From Our Weekly Note and More
On Ukraine, Oil, Wheat, the S&P 500, and more
Last week, Russia’s efforts to take over Ukraine increased global uncertainty and impacted many global markets. Our charts highlight the effect on oil, wheat, the Russian Ruble, and the S&P 500.
On Russia and a "Shields Up" Cybersecurity Alert
Comments from a "Shields Up" cybersecurity alert by the U.S. Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency (part of the Department of Homeland Security)
On Market Volatility
Last week, as asset prices (equities, commodities, and others) globally had significant swings …
On Disney, YouTube, McDonald's, and the Metaverse
Comments from Disney CEO Bob Chapek, YouTube Chief Product Officer Neal Mohan, and McDonald's Corp. trademark filings
On Bad Behavior in the Metaverse
Comments from “How to address digital safety in the metaverse" (World Economic Forum) and “Surveillance will follow us into ‘the metaverse,’ and our bodies could be its new data source” (Washington Post)
On Eating Better and Addressing Food Challenges
Comments from the U.S. National Institutes of Health, the Centre for Food Policy at London’s City University, and more.
On the Metaverse and Brain-Computer Interfaces
Comments by Intel, IBM, and the Future of Privacy Forum about advancing new areas of human-machine interaction and the next major platform in computing.
Bill Gates on Digitization, the Metaverse and More
Bill Gates’ end-of-year blog post included comments on digitization in the office, health care, and education.
On Nuclear Energy Investment, Innovation and More
Comments from the U.S. Department of Energy, Ontario Power Generation, Commonwealth Fusion Systems - and investments from Tiger Global Management, Bill Gates; Coatue; DFJ Growth; Emerson Collective; Google; John Doerr; Marc Benioff's TIME Ventures; Senator Investment Group; Breakthrough Energy Ventures; Khosla Ventures; Soros Fund Management and Temasek.
On Virtual Reality and Chronic Pain
Last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration authorized the marketing of EaseVRx - a prescription-use immersive virtual reality (VR) system to help patients diagnosed with chronic lower back pain.
As Global Leaders "Compromise" on the Environment
Last week, 197 countries agreed on terms to address climate change (at the UN COP26 summit) - and triggered conflicting views of the path forward.
On Electric Vehicles, Rivian and a $60+ billion IPO
Considerations as electric vehicle (EV) start-up Rivian Automotive, Inc. (backed by Amazon.com - owns 19.5%, T. Rowe Price, Ford Motor Co.) plans an Initial Public Offering this week, with a valuation of over $60 billion.
On Zuckerberg's Meta, the Metaverse and More
Comments from Mark Zuckerberg - and Neal Stephenson, the author that popularized the Metaverse concept.
On Inflation: How Long Will It Last?
Views from the U.S. Federal Reserve, Uniliver CEO Alan Jope, Procter & Gamble CFO Andre Schulten, Nestlé CEO Mark Schneider, Chipotle Mexican Grill CFO John Hartung and Danone CFO Juergen Esser