Thematic Reads: March 9, 2020
Each week Team Tematica consumes a voracious amount of content as we look to stay on top of the latest data and mine it for tailwind and headwind signals for our 10 investment themes.
Aging of the Population
The global demographic shift towards a more senior population
- How Old Is Too Old to Work? (The New Yorker)
- Nursing Homes Are Starkly Vulnerable to Coronavirus (The New York Times)
Cleaner Living
Growing demand for items that claim to be better for you and the planet:
- Nestlé sings European Plastic Pact (BakeryandSnacks.com)
- Sugar in the spotlight: The tax and the new Nutrition Facts label (BakeryandSnacks.com)
- Cadbury set to launch vegan chocolate bar, as trend steals the show at ISM2020 (Confectionary News)
Securing individuals and organizations against cyber threats and privacy violations:
- DuckDuckGo protects your online privacy with new open source Tracker Radar service (BetaNews)
- Porn, gore, and gambling habits aired in Virgin Media breach (ars Technica)
- Electric vehicles are changing the future of auto (TechCrunch)
- More than a billion hopelessly vulnerable Android gizmos in the wild that no longer receive security updates (The Register)
- Google tracked his bike ride past a burglarized home. That made him a suspect. (NBC News)
- Tech Firms Seek to Head Off Bans on Facial Recognition (The Wall Street Journal)
Digital Infrastructure
The Buildout and upgrading of our Networks, Data Storage Facilities, and Equipment
- Consumers put off smartphone upgrades because of 5G (Betanews)
- Cable access network spending dropped 30% in 2019 – Dell’Oro (Light Reading)
- 5G Will Provide $2.2T Economic Boost Within 14 Years (PYMNTS)
- SoftBank kicks off Japan’s 5G race with March launch (Nikkei Asian Review)
Disruptive Innovators
Business models designed to transform an entire industry and leap-frog over incumbents.
- Honeywell Is Now Tracking $1 Billion In Boeing Parts On A Blockchain (Forbes)
- Injecting this sensor under your skin could prevent future pandemics (Mashable)
- Nreal is adding hand tracking to its mixed reality glasses (The Verge)
- Surprise contender Honeywell enters the quantum computing race (New Scientist)
- Driverless Delivery Van Startup Sees Demand Surge Amid Outbreak (Bloomberg)
Digital Lifestyle
The increasingly digital landscape that now underpins the entire consumer experience.
- China’s Clubbing Scene Goes Virtual as Quarantine Continues (psfk)
- Quibi will launch with 50 shows on April 6 (TechCrunch)
- Streaming TV Usage Nearly Doubles in Less Than 2 Years (The Hollywood Reporter)
- Mobile Payments Aren’t Alternative Payments Anymore (Forbes)
The products and services people will consume no matter the economic environment.
- Cadbury set to launch vegan chocolate bar, as trend steals the show at ISM2020 (Confectionary News)
- Caffeinated Skincare Products Are No Gimmick (GQ)
- Taco Bell To Convert Three Restaurants Outside Of Cities Into Cantinas (PYMNTS)
- Japan taps the $3bn potential of ‘sobernomics’ (Nikkei Asian Review)
- White Claw unveils new flavor variety packs of popular hard seltzer (USA Today)
Those things that bridge the gap between want and ability at every socioeconomic level.
- The Post-COVID-19 Rise of Conscious Luxury (Jing Daily)
- A Peek Into The Beauty Brands That Birthed From Luxury Fashion Houses (Luxury Insider)
- Coronavirus wreaks havoc on luxury and fashion groups (Financial Times)
- Travel Demand Is Rebounding in China as Virus Worry Recedes (Bloomberg)
Consumers trading down when and where possible or looking to stretch the disposable dollars they do have.
- How Working-Class Life Is Killing Americans, in Charts (The New York Times)
