Tag Archives: Analysis

Retail: Rise Of Unwanted Goods Liquidation (CNBC)

A record number of online returns has created a booming $644 billion liquidation market. As supply chain backlogs cause shortages of new goods and Gen Z shoppers demand more sustainable retail options, pain points for one sector of retail are big business for another. The nation’s only major public liquidator, Liquidity Services, resells unclaimed mail, items left at TSA checkpoints, and outdated military vehicles. It also refurbishes highly sought after electronics, from noise-canceling headphones to the machines that make microchips.

CNBC takes you on an exclusive tour inside a Liquidity Services returns warehouse outside Dallas, Texas, where unwanted goods from Amazon and Target are stacked to the ceiling before being resold on Liquidation.com or a variety of other marketplaces. Inside Liquidity Services’ 130,000-square-foot warehouse in Garland, Texas, the aisles aren’t lined with typical merchandise. Instead, they’re stacked with returns from Amazon, Target, Sony, Home Depot, Wayfair and more, all in the process of being liquidated.

Analysis: World Financial Markets Risks, Chinese Ideology, Spinal Implants

A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week, what would happen if financial markets crashed? We also profile China’s thinker-in-chief (11:25) and explore how new spinal implants allow the paralysed to walk, swim and cycle again (18:45).

Affordable Housing: Is Modular The Answer?

Cities around the world are facing an affordable housing shortage – and the Covid-19 pandemic has only worsened the crisis. A 2021 report revealed 88 out of 92 major cities are considered unaffordable. The least affordable of them is Hong Kong, where the median house price is more than 20 times the annual median household income.  

But there is a potential solution that is garnering attention: factory-built homes. These houses – also known as modular homes – are constructed in controlled conditions and can take just a week or two to build.   

“We can build 27 Top Hat homes for every one brick and mortar traditionally built house,’ said Jordan Rosenhaus, who is the CEO of modular housing factory, TopHat.  “So, over the next week, we’ll finish approximately 10 houses, that’s just our production program for now. That can ramp up”.

So can this innovation solve the housing crisis? Watch the video above to learn more.  

Analysis: Why Plastic Surgery Is On The Rise

Plastic surgery has been booming in the past decade. But it was the Covid-19 pandemic that catapulted the industry to new heights. Americans working from home spent hours watching themselves on camera, endlessly scrolling on social media and experiencing downtime from social events. This all but benefitted the plastic surgery industry, which saw a record number of patients as pandemic restrictions were lifted.

Consumers: What Is The True Price Of Food? (FT)

Food prices might be rising but many associated production costs are not currently included in the price we pay. How can we get closer to a system that reflects the true cost and what implication will this have on consumers and wider society?

Analysis: Will We Be Eating Insects Soon? (Economist)

By 2050 there could be 10 billion human mouths to feed. Eating insects could help solve the global food-supply problem.

Video timeline: 00:0000:47 How to feed our growing population 00:4703:23 The potential of insects 03:2305:31 Eating cricket powder in Madagascar 05:3106:30 Madagascar’s climate change famine 06:3008:00 Cricket farming in Africa 08:0011:30 Expanding insect production 11:3012:20 Insects: a green solution? 12:2013:12 Will insects become a staple?

Read more here: https://econ.st/3fTILxA

News Analysis: Putin’s Russia, Performative Work, Soccer’s Elite

A selection of three essential articles read aloud from the latest issue of The Economist. This week, how to talk to Mr Putinthe rise of performative work (9:45) and the lingering effects of covid-19 on elite footballers (15:00).

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.

Tech: Digital Property Boom In The Metaverse

Real-estate transactions in the metaverse are reaching record highs. We spoke with companies investing in digital real estate to understand the economic model, and why investors are spending millions on virtual property. Photo: Republic Realm