25 talking points for better conversation at cocktails from news of the past week.
1. The Toronto metropolitan area has 17.3 percent of Canada's population.
2. China's car industry has quadrupled exports in just three years, surpassing Japan this year as the world leader. This year, exports of cars surged 86 percent through July.
3. Chinese carmakers have unused factory capacity to build about 15 million gasoline-powered cars annually.
4. According to official data, Almost 19,000 startups related to the electric vehicle industry registered in China last year, more than five times that of three years earlier.
5. The United States has spent more than $100 billion on the Ukrainian conflict
6. In the Dow Jones Factiva database, there are now more than 148,000 references to the word entrepreneur, up from just 7,000 in 1992,
7. In 2016, Armani set up the Giorgio Armani Foundation, designed to fund social projects and shield his group from a future takeover or breakup — a set-up similar to that of Swiss watchmaker Rolex.
8. The name India is an Anglicization of the Sanskrit word for the Indus River, sindhu, and was introduced during the Crown's rule over India from 1858 to 1947.
9. In Africa, 22 of 54 countries are considered fragile states or in conflict. They are home to 730 million people, just over half the continent's population.
10. More than 70 million of Congo's 100 million people cannot afford or access electricity. Its population is growing faster than new electricity customers are being brought online.
11. Only 2 percent of global investment in renewable energy has been in Africa, where nearly a billion people have little or no access to electricity.
12. Kenya, which generates 90% of its electricity from renewables, is hosting Africa's first climate summit.
13. The world's population of people 60 and older is growing five times faster than the population.
14. The American Association of Retired Persons estimates that people over 50 already account for half of consumer spending worldwide, or $35 trillion.
15. Global life expectancy has doubled since 1900, and experts say that children born in developed countries now have a good chance of living to 100.
16. In 2008, Goldman Sachs and Sara Lee introduced corporate "returnships" — return-to-work programs for people with previous experience who have spent time outside the workforce.
17. According to data from Gallup, About 52 percent of remote-capable US workers are operating under hybrid arrangements, while 29 percent are exclusively remote.
18. There are around 1.5 billion cars worldwide and perhaps 40,000 airplanes. By contrast, there have been fewer than 20,000 space launches in history.
19. Only four countries have achieved successful "soft landings" — landings in which the spacecraft survives — on the lunar surface - USSR, US, China, and India.
20. QOTW: "Even Tony Blair didn't have this many Blairites in his cabinet."
21. Saudi Arabia's population this year ticked over 32.2 million, of which 63 percent are under the age of 30
22. Sport is a foundation stone in Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's Vision 2030 plan to transform the economy and showcase the kingdom as a significant global actor.
23. Nearly nine in 10 adults over the age of 50 engage in a variety of walking activities, according to AARP. Among them, nearly half walk for at least 30 minutes daily, whether taking a pet out, going for brisk strolls, or hiking.
24. Boardr's membership data shows 40+ skateboarders competing more than doubled between 2014 and 2019 before the pandemic disrupted the competition circuit.
25. Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow became the highest-paid player in the NFL on Thursday, agreeing to a five-year, $275 million contract extension.
Enjoy the ride + plan accordingly.
-Marc
