Category: Growth

GDP, Economic Growth

Business Models, Economics, Growth, research, Social_evolutionLeave a comment

The wrong prescription for liberal democracy’s ills

Colin Henderson

Nobel Prize-winning economist Daron Acemoglu’s call for a ‘working-class liberalism’ fails to address the underlying cause of liberal democracy’s woes: a lack of productivity. ~MARC LEVINSON SEPTEMBER 25, 2026~ Empty highway in the direction of Munich on a car-free Sunday during the oil crisis. What Happened to Liberal Democracy? Remaking a Politics of Shared Prosperity, Daron Acemoglu, Profile Books, £25 With a congressional election looming in November, Sarah Longwell, an American political consultant who is a voice for Republican opponents of Donald Trump, recently offered some unwelcome advice. Those who hope to deprive the president of his congressional majority, she … Continue reading The wrong prescription for liberal democracy’s ills

Growth, RiskLeave a comment

Populists Are Losing Their War on Globalization

Colin Henderson

 Summarize ​ A decade after Brexit and Trump’s election, the global economy is more integrated than it was before the populist backlash began. Shawn DonnanOctober 9, 2026 at 12:30 AM EDT llustration: Iman Raad for Bloomberg The populist revolution in the Anglo world is about to turn 10, as we near a decade since the US election of Donald Trump. And the world hasn’t been quite the same since. The rise of the populists that started in June 2016, with the UK’s rebellion against its European Union-hugging elites and a vote for Brexit, was supposed to hasten the death of … Continue reading Populists Are Losing Their War on Globalization

AI, Business Models, Frontier_AI, Growth

Brookfield Bets on AI at Scale Never Tested Before in $50 Billion Push

Colin Henderson

 Summarize ​ By Dawn Lim and Layan Odeh June 3, 2026 at 10:10 AM EDTThe 1,400-acre construction site for Project Jupiter, an AI data center under development, New Mexico, in November 2025.Source: NYTNS Bloom Energy Corp. struggled for years to convince investors its fuel cells were a practical alternative to cheaper sources of electricity. Then Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. came along right as the AI boom ramped up. The investment manager pledged up to $5 billionlate last year to deploy Bloom’s devices at data centers that need energy to run AI models. It was the first wager for Brookfield’s new artificial intelligence fund — a piece of … Continue reading Brookfield Bets on AI at Scale Never Tested Before in $50 Billion Push

AI, Growth, productivity

Bain – Many pilots, but not enough scaling with lack of clarity on objectives

Colin Henderson

Commentary from Greg @ Bain & Co. The theme is similar to what is becoming clear that business is deploying AI on employee desktops, but there is much less operational deployment targetted at productivity growth. ______________ Every other week we’ll provide updates on the latest value levers and trends operators are asking us about in Technology and Software. If there are things you want to hear more about – shoot us a note. Let’s start with the easy answer: Yes, AI is real and we have clients achieving 10-25% EBITDA improvement (top and bottom line). However, for every success story … Continue reading Bain – Many pilots, but not enough scaling with lack of clarity on objectives

AI, Growth, productivity

Productivity diffusion and invention during era shifts

Colin Henderson

Repost from my post to Medium Jun 2024. Introduction: I wanted to repost this from 2024 mainly to reflect what ha happened in the intervening year, where I was wrong and what we need to learn to move real gains in Productivity. _____________________________________________ How technology strategy, leadership and being the inventor does not associate with leadership. I have been considering the relevance of AI in context of more than just another invention, rather the catalyst for a step change in productivity. I believe AI, AGI and beyond will bring significant and consequential changes to countries, companies and people. But only if … Continue reading Productivity diffusion and invention during era shifts

Economy, Growth, US

Monetary Policy 5 Yr Fed Framework Review

Colin Henderson

August 22, 2025 Chair Jerome H. Powell At “Labor Markets in Transition: Demographics, Productivity, and Macroeconomic Policy,” an economic symposium sponsored by the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, Jackson Hole, WyomingWatch Live Over the course of this year, the U.S. economy has shown resilience in a context of sweeping changes in economic policy. In terms of the Fed’s dual-mandate goals, the labor market remains near maximum employment, and inflation, though still somewhat elevated, has come down a great deal from its post-pandemic highs. At the same time, the balance of risks appears to be shifting. In my remarks today, … Continue reading Monetary Policy 5 Yr Fed Framework Review

Economics, Economy, Growth

Federal Reserve Consensus Review – August 2025

Colin Henderson

Source: perplexity.ai Key Outcomes of the 2025 Policy Framework Review The framework removed language about the effective lower bound (ELB), focusing instead on promoting maximum employment and stable prices under flexible economic conditions. The “makeup” inflation strategy introduced in 2020 (aiming for intentional moderate inflation overshoot) was abandoned. The Committee reaffirmed its commitment to flexible inflation targeting. Powell emphasized that anchored inflation expectations were essential in bringing inflation down without sharply increasing unemployment, and the revised statement stresses maintaining well-anchored long-term inflation expectations. No specific numerical employment target will be set, reaffirming that maximum employment levels fluctuate for reasons unrelated … Continue reading Federal Reserve Consensus Review – August 2025

Economy, Growth, US
Colin Henderson

Civilised societies depend on institutions. The more complex the society, the more vital those institutions. Institutions provide stability, predictability and security. Companies, schools, universities, and courts are all institutions. But the most important institutions are those of the state. This is why Donald Trump’s assault on what his supporters misleadingly call “the deep state” is so dangerous. Some of them think the state should be servile to the whims of the great leader. Others think it should be at the service of the wealthy. Both sides agree that its ability to meet the needs of the wider public is of … Continue reading