Capitalogix

75th Anniversary of D-Day

June 6th, 1944 ... the day we stormed the beaches of Normandy.  It was the largest seaborne invasion in history. The invasion created a foothold that allowed Allied forces to expand through France. 

The memorial in France this year was a particularly touching event with the many surviving World War 2 soldiers being well into their 90s. 

"A generation whose unconquerable spirit shaped the post-war world. They didn't boast. They didn't fuss. They served" - Theresa May

A 97-year old veteran paratrooper, Tom Rice, commemorated the day by once again dropping into the field he landed in on that fateful night. 

Check out the video. It's an inspiration. 

 

via TIME

Seems like a friendlier welcome than a sea of German soldiers. As an extra fun fact, Teddy Roosevelt stormed the beaches of Normandy at 56 with a heart condition,  arthritis, and a cane. He was the oldest man to take part in the invasion. 

Our society is built on the backs of many strong men! I'm thankful for their sacrifices. 

The Rise of the Megacity

Population growth is an interesting measure. Historically, growth has been slow.  But something changed that.  And the implications are stunning.

Scientists estimate that humans have existed for over 130,000 years. It took until 1804 for us to reach 1 Billion. We doubled that population by 1927 (123 years later), and then doubled it again in only 47 years later (which was 1974). 

Early population growth was driven by the agricultural revolution. Since 1804, the industrial revolution, health and safety advances, and technology have radically improved quality of life - spurring comparatively rapid growth. 

via Axios (Click for an Interactive Graph)

World population growth rates peaked in the late 1960s and have declined sharply in the past four decades, but we're still on a positive trend. We're expected to reach 9 billion people by 2050, but a lot of that growth comes from developing countries - they also almost exclusively come from urban areas. 

Urbanization: Megacities

Since 2014, over 50% of the world's population has lived in urban areas - today it's approximately 55%. That number is growing.

Ironically, as we grow more digitally connected, our world is shrinking and our populations are concentrating. 

An interesting consequence of this rapid urbanization and population growth in developing countries has been the increased development of Megacities - defined as cities with populations greater than 10 million. Today, there are 33 megacities - more than triple the number in the 1990s. 

This creates a set of interesting opportunities and challenges. 

For example, how will these cities deal with infrastructure - sanitation, transportation, etc.

 

via Blackrock (Click to view full infographic)

 

Here Are Some Links For Your Weekly Reading - June 2nd, 2019

Toronto plays Golden State in game two of the NBA Finals tonight. Tickets were a little pricey!

Here are some of the posts that caught my eye recently. Hope you find something interesting.

 

Lighter Links:

• This is Why Einstein Knew that Gravity Must Bend Light. (Forbes)
• The Lucrative Black Market in Human Fat. (The Atlantic)
• Goldman Sachs's Chief Critic Picks New York's Top New Restaurants. (Bloomberg)
• Amazon Working on Wearable Device that Will Track Your Emotions. (News18)
• Harvard Spent 80 Years Studying Happiness, and We Now Know the 1 Key Habit that Makes People Happier. (The Problem: Most People Never Even Try). (Inc)

 

Trading Links:

• Al Gore Keeps Beating the Stock Market. Here's What He's Buying and Selling. (Barrons)
• Big Revenues, Huge Valuations and Major Losses: Charting the Era of the Unicorn IPO. (TechCrunch)
• Musk's SpaceX Raised over $1 Billion in Six Months: Filings. (Reuters)
• Texas Set to Become 11Th State to Ban Red Light Cameras. (Gizmodo)
• Alibaba Billionaire Jack Ma: I Know Nothing about Tech or Marketing – This Is the Secret to My Success. (CNBC)

 

 

10 Largest Economies in 2030

Emerging markets have taken recent hits due to the trade war ... but that doesn't mean their long-term potential isn't monumental. 

According to Standard Chartered, by 2030, 7 of the 10 largest economies will be in emerging markets with India, Indonesia, Turkey, Brazil, and Egypt seeing exponential growth. Click to see the infographic and here's a video:

 

via Visual Capitalist

China and the US produce 23.2 trillion and 19.4 trillion respectively; unchallenged powerhouses now. That being said, the global balance of power and population is shifting; and many developing countries (like India) are growing quickly.  

 

via Visual Capitalist

It seems likely that with their population growth and maturation as global economies, we'll see a relatively different landscape in 10 years. Will it look like this? Maybe?  But Egypt's projected growth of 583% seems a bit beyond normal expectations ... Time will tell!