News and insights

Janis Joplin never got a Mercedes Benz, but she did pay $3,500 for a used Porsche 356 in 1968 that sold at auction for $1.76 million in 2015. A return on investment of more than 50,000% over 47 years. But are we at the start of a long-term reversal?

Efficient high-speed French TGV trains with posters showing how to help an old lady with her bags. But arrive in Paris and scooters and pushbikes whizz towards the same old lady. No signs saying it is not permitted, so the assumption is that it’s OK.

Inequality, migration, odd banking system, populist politics and apocalyptic climate change, sound familiar? Replacing zombies with humans surgically attached to smart-phones and Game of Thrones could be an archetypal portrayal of today’s world.

An island three times the size of France in the Pacific is 1.6 million square kilometre floating mass of more than 1.8 trillion pieces of rubbish. By 2050, there will be more plastic than fish in the sea. A bleak future or can we all profit from plastic?

Five world cups, but beaten 7-1 by Germany in 2014. The most abundant nature in the world and a literacy rate of almost 92%, but nearly 25% of the population live below the poverty line. Try telling a Brazilian that their economy has promise.