Archive for October 2020

An orphan drug is a pharmaceutical agent intended for the treatment, prevention or diagnosis of an ‘orphan disease’ – a serious condition that affects a very small minority of the population. Thus, the market for orphan drugs is niche, while the cost of research and development is similar to that of non-orphan drugs, resulting in…

The biotechnology revolution over the past twenty years has seen significant advances in medicine, transformed diagnostics, and facilitated a greater understanding of complex genetics and the in-depth workings of health and disease. Innovative, more targeted drugs are saving lives, giving hope to patients with conditions that previously had no treatments at all, and are providing…

Over recent years the price of lithium hydroxide has been falling. Used primarily as a storage-battery electrolyte, the chemical compound is integral in the building of modern batteries and as the biggest consumer of lithium, to the future of the sustainable transport industry. With the rising demand for electric vehicles powered by lithium batteries, there…

Tech titan Amazon recently announced (June 26, 2020) that it had agreed to acquire autonomous vehicle developer Zoox for an estimated 1.2 – 1.3 billion USD. Whilst this represents Amazon’s first acquisition in the industry, the E-commerce firm is not unfamiliar with the sector. Amazon has invested in a variety of autonomous vehicle companies such…

Fenway Sports Group LLC, whose holdings include Boston Red Sox, 3rd ranked Baseball team by revenue in USA and Liverpool Football Club, the reigning English Premier League champions, are in discussions with RedBall Acquisition Corporation, a Special Purpose Acquisition Corporation (SPAC), regarding a deal to list the Sports Holding group publicly on the New York…

Young people are finding it increasingly difficult to get a foothold on the property ladder. Home-ownership rates for those aged between 25 and 34 fell from 65% in 1996 to 27% in 2016. In an attempt to counter this, the government has recently announced plans to offer 5% deposit mortgages to help first-time buyers onto…

“The euro belongs to Europeans and we are its guardian. We should be prepared to issue a digital euro, should the need arise.” (Christine Lagarde, 2020)   The European Central Bank (ECB) provides currency in two forms: it issues banknotes and it transfers electronic deposits to banks and other financial institutions. A digital euro would…

This week, researchers at Goldman Sachs have maintained their forecast that gold prices will average out at 2300 USD/oz across 2021, despite the recent price dip. The spot price of gold surged in March of this year, reaching a peak of 2063 USD/oz in August but has since settled at around 1900 USD/oz amid central…

Over the last few years the US, UK, Japan and Australia have all moved to ban companies from using Huawei network equipment, citing national security concerns. Consequently, these governments have shut off plans for Huawei to expand its 5G network. This has naturally left a large gap in the 5G market of these countries, which…

The Chinese led Belt and Road Initiative is now seven years old. The policy is one of the main features of modern Chinese foreign policy and the country is expected to invest over 1 trillion USD for infrastructure projects in over 70 countries. The policy is controversial, particularly in the West, for alleged ‘debt trap’…