Night lights
How is light distribution of light across the planet changing over time? Light produced by a society is closely correlated with its economic status. Rich developed countries tend to be brighter at night than poor developing ones.
Continue reading… “Economic shift to the east revealed in global night light patterns”
The Obama Administration’s plan to spread the country’s wealth around has made its way to struggling technology entrepreneurs. This past Tuesday, the Small Business Administration (SBA) began accepting applications for the $200 Million “Early Stage Innovation Fund.” The new fund will allow venture funds to augment privately raised capitol with a grant up to a 1-to-1 match, to be used for early stage investments (around the $1-to-$4 million range).
The program is an extension of the Administration’s StartUp America campaign to catalyze job growth through the engine of small business entrepreneurs. Most importantly, according to Sean Greene, a Special Advisor for Innovation at the SBA, the new fund will inject much-needed capitol in to what the Administration feels are underfunded areas outside of the typical startup zones (i.e. California and Massachusetts)…
Low income makes poor more conservative.
You might think that in a time when more money is concentrated in fewer hands and incomes vary wildly from billions to subsistence, poor people might increase their support for government policies that offer some help.
Continue reading… “Low Income Makes Poor in U.S. More Conservative: Study”
Those in or near retirement took the biggest hit
By most accounts, those in or near retirement took the biggest hit from the bear market in 2008 and early 2009. When you take a step back, though, younger investors are in much greater danger of failing to reach their financial goals — and their prospects for the future are anything but certain.
Continue reading… “Who are the Real Victims of the Financial Crisis?”
“Show your loo before you woo”
An ideal groom in this dusty farming village is a vegetarian, does not drink, has good prospects for a stable job and promises his bride-to-be an amenity in high demand: a toilet. In rural India, many young women are refusing to marry unless the suitor furnishes their future home with a bathroom, freeing them from the inconvenience and embarrassment of using community toilets or squatting in fields.
Health spending could threaten future living standards
Every generation of Americans should live better than its predecessor. That’s Americans’ core definition of economic “progress.” But for today’s young, it may be a mirage. Higher health spending, increasing energy prices and stretched governments at all levels may squeeze future disposable incomes — what people have to spend — and public services. Are we condemning our children to downward mobility?
Local and state governments in the U.S. may be restricting individual rights
“Big Government” has been characterized by those on various sides of the political spectrum as an ever-expanding bureaucracy interfering with individual rights and limiting economic freedoms. Some also believe that small government may pose a similar threat. They charge that state and local governments are guilty of intervening too much in private citizen affairs.
Continue reading… “Are Local And State Governments In The U.S. Getting Too Big?”
For struggling single moms, 3-generation households are better than 2
Living in a three-generation household can significantly enhance the economic well-being of children, according to a new study from researchers at the University of Southern California and the University of Massachusetts, Boston.
Continue reading… “3-Generation Households Enhance Economic Well-Being Of Children”
Asked about a possible recession early in 2008, IDC analyst Karsten Weide said, “We think there will be some effect on advertising spending overall, but online ad spending will almost be unaffected-even if there’s a depression.”
What a difference a year makes.
Continue reading… “Online Advertising Down”
Despite calamities from economic recessions, wars and famine to a flu epidemic afflicting the Earth, a new study from the University of Kansas and Gallup indicates that humans are by nature optimistic.
Continue reading… “People Are By Nature Optimistic”
It’s not all doom and gloom in the U.S. economy. Some products are bucking the recession and flying off store shelves.
Sales of chocolate and running shoes are up. Wine drinkers haven’t stopped sipping; they just seem to be choosing cheaper vintages.
Gold coins are selling like hot cakes. So are gardening seeds. Tanning products are piling up in shopping carts; maybe more people are finding color in a bottle than from sun-worshipping on a faraway beach.
Continue reading… “Some Products Flying Off Shelves Despite The Recession”
It may not guarantee happiness, but money, it seems, is the key to a long and healthy old age.
Those who are poorer and less well educated die earlier and develop illness sooner than the better off and well-qualified, a Government-backed study said yesterday.
Continue reading… “Money May Not Buy Happiness But It Does Get You A Longer, Healthier Life”
By delving into the futuring techniques of Futurist Thomas Frey, you’ll embark on an enlightening journey.
Learn More about this exciting program.