Who remembers Libra, the blockchain based digital currency that Facebook announced exactly a year ago in June 2019? The one which was supposed to be governed by an association with lots of prominent members, like MasterCard, PayPal, Visa, eBay, Spotify, Uber, Lyft, Vodafone Group, Andreessen Horowitz, and of course, Facebook. The one which was supposed to be officially launched in 2020.
If you’ve already forgotten about Libra, then you’ve probably also forgotten about Calibra, which was what the platform and wallet was called. We were told that Calibra wallets would be accessible via Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, and it would also be released as a standalone app.
Read MoreI actually disagree to some extent with the traditional differentiation between speculating and investing. I think many people (and firms) who call themselves investors are in fact speculators. The case is clear if you have someone who just picks some stocks and hopes that they will go up. Sure, you can do fundamental analysis and form a strong “informed” opinion, but essentially you’re just placing bets. I would argue that the same is true for a larger buy-and-hold investor with a globally diversified portfolio. I don’t think global diversification helps much in today’s connected world, and in essence this investor is just placing a bigger bet that the markets (or rather the global economy) will continue to go up over a longer period of time.
Read MoreOn Wednesday June 10th, as Nasdaq hit a new all-time high of 10,020, Apple also made history when its stock price went up to $352. With that price Apple became the first US company to reach a $1.5 trillion market capitalization. With the current erratic behavior of the stock market, who knows what happens next. it could very well be that Apple hits the $2 trillion milestone a lot sooner than anybody thinks.
Read MoreBut has the economy recovered at all? Is the COVID-19 crisis really over? Nobody can know for certain what will happen in the autumn, but many researchers and medical professionals are warning about the possibility of a serious second wave of the virus. And in the US they have – on top of all the misery caused by a pandemic – massive civil unrest and political uncertainty ignited by the killing of George Floyd. Yet, if you look at the stock markets and the US markets in particular, it would seem as though everything is just as rosy as it was in January. I find this completely absurd.
Read MoreWith just a few simple fixes video meetings can be improved a lot. This is important especially if you have several participants and the meeting topic is complex, potentially causing a lot of debate. If the meeting is held in a language which isn’t everybody’s native language, the benefits should be obvious. After all, the point is to collaborate and that requires that we understand each other.
Read MoreThe question about retirement age pops up every now and then and it’s of course a can of worms that few politicians would like to open. Political strategists have always known that a sure-fire way to cause a drop in your support numbers is to suggest a higher retirement age.
Read MoreApple hasn’t officially said anything yet, but the move from Intel processors to internally designed chips on Macs has been speculated for a long time. Now it’s beginning to look like this is more than just a rumour. The logical event for making such an announcement would be Apple’s developer conference, WWDC. After all, it was at WWDC 2005 where Steve Jobs announced a move from PowerPC to Intel.
Read MoreThe human brain is wired so that watching something horrific unfold in front of your eyes is much more shocking than hearing or reading about it. I was vividly reminded of this when I saw the eyewitness video of George Floyd’s death. This is the same video that quickly spread across the internet and sparked massive protests not just in the US but also in Europe.
Read MoreLet’s hope that whatever is happening in America will play out peacefully and that this process will eventually have a positive and unifying impact on American society. There are many ways for us here in Europe to show support and solidarity for a good cause. Joining a support protest is just one of those ways. And in the end, perhaps all of this will inspire us to shine a light on our own problems too, the ones here in our own communities – the ones we all too often turn a blind eye to.
Read MoreAnd that’s precisely how I want my sci-fi. If it looks good, then that’s a nice bonus, but ideally a good show is not only entertaining and visually pleasing, but also challenging with a mesmerizing story. Some of the best shows even make us slightly uncomfortable in the way they raise difficult questions, often around ethics and morality. At its best, sci-fi really makes us think about what kind of a future we want to build for ourselves.
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