September 2019 saw Google pay $170m to settle a case with the Federal Trade Commission, after another revelation about the extent of its data-gathering. Such revelations have brought the programmatic marketing model behind the success of Google, Facebook and others under intense scrutiny, with regulatory pressure, heavy fines and consumer revolts. There are companies offering many of the same products and services as the so-called ‘tech giants’, but with different business models that emphasize data privacy. The ways in which these companies have monetized their services, and even become...

Perhaps the most notable trend which has impacted the global containers and packaging market in recent years is sustainability. At present, consumers, manufacturers, retailers, advocacy groups and world governments are encouraging environmentally friendly packaging, which has had a huge impact on the dynamics of the market. Consumers are increasingly attentive to all aspects of the production process, from the sustainable sourcing of raw ingredients, through to the carbon footprint associated with production processes, and most importantly, the environmental credentials of a product'...

The inverted yield curve is feared by many investors in the world as many claim that is a signal that a recession in the economy will soon take place. On the other hand, many argue that is “false advertisement” as it is only indicating the movements of long-term bond yields against short-term bond yields. However, that as its own is a big indicator of something is happening in the economy. The inverted yield curve and the term spread, the different between long-term interest rates and short-term interest rates have been indicators of slowdowns in the US economy over 60 years now, and in ...

In recent years, moves by NASA to privatize aspects of its operations has sparked a new interest in space travel and new space opportunities for many businesses. The most clear of those opportunities has come from the private rocket industry as they snapped up NASA and commercial contracts to deliver equipment such as satellites into space. As NASA continues to commercialize its assets and refocus, it is becoming increasingly clear that there are many challenges and obstacles for companies that want to move into the new Space sector. The most important of all of them, from a business per...

The global chemical industry has for a long time suffered from being one of the most polluting industries. Now that is changing. Leading players are, for various reasons, seeking to improve sustainability across an industry that produces a vast range of products. Almost every saleable item at some point involves chemicals. Much change is being motivated by consumer demand and government regulation. Chemical manufacturers are having to adapt to the need to produce more substances but at a lower environmental cost and eradicate adverse health implications consumers may experience. Despite ...

The rising demand for flexible space or co-working space has emerged in recent years, sparking a revolution in the global commercial real estate market. An increasing number of global corporations and start-up companies are in pursuit of favorable working environments in order to attract the next generation of talented employees. WeWork is one company that is leading the flex-space revolution providing innovative working areas for corporations and desk and office spaces for small start-ups and free lancers. The company has expanded at a prolific rate, however in the past year encountered...

Unicorns are start-up companies, typically in the tech and finance space that have reached the advantageous position of over a $1bn market capitalization and remain in privately owned hands. These are effectively the cream of the crop of start-up opportunities and many have been serious disruptors in their traditional industries, rising rapidly to become very large businesses in what is often a short period of time.

Unicorns get a great deal of publicity not least because of their size, but also many are often preparing for stock market listing and trying to display the superiority...

Despite a slowdown in economic growth in multiple markets, the global luxury goods market has remained in healthy growth in recent years. Chinese buyers are now one of the most important groups in the global luxury market, in fact the Asia Pacific region as a whole is the fastest growing market globally and will play an increasingly important role in the coming years. A number of brands have reported positive results in 2017-2018 and as a result of this there has been a period of significant merger and acquisition activity, with a number of high value deals taking place.

As a new g...

The economic decline of Venezuela ranks among the most severe in modern times, even when economies engaged in protracted warfare are considered. Failed economic policies caused hyperinflation, mass closure of businesses, soaring poverty and a plethora of other issues that have reduced the economic performance of the country drastically under the presidencies of Chavez and Maduro. The means by which Venezuela has been governed is primarily blame. Even as severe problems developed, policies such as price controls, heavy subsidization, and exceptionally large increases in minimum wage serve...

Rare earth elements (REE) are now essential to produce a plethora of high-tech goods, from jet engine turbine blades to smartphones and sophisticated batteries contained in electric cars. Demand is soaring, and the need for companies and countries around the world to gain a suitable supply is shining a light on developments in the REE mining industry. China continues to dominate consumption and production of rare earth elements, but signs production is expanding outside of the leading Asian economy are growing in number. Yet this has helped to create a tense geopolitical global environme...

Current estimates suggest that by 2050 the global population will reach 10bn. With so many mouths to feed, the task of producing more food with the limited resources that we have whilst simultaneously trying to reduce our carbon emissions to protect the environment and the crops we are trying to grow seems almost impossible. However, despite this uncertainty, there are some options and choices available to help deal with problem. These include reducing spoilage, protecting soil, increasing efficiency through technology, fairer distribution of resources, better education, protecting bio d...

Over the past decade the number of zombie companies – generally recognized as enterprises unable to pay interest on debts and being over 10 years old – has soared. Now they represent a serious problem to the global economy. A problem seemingly devoid of easy solutions, closing zombies and allowing more profitable and vibrant firms to fill the resultant gap demands widespread reform.

Traditionally associated with Chinese state-backed firms flushed with cheap credit and guaranteed contracts, the problem extends around the world and would be a serious danger in the event of another re...

Saudi Arabia has attempted to wean the economy of being heavily reliant on oil for a while. Previous iterations of economic reform have come and gone, yet there has been little progress to report.

Now, however, the Vision 2030 strategy (originally announced in 2016) is being enacted in what is an extremely ambitious attempt at not only creating a sizable non-oil based economy but shifting the country from being mainly public sector to private sector. Vast sums of money are being invested and big social changes are taking place. However, major problems must be overcome for success t...

Accounting has been marred by a wave of failures, and in the wake of this the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has conducted a review of the market. A range of proposals have been put forward to combat challenges within the industry, in which the four largest auditors dominate and multiple barriers to entry prevent challenger firms from gaining a foothold. Concurrently, accounting as a discipline looks less and less effective at accurately reflecting modern businesses, and the field looks ready for reform.

Key Highlights

- Provides an outline of a number of recent f...

According to the UN, a megacity is a city which has exceeded 10m in population and the number of megacities is accelerating dramatically. In today’s world, megacities and their surrounding economic areas are so pivotal to the global economy that they are being seen more like the city states of old. Some megacities today have economic outputs far in advance of entire countries and their global influence as a result makes them more important in many respects. Increasingly these cities are run in an autonomous fashion with their own governing bodies and budgets and as a result some are expe...