Young people are not in the traditional rush to get their driver’s license.
A new study by Michael Sivak and Brandon Schoettle of the University of Michigan’s Transportation Research Institute confirms that year after year, fewer 16 to 24 year-olds are getting driver’s licenses.
Continue reading… “Fewer young people getting their driver’s licenses: Study”
Beijing’s air quality is thanks in large part to coal-burning.
Lead writers of Citigroup’s new note attacks “one of the most unassailable assumptions in global energy”—the forecast that China’s coal consumption will grow wantonly over the next two decades. By extension, it challenges apocalyptic climate change forecasts.
Continue reading… “China may get over its coal addiction faster than anyone thought”
There were almost 4 million babies born to American women in 2012.
According to statistics in a National Center for Health Statistics report released last week, fertility rates are leveling off for the first time since before the recession began as more American women are having babies in an improving economy.
Paying superstar programmers tens of millions of dollars is called the “Kobe Bryant effect.”
Venture capitalist Marc Andreessen says that engineers are being paid their “true value” in the technology industry, where some engineers are drawing multi-million dollar paychecks.
Continue reading… “‘Superstar programmers’ can get paid as much as a pro athlete”
More than 1.78 million middle and high school students nationwide had tried e-cigarettes in 2012.
Electronic cigarettes use among middle and high school students has been rising rapidly, a trend that public health officials worry could undermine decades of efforts to reduce youth smoking and put a growing number of teenagers on a path toward conventional cigarettes.
Continue reading… “E-cigarette use doubles among middle and high school students”
Like the unemployment rate, the employment-population ratio is also affected by labor participation.
The US jobs report last week added to a long string of lackluster monthly installments of data, but at least one thing has been looking up: The unemployment rate is ticking down steadily, dropping almost a tenth of a percentage point with each new report.
Continue reading… “Here’s what you might have missed about the U.S. jobs report”
Ninety percent of the overall decline in enrollment was from students over 25.
For the first time in six years the number of college students has declined, according to new Census figures released this week. The half-a-million-student drop is “a huge decline,” Census Bureau statistician Julie Siebens told me. This sounds like bad news, but it could actually be a sign of good news. It means the labor market is — slowly, but surely — getting better.
Continue reading… “College enrollment declined in 2012, but for good reasons”
Reported high rates of childlessness fail to take into account fertility treatments, adoptions and the simple delay of childbirth.
Recent reports of the rise of childlessness are premature. As with fertility dynamics generally, the phenomenon has many parts. The reports may prove true in the long term, or they may not—but it’s too soon to tell.
Continue reading… “Are reported high rates of childlessness a myth?”
The car industry has accounted for 15 percent of post-2009 GDP growth.
America’s amazing car recovery explains the U.S. economy. But how does the U.S. economy explain America’s amazing auto recovery?
Continue reading… “The future of the U.S. auto industry in 14 charts”
Piggyback on a thriving network as long as your platform is contextual and complementary to that network.
When creating a two-sided network one of the key challenges is deciding how to get both sides on board. What does a marketplace do first – get the consumer or the merchant first? Why would either side join without the other? It’s a chicken and egg problem that often occurs during the initial stages of seeding. A great way to gain traction for such a network is to steal traction from another one.
The Angel CoFund is a government-backed fund in the UK.
Startups in the UK that are raising financing have a new route to funds in the shape of a government-backed fund which can super-charge an Angel round with extra cash. The UK government-backed fund, Angel CoFund ,is able to make initial investments of between £100,000 to £1 million into businesses, alongside syndicates of business angels. Angel CoFund launched in November 2011, and it was an early backer of Yplan, the events app which this year raised $12 million and PlayJam (a games maker for smart TVs). The fund started out investing in just some parts of the UK, but now it works nationwide. And it’s now had its first exit in its short, two year history.
Continue reading… “UK’s Angel CoFund can super-charge angel syndicates with extra cash”
Jeff Bezos, Amazon CEO, purchased the Washington Post for $250 million.
Jeff Bezos , Amazon’s CEO, may be able to transfer his Midas touch from Amazon to usher in a “Golden Era” for the newspaper industry. He has announced that he plans to provide guidance “from a distance” – the secret to this experiment will ultimately come down to Bezos’ infamous personality.
Continue reading… “Can Jeff Bezos reinvent the newspaper industry?”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.