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Permanent Output Losses from the Pandemic
In the World Economic Outlook, published October 12, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) slightly lowered its forecast for global economic growth this year to 5.9%, while maintaining a forecast of 4.9% for 2022. It also emphasized the “divergence” in the
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From the Black Plague to the Covid Crisis, Quarantine has Affected Maritime Trade
An overly familiar term in the 2020s, “quarantine”, dates from the 14th Century and is derived from quarantena — Italian for 40 — the number of days ships were held in the port of Venice, crews aboard, during the Black
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Home is Where the Mortgage is: 2008 Crisis has Lessons for Sector
Of all the sectors affected by the pandemic, the housing market has performed better than expected. In 2008, home loans were at the epicentre of one of the largest economic downfalls in history. The packaged selling of risky loans led
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Where are We Going? Nowhere, Fast, According to Travel and Tourism Stats
Whether domestic or international, business or pleasure, travel is an integral part of modern life — no longer just a luxury for the wealthy. The rise of the affluent middle class, and increased access to global networks, have caused a
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Shock and Ore — India’s Love of Gold Goes Beyond Market Prices
Gold is considered the most valuable of all the precious metals — especially in Indian culture. While the fabulous ore holds value around the world, Indians often keep it for reasons that extend beyond monetary worth. Its purity makes it
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Glued to the Box, or Linked to a Laptop? Streaming is Up-ending Entertainment
Digital consumer habits are reshaping the entertainment industry. A recent report by consulting firm Deloitte found that UK residents are now more likely than ever to have multiple subscription-based, on-demand services for film, TV, and video games. That shift, and
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All the World is But a Console, and Gaming Sector is Thriving
The at-home entertainment industry has thrived as enforced isolation and diminished human contact have drawn more people into gaming. Steam, the most popular online PC game store, has an unprecedented number of concurrent users — 20 million of them —
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John Gandolfo, IFC’s Treasurer: Looking Towards Recovery from Covid-19 and a Green, Resilient, Inclusive Future
The Covid-19 crisis has impacted the health and livelihoods of many millions of people across the planet, and it continues to impose an enormous toll on the poor, threatening decades of progress towards raising living standards in the developing world.
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Sports United by a Common Goal: Getting Bums Safely Back on Seats
Sport has cultural and economic importance; every country celebrates stars and leagues and teams in some form. It’s one of the great unifiers. Sporting events are social events, and — as with some many other aspects of modern life —
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Click OK and Call Me in the Morning — How Online has Changed Shopping for Meds
Social media have been on about the New Normal since the start of the pandemic. People are still looking forward to a time where quarantines and lockdown orders are things of the past. But no one has much idea of
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