Author: marten

Back to homepage
marten

marten

Inflation, Used Cars, Silicon Chips and Supply-Demand: Links in a Worrying Chain

Chips — no, not the potato or chocolate kind, the electronic ones – are a driving force behind a spike in inflation. Whether it’s cars or computers, we depend on silicon chips — and a global shortage is having some

Read More

World Bank: Sustained Global Solidarity Needed to Achieve Global COVID-19 Recovery

The pandemic has affected virtually everyone in the world, but its impacts have been hardest on the poor and vulnerable, deepening inequalities and exacerbating underlying challenges. Now more than ever, global solidarity is needed to address the widening gaps between

Read More

Ferdinand Grapperhaus, Jr: Putting a Brave (and Smart) Face on the World’s New Constructions

The building industry is one of the main contributors of greenhouse gas emissions. According to a 2019 report from the World Green Building Council, the energy used to heat, cool and light buildings accounts for 28 percent of global carbon

Read More

Swiss Precision, African Spirit: Brahms Group’s Daouda Fall has Found the Perfect Balance

Switzerland-based and Africa-led, the Brahms Group was born as a consultancy in 2009 — and has grown into an established player in project development and impact investment.   In the firm’s consultancy days, founder and CEO Daouda Fall raised some

Read More

The Fed vs the Communist Party

Recent quarters, months, and weeks have seen a remarkable clash between the goals of the US Federal Reserve and Chinese Communist Party. One is trying to expand credit into a “supercharged, super-fair recovery”, the other trying to rein-in what they

Read More

Wilbur Addison Smith (1933-2021): Lion of African Literature

A charming chauvinist, addicted to adventure, and in his personal life often as ruthless as the characters depicted in his fast-paced novels, Wilbur Addison Smith conquered the apex most writers quietly aspire to but seldom reach: the ability to ignore

Read More

Invasion of the Robots! Beware, Beware! Just Because We Can Doesn’t Mean That We Should…

AI, facial-recognition, machine learning… where should humans draw the line when it comes to automated ‘job theft’? Yogesh Patel gives it some thought. Hammers, spanners, screwdrivers, scissors: tools of all shapes, sizes and functions have acted as catalysts for human

Read More

Emerging Market Debt Has Promise that GoldenTree Understands and Harnesses — Even In Trying Times

Macro-economic crosscurrents have led to a broad opportunity set in credit markets, and global credit manager GoldenTree has delivered compelling returns to investors despite the turbulent times. GoldenTree Asset Management, to give it its full title, is an employee-owned firm

Read More

Unity Willis Towers Watson: Old as the Ages, Wise as the Hills, a Global Leader with History and Scope

Unity Willis Towers Watson is a global leader in consulting, brokerage, and financial solutions. It offers reliable and extensive services to clients on every continent except Antarctica. Unity Willis Towers Watson has been operating in Latin America for more than

Read More

SATORP Knows the Value of People, Pride, Professionalism, and Partnership: Four Ps That Are Keeping This Giant Refinery At The Top of Its Game

One of the world’s largest refineries, the Saudi Aramco Total Refining and Petrochemical Company (SATORP) joint venture, recently increased its capacity to 460,000 barrels per day (bpd) from the planned 400,000. The refinery always aims to maximise shareholder value —

Read More