Month: July 2018

Wednesday, 25th July 2018

Mixed signals & opportunity….

I had intended to bring you my idea of the next big thing this week….

But that can wait. It isn’t going anywhere. And my attention has been focused on something else over the last few days….

I’m starting to get very interested in the mixed signals we’re getting about cryptocurrencies….

• Don’t get me wrong….

Now, people will say that I’ve been negative about cryptocurrencies myself in this column….

But that would be to miss the point….

I was negative about the price activity of Bitcoin last summer….

I believed that prices were in a speculation bubble that was unsustainable and sure to end in tears….

And I was right about that. 100% right….

But I am not and have never been negative about cryptocurrencies as a concept….

I believe cryptocurrencies have a role to play in the future financial system and that they are here to stay in one form or another….

So, it is very interesting to me that so many dyed-in-the-wool financial establishment people and institutions are out there banging the drum AGAINST cryptocurrencies….

• A bombardment of negativity….

In May, mild-mannered octogenarian super-investor, Warren Buffett, described Bitcoin as ‘rat-poison squared….’

His sidekick, Charlie Munger, went further.… Click here to read more

Wednesday 18th July 2018

Dave is away from his desk this week, but he asked us to re-visit an article about the effects of AI on the job market. At Money Truths we have always thought the scare mongering about how robots would take most of our jobs was too extreme. We believe that some jobs are more at risk than others, but overall we believed the increase in productivity would just create different jobs. And it’s interesting to note that almost two years after we made this very point, a report release by accountancy giant PwC, found AI would boost economic growth, creating new roles as others fell away.

It says Artificial Intelligence (AI) will create as many jobs in the UK as it will displace over the next 20 years, but it warned there would be “winners and losers” by industry sector, with many jobs likely to change.

Robocop – coming soon to a street near you….

A police bomb disposal robot has already been used to kill a gunman in America. It happened in July in Dallas.

The robot doesn’t look like Tom Cruise. It didn’t deliver any of the pithy lines or slick moves that Hollywood screenwriters might dream up.… Click here to read more

Wednesday, 11th July 2018

In search of the next big thing….

Late on Friday night, I watched the Drone Champions League on Freesports….

I happened on the coverage thanks to a bit of channel-surfing….

But I stuck around to digest the peculiar spectacle of grown men, boys and even young girls engaged in high-speed drone racing along obstacle courses – with the pilots wearing first-person-view (FPV) goggles that provide the view from the drone’s ‘cockpit’….

• Something new….

They were flying the small craft under bridges, through inflatable hoops, negotiating sharp bends. All at high-speed….

There was some genuine skill on show. Some young kids were smashing the adult fliers. This is a sport where being 10-years-old is no bar to becoming the big star….

I won’t become a fan of the sport. It’s not my thing….

But it was interesting to see how a sport that didn’t exist 10-years ago has gained traction and is starting to attract huge participation rates and a growing audience….

It’s a good lesson for an old fuddy-duddy….

Nothing stays the same. What was is not forever. There’s always something new coming along….

• Looking for the next big thing….

Investors are always looking out for the next big thing….… Click here to read more