comes to smaller businesses. A Groupon typically offers a 50% discount on a product or service, then the remaining profit is divided between Groupon and the small business. While Groupon has already received the profit in advance, the merchant is left waiting for their cut. Those worrying numbers are assuming the price cut is 50/50, which, in some cases, is being generous.

    When you break it down to numbers, a Groupon deal seems disastrous, but it’s not only the numbers small business owners have to worry about. The point of Groupon deals is to attract new and hopefully long-term customers. Yet, does this actually happen? The majority of consumers buying the Croupon are there for the bargain and don’t return after using their Groupon. CFHS Junior Angelita Pope stated, “I love the deals offered by Groupon! They can really save you so much money.” However, she went on to say that she hadn’t returned once to any of the businesses after using her Groupon.

    For some small businesses, the pressure lies with the responses of their loyal customers, who watch as new faces get the same product or service for half the price that they have been paying for years. When you break it down, Groupon indicates that the business offering the deal is not only willing to be flexible with their price, but also that their product or service isn’t worth the price they’re charging for. When combining these factors, it’s no wonder loyal customers are put off by the idea of their favorite shop offering Groupons.

    Now I by no means say Groupon has bad effects on all businesses; however, the storm of Groupon is actually a disaster for a small business.

When the residents of Buenos Aires want to change the pesos they do not trust into the dollars they do, they go to an office that acts as a front for thriving illegal exchange market.

As the couriers carry their bundles of pesos around Buenos Aires, they pass grand buildings like the Teatro Colon, an opera house that opened in 1908, and the Retiro railway station, completed in 1915. In the 43 years leading up to 1914, GDP had grown at an annual rate of 6%, the fastest recorded in the world. In 1914 half of Buenos Aires’s population was foreign-born. Its income per head was 92% of the average of 16 rich economies.

It never got better than this. Its income per head is now 43% of those same 16 rich economies; it trails Chile and Uruguay in its own backyard.

The country’s dramatic decline has long puzzled economists. “If a guy has been hit 700,000 shots it’s hard to work out which one of them killed him.” says Rafael di Tella. But three deep-lying explanations help to throw light on the country’s decline. Firstly, Argentina may have been rich 100 years ago but it was not modern. The second theory stresses the role of trade policy. Thirdly, when it needed to change, Argentina lacked the institutions to create successful policies.

Argentina was rich in 1914 because of commodities; its industrial base was only weakly developed. The landowners who made Argentina rich were not so bothered about educating it: cheap labor was what counted.

Without a good education system, Argentina struggled to create competitive industries. It had benefited from technology in its Belle Epoque period, but Argentina mainly consumed technology from abroad rather than inventing its own.

Argentina had become rich by making a triple bet on agriculture, open market and Britain, its biggest trading partner. If that bet turned sour, it would require a severe adjustment. The First World War delivered the initial blow to trade. Next came the Depression, which crushed the open trading system on which Argentina depended. Dependence on Britain, another country in decline, backfired(失败) as Argentina’s favored export market signed preferential deals with Commonwealth countries.

After the Second World War, when the rich world began its slow return to free trade with the negotiation of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade in 1947, Argentina had become a more closed economy. An institution to control foreign trade was created in 1946; the share of trade as a percentage of GDP continued to fall. High food prices meant big profits for farmers but empty stomachs for ordinary Argentines. Open borders increased farmers’ taking but sharpened competition from abroad for domestic industry. Heavy export taxes on crops allow the state to top up its decreasing foreign-exchange reserves; limits on wheat exports create surpluses(过剩) that drive down local prices. But they also dissuade farmers from planting more land, enabling other countries to steal market shares.

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    Similar to humans,produce comes in different shapes and sizes.Yet,chances are that you have probably never seen a strange-looking carrot or an apple with"character"at your local grocery store or farmers'market.That's because any fruit or vegetable that looks different from what is considered"normal"is considered unacceptable and thrown away.

    Experts estimate that six billion pounds or about twenty percent of all produce grown in the US ends up either in landfill or as animal food, annually.Now Ben Chester,Ben Simon and Ron Clark want to change that with their new company called"Imperfect".The Oakland-based company plans to purchase the strange-looking produce from farmers and sell it either through a supermarket chain they recently signed a deal with or by delivering it directly to consumers.

    Chester and Simon believe that once consumers realize that"ugly"fruits and vegetables taste as good as the "beautiful" produce supermarkets display,they will embrace the cause.The company who is working with farmers in California plans to start selling the produce to the residents of Oakland and Berkeley by July.If all goes well,Imperfect will extend the service to other California cities and then hopefully,to other states as well.

     I think they're doing the right thing.Here are my reasons.First,they will prevent waste.Second,their idea will also result in additional income for farmers who are sometimes forced to throw away as much as 50％of their harvest just because it doesn't look "right".Third,consumers that eat the produce will benefit,too.That's because the entrepreneurs estimate it will cost as much as 30-50％ less than grocery store produce.Fourth,it will help the environment,too!That's because rotting produce releases hazardous gas into the atmosphere.Fifth,for drought-ridden California the business could not have come at a better time.Each pound of food that gets sold prevents the 25-50 gallons of water it takes to grow a pound of produce from being wasted.Lastly,I think kids may consume more fruits and vegetables if they look "different" than the boring ones they see today!

China’s President Xi Jinping visited the UK from Oct 19 to Oct 23, 2015. This is a high-level state visit. The UK welcomed China’s President Xi Jinping and first lady Peng Liyuan with magnificent ceremony. The UK has shown the sincere attitude and committed to build a “golden era”with China in the next years. The etiquette(礼节) and ceremony will be the symbol of the Nation’s culture and World’s status. The UK held grand the ceremony and announced the determination hospitality to the world, China’s President Xi and other Chinese guests.

  As the powerful country, the good reputation of the UK has already spread to the world. The Royal ceremony is the well known formal ceremony. China’s President Xi met with Queen Elizabeth II an her husband Prince Philip, Prince Charles and his wife Camilla, Prince William and his wife Kate, British Prime Minister David Cameron and other officials. The Buckingham Palace, Mansion House, Chequers, Parliament, No. 10 Downing Street are the main places fo bilateral meetings and banquet.

  The UK aims at building a “golden era” and finding a new road to create extremely pleasing development. The UK joined the China-led Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank this year. It will help the UK to strengthen the connection with other memberships. As the reliable partner, the UK is willing to cooperate with China and explore possibilities. China’s “the Belt and Road” is the major initiative (初步行动) to build the economy booming along the new Silk Road. The countries that joined the organization will support each other and seek profits.

  The UK’s ceremony reflects the aspiration to push the “golden era” in UK-China relations. China and the UK should concentrate on establishing an innovative environment, advocating environmental protection and carrying out the policies. It should be the efficient measures for a win-win relationship.