Futurist Thomas Frey: In December 2006, Britain made its final payment of $84 million on a $4.34 billion loan from the U.S. that was made all the way back in 1945. Germany wasn’t the only country to go bankrupt after WWII. This money allowed Britain to stave off its total collapse after devoting almost all its resources to the war for over half a decade.
Continue reading… “When Countries Go Bankrupt”
The average sales price of homes in foreclosure or bank owned was $161,214.
The leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, RealtyTrac® has released it Q1 2012 U.S. Foreclosure Sales Report™ which shows that sales of homes that were in some stage of foreclosure or bank owned accounted for 26 percent of all U.S. residential sales during the first quarter. The sales are up from 22% of all sales in the fourth quarter and up from 25 percent of all sales in the first quarter of 2011.
Continue reading… “Sales of foreclosed homes account for 26% of all home sales in the U.S.”
Students at the University of Washington.
There are thousands of computer-related jobs that are waiting to filled just in Seattle alone. But the number of bachelor’s degrees in computer science at the University of Washington is the same as it was more than ten years ago. A lot of students have been rebuffed in their effort to major in computer science or computer engineering.
Continue reading… “Computer science majors lacking in Seattle”
Thirty-two percent of surveyed consumers have made a purchase after seeing an image on a social image-sharing site.
Retailers have some new social commerce opportunities on the horizon. Consumers are spending more and more time with image-sharing social networks like Pinterest and Polyvore, and they are clicking through to product websites quite frequently.
Continue reading… “Pinterest leads consumers to online product purchases”
By 2016 we are on pace to generate 1.3 zettabytes of data, about four times more than we create today, according to the latest data out from Cisco. Cisco tells us that’s more than 38 million DVDs streamed in an hour. Or, you can think of it as a 1 followed by 21 zeros.
Continue reading… “What our web addiction will look like in 2016”
Digital music revenues grew 23.6% year-on-year.
For the first time the amount of money made from digital music services has outstripped the sale of traditional CDs and records, according to first quarter revenue figures from music industry trade body BPI.
Continue reading… “Digital music spending accounts for 55.5% of total music sales”
Do-it-Yourself Economy
Russell Howze was working as a creative at an advertising agency in Atlanta when he got laid off due to budget cuts years ago. For years he spent his time piecing together work through various corporate jobs, until he decided to follow his heart. Russell then founded a nonprofit organization for artists, and now supplements his income running street art tours through Vayable in his spare time.
Continue reading… “Micro-entrepreneurship a growing trend”
Harnessing the dynamic Casimir effect.
Precocious young physicist Aisha Mustafa just patented a new system that could propel spacecrafts to the final frontier without using a drop of fuel.
In short her system taps one of the odder facets of quantum theory, which posits that space isn’t really a vacuum. It’s really filled with particles and anti-particles that exist for infinitesimally small periods of time before destroying each other. Mustafa thinks she can harness them to create propulsion, resulting in space craft that need little-to-no fuel to maneuver around in space. Fast Company reports…
Continue reading… “Egyptian teenager invents new space propulsion system based on Quantum Physics”
More than 89.6 million Americans bought an item from a catalog last year.
Spending online is increasing. But retail catalogs are not fading away. Catalogs are still an important part of business for retailers.
Continue reading… “Retail catalogs thrive in the Internet Age”
The amount of capital available for entrepreneurs when you count the customer market is much larger.
The startup community gave itself a high five in April when the JOBS Act was signed. Crowdfunding would enable startups to reach out to the whole world to get access to funding, not just a small cabal of investors living in a 20-mile radius of Menlo Park.
Continue reading… “Crowdfunding from customers – new class of investors for startup capital”
Everyone wants to believe that a few bad apples spoil the bunch. but according to research everyone lies a little bit when given the opportunity, even to the point where they lose their sense of integrity. Dan Ariely, author of the new book, “The (Honest) Truth About Dishonesty,” explains why.
Continue reading… “Why everyone lies”
The average sticker price and average net price for tuition and fees at public and private colleges in the U.S. over the past 15 years.
There are two ways to think about college tuition price:
Continue reading… “Graphic: The price of college tuition”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
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