‘Home is where the heart is’ sung Elvis Presley in the early sixties. What did not change in that roughly 50-year time frame, is that buying a home still remains the most expensive outlay for nearly all people in their entire life. What is different today is that buying a home has never been so difficult in the sense that affordability of homes in the US is at record lows! Com ...

The age-old question of longevity—how long we live—is increasingly shifting from one of fate to one of choice. While genes play a role, mounting evidence suggests lifestyle is the dominant factor. This shift has profound implications for healthcare, public policy, and the burgeoning "longevity" industry. The quest to unlock the secrets of aging and extend human lifespan faces ...

Artificial intelligence has become more and more a staple in our everyday lives. With the introduction of ChatGPT, the wonders of AI were introduced to the masses. Whether it is your trusted partner at work to boost efficiency or a personal chef that tells you what to cook with those leftover ingredients in the fridge, AI is there for you to solve the problem. The societal impa ...

The transition towards a greener, more sustainable future is no longer a distant dream — it is an industrial revolution unfolding before our very eyes. At the heart of this seismic shift lies the meteoric rise of clean tech manufacturing, a sector igniting economic growth while propelling us towards an environmentally friendly tomorrow. This presents abundant investment opportu ...

Our built environment, which includes all human-made structures and spaces like buildings, infrastructure, utilities, and public areas, is responsible for approximately 18% of the total emissions in our country, making our building stock a significant source of CO2 emissions. In a European context, Belgium has one of the highest per capita emissions for residential buildings. I ...

In the field of transistor technology, Moore's law has long influenced expectations. It suggests that the number of transistors that can fit on a microchip doubles approximately every two years, leading to rapid improvements in performance and cost efficiency. This principle demonstrates how technological progress can accelerate when demand for a product increases. While Moore' ...

Tracing gold's impact: from ancient empires to modern economies If you were to chart the price of gold across a timeline spanning hundreds or even thousands of years, you would be able to identify many key events in world history. For instance, around 550 BC, Croesus minted the first gold coins, earning a reputation immortalized by the phrase "as rich as Croesus." The conquest ...

Language and impact in finance EBITDA stands for earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. Amortization involves spreading the cost of an intangible asset (e.g. patents or brand names) over its useful life. Depreciation refers to the process of expensing a tangible fixed asset(e.g. machines or buildings) over time to reflect its anticipated wear and tear ...

At first glance, with Sahara sand dusting our cars and beach visits leaving traces of sand for days, it might appear that sand is abundantly available. However, the reality is starkly different; we are facing a growing crisis of sand scarcity. Sand is the new water Sand is crucial in modern construction and manufacturing. It is used in everything from the concrete of our buil ...

In the past week, I studied the avalanche of financial quarterly press releases from companies including ASM International (ASMI), Tesla, Meta Platforms, Texas Instruments, and BE Semiconductor Industries (BESI). All of these releases share similar characteristics: as a reader, you must stay focused on the content of the press releases. However, for an investor, it is increasin ...