Category Archives: Business

Morning News: Beijing Olympics Advertisers, Commodity Price Rise

A.M. Edition for Feb. 1. Four years ago, Coca-Cola, Visa and Procter & Gamble loudly promoted their sponsorship of the Winter Olympics. 

Now, sponsors of the coming Beijing Games are keeping a lower profile. WSJ’s Stu Woo explains why that is, and why other coming international competitions present a similar challenge. Luke Vargas hosts.

Analysis: British Political Parable, Tech Giants’ Big Plans, Vaccine Mandates

A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week, the parable of Boris Johnson, and what it says about the country he governs. Also, America’s tech giants’ ambitious investments (10:05) and do vaccine mandates actually work? (19:10).

International Economics: Top Stories Of The Week

The World Economic Forum’s top stories of this week include the 5 biggest risks facing humanity, the rise of tech giants, Ireland giving artists a base income and how to fix and upgrade this laptop.

Timeline: 00:00 – Intro 00:14 – Why rising tech giants matter 03:34 – The 5 biggest risks facing humanity 05:13 – Fix & upgrade your own laptop 06:38 – Ireland’s base income for artists

The World Economic Forum is the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation. The Forum engages the foremost political, business, cultural and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas. We believe that progress happens by bringing together people from all walks of life who have the drive and the influence to make positive change.

India View: 15,000 Ceramics Made Per Day In Gujarat

In 2001, the founder of Mitticool ceramics learned many of his customers in India don’t have regular access to electricity. So he invented a fridge made out of clay. It keeps food 8 degrees cooler than the outside air, but it doesn’t need any electricity to run. And while other ceramics companies in the region shut down, Mitticool is thriving thanks to the success of the powerless, eco-friendly fridge.

Fast Food: How Chicken Took Over America (CNBC)

Chick-fil-A has long dominated the chicken sandwich category in fast food. After Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen launched its own version of the chicken sandwich, other fast food chains like Wendy’s, McDonalds and Shake Shack got into the battle. Here’s how chicken took over America.

Technology: The Rise Of Robotic Working Dogs

A number of four-legged robot dogs made by companies like Boston Dynamics, Anybotics and Ghost Robotics have been deployed in the workforce already for applications like inspections, security and public safety among others. At their core, these four-legged robots are mobility platforms that can be equipped with different payloads depending on the type of information that companies want to gather.

Experts predict the insurance industry alone will spend $1.7 billion on robotics systems in 2025. And other industries may follow suit. Amid the pandemic, a tight job market is forcing many companies to turn to automation. A survey done in December of 2020 by McKinsey, showed that 51 percent of respondents in North America and Europe said they had increased investment in new technologies during 2020, not including remote-work technologies.

Inside Views: The Journey Of A Shipping Container

The global pandemic triggered sky-high spending on manufactured goods. This increased spending created a huge bottleneck in the supply chain that could last for years. WIRED takes a look at the journey of a single shipping container; and with the help of supply chain analyst Lora Cecere, breaks down all the roadblocks a shipping container will encounter in 2021 and beyond.

Analysis: How Cadillac And Lincoln Lost Their American Luxury Status

Lincoln and Cadillac were once two aspirational car brands for American consumers. They slowly lost their dominance and prestige to imports. Now they are trying once again to reinvent themselves by reaching into their histories, playing to their strengths, and pushing forward with cutting edge technology.

Analysis: Rise Of Sports Betting In The U.S. (CNBC)

Sports betting in the U.S. is booming. During the 2021 NFL season an estimated 45 million Americans are expected to wager at least $12 billion. Since a 2018 Supreme Court ruling, sports betting is now legal in more than 30 states.

A flood of new customers eager for risk and excitement has made DraftKings one of the nation’s biggest sportsbooks. In the third quarter of 2021 DraftKings revenue rose 60% from the year prior to $213 million. During that same period with mobile betting launching in several states the number of its monthly unique paying customers rose 31% to 1.3 million.

And the online sports betting and gaming industry in the U.S. is just starting to grow. As of 2021 only 4% of gross gaming revenue in the U.S. was generated online compared with 45% in a more mature market like the UK. The online sports betting market in the U.S. is expected to be worth nearly $40 billion by 2033. So what does the future look like for legal sports betting in America and what challenges lie ahead for sports betting providers like BetMGM, FanDuel and DraftKings?