THE GLOBE INVEST

Evidence seems to indicate that the net effect of automation on employment is actually negligible, although its structural effect on the job market is very real and should be addressed It is clear that the jobs most likely to fall victim to automation are the low-skilled ones, especially the ones that involve tasks that can be mimicked by a machine  As labor-saving technologies advance, concerns regarding job security will likely rise in tandem. According to a study by PwC, 37 percent of the 10,000 people surveyed across five countries were worried automation would put jobs at risk. The bulk of available evidence seems to suggest there is little reason to worry, as the net effect on employment will likely be small and may, in fact, result in gains. But dealing with the fallout from a large structural shift in labor will present challenges. At highest risk of being automated are low-skilled jobs, particularly those with repetitive tasks that can easily be replicated by a ...

The building of giant stadiums for international events is often seen as the zenith of construction. However, many argue that the cost of these mega-projects outweighs the eventual benefits as; they seemingly fail to make economic sense The opening ceremony of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. It is estimated that China spent around $45bn on hosting the Olympics a decade ago   Earlier this year, the world was swept up in World Cup fever. Just a few months later, however, and the quadrennial tournament has already faded from our collective memory. Nonetheless, for 11 cities in Russia, a reminder of the tournament sits on their doorstep: enormous stadiums that cost billions to construct and operate. Government subsidies should not be used to pay for new arenas, as estimations of their economic impact tend to be exaggerated by the failure to recognize opportunity costs Russia wrapped up the most expensive World Cup in history in July, having spent around $14bn on stadiums...

M any argue that GDP-linked bonds are a far stabler alternative to currency-fixed debt instruments. These bonds would be less volatile in times of crisis and would stop the economy’s performance from becoming a direct burden on the taxpayer The time has come for national governments around the world to start issuing their debt in a new form, linked to their countries’ resources. GDP-linked bonds, with coupons and principal that rise and fall in proportion to the issuing country’s GDP, promise to solve many fundamental problems that governments face when their countries’ economies falter. And once GDP-linked bonds are issued by a variety of countries, investors will be attracted by the prospect of high returns when some of these countries do very well. An instrument for success This new debt instrument is especially exciting because of its monumental size. Although issues may start out small, they will be very important from the outset. The capitalized value of total glob...

D iamonds have traditionally been seen as the riskier alternative to gold as an asset for investors. But as the market begins to open up, this could be about to change Once viewed as a risky market, many now view diamonds as a stable investment. The value of rough diamonds has increased by more than 30 percent over the past decade  Diamonds have captivated humans for millennia, having been cherished as precious gemstones for perhaps as long as 6,000 years. Their popularity has increased even further in recent decades, as they have come to be highly prized as fashion accessories as well as practical cutting tools. They are also extremely valuable: the most expensive diamond sold to date, the Pink Star, was purchased for $71.2m last year. Despite the fact that diamond investing is more open than ever, individuals should not make the mistake of thinking it is a get-rich-quick scheme And yet, despite the fact that diamonds represent huge amounts of wealth in a relati...

As productivity growth continues to stall in the developed world, Rachel Connolly asks, can frontier firms give some insight into the solution?   Solving the productivity growth puzzle holds the key to an increase in wages and living standards   It is hard to overstate the role productivity has played in the prosperity we enjoy in the developed world today, and harder still to exaggerate the dire ramifications we now face as the OECD’s productivity growth grinds to a halt. The patchwork of reasons offered to explain the slowdown in production has failed to pinpoint the true cause, but recent research into ‘frontier firms’ has suggested they may provide some clue as to the solution. Coined by Paul Krugman, the widely adopted assertion “productivity isn’t everything, but in the long run it is almost everything” identifies two crucial points: first, the extent to which productivity shapes an economy, and second, the metric through which we discuss productivity’s impa...

The September reshuffle announcement confirmed analysts’ predictions of stability and provi des a confidence boost for investors amid Brexit uncertainty For the first time in 12 years, the FTSE 100 is set to remain unchanged, with no promotions or demotions announced in the Q3 reshuffle, which will be finalised on 21 September. The index, which lists the top 100 blue-chip companies on the London Stock Exchange, has seen more than 400 changes since its launch in 1984. However, thanks to stable market capitalisations within the FTSE 100, no changes are to be made in Q3. Reshuffles in the FTSE 100 take place on a quarterly basis. The previous restructuring, which took place in June, saw new entries from sports betting group GVC Holdings and online supermarket Ocado, and exits from Mediclinic and G4S. Analysts have attributed the current stability to the relatively peaceful summer blue-chip stocks have experienced. Despite this, Laith Khalaf, a senior analyst at stockbroke...