With art becoming recognized almost as much for its investment value as for its esthetics, art auction houses including industry powerhouse Sotheby's have entered the art loans business. The loans component has even progressed to the point of reselling art loans to investors. AS CNBC points out, investors should be aware of the risks of using art as an investment product.
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/25/the-wealthy-are-borrowing-billions-against-their-art-collections-.html
Our farmers are dwindling and they are getting older. In an in-depth investigation, the BBC highlights programs around the world that are empowering women, and those of any race and age to take on more influential roles in agriculture. Such initiatives could help millions rise from poverty.
https://www.bbc.com/future/bespoke/follow-the-food/the-reason-we-are-running-out-of-farmers/
Semiconductor manufacturers in South Korea and Taiwan are seeing sales soar as they struggle to catch up with worldwide shortages of their product. Analysts say that global chip supply is handled largely by powerhouses Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Samsung Electronics Co. According to BNN Bloomberg, companies shipping those chips to makers of vehicles, smartphones and electronic games helped spark a 16.7% increase in South Korean exports in the first two weeks of February alone.
https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/global-scramble-for-scarce-chip-supplies-drives-asia-growth-1.1566754
While the use of computing technology has resulted in tremendous advances in all areas of life, research into quantum computing technology suggests it could propel those advancements to unimagined levels. For instance, it could dramatically speed the development of highly effective drugs. But the going has been tough because there is a fundamental difference between quantum computing and what we know about classical computing. As writer Richard Yonck explains in Geekwire, “A quantum computer is...
Astra Inc., based in Almeda, Calif., is one of many space companies jostling for business in the small payload market. The company built four rockets last year but has yet to have a successful launch. It is counting on a $500-million financing derived through a planned merger with Special Purpose Acquisition Company (SPAC) Holicity Inc. As CNBC points out, Astra is competing with numerous small rocket launchers including BlackSky Holdings Inc., AST & Science...
Global smartphone sales overall were down by 5.4% in Q4 of 2020 and 12.5% for the full year. Apple, however, bucked the trend with smartphone shipments growing by 3.3%. Samsung, the most recent leader, saw sales fall by 14.6%. Apple has 20.8% of the global smartphone market coming out of the fourth quarter. According to information and advisory firm Gartner Inc., Apple's 5G iPhone 12 put the company over the top.
https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2021-02-22-4q20-smartphone-market-share-release
With the majority of the downtown office workforce ensconced at kitchen tables or spare bedrooms, developers and owners of office buildings are brainstorming about how to attract workers back to the traditional corporate workspace. The key, writes Andrew Marquardt with Fortune Magazine, is the touchless building and ultra-quality HVAC systems.
https://fortune.com/2021/02/21/covid-safe-offices-buildings-skyscrapers/
Uber Technologies Inc. has reached the end of the line in its attempt to prove its drivers are contractors in the U.K.. The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom has ruled that Uber's drivers are its employees. That could be a major blow for Uber's business model and a significant gain for drivers who could now be entitled to minimum wage, holiday pay and rest breaks, says the BBC. Legal challenges in other countries...
One of the risks of being the first company in a new market is being sideswiped by copycat competitors. In a way, that is what has happened to Elon Musk who founded Tesla Inc. in 2003. In this Forbes report, transportation writer Alan Ohnsman describes how many of Musk's former employees at Tesla left to launch their own EV and battery companies to challenge Tesla in what is now a cutthroat market.
https://www.forbes.com/sites/alanohnsman/2021/02/19/the-tesla-mafia-elon-musks-ex-employees-vie-to-become-his-top-rival/?sh=2673ec3a9ea0
When it comes to growing business, esports companies can provide valuable lessons for traditional professional sport organizations, including those in the National Hockey League. Although it will be difficult to knock the Dallas Cowboys football team off its top global valuation perch of $5.5 billion, four esports companies already have a higher market value than the Florida Panthers and Arizona Coyotes. As Visual Capitalist points out, esports teams have the advantage of being part...
