BUSINESS & ECONOMICS EDITOR'S PICK SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY Uranium And The Future Of The Nuclear Industry Key Takeaway: The uranium market has seen a surge in prices since mid-August, with prices around US$48 per pound (453g). This is due to investors and speculators scrambling to buy the commodity, which is limited to nuclear power production and medical equipment. The demand for uranium is distributed across 445 nuclear power plants operating in […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK FINANCE Does Insider Trading Actually Matter? Key Takeaway: Insider trading is an illegal act in which someone relies on market-moving, nonpublic information to decide whether to buy or sell a financial asset. Punishment can range from a few months to over a decade. Insider trading is common and profitable, but difficult to prove and prevent. It undermines public confidence in financial […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK FINANCE The Tragic Truth Of Venture Capital Key Takeaway: J.P. Morgan saved the financial system in 1907 by pledging $8 million to the next domino, the Trust Company of America, and convincing a dozen other banks and the U.S. Treasury to deposit $70 million into other vulnerable banks. Bank of America is backed by a safety net of federal agencies, such as […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK FINANCE The Challenges Ahead For Bitcoin In 2023 Key Takeaway: Bitcoin has rallied over 53% since its low of US$15,476 in November, suggesting the bottom has finally been reached for the leading cryptocurrency. Retail investors have been buying bitcoin aggressively, while institutional investors have been offloading, suggesting a fall could be imminent. Bitcoin will reach the Wyckoff accumulation phase when institutional investors decide […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK FINANCE STRATEGY TECHNOLOGY From GameStop To Crypto: How To Protect Yourself From Hype Key Takeaways: Recent rallies in stocks popularised on social media have attracted increasing numbers of investors looking to these so-called “meme stocks” for quick returns. And with recessions looming around the world, the danger is becoming even more acute. Investors should learn a lesson from the GameStop story. Consumers have learned to be more wary […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
EDITOR'S PICK FINANCE TECHNOLOGY The Pros & Cons Of Cryptocurrencies For Developing Countries Isabella Roiz of The Washington Post contacted me by email to discuss the consequences of El Salvador’s decision to adoption bitcoin as its official currency, despite its volatility. Here’s her article, “Central America hoped bitcoin would attract tourists. It hasn’t worked.” (pdf). The problem with a country adopting a cryptocurrency as its official currency is is […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS EDITOR'S PICK What Caused 2022’s Crypto-Crash? Key Takeaways: If you had invested £100 (US$122) in the cryptocurrency Luna a month ago, you might have been quietly confident you’d made a sensible bet. In this case these trades caused Terra to fall, which in turn brought its partner coin Luna down too. Notwithstanding historical price volatility, there is a basic assumption often […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS EDITOR'S PICK FINANCE Do Financial “Poison Pills” Work? Key Takeaways: Corporate executives engage in top-secret talks, with one company or group of investors making a bid for another business. But other takeovers are more hostile in nature. Not every company wants to be taken over. This is the case with Elon Musk’s US$43 billion bid to buy Twitter. But if the company has […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS EDITOR'S PICK FINANCE Understanding Insider Trading Key Takeaways: There’s a growing bipartisan push to prohibit members of Congress from buying or selling stocks. More recently, two Fed officials stepped down in September 2021 after disclosures showed they were trading extensively in 2020 at the same time the U.S. central bank was spending trillions saving the economy from the effects of the […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS EDITOR'S PICK FINANCE Does The Stock Market Extract Wealth? Many of us see the stock market as an investment engine for building companies and generating wealth, but the truth is that the stock market works more like an extraction engine. It depletes corporations while contributing to the concentration of wealth. The Stock Market is an Aftermarket Our distorted view of the stock market starts when we believe that buying shares in a publicly-traded company actually invests […] Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
The Secret Functions Of Dopamine Key Takeaway: Recent neuroscience research suggests that popular strategies to control dopamine are based on an overly narrow view of its function. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter in the brain that tracks reactions to rewards, such as food, sex, money, or answering a question correctly. There are many types of dopamine neurons located in the uppermost […] Written by Kimberlee D'Ardenne September 19, 2023September 19, 2023 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
NASA Finally Revealed Findings On UFOs Key Takeaway: NASA’s independent study team released a report on UFOs, describing them as UAPs (unidentified anomalous phenomena) to move beyond the stigma associated with UFOs. The report found no evidence that reported UAP observations are extraterrestrial. The report also highlighted the need for transparency and reducing the stigma associated with UFOs. The study team […] Written by Chris Impey September 18, 2023September 18, 2023 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Some Silicon Valley Investors Are Trying To Create A Utopian City Key Takeaway: George Bernard Shaw referred to Ebenezer Howard’s “garden cities” concept in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, which he believed would offer the advantages of town and country without the drawbacks. Recently, a Silicon Valley consortium called Flannery Associates purchased land for California Forever, a contentious project that echoes Howard’s ideas. Howard’s […] Written by Empirics Asia September 12, 2023September 12, 2023 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
How Video Games Are Reviving Classical Music Key Takeaways: Starfield, a highly anticipated video game, allows players to build their own character and spacecraft, travel to multiple planets, and follow multiple story arcs. The game’s interactive music uses a palette of musical language that cultivates a contemplative soundscape, launching the listener into the vastness of space while remaining curious, innocent, and restrained. […] Written by J. Aaron Hardwick September 11, 2023September 11, 2023 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
The Psychology Of Fyre Festival II Key Takeaway: The founder of the 2017 Fyre Festival, William “Billy” McFarland, has announced plans for a second attempt at the festival, with a target date of the end of 2024. McFarland, who was charged with several fraud offences and sentenced to six years in prison, has been promoting the event on Instagram. The promotion […] Written by Yaniv Hanoch September 8, 2023September 8, 2023 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
What Exactly Is Nudge Theory? Key Takeaway: The concept of “nudge theory” has gained prominence 15 years after its 2008 book, “Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth and Happiness.” The book, which inspired politicians like Barack Obama and David Cameron, led to the creation of government teams to incorporate nudge theory into public policy. However, the success of these nudges […] Written by Stuart Mills September 7, 2023September 7, 2023 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
The Age Of Nanotechnology Key Takeaways: Nanotechnology is set to revolutionize clothing, transportation, and transportation. Clothing will be tailored to individual needs, with synthesizers in closets creating clothing that fits perfectly. Nanosuits, made of 5 microns thick fabric, will cover the wearer’s body, allowing separate holes for individual hairs and making them weightless. This technology will double the amount […] Written by Ella Alderson September 6, 2023September 6, 2023 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Rethinking Education Key Takeaways: The Industrial model of education that fueled the modern era and its dizzying reach did its job incredibly well. In his writing, Flynn illustrates study after study, spanning nations and decades, in which modern educational gift of abstraction — a transcendent sign of intelligence, as we saw in Raven’s Matrices — has been […] Written by Anthony Fieldman March 2, 2022October 19, 2022 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
How China Is Transforming Its Economy Through Learning I highly recommend reading the McKinsey Global Institute’s new report, “Reskilling China: Transforming The World’s Largest Workforce Into Lifelong Learners”, which focuses on the country’s biggest employment challenge, re-training its workforce and the adoption of practices such as lifelong learning to address the growing digital transformation of its productive fabric. How to transform the country […] Written by Enrique Dans February 1, 2021February 1, 2021 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
Why You’re Not Seeing Success With Influencer Marketing With the new year around the corner, now is a good time to re-evaluate your past marketing strategies and gear up for the year ahead. For some businesses, influencer marketing has simply not seemed to live up to its lofty promises of genuine engagement, credibility, and transparency. Some have claimed that it has been failing […] Written by Michael Tan January 14, 2021January 15, 2021 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked
A New Philosophy of Business I’m about to ask you to take a mental leap. For the next 8 minutes, suspend your notions of what a business is, and I’ll propose a new lens for you to look through. There are a lot of questions asked around what “community” means for business. “Where should community fit in my organization?” and […] Written by Empirics Asia September 5, 2018September 5, 2018 Saving Bookmark this article Bookmarked