Unmanned By weaponising unmanned aerial vehicles, pilots can endanger lives without risking their own. Consider & counter the downsides of new tech early. Drones must prove they can fly safely beyond line of sight, over human populations and at night. Defences? Licences, nets, lasers, projectiles, electromagnetic pulses, jamming radio signals & suicide drones Guessed the…
Category: U
Utility Utilities were dull but safe investments with regular dividends & little volatility. Butrenewable energy (wind, solar), energy-efficiency advances (smarter homes) & climate change (wildfires) have sparked a change. Now the safe utility firms are those who own only poles & wires Guessed the Word? Series 41 (2/9) …
Urban More than 1/2 the world’s population now lives in urban areas. Will rise to 2/3rds by 2050. But cities won’t achieve their economic potential unless they solve air pollution, navigation, housing shortage & noise. In city-life utopia, robots sit in traffic, rents are low & electric motor whirrs are the loudest sound Guessed the Word?…
Under-achiever Now’s the best time for Europe to stop being big tech’s under-achieverUSA hit by unforced errors – fake news, privacy/ data security lapses. China’s un-tailored services struggling to expand into new markets. Europe’s promising tech arenas: drug & materials development, driverless cars, electric helicopters, genomics. London is 1 of the best places on Earth…
Unify A Unified Payments Interface (UPI) enables instant & easy money exchanges from person-to-person or person-to-merchant. India’s 2-yr old UPI system has 115 lenders & handled ₹542bn rupees ($7.5 bn) of transactions in Aug 2018, up from ₹31m in Aug 2017. All together now: the ramp-up power of a network Guessed the Word? …
Uncertainty Does uncertainty affect the economy? Uncertainty spikes during recessions. But the cause runs both ways: Uncertainty causes recessions because it makes consumers, employers & investors hesitate to spend. When we all hesitate – that’s a recession Guessed the Word? Series 34 (4/8) [pic: pauloNicolello]
Ultramarine Value comes from a commodity’s use & how hard it is to get/make. Until synthetic created in 1826, the finest blue was powdered Afghan lapis lazuli, costlier than gold. YInMn (YIN-min) is the 1st new blue pigment in 200 years. Safe, durable, heat-reflecting, enviro-friendly. Will be very valuable: blue is USA’s favourite colour &…
Underdog Brands can profit from positioning as the underdog. Determination to triumph against the odds has a strong appeal – in events (dive rescue of Thai boys), sport (Wimbledon, World Cup), books (Harry Potter), clothes (the humble waistcoat), or business Guessed the Word? Series 27 (5/7) [pic:…
Unregulated The only market that’s unregulated is the art business. Buying & selling paintings is one way to clean dirty money Guessed the Word? Series 22 (2/8) [pic: daniel van den berg]
Unfair UK vendors are unfairly undercut by online foreign sellers who don’t add 20% VAT even when goods are sent from stocks kept in UK warehouses, Guessed the Word? Series 19 (2/7) [pic: neonbrand]