Climate

A Rare Coincidence of La Niña Events Will Weaken Hurricane Season

Colin Henderson

Annalisa Bracco Zachary HandlosAug 31, 2024 3:00 AM THIS ARTICLE IS republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. The North Atlantic Ocean has been running a fever for months, with surface temperatures at or near record highs. But cooling along the equator in both the Atlantic and eastern Pacific may finally be starting to bring some relief, particularly for vulnerable coral reef ecosystems. This cooling comes from two climate phenomena with similar names: La Niña, which forms in the tropical Pacific, and the less well-known Atlantic Niña. Both can affect the Atlantic hurricane season. While La Niña tends to bring conditions ideal for Atlantic hurricanes, the … Continue reading A Rare Coincidence of La Niña Events Will Weaken Hurricane Season

Writing

Create a Digital Commonplace Book

Colin Henderson

Readers have collected their favorite literary lines for centuries. Now compiling a portable word scrapbook is easier than ever. By J. D. Biersdorfer Feb. 10, 2021 Creating a commonplace book is somewhat like marking your favorite lines in a novel with the Amazon Kindle highlights feature — except your personal one-stop knowledge repository can also include song lyrics, movie dialogue, poems, recipes, podcast transcripts, and any inspiring bits you find in your reading and listening. The commonplace book is not a new concept: Copying down your favorite lines from other people’s works into your own annotated notebook was a standard exercise in Renaissance Europe, and the … Continue reading Create a Digital Commonplace Book

Innovation, quantum

Taking a Globally Orchestrated Approach to Digital Disruption (Bain Brief)

Colin Henderson

[Bankwatch note] Bain produce a nice overview of emerging digital technologies and how to think about them. —- —- New technologies such as generative AI, quantum computing, and climate technology require unique but complementary managerial muscles. By Laurent-Pierre Baculard, Truc Mai Dupont, and Christian Tooley July 19, 2024 At a Glance Senior executives face an increasingly complex landscape, characterized by interconnected disruptions like technological advances, market shifts, and environmental challenges. Leaders distinguish trends from fads, turning insights into strategies while taking a coordinated rather than decentralized approach to manage disruptions effectively. Critical emerging technologies in 2024 include generative AI, quantum … Continue reading Taking a Globally Orchestrated Approach to Digital Disruption (Bain Brief)

Geopolitics, US

Is It the 1930s All Over Again?

Colin Henderson

A historian sees parallels between the world today and the economic uncertainties and rise of authoritarian rule in the pre-World War II era August 26, 2024 The past decade and a half has seen upheaval across the globe. The 2008 financial crisis and its fallout, the COVID-19 pandemic, and major regional conflicts in Sudan, the Middle East, Ukraine, and elsewhere have left residual uncertainty. Added to this is a tense, growing rivalry between the U.S. and its perceived opponents, particularly China. In response to these jarring times, commentators have often reached for the easy analogy of the post-1945 era to … Continue reading Is It the 1930s All Over Again?

Innovation

Deloitte analysis of 10 years … 4,000 global organizations digital transformation … enterprise value

Colin Henderson

Our analysis of 10 years of financial disclosures from more than 4,000 global organizations reveals where digital transformation actions can increase enterprise value—and, just as importantly, where they can erode it. Digital transformation is on everyone’s agenda. But the hardest part of any transformation is not deciding whether to embark on it; it’s understanding whether you’re seeing distinctive returns on your investment. Organizations often struggle to determine which actions drive the most impact and which investments yield the most enterprise value. We examined which actions can increase the odds of transformation success, and we identified the actions that drive value: … Continue reading Deloitte analysis of 10 years … 4,000 global organizations digital transformation … enterprise value

AI

AI’s race for US energy butts up against bitcoin mining

Colin Henderson

Mrinalika RoyAugust 28, 202411:27 AM EDTUpdated 2 hours ago Aug 28 – U.S. technology companies are pursuing energy assets held by bitcoin miners as they race to secure a shrinking supply of electricity for their rapidly expanding artificial intelligence and cloud computing data centers. Those data centers are driving the fastest U.S. power demand growth since the start of the millennium, outpacing grid expansions and leaving giant technology companies, like Amazon (AMZN.O) and Microsoft (MSFT.O), to scavenge for vast amounts of electricity. Advertisement · Scroll to continue The electricity scramble is jolting the energy-intensive cryptocurrency mining industry. Some miners are making huge profits leasing or selling their power-connected infrastructure … Continue reading AI’s race for US energy butts up against bitcoin mining

Growth1 Comment

AI Regulation Is Coming. Fortune 500 Companies Are Bracing for Impact.

Colin Henderson

Some 27% of Fortune 500 companies cite AI regulation as a risk in their annual reports Belle LinAug. 27, 2024 at 7:00 am Relevance to Bankwatch Roughly 27% cited AI regulation as a risk in recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, One of the clearest signs yet of how AI rules could affect businesses. The extent of concern across company SEC filings is a clear indication that this risk is real and enough that Boards and Senior Management will reduce their motivation to take on transformative processes associated with AI. We already see that conservatism manifested in AI … Continue reading AI Regulation Is Coming. Fortune 500 Companies Are Bracing for Impact.

Innovation

Dual transformation: Optimizing the core and building new businesses

Colin Henderson

August 23, 2024 | Article By Ari Libarikian,  Chris Hagedorn,  Matt Banholzer, and Ryan NguyenShare PrintDownload With the economy still in flux, established companies could potentially unlock and sustain growth by building new businesses while simultaneously transforming the core. DOWNLOADS Article (8 pages) In recent years, the world has experienced significant disruptions to the global economy—with lasting effects. Elevated inflation, though easing in some parts of the world, remains a serious issue, and heightened geopolitical tensions show no signs of dissipating. High interest rates continue for now, and volatile commodity prices also persist. It’s become increasingly clear that these disruptions may not be temporary; rather, they … Continue reading Dual transformation: Optimizing the core and building new businesses

US

Will Harris’s Lead Last? A Few Questions That Will Shape the Answer.

Colin Henderson

By Nate Cohn Republicans have struggled to cast Kamala Harris in a negative light.Credit…Jamie Kelter Davis for The New York Times Kamala Harris has wrapped up an extraordinary month. In that short time, she’s completely transformed the 2024 presidential election. She leads in most national and battleground state polls, and the real-world signs of the enthusiasm for her candidacy are everywhere, from filled-up stadiums to record-setting campaign contributions. All this was hard to imagine before President Biden dropped out, when a majority of Americans had an unfavorable view of her. Her previous run for president did not go well. If anything, her record in national politics saddled … Continue reading Will Harris’s Lead Last? A Few Questions That Will Shape the Answer.

Geopolitics

How US military planning has shifted away from fighting terrorism to readying for tensions and conflict with China and Russia

Colin Henderson

 Eric RosenbachPublished: August 26, 2024 1.31pm BST President Joe Biden’s recent approval of a major shift in U.S. nuclear weapons strategyhighlights the attention the country’s national security officials are paying to Chinese ambitions for influence in the world. As changes emerge in the types of threats facing the U.S., the American military adjusts its strategic focus, budgets and planning. For instance, after 9/11, the U.S. military refocused away from its Cold War emphasis on preparing for combat against a powerful nation – the Soviet Union – and toward fighting small terrorist and insurgent groups instead. Over the past decade, the Pentagon’s efforts have … Continue reading How US military planning has shifted away from fighting terrorism to readying for tensions and conflict with China and Russia