Good morning. A few articles on the transition to renewable energy I found this week are worth a read. The first explains why crossing 5% usage is the ‘tipping point’ for mass adoption and what the current uptake looks like in different countries, and for different technologies. Read ‘Clean Energy Has a Tipping Point, and 87 Countries Have Reached It’ from Bloomberg here. The others concern the minerals we need to create the hardware and infrastructure needed to sustain this switch. This all comes down to mining enormous tracts of land to get at the minerals needed to make solar panels, EV engine components, and batteries. Congo and Indonesia are two places developing new mining projects at the moment, but China dominates the entire sector as either a source of rare earth minerals or as the backer of these enormous projects. As the US dominates the oil and gas sector, China now dominates the rare earth sector. ...

Good morning. The newly released 2021 Chinese census showed a surprising drop in population for the first time in 60 years which, while not unexpected, was earlier than many had expected. Meanwhile, millions in Asia are preparing to celebrate the Lunar New Year which for many in China, means it’s the first chance to see family in years now that COVID restrictions have lifted. Sadly, that may be a bittersweet reunion for some as elderly, rural relatives may be exposed to COVID for the first time. However, the end of the celebrations in February will be the start of the big economic reopening. ...

DCDR research is a succinct, useable data feed that cuts through the noise to give you the critical information you need to make data-driven decisions. The project is the outcome of over 15 years work in this area as both an analyst and decision-maker. The intent: to give leaders a set of critical metrics in an easy-to-understand format to help speed up and simplify their decision-making. The full white paper and methodology will be published in December 2022 and you can request early access to the reports here. ...

We all want better information for our risk analysis (well, at least everything reading articles like this does) and DCDR Research is building a data feed to get you those metrics. But even when you’ve got that data, there’s often one other problem. How to use it? Not to worry. Here’s a guide on how to use these reports specifically and if you want some more general background on using metrics in your risk assessments, take a look at these blog posts. ...

Good morning. I had to take a personal day on Tuesday, so it’s just Chad with the metrics today. Apologies, and I’ll be back with a proper SITREP tomorrow. On to the numbers (Still not sure of how to use these metrics in your risk analysis? There’s a cheat sheet at the bottom of the email but the user’s guide is here. Want to know more? Read the white paper.) Relative Values (90-Days) Turn your phone for a better view ⟳ ...

Good morning. There were a few interesting pieces of news on ESG compliance and regulations that are worth keeping an eye on. Many of these rules are yet to come into force, but companies should start thinking about how they will meet these requirements (and who will take the lead). Also, there’s some positive news on the ransomware front. Unfortunately, the metrics didn’t update properly today. I’ve sent Chad (the robot who manages the data) off for a spa day while I fix things, and I apologize that there aren’t any numbers today. ...

GM and welcome to the ‘So What’ briefing: a shot of additional angst to go with your morning chai latte macchiato. Let’s dive in 1,200 Words, reading time 5 mins 6 secs Nutritional information Today’s post contains hints of regulation ESG under attack as ‘woke’ capital In a lot of recent coverage, ESG (environmental, social & governance) is being termed ‘woke’ capitalism by both supporters and detractors of the investment class. This perception further strengthens the sense that, rather than measuring how well a firm or fund performs in some important non-operational ways, ESG is nothing more than a form of virtue signaling and/or a scam. ...

Good morning. Some quick updates today plus I’m sharing an example of the personalized SITREPS I announced yesterday. Famine in the Horn of Africa and North Korea Wheat and grain prices remain high making many food staples more expensive around the world but there are also many who are living in famine or near-famine conditions (Axios). The Horn of Africa is undergoing another period of drought following its fifth failed rainy season. This places millions in Somalia, Eastern Ethiopia and Northern Kenya in severe danger of acute malnutrition. (UNICEF) ...

Good morning. There’s some macroeconomic analysis that’s worth your time today (or over the weekend), plus a belated recommendation to read the WEF’s Global Risk Report if you haven’t already. Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day. And thanks to everyone who voted on the layout. The overwhelming response was that you prefer having the analysis first so we’ll stick with this format and starting next week, I’m going to trim the commentary around the metrics unless there’s a big event or change. That should streamline things even more ...

A sad morning. The death toll in Turkey and Syria following Monday’s terrible earthquake is rising and the latest death toll at the time of writing was over 1,000 but this number has been rising steadily all morning. The full toll will be many times higher while thousands more are injured or without shelter and power. The recovery and aid operations will be complex and likely hampered by political and security considerations. ...