Retail bankruptcies hit an all-time high in the first quarter of the year, according to Moody’s Investors Service.
Sears, J.Crew, and Neiman Marcus are among the companies that could be next to default, according to S&P Global Ratings.
The fallout is far from over, however, with many more defaults expected for the remainder of 2018.
The market for Lithium (Li) is about to explode.
What we are witnessing now is nothing less that the transition from a carbon- to a lithium-based economy.
In the space of three years, we have gone from a global lithium glut to a structural shortage.
Continue reading… “Why Lithium is about to replace oil”
Around the world, in places like Barcelona, Paris, Buenos Aires and New York, there’s an exciting new co-location concept spurring innovation: Multi-sector innovation hubs that span a range of business models, ownership structures, and physical layouts. The goal of all is to create a motivating work environment where businesses of all kinds can learn from each other, make connections, develop new skills, and get inspired to reach the next level. Many of the hubs occupy imaginatively repurposed iconic buildings, including museums, warehouses, train stations, navy yards and hospitals, giving new life to underutilized parts of cities that had lost their previous vibrancy. What follows are six of the best global innovation hubs.
Continue reading… “A new wave of innovation hubs sweeping the world”
It’s better to prepare than adapt because, by the time you see the need to adapt, it may already be too late
One of the most interesting things I discuss in my book Mapping Innovation is what I call the new era of innovation, which will create profoundly new technologies, classes of data and business models. It is likely to be the most important shift we’ve seen in at least 50 years and perhaps in a century.
Continue reading… “We’re on the Brink of a New Era of Innovation. Will You Survive It?”
Range is all the rage when it comes to electric cars, but often range comes at a cost.
So, which plug-in cars offer the most miles of electric range for your hard-earned buck? For starters, no plug-in hybrid even came close to making the cut. The Chevy Volt was the front-runner among PHEVs at $626 per electric mile of range, but as you’ll see below, that’s not even in the same ballpark as the Top 7 listed.
Continue reading… “Top 7 plug-in cars listed by price per mile of electric range”
The aviation industry is on the verge of a major shift in propulsion, experts say.
This story was originally published by Flying Magazine.
As part of Siemens Innovation Day held recently in Chicago—created, in part, to highlight the company’s progress to date in the world of electric and hybrid electric aircraft—the German industrial giant offered a first U.S. look at its electric GA aircraft, a Magnus LSA fitted with a 55-kW Siemens electric motor.
Continue reading… “Electric aircraft could soon become an industry standard”
Teenagers today have unprecedented access to technology, and yet many report that they’ve never been so bored.
There is a notion among older people that teens, with their smartphones and unlimited internet access, never experience boredom. CNN and other media outlets have repeatedly declared that smartphones have killed boredom as we know it. “Today, we don’t have time to daydream. Waiting in the doctor’s office or standing in line, we can check our email, play Angry Birds, or Twitter,” a media consultant once declared in HuffPost.
Continue reading… “Generation Z is already bored by the internet”
Dutch technology company MX3D just officially unveiled the world’s first 3D-printed stainless steel bridge. It took four robots, nearly 10,000 pounds of stainless steel, about 684 miles of wire, and six months of printing to build the sinuous, undulating structure, which looks like it’s straight out of a science-fiction movie.
The MX3D Bridge, designed by Joris Laarman Lab, is around 41 feet by 20 feet, and it’s made from a new kind of steel. 3D-printing created a ribbed surface as robots added layers upon layers; Gizmodo said it could be buffed out, but MX3D plans to keep the unique, rough look.
Continue reading… “The world’s first 3D-printed steel bridge looks like it came from another planet”
It’s not even close to avocado toast.
In 2015, Nielsen polled 30,000 consumers in 60 countries around the world. They wanted to know more about what influences how people feel about brands, and how those feelings impact buying behavior.
One overwhelming conclusion of the report? That across the board, consumers are willing to pay extra for one thing: sustainability.
Elevated by its potency and portability, formerly-niche cannabis oil is going wide.
SOME TIME AROUND the mid-aughts, folks in the weed industry began to notice a shift in the market. Pot smokers were smoking less, and dabbing more—heating the plant’s oily extracts to inhale high concentrations of hallmark marijuana molecules like THC. Extracts, which go by names including shatter, batter, wax, dabs, and honey, weren’t just stronger than their plant-based starting materials. They were also more convenient to consume and easier to use discreetly. Elevated by its potency and portability, formerly-niche cannabis oil was going wide.
Continue reading… “Shatter, Batter, Wax: how cannabis extracts come to be”
“Enjoy a light, social high,” says the funky bottle of California Dreamin’ cannabis-infused sparkling pomegranate juice. Launching today at Y Combinator Demo Day, California Dreamin’ is serving up an alcohol alternative that still gets you lit, but without the same hangover or health issues.
Continue reading… “Marijuana soda startup California Dreamin’ wants to replace booze”
Cryptocurrency exchanges are charging between $50,000 and $1 million to list initial coin offerings, according to a Business Insider investigation.
“The exchanges are where the liquidity is — it’s where the money is — so that’s where the power is just at the moment,” Michael Jackson, a partner at venture capital firm Mangrove Partners, told BI.
Exchanges are dominant now but that may change with tougher regulations and more standardised business models.
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.