Thematic Reads: April 20, 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.
Cleaner Living
Growing demand for items that claim to be better for you and the planet:
- KFC to sell plant-based chicken in Chinese locations (the Hill)
- How is coronavirus impacting plant-based meat? (Food Navigator)
- All of GM’s Detroit operations to be solar powered in three years (USA Today)
Securing individuals and organizations against cyber threats and privacy violations:
- Microsoft talks about privacy and transparency for Edge (Tematica Research)
- Europe’s contact-tracing apps are a test of its privacy-focused culture (C|Net)
- Before you TikTok, think again (Tematica Research)
- 23 million Webkinz login credentials found on the dark web (Security News)
Digital Infrastructure
The Buildout and upgrading of our Networks, Data Storage Facilities, and Equipment
- FCC OKs Ligado’s L-Band plan amid DoD opposition (FierceWireless)
- Alibaba makes ‘major strategic move’ with $28 billion cloud investment over next 3 years (MarketWatch)
- Samsung to leverage Xilinx compute platform for 5G beamforming (FierceWireless)
Disruptive Innovators
Business models designed to transform an entire industry and leap-frog over incumbents.
- AT&T 4G LTE connects IoT robots to kill germs, keep shelves stocked (FierceWireless)
- Allergy Insights with Watson uses AI to predict allergy symptom risk (VentureBeat)
Digital Lifestyle
The increasingly digital landscape that now underpins the entire consumer experience.
- Facebook is launching a dedicated gaming app to take on Twitch, YouTube (The Verge)
- As coronavirus restrictions drag on, Americans shift online spending from stockpiling to entertainment (CNBC)
- Breaking Down the Online Delivery Boom (Winsight Grocery Business)
- NBA teams with Microsoft on gamified streaming service (MarketingDive)
The products and services people will consume no matter the economic environment.
- Beer may lose its fizz as CO2 supplies go flat during pandemic (Reuters)
- In coronavirus lockdown, Californians take the high road and get cannabis delivered (Reuters)
Those things that bridge the gap between want and ability at every socioeconomic level.
- Neiman Marcus to file for bankruptcy as soon as this week (Reuters)
- With Coronavirus Lockdown Lifted, Chinese Splurge on Big Luxury Brands (The Wall Street Journal)
- LVMH and L’Oréal upbeat on recovery (Financial Times)
Consumers trading down when and where possible or looking to stretch the disposable dollars they do have.
- Young Americans Are Still Catching Up From the Last Recession. Now They Face a New One. (The Wall Street Journal)
Areas around the world where rising disposable incomes are driving demand for a host of products and services.
- Wuhan’s 11 Million People Are Free to Dine Out. Yet They Aren’t (Bloomberg BusinessWeek)
- China’s Retail Sales Recovering, Though Fashion-Related Sectors Remain Behind (Jing Daily)
What Else We Are Loving
Other reads, experiences, products, services and the like that we enjoyed so much this past week we just had to share
- One of the few things that we here at Tematica are as passionate about as our investment themes is food. Good food that is full of flavor. (This is the editor here, shouldn’t that be food and wine? Just saying.) And one of Team Tematica has called out the following recipe for Lemon Ricotta Pancakes from the cooking and science book, “The Food Lab.” We suggest readers give it a whirl and chow down while you watch the Tematica-RizeETF webinar discussing the Cybersecurity & Data Privacy ETF that is based on our thematic scorecard.
