Rich Folks Are Fleeing London and Lagos, Wealth Report Shows - Bloomberg

Rich Folks Are Fleeing London and Lagos, Wealth Report Shows - Bloomberg



...Losing wealthy individuals is normally a sign of trouble in the political economy of a country. Rich people are often the first people to leave, because they can -- unlike the middle class or the poor.....



... there are some 15.2 million HNWIs in the world, defined as those with net assets of $1 million or more.

Patrick Cox's Tech Digest | Mauldin Economics

Patrick Cox's Tech Digest | Mauldin Economics



....In his keynote at last year’s WSCS, West unveiled his research into induced tissue regeneration (iTR) to the scientific community. ITR is the reactivation of embryonic genes that allows cells to restore themselves to perfect health based on their original DNA blueprint.

The ability to activate embryonic gene pathways in adults would make many medical practices obsolete. Damaged and diseased organs, limbs, and tissues could be completely regenerated—including hearts, joints, eyes, skin, and teeth. In short, ITR could extend health and lifespans far beyond current limits.

Essentially, iTR reactivates the embryonic superpowers locked away in our genomes. During the embryonic phase of development, our bodies can repair injuries completely. We can observe this ability in some lower-order animals that maintain embryonic healing capabilities. In these animals, even major injuries to organs and limbs are completely repaired.

Today's WorldView: How anti-feminism is shaping world politics - btbirkett@gmail.com - Gmail

Today's WorldView: How anti-feminism is shaping world politics - btbirkett@gmail.com - Gmail



The Washington Post  1/30/2018

Hostile takeover?

For decades, China was something of an El Dorado for foreign companies. Its low wages lured manufacturers and its vast consumer market and rapidly expanding middle class presented an unrivaled opportunity for growth — even if it was always a challenging place to operate.

But those challenges have only grown along with China's power and its decreasing need to welcome Western companies into its economy. Now, executives and business groups say, the Communist Party is demanding a direct voice in the decisions of Western companies operating in China.

According to them, American and European companies involved in joint ventures with state-owned Chinese firms — arrangements that are required in many cases for foreign companies — have been asked in recent months to give Communist Party cells an explicit role in decision-making. They see it as a worrying demand that suggests that foreign companies are no longer exempt from President Xi Jinping’s overarching vision of complete control over Chinese society.

That goes hand-in-hand with Xi's moves to crack down on China's Internet by boosting censorship and limiting the methods by which Chinese Internet users can evade the country's filtering systems. Smaller companies worry about having their Internet access effectively ransomed in order to win greater compliance with party demands.

To regain full access to the Internet, for example, one American company was asked to sign a “solemn commitment” that it would obey the Chinese Communist Party’s “seven bottom lines,” do nothing to undermine the socialist system, public order or social morality, and wouldn’t use the Internet to violate the interests of the state.

With China's confidence and economy both growing, experts say Beijing does not care as much about foreign firms as it used to, with a definite hubris setting in after the 2008 recession.

“Foreign companies used to be seen as special here, as friends of China,” said James McGregor, a China-based author and businessman. “But that kind of flipped during the Western financial crisis.”

But that could end up being a geopolitical mistake for Beijing, especially as tensions grow between Beijing and the Trump administration.

“In the past, foreign business has been an important ally for China," said J örg Wuttke, a former president of the European Chamber of Commerce, "but the country now appears to be alienating it at a time when it most needs friends abroad." — Simon Denyer

Chinese Tourists Are Reshaping World Economy - Bloomberg

Chinese Tourists Are Reshaping World Economy - Bloomberg



...If you worry that Chinese economic data are fake, here are some numbers that may comfort, or startle, you. According to the United Nations World Tourism Organization, Chinese outbound tourism expenditure grew to $261 billion in 2016 (21 percent of the world market), an increase of 12 percent from 2015 and 11 times of the amount spent a decade earlier. 

This Physics Breakthrough Could Help Save the World - Bloomberg

This Physics Breakthrough Could Help Save the World - Bloomberg



Turbulence wastes a lot of energy. New research shows how we might reduce it.

What's Next for Saudi's Elite After Leaving Ritz? - Bloomberg

What's Next for Saudi's Elite After Leaving Ritz? - Bloomberg



... In a secret 1996 cable published by WikiLeaks, a U.S. diplomat in Riyadh reported that a handful of the most senior princes enriched themselves by skimming from “off-budget” programs that received 12.5 percent of the country’s oil revenue. The diplomat said some royals used their power to confiscate land from commoners in order to resell it to the government at a profit.

Sorry, Blue States: You Can't Fix the Tax Bill - Bloomberg

Sorry, Blue States: You Can't Fix the Tax Bill - Bloomberg



In the end, these places may even be forced to consider the truly audacious Option 4: cut their taxes and learn to live within a new, tighter budget.