Open Data troves held by tech giants will be forced open, to benefit consumers & level the playing field for rivals. Further crackdowns likely: ban on sharing data across their businesses, unwinding of mergers, new rules/fines for use of personal data. The pain will fall mainly on their reign over internet search, digital advertising, e-commerce &…
Over Climate change is over; we’re in climate crisis now. 2020 will mark the turning point when weather becomes a more urgent priority than economic growth. Governments representing 206m people have declared climate emergencies. Future generations will have it hot, hot, hot Guessed the Word? Series 53 (1/7) pic: riaSopala
Longest Longest & calmest ever US bull market turns 11 years old in June 2020. Will it last? Probably, as American consumers are in great shape. Their debt relative to income is lowest in 40 years, their savings rate is high, real incomes are rising & unemployment is at a 50-year low. No sign of…
Guess the Word and Contact Us for Prizes! Series 53 starts soon….. 1st letter of each Post Title (in a Series) spells a business word – spelt correctly or jumbled up. Previous answers: Series 52 spelt R-O-B-B-I-N (RIBBON) Series 51 spelt P-A-W-W-I-S-H (WHIPSAW) Series 50 spelt L-I-O-N-S-M-E-E-T (MILESTONE) Series 49 spelt C-G-U-R-N-E-Y (URGENCY) Series 48 spelt …
New Year 2020 What will come up this year? A survivor mindset always helps: improvise, adapt & overcome. The only wrong thing we can do is to lose hope. The best & brightest feel part of something larger than just making money, & help to make the world a better place. Happy New Year! Guessed the Word? …
Inn No room at the inn this Christmas? Raise a glass – UK pubs report c.12% higher festive season sales, compared to 2018. The sector is facing drinking habit changes – young people socialise online rather than go to a pub. 476 pubs, mostly small independents, closed between Jan – Jun 2019. But good booking systems &…
Bah humbug! Cost of Christmas dinner was up again! Erratic weather & African swine fever affected food prices around the world. Higher turkey (up 6%, due to higher temperatures in summer), pork & Brussels sprouts prices increased wholesale cost of UK Christmas dinner by 3% from 2018. Vegetables were affected by rain in recent months. Chilled…
Bauble Roman tradition to hang fruit on trees led to Christmas baubles. Apples, candy canes & pastry stars, hearts & flowers decorated trees until glass baubles were invented in mid-16th c. in Lauscha, Germany. Queen Victoria’s tree, hung with baubles from her husband’s native Germany, appeared in a London newspaper & set off a trend. FW…
Outdoor lights Outdoor lights symbolise the Christmas season. Evolved from 17th c German tradition of lighting the tree with small candles. 1880 – 1st outdoor electric light display by Thomas Edison. 2 years later, his colleague, Edward Johnson made the 1st string of lights, with 80 small bulbs. Outdoor Christmas lights spark joy – &…
Rustic The rustic cottage offers refuge from politics, commercial pressures & the cold. Consumers fulfil the fantasy of a Christmas country cottage by renting one – even the smallest & most remote dwellings get snapped up quickly. Time with family & friends, in a timeless rural setting, is the antidote to urban noise, hustle &…