Due to Memorial Day office closures, this double-edition roundup covers news items from the past two weeks.
-Global wealth grew worldwide last year, with Asia Pacific and North America in the lead, according to a Businessweek report on a new Boston Consulting Group study.
-The Wall Street Journal explores “Tomorrow’s Transport,” including a look at trends in urban mass transit (monorails and BRT systems) and why air travel may improve. And a Big Think post asks, “Is car sharing the future of the automobile industry?”
-Fast Company outlines how China’s real estate bubble is toying with commodities and the global recovery.
-A Forbes columnist looks at the rising attraction of Africa to international investors.
-The Economist takes a look at India’s changing role in international affairs.
-Recent European and American graduates in industries from engineering to finance are heading to China for internships, figuring experience there will give them a leg up, reports The Wall Street Journal.
-Fareed Zakaria asks whether America can keep up with the pace of innovation, in Time.
-Pearl Buck biographer Hilary Spurling writes about the social revolution for women in today’s China, in the Economist’s Intelligent Life.
-The Economist reviews a new book that examines “How Migration Shaped Our World and Will Define Our Future.”
-Wired’s report on “the future of work” in America includes looks at “the gradual emergence of a whole new category of middle-class jobs” and the revival of small-city downtowns.
-A Fast Company blogger outlines 10 clean energy trends to watch in 2011 and beyond from Pike Research.
-Clamshell packaging is “a welcome casualty” as the high price of oil pushes companies away from plastic, reports The New York Times.
-Despite economic weakness, sales of organic foods are “robust” in Europe and the U.S., attracting investors who see potential in mergers, according to The New York Times.
-Chicago is adapting its landscape and infrastructure in preparation for a warmer future, reports The New York Times.
-Co.Design reports on one vision for the hospital room of the future.
-Is Oprah “the last analog celebrity”?
-Newsweek makes the case that Lady Gaga is the Glee generation’s Oprah, with her pop psychology and message of self-acceptance. And The New York Times finds “evidence of a new order” in the music industry with the marketing of Gaga’s hugely successful new album.
-Businessweek looks at how Apple’s move to shift digital music into the cloud may drastically alter the digital music market.
-The New York Times reports on signs that it’s the beginning of the end for the 3D-movie boom.
-The Guardian looks at how the ascent of Netflix “signals a broader shift in the way we consume television.”
-Digiday argues that the biggest loser in the upfronts was the Web.
-Adweek takes an in-depth look at the growing (and lucrative) market for virtual currency.
-Mobile usage has helped drive a growth spurt for Twitter, according to its CEO, and the Pew Research Center reports a 5 percent rise in U.S. users since November, with even higher growth among 25-44-year-olds.
-Social media is gaining momentum in India, reports Nielsen.
-Internet phone services like Skype are becoming more popular among Americans, according to a study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project.
-A new study on consumers in the digital world finds “a sea change” in the ways people think about shopping, according to Digiday.
-The New York Times looks at the rise in iPad catalogs and why shoppers tend to spend more via a retailer’s app than its website. And eMarketer reports on a survey that finds “tablets beat smartphones for online shopping, buying.”
-The Financial Times finds “emulation of all things Apple” at Computex in Taiwan, concluding that “Apple’s ideas have conquered the PC world.”
-Has the concept of rudeness changed with mobile technology? A Wall Street Journal columnist ponders the question.
-Some textbook publishers are experimenting with selling books by the chapter in electronic editions, reports The Chronicle of Higher Education, a manifestation of Breaking the Book, one of our 100 Things to Watch for 2011.
-“The Made-in-America label has undergone a deluxe makeover,” says Bloomberg, as wealthy Americans gravitate toward homegrown goods.
-Goodbye, food pyramid! The U.S. government replaces the graphic guide to healthy eating with My Plate.
-Energy shot products aren’t just for the young but for the young at heart, with The Wall Street Journal reporting a market among “people over 60 who aren’t ready to slow down with age.”
-Vanity, thy name is men: The Wall Street Journal reports that more men are getting plastic surgery or other procedures to make them look younger, more masculine or generally more attractive.
-Vacations interrupted by work are so routine that a new study finds a majority of Americans don’t mind being contacted while away.
-Last year the U.S. consumed more wine than France for the first time, the L.A. Times reports.
