July 22, 2011
Weekly Roundup: Intelligent cars, aridification, Justin Bieber on the wane
Posted by: Jessica Vaughn - New York in North America
-Brazil’s “historic rebalancing of wealth” has given rise to “two middle classes,” says The Financial Times, with the “traditional” middle class falling behind as prices rise.
-Brazil is the “un-China” and needs to do the opposite of what China is doing to keep growing at its current pace, argues a Morgan Stanley exec in Time.
-The Economist weighs whether booming Indonesia can overcome some long-term problems and ascend into the BRIC club.
-A senior McKinsey partner outlines a 20-year road map for Japan, focusing on how business and education need to reform as well as how demographic changes can be turned into opportunities.
-Author Alex Prud’homme outlines a disaster that’s creeping up on us: drought, or “aridification.”
-A “surge of new collectors across Europe and Asia” drove up art sales in the first half, reports The Wall Street Journal.
-The PC industry is looking to emerging markets and tablets for a “reboot” as sales slow, reports the AP.
-The Atlantic reports on a surprising study suggesting that behaviors that promote good health in America may be contributing to childhood obesity in China.
-A trumpeted shift toward urban living in the U.S. is not happening, argues Forbes blogger Joel Kotkin, who says data shows movement toward suburban and exurban areas.
-Mashable lists a few ways “the smart grid will change your life.”
-”Intelligent Cars Will Make Driving Easier and Greener,” says Popular Science, with humans handling less responsibility as cars get connected to each other and the cloud.
-The Boston Globe looks at “how we read now” and how far the transition to digital will go; a follow-up article will examine the future of reading.
-The New York Times examines how a checkered social media history is a growing handicap to job seekers.
-Mashable outlines five trends shaping the television industry.
-With Spotify newly launched in the U.S., its CEO talks to Fortune about why he’s betting that “music access, not ownership, is the future.”
-”Justin Bieber Is So Yesterday”: A snapshot of what’s current from Ad Age.
-A global survey by Ipsos Marketing finds that consumers’ positive perceptions of store brands “may be starting to decline slightly.”
-With the last U.S. space shuttle back on earth, The New York Times spotlights a spate of private companies on a mission to fly to the moon.
-“’Getting away from it all’ has morphed into ‘taking it all with you,’” says Fast Company, reporting on a study of how Brits use technology while on holiday.
-The Economist celebrates “the surprising survival of the picture postcard” in the digital age.
-Apple’s new Lion OS “is a giant step in the merger of the personal computer and post-PC devices like tablets and smartphones,” says Walter S. Mossberg at The Wall Street Journal.
-American cities are reporting an upsurge in graffiti, according to The New York Times, leading some to question the celebration of graffiti in popular culture and museums.
-The Wall Street Journal reports on the rising appeal of Nordic foods.
