Category Archives: Analysis

Analysis: How Airbnb Is Rattling Housing Markets

CNBC International (August 15, 2023) – In the Italian city of Venice, the number of beds dedicated to tourists is now almost on par with the number of beds allocated to residents.

An electronic counter installed by activists in the city tracking this number illustrates the ever-growing demand for short-term rentals, popularized by the home-sharing platform Airbnb, which is now as popular as hotels. The short-term rental market is projected to be worth $228.9 billion in 2030, boosted by the rise of commercial operators.

But as the housing crisis deepens worldwide due to land and labor shortages, residents are questioning the impact of Airbnbs and second homes locally. “We have more than 7,000 apartments involved in this kind of system of short-term tourist rentals.

And now it’s very difficult for a young guy or a new family to find an affordable house to rent,” Dario Nardella, Florence city mayor, told CNBC. So what is the economic impact of Airbnb and short-term rentals? And can restrictions ease the crisis? Watch the video to find out.

#CNBC #Airbnb #Housingmarket

Opinion: The Biden China Strategy, Saudi Arabia’s Sports Push, Green EV’s?

‘Editor’s Picks’ Podcast (August 14, 2023) Three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week, why Biden’s China strategy isn’t working, Saudi Arabia’s plan to dominate global sport (10:20) and how green is your electric vehicle, really? (17:55).

War Analysis: How Ukraine Sank The Moskva – Russia’s Flagship Missile Cruiser

‘Editor’s Picks’ Podcast (1843 magazine August 7, 2023): A special edition of Editor’s Picks from The Economist’s summer double issue. This week, we take a deep dive into how Ukraine’s virtually non-existent navy sank the Moskva, Russia’s flagship in the Black Sea.

How Ukraine’s virtually non-existent navy sank Russia’s flagship

The Moskva was the most advanced vessel in the Black Sea. But the Ukrainians had a secret weapon, reports Wendell Steavenson with Marta Rodionova

Ukraine War: Importance Of ‘155 Artillery Shells’

Insider Business (August 6, 2023) – The US has sent Ukraine millions of 155mm rounds since the war started, including cluster bombs. But there’s a global shortage of 155 shells, and some are afraid that the US is depleting its stockpile. We visited the Scranton Ammunition Plant to see how common shells are made.

Video timeline: 0:00 Intro 0:52 Why 155s are so important in Ukraine 2:40 How 155mm shells are made 4:20 History of 155mm shells 4:53 Other expensive weapons NATO has sent Ukraine 5:51 How America is sending cluster bombs during shortage

Opinion: Burdens Of CEOs, Weather Guesses, The Gen Z Guerrillas Of Myanmar

‘Editor’s Picks’ Podcast (July 31, 2023) Three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week:  what to do about overstretched CEOs, how to better predict the weather (9:00) and we meet Myanmar’s Gen Z guerrillas (15:00).

Analysis: Ukraine’s Deadly ‘Storm Shadow Missiles’

Wall Street Journal (July 29, 2023) – Storm Shadow missiles equip Ukraine’s military counteroffensive with the ability to hit Russian targets more than 150 miles away with pinpoint accuracy.

Video timeline: 0:00 A weapon to help with counteroffensive 0:30 How Storm Shadow missiles work 4:31 Weaknesses 6:07 What’s next?

The weapon has three times the range of that on the HIMARS rockets in Ukraine, forcing Moscow to rethink its logistics. WSJ takes a look at how these long-range, deep-strike missiles work and why the Storm Shadow is equipped to take out key Russian command and control centers.

#Russia #Ukraine #WSJ

Analysis: Ukraine Drones Destroying Russian Tanks

Wall Street Journal (July 27, 2023) – Since the Ukrainian counteroffensive against Russian forces began, there’s been a dramatic increase in Ukraine’s use of FPV, or first person view drones to execute kamikaze-style attacks on Russian tanks, troop positions and other large-scale weapons.

Video timeline: 0:00 Increase in use of FPV drones 1:01 The kamikaze drone process 2:15 Destroying targets

The aim is to operate cheaply and to make the military less dependent on Western weapons. WSJ gathered dozens of videos from Ukrainian units on the frontlines, to break down how their drone teams execute these attacks on Russia’s military.

#Russia #Ukraine #WSJ

Analysis: Ukraine’s Tech Sector Leads ‘Drone War’

Financial Times (July 25, 2023) -From the production of cheap battlefield drones to AI-powered missile detection, Ukrainian tech start-ups, IT workers and volunteers have been developing military tech and putting themselves on the front line of the war effort

Video timeline: 00:00 Ukraine’s tech war 00:39 The growing tech sector 01:28 The tech start-up: Respeecher and AI voice cloning 03:35 The miltech start-up: Zvook and AI missile detection 05:32 A digitally-focused country 08:00 A fully-fledged drone war 09:06 The drone start-up 11:17 Drones: the growth of the market 12:41 Why drones? 14:13 Drones and the women’s veteran movement 16:00 Ukrainian resilience 16:30 Air Alert! Ajax Systems 19:30 It’s not just about drones 20:12 The anti-drone gun: DroneUA 21:04 Who’s winning the tech war? 22:45 The army of robots 23:36 A new Israel? 24:46 The war has changed us

#Ukraine #Fedorov #drones

Opinion: Technology Of Babymaking, Overly-Rosy Economics, Barbenheimer

‘Editor’s Picks’ Podcast (July 24, 2023) Three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week:  a report on the technology behind babymaking, why optimism about the world economy might be premature (10:30), and what the hype over Barbenheimer says about the movie industry (16:17).

Opinion: Trump 2024, NATO Promises To Ukraine, New Anthropocene Thinking

‘Editor’s Picks’ Podcast (July 17, 2023) Three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week: how populist Republicans plan to make Donald Trump’s second term count, NATO’s promises to Ukraine mark real progress, but there is still much more to do (10:12) and what matters about the human-dominated Anthropocene geological phase is not when it began, but how it might end (14:41).