WEEKLY SELECTION

Endless quantitative easing runs risks, but so does tapering too soon. Many US workers prioritise the benefits of working from home above everything – even their pay cheque. Prioritising purpose, wellbeing, adaptability, diverse connections, and learning would help us thrive. Connecting with strangers could and should be part of this. Reserving enough thinking time in a day is another [...]

Pressure in China to control animal spirits risks crushing the confidence so vital for its economy. The adverse pressure exerted by climate change on weather patterns is now beyond dispute. Pressure from ‘anywhere jobs’ is making white collar workers increasingly vulnerable. Put yourself under physical pressure and then reap the ‘rewards’ afterwards – a new form of experiential consumption [...]

Only holistic and systemic solutions can solve the world's existential problems. Has China the potential to be a global champion? Global togetherness – considered a hallmark value of the Olympics - is conspicuous by its absence in Tokyo.  Because of misaligned human and market values, capitalism is failing to deliver fair and resilient societies. Vaccines have their limitations against [...]

As an AI productivity boom now looks probable, we need to prepare for it. Opinions on whether we should be preparing for inflation are shifting. Attitudes to working hours have perhaps changed for good. The complexity and magnitude of changing to clean energy should not be underestimated. Previously unknown and underestimated, new science now confirms that looking after our gut [...]

Sustainability, not going back to a pre-Covid normal, should be the primary policy objective. Formally ‘normal’ taxation dynamics are set to change. So is US economic primacy, according to some pundits. Technology is changing the nature of many jobs – often for the worse. To learn better, don’t forget to take a break. QUOTE OF THE WEEK “Redesigning the system [...]

Thanks to technology and scale, winners are increasingly ‘taking all’. Despite the tragic loss of life it has (is) caused(ing) the pandemic might yet be life-saving in the long term. Heat domes are not a result of climate change, but their current ferocity almost certainly is. A different perspective on recent events in terms of press freedom in Hong Kong. [...]

How capitalist really is China? More than we tend to think. To become a reality, the post-Covid productivity premium needs robust demand and ongoing adoption of technology. Loss of biodiversity and the climate threat to the planet are really two sides of the same coin. Changing our perception (which can alter our emotions) can yield new ideas in a [...]

Post-pandemic life-work re-assessment is resulting in an unexpected wave of employees quitting their jobs. Bitcoin has no innate value – but this doesn’t stop it being valued and increasingly so. Fake human data risks messing up the algorithms. Post-pandemic and zoom weary we are re-assessing who our friends really are. Re-assessing our life-sleep balance and placing the value on [...]

Ambitious Chinese youth are involuting, but it’s not an exclusively Chinese phenomenon. There are lessons on crisis management to be learnt from COVID. Central banks should learn from the past and do something now to curb excessive risk-taking. When it’s an app called Calm, doing very little has proved effective. There are things we can do to help us [...]