The ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment for Germany recorded a steep decline in August 2024. At 19.2 points, it is 22.6 points below the value from the previous month.

Worrisome (although not surprisingly) development on the Economic Sentiment Indicator for August’24 for Germany and Euro area (month over month %) “…The ZEW Indicator of Economic Sentiment for Germany recorded a steep decline in August 2024. At 19.2 points, it is 22.6 points below the value from the previous month. The last time expectations deteriorated in a similar manner was July 2022. The assessment of the current economic situation in Germany also declined. The corresponding indicator fell by 8.4 points to a new value of minus 77.3 points. ..” https://www.zew.de/en/press/latest-press-releases/expectations-break-down

- Pedro

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Books, published in 2024, recommended by the Economist

Books, published in 2024, recommended by the Economist. Have bought a couple and all the others were added to the wish list. Hopefully, you can find some for yourself. Biography and memoir Ian Fleming: The Complete Man. By Nicholas Shakespeare Maurice and Maralyn: An Extraordinary True Story of Love, Shipwreck and Survival. By Sophie Elmhirst. Metamorphoses: In Search of Franz Kafka. By Karolina Watroba Monet: The Restless Vision. By Jackie Wullschläger Troubled: A Memoir of Foster Care, Family and Social Class. By Rob Henderson Culture and arts All that Glitters: A Story of Friendship, Fraud and Fine Art. By Orlando Whitfield Everest, Inc: The Renegades and Rogues Who Built an Industry at the Top of the World. By Will Cockrell. Get the Picture: A Mind-Bending Journey among the Inspired Artists and Obsessive Art Fiends Who Taught Me How to See. By Bianca Bosker Reading Genesis. By Marilynne Robinson History The Eastern Front. By Nick Lloyd Every Living Thing: The Great and Deadly Race to Know All Life. By Jason Roberts A History of the World in 12 Shipwrecks. By David Gibbins How the World Made the West: A 4,000-Year History. By Josephine Quinn Impossible Monsters: Dinosaurs, Darwin, and the Battle Between Science and Religion. By Michael Taylo Medieval Horizons: Why the Middle Ages Matter. By Ian Mortimer Revolusi: Indonesia and the Birth of the Modern World. By David Van Reybrouc Smoke and Ashes: Opium’s Hidden Histories. By Amitav Ghosh Why War? By Richard Overy. The Wide Wide Sea. By Hampton Sides Venice: The Remarkable History of the Lagoon City. By Dennis Romano Fiction Hard by a Great Forest. By Leo Vardiashvili The Heart in Winter. By Kevin Barry. Help Wanted. By Adelle Waldman James. By Percival Everett Mania. By Lionel Shriver The Road to the Country. By Chigozie Obioma Politics and current affairs Autocracy, Inc: The Dictators Who Want to Run the World. By Anne Applebaum Counter-Intelligence: What the Secret World Can Teach Us About Problem-solving and Creativity. By Robert Hannigan How Tyrants Fall: And How Nations Survive. By Marcel Dirsus World on the Brink: How America Can Beat China in the Race for the 21st Century. By Dmitri Alperovitch Health, science and technology The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Childhood Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness. By Jonathan Haidt The Balanced Brain: The Science of Mental Health. By Camilla Nord Co-Intelligence: Living and Working with AI. By Ethan Mollick Dark Wire: The Incredible True Story of the Largest Sting Operation Ever. By Joseph Cox Tits Up. By Sarah Thornton Why We Die: The New Science of Aging and the Quest for Immortality. By Venki Ramakrishnan. William Morrow Happy readings "… Packing for your summer holiday? Take these books published in 2024…” https://www.economist.com/culture/2024/07/19/packing-for-your-summer-holiday-take-these-books-published-in-2024 from The Economist

- Pedro

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Podcast Market & History Podcasts Blossoming

Overall and only in the US 100m people listen to podcasts weekly, approx. 1 hour per day. On the cohort between 18-34 the consumption time of podcast equals the TV one. Something every company should be aware while allocating its marketing resources, but at least from a avid consumer of podcasts it seems many are missing this huge market opportunity. It seems like any other domain History podcasts are blossoming. Here is a list of the History podcasts mentioned in the article, i will add them into my busy podcast list and will try all. The Rest Is History Empire - Black History Buff Dig History Hit The Dollop You’re Dead to Me History of the World in 100 Objects Happy listening! History podcasts are booming https://www.economist.com/culture/2024/08/06/history-podcasts-are-booming from The Economist

- Pedro

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A começar um novo livro! Deus na escuridão por Valter Hugo Mãe

A começar um novo livro! Deus na escuridão por Valter Hugo Mãe “…«Deus é exactamente como as mães. Liberta Seus filhos e haverá de buscá-los eternamente. Passará todo o tempo de coração pequeno à espera, espiando todos os sinais que Lhe anunciem a presença, o regresso dos filhos.» Este livro explora a ideia de que amar é sempre um sentimento que se exerce na escuridão. Uma aposta sem garantia que se pode tornar absoluta. A dúvida está em saber se os irmãos podem amar como as mães que, por sua vez, amam como Deus. Passada na ilha da Madeira, esta é a história de dois irmãos e da necessidade de cuidar de alguém. Delicado e profundo, Deus Na Escuridão é um manifesto de lealdade e resiliência. …” https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/204939819-deus-na-escurid-o

- Pedro

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Book Rating - 5/ 5 - Finalized (again) The Pyramid Principle: Logic in Writing & Thinking by Barbara Minto -

Finalized The Pyramid Principle: Logic in Writing & Thinking by Barbara Minto Book Rating - 5/ 5 What a great book on writing and thinking. Just need to find a way to live these principles daily. Review to come shortly. “…How many times have you written an email at work, read it back and found that it didn't make as much sense as you'd hoped? or worse, someone else has told you that they can't follow it. The Pyramid Principle will show you how to communicate your ideas clearly and succinctly. Barbara Minto reveals that the mind automatically sorts information into distinctive pyramidal groupings. However, if any group of ideas are arranged into a pyramid structure in the first place, not only will it save valuable time and effort to write, it will take even less effort to read and comprehend it. The Pyramid Principle explains how • think creatively, reason lucidly, and express ideas with clarity • define complex problems and establish the objectives of any document • assess your ideas and recognize their relative importance • structure your reasoning into a coherent and transparent argument • analyze your argument to confirm its effectiveness. The clear communication of ideas, whether to clients, colleagues or the management board, is a key factor in determining personal success. Applying the Pyramid Principle will enable you to present your thinking so clearly that the ideas move off the page and into the reader’s mind with a minimum of effort and a maximum of effect. Bring your ideas to life! …”

- Pedro

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From Amazon and Digital Pricing: Interview with Frank Frohmann

Another good podcast with Frank Frohmann. Always a pleasure to listen to Frank’s ideas as you can always learn something. My key takeaways (some already embedded in my thought rationale and some that pushed me from my comfort zone): Pricing is a strategic and profitability key lever for all companies (Price, Volume, Mix, Cost Equation) - Where price leads/impacts all the other variables Price is part of the marketing mix, although the most relevant one as it is the key driver of the customer decision, due to the price/value ratio (derived from the willingness to pay). Price is not only a value capture activity, but also a value generating one via, Pricing Models and Pricing Schemes and Pricing Strategies. Digitalization has complexified the overall pricing process in 4 main areas: (i) Segmentation (ability to), (ii) the product bundle being priced (Product+ Service+ Data), (iii) Sales channels definition, (iv) and time, via the possibility of dynamic pricing and all that it entails. On top, digitalization allows the use of new tools to do pricing like Social Listening and use of extended Expert Judgements studies, before not withing reach, improving the data mosaic a “pricer” has access to make pricing decisions. https://www.markt-pilot.com/en/resources/blog/from-amazon-and-digital-pricing-interview-with-frank-frohmann

- Pedro

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Global Gini Coefficient is going down since 2000 + How to build a Viz (line graph)+ What is the Gini Coefficient and how to calculate it

A good viz on how you should build a line graph and the importance to have all the relevant information but no more than that (see the slides https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1Xud7dLnlV2kNC23PRprvvK1cVZOGvDx9EGVmVI_cijk/edit#slide=id.p “Perfection is achieved, not when there is nothing more to add, but when there is nothing left to take away.” ―Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Additionally, it seems the Gini coefficient is going significantly down worldwide that is also a great news and against ordinary knowledge. If you want to learn more on Gini coefficient and how it is calculated see the below resource from Khan Academy: https://youtu.be/y8y-gaNbe4U?si=QMvpWDFqXXuR-X6R https://slowrevealgraphs.com/2024/08/14/at-a-global-level-income-inequality-is-estimating-to-have-improved-since-2000/

- Pedro

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