By Thierry Malleret, economist The Big Tech companies, such as Amazon, Apple, Google and Facebook, are now using data and augmented reality to enter the retail beauty market, aiming to disrupt the bricks-and-mortar stores that currently dominate this massive industry. What’s happening? Amazon already owns 20 percent of the online retail beauty market but is aiming to expand further with the recent launch of a line…
MONTHLY BAROMETER The latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report on the current state of climate makes for grim reading. Its overarching conclusion is that every fraction of a degree of warming matters; and that if we want to limit global warming to 1.5˚ C (2.7˚ F) in the hope of averting catastrophe, we have as little as 12 years to act, which requires…
By Thierry Malleret, economist Monthly Barometer Recent history shows us that economic growth can’t be truly green, so what are the broad consequences for investors? (1) Any industry or company seen as being particularly damaging to ecology will suffer; (2) Any profitable business perceived as minimizing ecologically bad outcomes while maximizing socially good ones will prosper; (3) Militant environmentalism will radicalize in the future, wreaking…
A book that just came out (Heart: A History, from Sandeep Jauhar, a cardiologist) sheds some fascinating light on the connection between wellbeing and cardiac issues. Put in the simplest possible terms: Stress can kill. As the author explains, the connection between our physical heart and our emotions is an intimate one. Sentiments, such as fear and grief, can cause cardiac injury by causing blood…
MONTHLY BAROMETER The debate about whether “green growth” will succeed in decoupling GDP growth from the total use of natural resources (that has been raging for years) is now settled by academic research. Every single reputable study shows that, even after accounting for rapid technological innovation and new taxes (such as a global carbon tax), there are physical limits to how efficiently we can use…
An issue to watch is how “digiceuticals” (digital therapeutics) will affect the wellness industry. This new generation of digital medicines that rely on software for curing or managing a disease is booming—200 deals closed in the US in the first half of this year, representing a cumulative investment of $3.4 billion. They go beyond wellness apps, whose purpose is to maintain a healthy lifestyle and…
