When we think about infrastructure, roads, bridges and transportation facilities immediately come to mind. The Biden Administration is currently investing $220 Billion in over 32,000 projects in 4,500 communities according to a report in USA Today. It’s the largest focused infrastructure investment since the days of FDR. Key current infrastructure...
As global automakers transition to manufacturing Electric Vehicles (EVs), it’s critically important that the raw materials are available in the supply chain to ensure battery quality and availability.  Lithium is a critical component in the production of electric vehicle (EV) batteries, and therefore, it is essential for the growth of...
Globalization, the megatrend spawned by the physical connectivity of every corner of the world and solidified by digital connectivity, has once again come into sharp focus thanks to recent events such as Brexit, trade wars and the Trump administration’s effort to disrupt global supply chains controlled by China.  Yet, globalization...
A historical event without precedent in living memory, the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the commodity markets, including metals and mining, in a variety of ways with many miners experiencing the downside of relying on global supply chains, specialization and ultra-lean operations.  Many mining operations have been disrupted through government-mandated shutdowns...
Big Tech’s AI Gamble: Is Wall Street Ready to Wait? Welcome to this week’s edition of The Market Pulse, where we dive deep into the critical crossroads of AI innovation, tech earnings, and Wall Street's ticking clock. This week, the Magnificent 7—led by Microsoft, Tesla, Meta, and Apple—report quarterly results,...
Real estate thought it was going to breeze through the pandemic while it watched travel, retail and service industries plunge into COVID uncertainty, and while the industry isn’t crumbling, a visible slowdown will have to prompt change. The Spring 2020 real estate shopping season was pretty much a wash. Newly...
The End of Just-In-Time Manufacturing as we Know It Just-in-time (JIT) manufacturing was initiated in the 1950s and 1960s by Toyota. The approach was developed as part of the Toyota Production System (TPS), which aimed to minimize waste and improve efficiency in manufacturing processes.  The concept of JIT revolves around producing...
The year 2020 is so far proving to be another bumper year for Bitcoin and cryptocurrency bulls. After a worrying slump following the global stock market crash in March due to the Covid-19 pandemic, as of end-July 2020, Bitcoin had staged a quick recovery to cross the $11k mark...
Forget the high-flying tech darlings that often steal the spotlight. This week, we're shining a light on the heroes of the AI revolution – the companies that might seem dull but are actually powering the future. We're talking data centers, construction firms, and even utility companies – those steady, reliable...
With lawmakers reaching agreement on the debt ceiling, one of the winners in the negotiations could be wind and solar energy. The debt ceiling agreement paves the way for the building of interstate transmission lines which is key to Biden’s infrastructure agenda. Specifically, it would ease the permitting process for...