25 talking points for better conversation at cocktails from news of the past week.
1. Russia still controls about 20 percent of Ukraine.
2. The IMF is exploring a multiyear aid package for Ukraine worth as much as $16 billion.
3. A third of Japanese people are over 60, making Japan home to the oldest population in the world, after tiny Monaco. It is recording fewer births than ever before. By 2050, it could lose a fifth of its current population."
4. "The Wizard of the Kremlin" was the fifth best-selling book in France in 2022.
5. Labour is 20 points ahead in UK polls.
6. A plan by the Indian army to purchase 12,730 ballistic helmets designed for Sikhs has drawn criticism from the topmost religious leaders in Sikhism
7. India to get more than 100 cheetahs from South Africa.
8. The FDA is considering a one-and-done annual COVID-19 booster plan.
9. QOTW: "Do you know how much you have to lie to be known as the lying congressman?" -- Leslie Jones
10. Electric battery and plug-in hybrid vehicles accounted for 19% of new cars sold in California in 2022.
11. The average US vehicle weight is now a record-breaking 4,289 pounds, according to EPA data.
12. Toyota is the world's top-selling automaker, with around 10 million vehicles sold in 2022.
13. China's convenience store Meiyijia eyes 50,000th shop by 2027.
14. $47.4 billion was invested in the broader space economy in 2021. Last year that number was down 58 percent, according to Space Capital investment fund.
15. Viewers in the US streamed the equivalent of 19.4 million years of content across all platforms in 2022.
16. AI can't escape the gravity of DC: Sam Altman, creator of ChatGPT and CEO of OpenAI, made the rounds in DC this week.
17. BuzzFeed announced using ChatGPT to help create some of its content.
18. Marketing professionals have been particularly keen to test-drive ChatGPT at work: 37% said they had used AI. Tech workers were just a little behind, at 35%. Consultants followed with 30%.
19. There are likely over 100 billion stars in the Milky Way.
20. Of the 3.5 million people who work as truck drivers in the US, 75 percent are over 40, roughly 40 percent are not white, and at most 10 percent are women.
21. Nearly four in ten French business leaders admit to working intense, long hours without regular breaks, well above the 25% global average and besting rates in the US, UK, and China, the survey from health insurer Bupa Global found.
22. Disney turns 100.
23. Erling Haaland: With 18 games left, he is on pace for 48 goals, which would shatter the record for the most scored in a Premier League season.
24. After winning The Eddie, Luke Shepardson returns to work as a lifeguard.
25. The Skatepark Project, Tony Hawk's nonprofit, has helped build 661 skate parks nationally.
Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.
-Marc
ITK Daily is geopolitical business intelligence for senior executives with global ambition.
ITK Daily curates news @ the intersection of globalization, disruption, politics, culture, + sport and provides actionable insights and sharp commentary.
