Reading
across disciplines is one of the best ways to improve our investment acumen.
Here is a summary of some of the best articles I read this week.
The ends of the world are
melting
he ends of the Earth
are melting at a rate not seen in at least 115,000 years. And over the past few months, there’s been
increasing evidence that the changes we’re seeing at our planet’s poles are
only growing more severe. These changes in the most remote places on Earth have
huge consequences for our daily lives because our daily lives have huge
consequences for the most remote places on Earth. Decades of routine human
activities – going to work, driving a car, eating a hamburger, choosing a stock
portfolio – have transformed the frozen parts of this planet on a scale never
seen before. If we do not change our behaviour drastically to slow down and
eventually stop the Arctic melt, rising sea levels and even faster rising
global temperatures will threaten our very way of life.
The Japanese toilet - a
marvel of technology
Japanese toilets are
marvels of technological innovation. They have integrated bidets, which squirt
water to clean your private parts. They have dryers and heated seats. They use
water efficiently, clean themselves and deodorize the air, so bathrooms actually
smell good. They have white noise machines, so you can fill your stall with the
sound of rain for relaxation and privacy. Some even have built-in night lights
and music players. It's all customizable and controlled by electronic buttons
on a panel next to your seat.
The last great thing about
the internet
Wikipedia is the
eighth-most-visited site in the world. The English-language version recently
surpassed 6 million articles and 3.5 billion words; edits materialize at a rate
of 1.8 per second. It is the only not-for-profit site in the top 10, and one of
only a handful in the top 100. It does not plaster itself with advertising,
intrude on privacy, or provide a breeding ground for neo-Nazi trolling. Like
Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, it broadcasts user-generated content. Unlike
them, it makes its product de-personified, collaborative, and for the general
good. More than an encyclopaedia, Wikipedia has become a community, a library,
a constitution, an experiment, a political manifesto—the closest thing there is
to an online public square. It is one of the few remaining places that retains
the faintly utopian glow of the early World Wide Web. A free encyclopaedia
encompassing the whole of human knowledge, written almost entirely by unpaid
volunteers: Can you believe that was the one that worked?
Subscription for your
monthly coffee!
Panera Bread is
hoping to disrupt the morning coffee. The company is unveiling a subscription
plan for its most popular caffeinated drinks. For a flat rate of $8.99 a month,
customers can get unlimited coffee (hot or iced) and tea at all of its stores
nationwide. Coffee is an imperative component of the breakfast wars. Both
Starbucks and Dunkin’ have been seeing a surge in coffee sales, thanks to the
steady growth of mobile orders placed via smartphone apps. But coffee is only
the start. Having a menu that reflects Americans’ desire for healthy,
protein-rich breakfast items is now an industrywide mandate.
Online buying in India is
fuelled by discounts
Digital buyers in
India are going to reach 330 billion by the end of 2020. The phenomenon of
online shopping has taken India by a storm. What sets online shopping from
traditional offline stores is the practice of discounts. Online stores, save a few exceptions, do not
have to pay sales taxes- the explanation being the absence of a physical sales
storefront, an office or a warehouse. While major players like Amazon and
Flipkart do have warehouses, not paying sales taxes means a great deal for
smaller sellers, resulting in lower prices automatically.
