China’s charm offensive in the Global South. The shifting pieces of the world’s demographic puzzle. The next big risks. Explaining the addictive nature of ultra-processed foods and what we can do to resist it. The dangerous, super meditative, low-adreline underwater world of deep diving
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“The world’s demographic sweet spots are changing, and fast.” (in the second article of the week)
ARTICLE OF THE WEEK
Jacob Dreyer, The World China Is Building
(Noema, 13 July 2023)
How China is ‘seducing’ the Global South by portraying itself as a development model to emulate, not exporting plastic trinkets but rather the infrastructure for telecommunications, transportation and digitally driven “smart cities.”. This is the strategy underlying the efforts deployed by China’s diplomats and tech companies to forge partnerships in the countries and places that compose the Global South. On offer: the basics of development – education, health care, clean drinking water, housing -; but also, more than that – technology, communication, and transportation. And in addition, and contrary to the Western world: no ‘moral’ strings attached (free access, reads in 7-9 min).
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Lauren Leatherby, How a Vast Demographic Shift Will Reshape the World
(The New York Times, 16 July 2023)
Great infographics to grasp how much the world’s demographics are changing, and fast. In short: in most countries, extraordinary numbers of retirees will be dependent on a shrinking number of working-age people to support them. This shift will reshape economic growth and geopolitical power, with obvious implications for business leaders and investors. For the countries in a position to experience a demographic dividend, putting into place the right policies will be key (otherwise their huge working-age population will backfire rather than lead to economic growth) (gifted article – reads in about 10 min).
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Sonali Basak, Selloffs, Inequality, China Tension: Here Are the Next Big Risks
(Bloomberg, 20 July 2023)
Nothing particularly new here, but always interesting to get a sense of what worries some big names in the world of investing. Three who’ve managed money for decades (Boaz Weinstein, David Rubenstein and Ida Liu) share their thoughts about the next big risk they see coming over five-10 years. They are: (1) A big pickup in defaults and extreme market selloffs; (2) Worsening inequality and a clash between the haves and the have-nots; (3) Ongoing geopolitical concerns – notably the US-China strategic confrontation (gifted article – reads in 6-8 min).
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Jason Goodyer, How ultra-processed food tricks you into eating more, and how you can free yourself of its addictive properties
(BBC Science, 16 July 2023)
From the MD who just authored “Ultra Processed People: Why Do We All Eat Stuff That Isn’t Food… and Why Can’t We Stop.” Full of simple yet interesting insights. Defining ultra-processed food (UPF): food wrapped in plastic which contains an additive that you don’t find in a typical domestic kitchen. UPF drives weight gain because it’s soft and energy dense: we eat it at a rate that’s much higher than real food. And the additives which have some direct effects on our brains and on our microbiomes: the emulsifiers (the molecules that bind fats to water), act a bit like detergent: scrubbing out our guts and removing the layer of healthy mucus, fostering the growth of less friendly, more inflammatory bacteria living inside us. Then afood industry that is: ‘obliged’ to make it addictive (free access – 5 min).
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Adrian Horton, It’s an anti-adrenaline sport’: inside the dangerous world of freediving
(The Guardian, 18 July 2023)
This is about The Deepest Breath – a riveting new documentary (Netflix trailer in the article) about the world of freediving as seen through the lens of a partnership between a female champion and her coach – mentor. It shows that freediving is an elemental, primal, extreme and very dangerous sport, but there’s another side to it. It’s a kind of “anti-adrenaline sport” in that it requires the ability to be ‘super meditative’, to lower the heart rate and to clear the mind (free access – reads in about 5 min).
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