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Designed to disappear into the landscape, Britain’s vast super-warehouses also reflect a world in which we expect online purchases to arrive as if by magic No comment yet.
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With news that utility bills are on the rise, experts say technology will revolutionise both consumer use and generation of power
Graham Watson's insight:
The prospect of smart systems has been tantalising. We're promised that the future will herald cheaper and cleaner electricity. And that may be the case, but it's not really revolutionised the sector yet.
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As the High Street comes under pressure and shopping habits change, what can be done to fill vacant shops?
Graham Watson's insight:
A fascinating look at the changing market dynamics of the High Street - with the seemingly ineluctable decline of retailing, this article considers where the High Street might go next. Apart from cafes, charity shops and mobile phone shops. Worth a read. But will it pan out this way? I suspect that tsome of these ideas have a very short shelf-life.
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Stretch of road outside Stockholm transfers energy from two tracks of rail in the road, recharging the batteries of electric cars and trucks
Graham Watson's insight:
One of the worries about electric cars is the absence of the relevant infrastructure, but this Gaurdian article shows how Sweden is getting around this problem. Build the infrastructure in the roads themselves, courtesy of the rails embedded in the road. Clever fellas, the Swedes.
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Having between five and 10 alcoholic drinks a week can take up to six months off your life, a study says.
Graham Watson's insight:
The IEA's Had of Lifestyle Economics, Christopher Snowden has already tweeted about this, but it's worth a read, if only to get your evaluative muscles working on a Friday. In the first place, how credible can the evidence be that drinking between five and ten drinks a week is the only causal factor that can take "six months off your life"? Secondly, if the evidence is incontrovertible, why are recommended drinking limits different depending upon where you live? And lastly, whilst everyone accepts that there are externalities, both positive and negative, associated with alcohol consumption, and that the latter probably do predominate, is this a case for intervention, which is this case seems to be moving towards Prohibition?
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The international shipping industry is trying to reduce emissions.
Graham Watson's insight:
To what extent is shipping polluting? As much as Germany? That's quite a claim: the BBC's Reality Check investigates whether there's any truth in this. According to the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT), an independent environmental research organisation, the industry would be the sixth most polluting country in the world, if it were a country and this would apparently place it marginally ahead of Germany. Whoever thinks of this sorts of points of comparison?
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As climate change forces a shift away from oil and gas, and electric vehicles become more popular, several commodities industry leaders explain how decarbonisation affects demand for resources.
Graham Watson's insight:
Another excellent FT clip looking at the impact of decarbonisation, but not with the usual focus on fossil fuels but the market for other commodities, notably various metals and rare earth metals. It's an interesting tale of changing patterns of demand, and, derived demand.
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The increase follows that imposed by British Gas this week and will affect 1.3 million customers.
Graham Watson's insight:
See my earlier post about British Gas increase their energy prices: classic oligopoly market behaviour. I'm always minded of the nursery rhyme, 'Three Blind Mice' at this point. Look at the other members of the Big Six - and see how they run in due course.
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Dairy firms say more consumers are switching from plastic to glass to buy their milk.
Graham Watson's insight:
Changing consumer tastes - with a move back to the future and a rise in the market for glass milk bottles, despite the fact that home-delivered milk costs more. But equally, there's an interesting environmental take on this change. It's reckoned that in order for this to have environmental benefits, the bottles need reusing 20 times. The average bottle is reused 18 times. Costs and benefits, anyone?
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Supermarket’s customers will still be able to claim free drink if they bring a reusable cup
Graham Watson's insight:
Things that won't exist by 2030? The petrol engine, the disposable coffee cup? The latter features in this article, with Waitrose announcing that they're getting rid of the disposable cup from their stores, doing their bit to tackle waste.
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The increase will affect 4.1 million customers who will see average bills rise by £60 a year.
Graham Watson's insight:
More criticism for another underfire sector, as British Gas have announced price rises. Watch to see if others in the sector follow, a classic feature of oligopolistic markets. Additionally, it does seem as though the larger firms in the sector are attempting to game the threat of a price ceiling by raising prices as close as they possibly can to their view of a proposed price cap. This, of course, raises the spectre of the law of unintended consquences making a re-appearance.
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The rebound follows years of poor results linked to over-expansion and an accounting scandal fine.
Graham Watson's insight:
Does a return to profitability for Tesco spell another shift in the grocery retail sector? Or is the rise of the discounters still inevitable? And what is profit anyway? Lots of questions to ponder.
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What practical steps can employers take to help ensure women earn as much money as men?
Graham Watson's insight:
This BBC article looks at nine possible ways that the gender pay gap could be tackled, and yet doesn't make a point that I'm fond of. I don't deny that the issue merits tackling but it is also prone to the law of diminishing marginal returns. Logically, it should be easy to tackle the structural things that cause the gender pay gap, but it will be harder to tackle attitudinal factors. And sometimes, coverage of the issue overlooks this. |
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Coffee in five charts: How coffee drinking varies around the world.
Graham Watson's insight:
Really nice industry summary of the coffee industry, looking at the biggest producers, consumers, coffee companies and so on. Equally, it also highlights who pay the most for their coffee. Within the EU, it's us.
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American firms discuss how they are dealing with the looming trade war.
Graham Watson's insight:
The hidden consequences of President Trump's tariffs on Chinese goods, and the prospect of a looming trade war are dealt with in this BBC article. It gives a fascinating insight into the cost to individuals of the tariffs.
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The economy is growing but our paychecks are not. That’s because employers have, over decades, built a political apparatus to hold down pay
Graham Watson's insight:
Article of the day: monopsony power in labour markets. This great piece explains why employers have monopsony power over employees and how the institutional features of many US labour markets have emerged to support this position.
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Post-cold war politics shifted to the right, and ordinary people suffered. Mainstream parties need to know what went wrong, writes Guardian economics editor Larry Elliott
Graham Watson's insight:
Difficult to put this on a 'board' - it's an excellent overview of post-war debates about the nature of the state and where the current debate about austerity sits in that continuum. It is worth a read, if only to situate your understanding of a broader swathe of economic history.
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Study says 40% of apprenticeship standards do not meet traditional on-the-job training definition.
Graham Watson's insight:
The government labelled the increase emphasis on apprenticeships as a focus on 'quality' but this article from the BBC suggests that the opposite has happened. But why would firms want to label "low-skilled jobs as apprenticeships"? Simple answer: they can pay lower wages - the National Minimum Wage (NMW) is less for apprenticeships than it is for ordinary workers.
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Shares in Norwegian Air soar as IAG says it is considering a takeover bid.
Graham Watson's insight:
One of the longstanding features of the aviation market has been the question as to whether the low cost carrier (LCC) model could ever apply to long haul flights. And this BBC article suggests that IAG are convinced that it can, with rumours of them being about to bid for Norwegian Air. The move suggests that there are both economies of scale and potentially economies of scope, and that both can help drive down costs. However, some are concerned that the move might represent a reduction in competition in the sector and drive up the price paid by the final consumer. It will be interesting to follow-up this story; I suspect that there's more than a grain of truth to it.
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The FT's Latin America editor John Paul Rathbone reports on what the appointment of a new president means for a country marked by economic stagnation and fading influence.
Graham Watson's insight:
A fascinating FT clip looking at the end of an era in Cuba, and the end of the Castro regime in a week's time. What will this mean for the Cuban economy as a whole, and entrepreneurs, in particular? The clip looks at the factors that explain why the Cuban economy is one-third smaller than it was thirty years ago, and uncertainty about future economic reform.
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One of George Osborne’s last acts as chancellor in 2016 was to announce the so-called sugar tax. This came into force last week, in line with the original timetable. Drinks manufacturers are taxed …
Graham Watson's insight:
Hat tip to Tutor2U - still the best blog site for post-16 Economics - for carrying this Paul Ormerod article about the efficacy, or otherwise of the UK sugar tax. Lots of obvious starting points, PED and the question of it being regressive. An excellent IA article, perhaps?
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Frozen food specialist will reformulate own-label range to be free of controversial ingredient which drives deforestation by the end of 2018
Graham Watson's insight:
Another negative externality - this time deforestation is being tackled by Iceland who've announced that the are getting rid of palm oil from all of their own brand products, and thus trying to reduce consumption of an ingredient that has played a significant role in deforestation.
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It is more than two decades since Cool Britannia ruled the airwaves, but the boom in subscription music streaming via Spotify has the record industry partying like it’s 1995.
Graham Watson's insight:
Just a lovely article about the changing dynamics of markets, and how technology has the power to alter business models.
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The European Commission says it is looking into several companies involved in sports media rights.
Graham Watson's insight:
Regulatory worries for 21st Century Fox in the market for sports media rights. EU Competition authorities are concerned that there's been anti-competitive behaviour in the sector.
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Yellow taxis are symbolic of New York. But ride-hailing apps mean cabbies find it harder to make a living.
Graham Watson's insight:
Really interesting look at 'creative destruction' in the taxi sector, in the iconic New York market where ride-hailing apps, like Uber have had a dramatic effect on the sector.
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Architecture meets economics. It might be "a shed the size of a town" to you. To me, it's a classic example of economies of scale.