Originally published May 2022. Everything follows a cycle, says this writer. Cycles are vital in nature. The carbon cycle, the nitrogen cycle, the hydrological cycle, planetary orbits, the phases of the moon and ocean tides – all are cyclical and linked to the process of sustainable renewal. These natural phenomena, when operating in balance, generally […]
Rio Tinto‘s shareholders are probably very happy. Thanks to significantly higher prices for its core products of iron ore, aluminium and copper, the company’s 2021 dividend comes to more than $10. That’s almost twice the previous record dividend and it gives Rio Tinto a dividend yield of almost 17% at its current share price of […]
The Ukraine war is at a strategic turning point. As the Russian offensive intensifies in the Donbas without resulting in any substantial gains, western leaders warn that the war will be long, and supporting Ukraine must be sustained in the long term. At the same time, a less perceptible change is happening. The war at […]
While decomposing inflation into its constituent parts is empirically tricky, its essence is simple. Inflation results from too much money chasing too few goods. Milton Friedman popularised this rule of thumb. Its combination of intelligibility and explanatory power explains why it’s still widely used. But not everyone got the memo. Politicians, bureaucrats, journalists and Very Online™ academics […]
Originally published May 2022. In the context of work, the digital divide has become less about access to devices and connectivity and more about skills and mindset. Many experienced professionals have never learned more than the rudimentary basics of email, web search and Microsoft Office. Instead, they lean hard on nearby colleagues or the IT […]
It’s time to bring life sciences real estate to investors. 2021 was the year of life sciences real estate and we did three research projects one after the other on this fast-growth sector. The first two were for the Urban Land Institute and were regional scale in scope, covering Europe first and then Asia Pacific. […]
Where modern office work began Originally published March 2022. I love coffee. I love spending time in great cafes. So I have always been curious about the numerous plaques around the City of London marking the site of 17th-century coffee houses. Coffee houses were clearly of historical importance. Indeed, at one point there were over […]
Most people refuse to compromise on territory, but willingness to make peace depends on their war experiences. The war in Ukraine shows no signs of ending soon. Ukraine is suffering between 600 and 1,000 casualties a day. A fifth of Ukraine is now controlled by Russia and its proxies. Wars generate well-known “rally-around-the-flag” effects in […]
Fund structures being used by REITS. Most readers are, I’m sure, aware of the convergence between funds and REITs. Increasingly, listed REITs are adopting the style and structure of unlisted funds, but with the added provision of liquidity, to capitalise on investor demand for the latest emerging sectors where they find it difficult to obtain […]
Here’s how to keep them high while avoiding riots or hurting the poor. In the UK, it now costs more than £100 to fill up a typical family car with petrol, and oil prices could rise even further. But are such high prices for fossil fuels a bad thing? While attention is focused on measures to […]
