Featured Article

The Survival Of A $2.7 Trillion Market Rests On This Tiny Niche

The space race has begun. Private companies have exploded, soaring beyond multiple billion-dollar valuations seemingly overnight. Some of the hottest tech companies on the planet are already facing off for a piece of the pie. But there’s a looming crisis that, if not addressed, could bring the entire industry crashing down. Literally.

After over 60 years of space exploration, humankind has left a lot of trash behind. Already, hundreds of thousands of pieces of space debris are in orbit. This is a terrifying reality, especially considering just a tiny 1mm object can have a catastrophic effect on a satellite or spacecraft.

Holger Krag, head of the space debris office for the ESA, notes, “Even today we are losing satellites due to debris and it is only a matter of time before more start colliding. If we continue the way we do, 10 years from now some regions in space will be too risky to visit.”

With companies such as SpaceX, Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic eyeing commercial space flight within the next few years, and even more looking to roll out an array of new private satellites, the space debris risk has never been greater. And if Krag is correct, the more crowded our orbit gets, the more dire the threat will become. CLICK for complete article

Want to know where stocks are headed?


Quote of the Week 

This is the anniversary of the biggest political sex scandal in US history.  At least until we find out, which politicians were passengers on Jeffrey Epstein’s “Lolita airlines.”  (Couldn’t be the same guy could it?)

Shocking Stat 

If you want to know where stocks are headed – you only have to look at this one variable.

Goofy Award 

By agreeing to speak at a major Canadian university – he put a target on his back – and we’re happy to take aim. 

Mike’s Editorial – Jan 25th

This isn’t highschool. All ideas are not created equal. No marks for participation in the real world yet fringe, off the wall, radical ideas are treated like they’re workable options – and that’s extremely dangerous.

Fresh ideas – an EV that breaks the mold?

Electrified cars are approaching mainstream acceptance and adoption, be they a hybrid or a full fledged Electric Vehicle (EV).  There is widespread concern about the continued burning of fossil fuels, and electrification can resolve a lot of that if the electric power is generated without burning fossil fuels ( hydro-electric versus coal or diesel fired power plants ).  To date, most EV manufacturers have looked to the past in designing vehicles that replicate a look …Click here for full article.

Commodity Tracker: 7 charts to watch this week

What’s happening? In 2020, each EU member country will need to meet specific national renewable energy targets set by the European Commission. One route is to blend more biofuels into road fuels, with more countries adopting E10 gasoline, which contains up to 10% ethanol, twice as much as the current E5 standard. In 2019, the Netherlands became the latest European country to introduce E10 gasoline, following Finland, Belgium, France and Germany.

What’s next? In France, E10 sales have now overtaken E5 deliveries. Growth of the E10 ethanol blend have been hindered in Germany by consumer belief that it could harm car performance. Meanwhile, the UK has yet to introduce E10 despite a very ambitious clean energy target, because most fuel stations do not have enough tanks to offer both E5 and E10 simultaneously. The US adopted tier 3 standards on 1 Jan 2020, which means less sulfur in the fuel and lower exhaust emissions of nitrogen oxides. India will move to BS VI specifications which limit the sulfur levels for road fuels to a maximum 10ppm from April 2020. China is implementing Euro 6 equivalent fuel standards and favoring higher levels of ethanol and biodiesel in the blend. The move has been phased in from 2019 and should be completed country-wide by 2022…CLICK for complete article