Institutional Investor (December 29)
“Disruption in the asset management industry is imminent…. Due to a combination of new technologies, shifting demographics and changing client demands, the asset manager of the future must self-regulate, adopt corporate governance by investment firms, invest in technology, and cultivate and keep top-notch talent.”
Tags: Asset management, Client demands, Corporate governance, Demographics, Disruption, Imminent, Self-regulate, Talent, Technology
Chicago Tribune (September 9)
“The North’s boast of a technologically game-changing nuclear test defies both tough international sanctions and long-standing diplomatic pressure to curb its nuclear ambitions. It will raise serious worries in many world capitals that Pyongyang has moved another step closer to its goal of a nuclear-armed missile that could one day strike the U.S. mainland.”
Tags: Diplomatic pressure, Game changing, Missile, North Korea, Nuclear test, Pyongyang, Sanctions, Technology, U.S.
Institutional Investor (August 14)
“Virtual reality is making its Olympic debut during this summer’s Games, but for investors the technology may still be a few years away from prime time.”
Tags: Debut, Investors, Olympics, Prime time, Technology, Virtual reality
Wall Street Journal (May 26)
“The European Commission wants to apply local-content quotas to streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime’s video offering.” They might also impose other restrictions and taxes. This is the wrong principle. “Brussels is showing that its main concern whenever a new technology comes along will be how to hobble it with the same overregulation that afflicts old technologies.”
Tags: Amazon Prime, Brussels, European Commission, Hobble, Local content, Netflix, Overregulation, Restrictions, Streaming, Taxes, Technology
Institutional Investor (May 23)
Autonomous driving (AD) will transform society and it could prove the best (or worst) of times for insurers. Nobody really knows. “Futurologists assert that the safety advances and insurance industry disruption caused by AD technology will be unlike any since the advent of automobiles in the late 19th century. According to KPMG, over the next 25 years, there will be an 80 percent decline in accident frequency.”
Tags: Accidents, Advances, Automobile, Autonomous driving, Cars, Disruption, Futurologists, Insurance, Insurers, KPMG, Safety, Society, Technology
The Economist (March 12)
“Now after five decades, the end of Moore’s law is in sight.” This might not prove a bad thing as the quest for improvement will turn to more promising areas, such as the “deep learning” technology that recently beat Go legend Lee Sedol. “Huge performance gains can be achieved through new algorithms. Indeed, slowing progress in hardware will provide stronger incentives to develop cleverer software.”
Tags: Algorithms, Deep learning, Gains, Go, Hardware, Improvement, Moore’s Law, Performance, Progress, Promising, Software, Technology
Institutional Investor (January 21)
“For more than half a decade, a seemingly irresistible momentum has been building around the idea that finance and technology are converging at a historical inflection point, a combination of business transformation and competitive disruption that has come to be labeled fintech.” Fintech “has legs,” making a “2000-style crash” unlikely. Still, fintech is not immune to cyclical decline, may be approaching frothy levels, and carries other risks as well.
Tags: Cyclical decline, Disruption, Finance, Fintech, Froth, Inflection point, Momentum, Risks, Technology, Transformation
The Economist (November 28)
We may be witnessing “the rise and fall of the unicorns” as unlisted technology companies begin to learn that valuations don’t always go up. “Technology companies are unlikely to experience a meltdown as severe as the housing crisis, but an industry that only yesterday was all promise and optimism is showing signs of cooling.”
Tags: Housing crisis, Meltdown, Optimism, Technology, Unicorns, Unlisted, Valuations
The Economist (October 31)
“Bitcoin’s shady image causes people to overlook the extraordinary potential of the ‘blockchain,’ the technology that underpins it.” Blockchain technology “lets people who have no particular confidence in each other collaborate without having to go through a neutral central authority” and Bitcoin’s innovation carries a significance stretching far beyond cryptocurrency. This “machine for creating trust” could eliminate the need (and cost) for institutions like banks and clearing houses that handle many existing transactions.
Tags: Authority, Banks, Bitcoin, Blockchain, Clearing houses, Confidence, Cryptocurrency, Innovation, Potential, Significance, Technology, Transactions
Wall Street Journal (July 8)
“The computer glitch that led to a halt in trading at the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday shows that even after years of investments in resilient and redundant networks, problems with financial technology are remarkably persistent.” The four-hour shut down and other “recent problems highlight the challenges facing companies as they transition to a digital model. Many are trying to adopt new technologies while maintaining older systems.”
Tags: Computer, Digital model, Glitch, Investments, Networks, NYSE, Technology
