Global ETF News Older than One Year
Blockchain could save investment banks up to $12 billion a year: Accenture
January 18, 2017--Blockchain technology could help the world's largest investment banks cut their infrastructure costs by between $8 to $12 billion a year by 2025, according to a report by Accenture.
The report, published on Tuesday jointly with benchmarking firm McLagan-part of consultancy Aon Hewitt-is based on an analysis of cost data from eight of the world's ten largest investment banks, and provides a rare concrete estimate of blockchain's potential savings.
Source: Reuters
Carbon Pricing Vital to Avoid Coal-Powered Climate Catastrophe
January 18, 2017--Setting a realistic price of $20 per tonne of CO2 emissions is vital to wean the world off coal power
To meet the Paris targets, there is no space for new coal, and existing coal power must be retired early
The public must play its part by embracing energy efficiencies and reducing consumption
Carbon pricing, omitted as an obligation from the 2015 Paris Agreement, is the best way to wean the world off coal-powered energy and must be introduced immediately, concluded a panel of experts gathered in Davos to chart the transition to a clean energy future.
Source: WEF (World Economic Forum)
Earth breaks heat record in 2016 for third year in a row
January 18, 2017--Last year, the Earth sweltered under the hottest temperatures in modern times for the third year in a row, US scientists said Wednesday, raising new concerns about the quickening pace of climate change.
Temperatures spiked to new national highs in parts of India, Kuwait and Iran, while sea ice melted faster than ever in the fragile Arctic, said the report by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Taking a global average of the land and sea surface temperatures for the entire year, NOAA found the data for "2016 was the highest since record keeping began in 1880," said the announcement.
Source: phys.org
New World Bank Tool Helps Map Solar Potential
January 17, 2016--The World Bank, in partnership with the International Solar Alliance (ISA,, launched the Global Solar Atlas, a free, web-based tool to help investors and policymakers identify potential sites for solar power generation virtually anywhere in the world, at the click of a button.
The tool displays annual average solar power potential, and has the capacity to zoom into areas in great detail (with a spatial resolution of 1 km, or 0.6 of a mile). The tool also provides access to high resolution global and regional maps and geographic information system (GIS) data, enabling users to print poster maps and utilize the data in other applications.
Addressing "physical" pain points such as lack of speed, cost inefficiency, inconsistency of border procedures and poor visibility of goods would benefit SMEs most Small and medium-sized enterprises along the routes of the "One Belt' One Road" initiative-often referred to as the New Silk Road-can boost the GDP of their countries by 4% to 7% as a result of increased market access, a new World Economic Forum study finds.
Source: WEF (World Economic Forum)
Report: Blockchain Could Become an $8 Billion Global Industry By 2024
The report, prepared by Grand View Research, points to a combination of industry investments, enterprise interest in blockchain solutions and growing use of digital currencies among consumers as the lead driver of expected growth. view more
Source: coindesk.com
Eurasia Group Top Risks 2017: The Geopolitical Recession
IT'S BEEN SIX YEARS since we first wrote about the coming G-Zero world-a world with no global leader. The underlying shifts in the geopolitical environment have been clear: a US with less interest in assuming leadership responsibilities, US allies, particularly in Europe, that are weaker and looking to hedge bets on US intentions; and two frenemies, Russia and China, seeking to assert themselves as (limited) alternatives to the US-Russia primarily on the security front in its extended backyard, and China primarily on the economic front regionally, and, increasingly, globally.
view the Eurasia Group Top Risks 2017: The Geopolitical Recession
Source: Eurasia Group
World Economic Outlook (WEO) Update-A Shifting Global Economic Landscape
However, there is a wide dispersion of possible outcomes around the projections, given uncertainty surrounding the policy stance of the incoming U.S. administration and its global ramifications. The assumptions underpinning the forecast should be more specific by the time of the April 2017 World Economic Outlook, as more clarity emerges on U.S. policies and their implications for the global economy. view the World Economic Outlook (WEO) Update-A Shifting Global Economic Landscape
view infographic-A Shifting Global Economic Landscape
Source: IMF
Industry Rallies Behind Plan to Recycle 70% of Plastic Packaging Globally
Report proposes solutions to address the likelihood of potentially more plastics than fish (by weight) in the ocean by 2050 Over 40 industry leaders from the global plastics value chain have rallied behind a new plan to tackle plastics waste, which could increase recycling from just 14% today, to over 70% of total plastic packaging. The plan is presented in The New Plastics Economy: Catalysing Action, a report by the World Economic Forum and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.
view the World Economic Forum The New Plastics Economy
Catalysing action
Source: WEF (World Economic Forum)
January 17, 2017--Significant investments in technology would enable collaboration and spur economic growth in countries along the New Silk Road, including China, Kazakhstan, Russia and Europe
January 16, 2017--The next eight years could see the blockchain marketplace grow to almost $8bn in value, according to a new research report.
January 16, 2017--Welcome to the geopolitical recession
This is Eurasia Group's annual forecast of the political risks that are most likely to play out over the course of the year. This year's report was published on 3 January, 2017.
January 16, 2017--After a lackluster outturn in 2016, economic activity is projected to pick up pace in 2017 and 2018, especially in emerging market and developing economies.
January 16, 2017--Over 40 industry leaders endorse a global action plan on plastic packaging production, use and after-use
The plan, laid out in a new report, The New Plastics Economy: Catalysing Action launched by the World Economic Forum and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation today, would see global recycling rates for plastic packaging grow from just 14% currently to 70%
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