What is the 2nd most popular sport on Earth?
All your latest business-y news.
I’ve refrained from mentioning the Ashes thus far but god what a series it has been. In a time when the viability of test cricket has been called into question, it's been such a fantastic advert for the five day format.
Cricket became popular in the 19th century as it gave people a justification for bowling really hard balls at the landed gentry, all in the name of good sport. In fact it’s probably for similar reasons it’s played almost exclusively in countries the UK used to subjugate.
Thanks largely to its popularity in South Asia, cricket is the second most popular sport in the world. There are over a billion fans worldwide, the majority of whom are in India. Admittedly this fandom is largely geared towards Twenty20 cricket in the form of the Indian Premier League but as much as the colonels at the Middlesex Cricket Club might complain, the unifying thread that sport can create is unbroken.
All the test,
Chairman of the England and Wales Stuff Board
The Business of Stuff
New York mayor wants to host 2024 T20 Cricket World Cup matches 🏏 - the Bronx isn’t known for its cricket but Mayor Eric Adams thinks that should change as he’s proposing to erect a 34,000 seat stadium in Van Cortlandt Park. The West Indies and USA are due to host the tournament but this particular proposal has raised a lot of eyebrows.
Disney is trying to enter the trading card game game 🃏 - as the creators of Pokemon discovered, collectable cards are a great way to print money. A silvery packet of cards is the most exciting thing ever to an eight year old and the £4.99 is often worth it to make them be quiet for a bit. Disney is looking to recreate the model with Lorcana, created by their partner Ravensburger.
Companies are still unable to shake presenteeism 🙋 - despite the change in way we work thanks to the pandemic, people have traded sitting at their desk until 8pm for emails tactically sent at every hour of the day. God forbid the little status symbol turns yellow during the working day!
Technology is failing to make us more productive 🤖 - meanwhile despite the steady march of progress, we’re not getting any more productive, particularly in the UK. Part of this is that there is a lag between technology becoming available and how it impacts society. This happened with both the steam engine and the electric lightbulb. Aside from how we communicate and collaborate a lot of businesses are yet to embrace the technology that has become available in the past 20 years.
Owner of Tottenham Hotspurs has been up to no good 🤭 - Joe Lewis of the Bahamas has been accused of insider trading by US prosecutors. Lewis was passing investment tips to the pilots of his private jet using his access to boardrooms. He’s had to surrender his yacht but can use his plane with prior warning. Thank God for that.
Profit soaring as inflated costs aren’t as high as inflated prices 🥫 - a number of retailers have posted record profits as they’ve pushed pricing but the raw goods haven’t actually cost as much as they expected. Cheeky that.
Aston Martin will actually make some money soon 🚗 - meanwhile the luxury car maker hasn’t actually turned a profit for a while but sales of their SUV (tsk) and the new DB12 means it's a matter of months before they do. They made 2954 vehicles in the first half of this year. Aston Martin Lagonda (AML) is the only car company currently listed on the London Stock Exchange.
HP moving production from China to Thailand and Mexico 🖥️ - HP is following suit after Apple and Dell moved a lot of their production away from China to mitigate the geopolitical risk of operating in a country that is completely at odds with the US. Costs are also rising significantly in China which is making it a less appealing place to manufacture stuff.
Doctors in Australia are using ChatGPT to write medical notes 🩺 - Aussie doccies (?) are the latest bunch of professionals to ponder the impact of AI on the way they do their jobs. The Australian Medical Association has called for regulation as lots of doctors are using ChatGPT to summarise their patient notes, potentially breaking confidentiality laws.
Big tech companies are forming a group to manage AI 🦸♀️ - it feels a bit foxes ruling the hen house but the major technology companies have decided to form an Avengers-esque group to look at how best to use AI safely. Their record with social media hasn’t been fantastic but the apocalyptic potential of their new toys perhaps raises the stakes a bit.
Have a good week!
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Something to watch
Idris Elba being Idris Elba in Hijack
Something to listen to
The Rest is History about Ireland in the 19th century
Quote of the week
“I really love ducks, they've always got a smile on their face" - Richard Madeley