Tag Archives: innovation

Asset Allocation Rising coronavirus cases accompanied by flagging recovery momentum and a fractious run-up to the US elections make prospects for equities highly reliant on 3Q results and further policy stimulus. Against this background we have downgraded our stance on euro area equities from neutral to underweight, following a similar downgrade for US equities in August. We continue to like structural growth drivers and select, high-quality cyclical stocks. We...

Huw van Steenis’ summarizes his report as follows (my emphasis): A new economy is emerging driven by changes in technology, demographics and the environment. The UK is also undergoing several major transitions that finance has to respond to. What this means for finance Finance is likely to undergo intense change over the coming decade. The shift to digitally-enabled services and firms is already profound and appears to be accelerating. The shift from banks to market-based finance is...

Physicist Pascal Gallo co-founded a company in partnership with Lausanne’s Federal Institute of Technology to create ultra-pure lab-grown diamonds for demanding high-tech applications, longer lasting watches and high-quality jewelleryThe reason for developing the lab-grown diamonds was a search for ultra-pure stones that could enhance the power of energy trans­mission using lasers. Diamonds have extraordinary properties: they are the best conductors of heat which means they can create...

Head of Asset Allocation & Macro Research and Chief Strategist with Pictet Wealth Management, Christophe Donay shares his thoughts on the perennial relationship between innovation and economic growth.When analysing the current economic regime and assessing the potential for a shift in that regime, it is vital to take innovation into account. Demographic trends and productivity gains are commonly identified as the two main drivers of real economic growth. And innovation is a critical...

Mark Sandmeier was the first person to be employed by jobs.ch. He now spends his time helping young digital companies get on their feet. What is my job? "I'm the CEO of a start-up," says the affable man with the open face. "CEO sounds fine, but I didn't like 'Managing Director' at all," he adds...

On A Fine Theorem, Kevin Bryan reviews Baumol’s work, including on innovation and the cost disease.

The pace of technological development in areas like robotics, virtual reality (VR) and artificial intelligence (AI) has been frenetic. The impact is already being felt in new investment opportunities but also in lost jobs. While it may be too early to pinpoint what the ultimate result of all this disruption to existing business models will be, what is...

Although the hype around bitcoin and blockchain – the public ledger that records bitcoin transactions – is now receding, the next generation of cryptofinance technologies is already moving ahead and applying the lessons learned.  Christine Schmid: Tell me a bit about Monetas. Johann Gevers: The...

The most obvious potential use for blockchain technology is the one that already exists – payment systems. But there is much more to blockchain than this.  Ever since bitcoin came on the scene in 2009, evangelists have proclaimed that the end of fiat currency is nigh. A so-called cryptocurrency,...

Bitcoin isn't mainstream, and it may never be. And yet it would be unwise to ignore it. Some $14.9 billion worth of bitcoins were in circulation in January 2017, and blockchain, the technology underpinning bitcoin, has attracted plenty of attention for its disruptive potential in banking, trading, and even media. So how safe is bitcoin?...