Category Archives: Social

As financial systems and economies worsen, innovation comes from an unlikely source

After some apparently good news yesterday, the news today has turned distinctly sour. As stories in the FT show: The world’s financial systems still seem to be getting worse, not better European solutions seem to be tinkering at the edges … Continue reading

Posted in China, China, Economic, Energy, Energy / Environmental, Environmental, Eurozone crisis, EurozoneCrisis, IndustryCompetition, Oil, Paradigms, Peak Oil, Political/Economic, Ratings Agencies, Reforming the Finance Sector, Rich-Poor divide, Social, USA | Leave a comment

Drivers of change

Chris Luebkeman, Director of Global Innovation and Foresight at Arup, talks about some of the key drivers of change in our world: Key drivers of change that he mentions, to varying levels of detail, include: Congestion Genetic screening Sea level … Continue reading

Posted in Economic, Energy, Energy / Environmental, Environmental, Political/Economic, Social, Technological | Leave a comment

Snapshot of today

The US Federal Reserve has cut its growth forecast for 2012 from 3.5% to 2.7%, and is still predicting low inflation, but has not reduced interest rates. People who bet that market volatility would reduce after the eurozone agreement have … Continue reading

Posted in China, Economic, Energy / Environmental, Eurozone crisis, EurozoneCrisis, IndustryCompetition, Mobile phones, Paradigms, Political/Economic, Reforming the Finance Sector, Social, Technological | Leave a comment

Strike lifts copper price

Strikes at mines in Indonesia and Peru have led to the price of copper for three month delivery on the London Metal Exchange rising more than one percent. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/91ced962-f8a6-11e0-ad8f-00144feab49a.html

Posted in IndustryCompetition, Raw Materials, Rich-Poor divide, Social | Leave a comment

US debate on rich/poor divide continues

Temporary measures to raise States’ top levels of income tax, introduced in response to the recession, are expiring. But support for extending them is widespread, even among some high earners. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e80d6b60-f6a1-11e0-9381-00144feab49a.html

Posted in Political/Economic, Rich-Poor divide, Rich-Poor divide, Social | Leave a comment

Dividends of FTSE 100 rise dramatically

How can it be that, at a time when the economy is struggling, economic forecasts are gloomy, the government is cutting back its spending significantly, “shareholders in UK companies enjoyed strong growth in dividends”? Growth in commodity prices helped mining … Continue reading

Posted in Political/Economic, Rich-Poor divide, Rich-Poor divide, Social | Leave a comment

World grain output grows

Although US grain production was hit by bad weather, global production of wheat, rice and corn have risen on the back of higher market prices — by around 10%-40% in the past 11 years. Russia is still imposing an export … Continue reading

Posted in Agriculture, Food, IndustryCompetition, Social | Leave a comment

Even billionaires can struggle

It is not only low income families who are struggling at the moment — billionaires have their problems too. The Bakrie family in Indonesia has a track record of buying companies, mortgaging them and using the new capital to buy … Continue reading

Posted in Economic, Emerging Economies, Energy / Environmental, Rich-Poor divide, Social | Leave a comment

Of the 1%, by the 1%, for…

While protesters Occupy Wall Street for the third week it is interesting to stumble across an article in Vanity Fair (written in May this year) that says almost exactly the same things. The top 1% of Americans earn almost 25% of the national income … Continue reading

Posted in Arab Spring, Arab Spring / Occupy, Paradigms, Political/Economic, Rich-Poor divide, Rich-Poor divide, Risk, Social | Leave a comment

Obama’s priorities

President Obama chose to focus on three priorities in a press conference yesterday. He cited the credit crisis in Europe as “the biggest headwind” holding back the US economy. And he criticised Wall Street for banks’ fees, saying that the … Continue reading

Posted in Social | Leave a comment