Le Studio Weekly

🧮 Numbers of the Week

60-The number of daily high temperature records that were tied or broken as a heat wave enveloped much of the nation, as of Thursday, July 21.

$163 million-The amount in COVID-19 relief unemployment benefits that were lost nationally due to fraud and improper payments.

16-The number of states that are suing the United States Postal Service over its plan to replace just a fraction of its 165,000 gas-powered vehicles with electric ones. The lawsuit is just one of three that the Postal Service currently faces over its decision to replace aging fleet vehicles with more gasoline-powered trucks.

👥 Venture Capital

European startups raised €54.4 billion in H1, but last quarter registered a decline of 10.6% in capital invested over Q1 2022.

Late-stage deals took the largest share of capital, with more than 66% of the total value.

Exits fell significantly from 2021's record, with 657 completed worth a combined €25.8 billion.

Fund count could fall to its lowest level since 2013, but rising fund sizes are pushing up the total raised.

🏛️ Culture & Trends

Hidden Van Gogh self-portrait found behind painting in Scotland

LONDON, July 14 (Reuters) - A self-portrait of Dutch post-Impressionist artist Vincent van Gogh has been uncovered hidden behind one of his paintings.National Galleries of Scotland said on Thursday art conservators made the discovery, believed to be a first for a UK institution, during an x-ray examination of Van Gogh's 1885 artwork "Head of a Peasant Woman" for an upcoming exhibition. It said the x-ray showed "a bearded sitter in a brimmed hat with a neckerchief loosely tied at the throat. He fixes the viewer with an intense stare, the right side of his face in shadow and his left ear clearly visible".

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