| DID YOU KNOW? In Kaunas, Lithuania, the cost of parking is automatically deducted from a driver's bank account when they park their cars. In many cities, the timing of public buses is announced at each stop with almost perfect accuracy. And free Wi-Fi is now accessible across entire cities, from Buenos Aires, Argentina to Ramallah, Palestine. The Top 10 smartest cities of 2019 are Singapore (1st), Zurich (2nd), Oslo (3rd), Geneva (4th), Copenhagen (5th), Auckland (6th), Taipei City (7th), Helsinki (8th), Bilbao (9th) and Dusseldorf (10th). San Francisco, Washington DC, Boston, Denver, Seattle, Los Angeles, and New York made it into the Top 40. (The IMD World Competitiveness Center’s Smart City Observatory/Singapore University of Technology and Design) DID YOU KNOW? There are 29 cities in the world with a population of more than 10 million (including their metropolitan area), and that’s expected to grow to 43 by 2030.
DID YOU KNOW? Walmart is launching a new service that will deliver groceries - and put them away in your fridge - starting in Kansas City, Pittsburgh and Vero Beach today. InHome grocery delivery is a membership program that is being rolled out at an introductory price of $19.95 a month. Shoppers must purchase a $49.95 smart door lock kit or smart garage door kit, which comes with free installation and one month of free unlimited grocery delivery. (CNBC)
DID YOU KNOW? As of June 2019, New York City, home to 65 billionaires and over 380,000 millionaires, was the world’s wealthiest city with a total wealth of $3 trillion, far ahead of Tokyo’s $2.5 trillion and San Francisco and London, which tied for 3rd place on the list, with $2.4 trillion each. A city’s total wealth refers to private wealth - including property, cash, equities, and business interests - held by all the individuals living there. Three other U.S. cities also made it to the top 20: Los Angeles ($1.4 trillion), Chicago ($980 billion), and Houston ($880 billion). (New World Wealth Report)
DID YOU KNOW? Immigrants have driven two-thirds of U.S. economic growth since 2011. They founded 30% of U.S. firms, including more than 50% of startups valued at over $1 billion. (The Balance)
DID YOU KNOW? Amazon has replaced PowerPoint driven presentations with a new way to hold meetings: Meetings start with each attendee sitting and silently reading a "six-page, narratively-structured memo" for about the first 30 minutes of the meeting. The memo is supposed to create the context for what will then be a good discussion based on a deep understanding of the topic/s at hand.
DID YOU KNOW? A fundamental shift in the spending habits of U.S. millennials will have an incredible impact on the US economy, according to the CEO of Smead Capital Management. U.S. adults aged 21 to 38 years old (89 million in total!) will prioritize "necessity spending" over the next decade, coming after a 10-year period in which the same age group has lived off discretionary spending. (Thanks to John Federici for sending this via CNBC)
DID YOU KNOW? Interest rates may be super-low, but because of generous bank rewards programs, banks are charging cardholders more to borrow. The average annual percentage rate, or APR, on interest-charging credit cards, is about 17%.... (WSJ) |
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