The official blog of Stathis Kassios for Business, Media, Economics & Arts

Ένας ακόμη χρόνος έφτασε στο τέλος του, φέρνοντας μαζί του πολλές εξελίξεις, τόσο σε τοπικό αλλά και σε διεθνές επίπεδο. Κάνοντας μια σύντομη ανασκόπηση των σημαντικότερων γεγονότων που κυριάρχησαν στο δημόσιο διάλογο, τον τύπο και τις αναφορές στα κοινωνικά δίκτυα, ας ξεκινήσουμε με την κυριαρχία της τεχνητής νοημοσύνης. Ο χαρακτηρισμός “κυριαρχία” ίσως ενοχλήσει κάποιους καθώς μπορεί να ερμηνευτεί ως προτετελεσμένη εξέλιξη. Ωστόσο, η συνεχής έρευνα για τη μηχανική μάθηση, τα νευρωνικά δίκτυα και ο αυτοματισμός που προκύπτει από την τεχνητή νοημοσύνη έχει ήδη ξεκινήσει να επηρεάζει και αντικαθιστά σημαντικό μέρος της ανθρώπινης εργασίας και δραστηριότητας. Δυστοπική είναι η πρόβλεψη της Goldman Sachs ότι η συγκεκριμένη τεχνολογία μπορεί να απειλήσει έως και 300 εκατομμύρια θέσεις εργασίας στο Δυτικό κόσμο. Η εφαρμογή της τεχνητής νοημοσύνης διαπερνά κάθε ανθρώπινο πεδίο, από την ιατρική επιστήμη έως τις εφαρμογές για έξυπνες πόλεις, τη διακυβέρνηση, την πολιτική, το περιβάλλον ...

Since 2009 , it’s been a personal tradition to reflect on the passing year and share insights into upcoming global trends. Delighted to continue this tradition by presenting my latest article, “Global Trends in 2024”! Join me as I explore the events that shaped our world and offer personal thoughts and predictions for the coming year. Your thoughts and comments are most welcome. Wishing everyone a Happy New Year! Another year has come to an end, bringing with it many developments, both locally and internationally. Taking a brief look at the most significant events that dominated public discourse, media, and social media references, let’s start with the dominance of artificial intelligence. The term “dominance” might disturb some as it can be interpreted as a predetermined evolution. However, continuous research in machine learning, neural networks, and the automation arising from artificial intelligence has already started to affect and replace a significant portion of human work an...

Major news online portal Xaidari Simera (29.000 followers) covering political & economic news in Athens, has published my latest article for the investment upgrade of Greece by S&P. You can read it here (EN friends please google translate): https://xaidarisimera.gr/oi-pagides-tis-ependytikis-vathmidas/#google_vignette

Dear friends, please find below some interesting articles and personal commentary & analysis for the latest global business trends, news, insights and even political opinion. -Mortgage Rates (30y home loans average) close to 8% means we might soon see a #stock crash to save #bonds. Central banks should drastically ease tight monetary policy in 2024 and beyond to slash interest rates amid growing fears for their economies. Last time MR % topped was before the terrorist attacks in #usa and analysts also fear a 1987 stock crash repetition. – Efstathios Kassios follow me on #X for more global business insights:  @stathiskassios – My new article  “Cases of Online Identity Theft – their social and economic impact” for EITHOS EU Project:  https://www.eithos-project.eu/2023/06/07/cases-of-online-identity-theft-and-their-social-economic-impact/?fbclid=IwAR2xXKtBvRffo5DQ-GMa4zvXzkwwp76ae1AdrEUXjrtTq3DrZxIdGOafF8M -Co-authored a research paper on Big Data Technologies ...

Imagine that Artificial Intelligence developed and embedded into new intelligent unmanned weapons (drones, fighter jets, etc.) reaches a point which makes human decision and human control centers obsolete and/or antiquarian. What would happen then? Watch this documentary on Netflix and leave your comments below.

Closing the year 2022 with some articles I found interesting to read and sharing some personal thoughts and opinion. Have a great 2023! Private pension schemes offered in China and managed by various US funds. Still considered a Communist state? Don't think so. "JPMorgan, UBS and others vie for bigger share of China's pension market" - Read  HERE H εταιρεία Τουρκικών συμφερόντων @LCWaikiki με σημαντική παρουσία και καταστήματα στην Ελλάδα, παρουσίασε κερδοφορία. - Read HERE Stathis' commentary: "The crypto industry is going through a major crisis. Why? When the blockchain manifesto started circulating between crypto and tech enthusiasts, promising the creation of a new global decentralized financial system, to be built on the ruins of the traditional credit system which collapsed in 2008, it quickly evolved to eventually becoming the same system it was despising. All or most of the exchange money supply from small investors was gathered among few companies, ...

Dear friends,  Another book I have been reading lately which I highly recommend, is " Quand la Chine change le monde" by Erik Izraelewicz . If you are interested to understand the evolution of the modern (dictatorial in many aspects?) Chinese state, the power dynamics of the ruling Communist Party upon business, real estate, banking, finance, investments and foreign relations, the expanding geopolitical and trading empire, the socio-economic influence of China upon the rest of the world and in the USA (recall past Presidents pre-election campaign promises to tackle or limit Chinese exports), this is a book that will not dissapoint you. On the contrary, you will be enlightened as to how China is rebuilding its once historic hegemony among other Asian tigers, currently aiming super-power global status in AI, energy and last but not least, militarily. You can probably find the book translated in your native language or English. Here's the original version in French:  https:/...

Stuff I read (links) and personal commentary (views are my own):  - Central banks move from loose to tight monetary policy to tackle inflation. Recession fear looming. Read   HERE - Independent of the factors that drove global inflation to historic levels (both demand and supply side) a stagflationary recession will hardly be avoided in USA, Europe rest of the world driven by private and public debt. Read HERE - I worked as a strategic business consultant with the founders of IDEEZA for 7 months when they were heavily developing their PaaS (platform as a service) to disrupt the IOT and hardware product development industry. I am very glad they were selected recently to join the Microsoft for Startups program. - Iran applies to join China and Russia in BRICS club. Read HERE - With central banks set to raise interest rates, GDP in usa and europe will shrink late 2022, early 2023, stepping into recession, limited supply, while real purchasing power will further decrease due to ...

The current discussions between friends or experts about the war in Ukraine, usually lead to past reports of the mistakes, responsibilities and aggressive actions of the West in the Balkans, Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, Syria, military involvement in Ukraine and the periphery region of Russia. It seems that all those who try to justify Russia's indisputably murderous, criminal actions on European soil, with the daily deaths of children and civilians, have been finding it difficult for years to adopt the Western narrative, for deeply ideological reasons, not to mention the psychoneurotic empathy towards the Western order of things and perception of the reality of which they are -unfortunately for them- part. They live and breathe in a country of the European Union that is Greece for example, but their minds and souls are attracted to Mother Russia, the undefined East, because they do not like the Americans, NATO, Germany, France, UK, the established political-economic-social formations...

We are living in complicated and very challenging times (Russia - Ukraine - NATO - USA dispute). The world is going through an enduring health crisis which is heavily touching the very fabric of our societies, affecting our lives, social norms, work conditions and habits, our economies, established industries and supply chains. The virus and its mutations are spreading horizontally in every corner of the world which is more connected than ever. While governments are reacting to Covid-19 with similar policies to tackle with the downsides of their citizens health, it is important to remember that our global economies were standing on a different growth level even before the world was hit with the pandemic. This means that countries that were aiming to improve their citizens welfare, upgrade their economic status, provide government structures to enable investments and private initiatives in order to create new jobs and foster growth, are now shifting priorities until the health cris...

Will NFTs become bigger than BTC? - Read HERE 40 years after the Falklands war - Read HERE Five of world’s most powerful nations pledge to avoid nuclear war - Read HERE "Η ευημερία άρχισε να υποχωρεί στην αρχή του 1929, αν και ο λαός δεν άρχισε να το διαπιστώνει παρά μόνο μετά την εντυπωσιακή καταστροφή στο χρηματιστήριο τον Οκτώβρη" - Financial History of the United States - Paul Studenki Bank of Mexico Plans to Launch Digital Currency by 2024 - Read HERE Researchers shrink camera to the size of a salt grain - Read HERE The Coming Multiverses - Read HERE Metals Demand From Energy Transition May Top Current Global Supply - Read HERE On Greek Public Debt - Read HERE The 5 Biggest Global Trends Every Business Must Be Ready For - Read HERE Various political & economic articles of Stathis Kassios - Read HERE When will China rule the world? - Read HERE Your truly  Stathis Kassios

One of the greatest economists of all time, John Kenneth Galbraith, had said that inflation does not last forever. We are not in the post-Covid era yet since the 4th wave of the pandemic is here in my country Greece and other countries are already entering the 5th wave. What dominates the world news right now is the hot price increases, the general rise in food and fuel prices, the global inflation wave along with the disruptions of the global supply chain. Who is mostly affected by inflation? But of course the global middle class. Businesses around the world are facing delays to receive their stock orders in anticipation of Christmas, but their orders will eventually find buyers because there is excessive demand. Citizens are therefore the ones who are already paying the price. Why; It is simple. As GDP growth slows, consumer purchasing power shrinks and inflation negatively affects the real value of each household's wallet. Let us not forget that with the advancement of vaccinati...

''Speculation on  #USA #inflation  walks hand in hand with monitoring closely consumer price index which I believe will increase in the next 1-2 years if economic boost crushes under #COVID19 uncertainty'' - Stathis Kassios Too Much Money Portends High Inflation - Read Here Montenegro starts paying off $1 billion Chinese road loan - Read Here Inequality interest - Read Here ''Which are the top #tech trends now globally? How are they affecting your #industry , #company , #organization ? I believe automation will be key across all industries as it will be combined with advanced connectivity across operational systems. #AI is behind patent filing so will delay to be applied massively'' - Stathis Kassios - Read Here More aggressive regulation of #cryptocurrency markets could make ransom payment more difficult, but the hackers could always resort to anonymized cryptocurrencies. - Read Here Rising food prices across the #world as #inflation hits the door - Rea...

Here is my personal comment on the much discussed eurobond for dealing with Covid-19 after effects in EE and Eurozone economies: '' #Germany saying no to a new eurobond requested by other member countries where Covid-19 is ravaging their economies, proves once again to have very weak memory. In 1953, 20 countries in London, agreed to help Germany with deleting 52% of its post war debt and reformed the rest of debt in accepting long term loans and payments only if Germany secured annual budget surpluses. If this agreement had not taken place, they would still struggle to lift up after WWII. EU is on the brink of dissolution.'' - Stathis Kassios An interesting Chinese proverb which sounds like an oxymoron to my ears amidst this global health crisis: <<Να προβλέπεις το κακό πριν συμβεί. Να βάζεις τάξη πριν ξεσπάσει ταραχή>> - Κινεζική παροιμία, από το βιβλίο της  Stephanie Bessiere Another interesting article via FP (Foreign Policy): The ...

An interesting conversation between Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Prime Minister of Greece and Niall Ferguson, Senior Fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution during the World Economic Forum in Davos. I posted this video here because they are discussing the latest economic indicators regarding Greece's return to growth and normality after the severe crisis that hit the country in the past decade. -Stathis Kassios

Closing 2019 with the last post in my blog. In the past during Christmas, I would add my personal predictions for the next year, technological changes and new hot innovations, geopolitical dangers, current economic and financial state of the world, analysis on global affairs, my views on how different topics intertwine together.  This time I want to suggest you to dive in the following documentary and question yourself if the modern world is still thinking in Medieval terms and in Medieval ways. To understand the Powers of the Medieval ages is to understand better the powers that shape our modern world and how the Western thinking was formed. Inside the Medieval Mind is one of the best documentaries I have ever watched. Professor Robert Bartlett is a great presenter and communicator, managing to ''compress'' long centuries of History and knowledge in a single documentary limited to the normal time constraints and still be able to provide great insights a...

This book by Tom Holland immediately caught my attention. Was I attracted by the darkish hard cover? The title ''Dominion, The Making of the Western Mind''? In any case, by reading a few pages, standing in a bookstore in Amsterdam, it took only a few minutes to decide this would be my next pick for reading a non-conventional book for the story of the making of the western mind since the birth of Christianity. And what a relief... Strongly suggested.  Here's an excerpt: '' Formed of a great confluence of traditions - Persian and Jewish, Greek and Roman, it has long survived the collapse of the empire from which it first emerged, to become, in the words of one Jewish scholar, 'the most powerful of hegemonic cultural systems in the history of the world'. In the Middle Ages, no civilisation in Eurasia was as congruent with a single dominant set of beliefs as was the Latin West with its own distintctive form of Christianity.' ' Order the book...

Suggested summer read: I hope you are having the best vacations. ''Totem and Taboo'' is a very interesting book published in 1913 by Sigmund Freud. The psychoanalytic approach on the ancient tribes of the world compared to modern day neurotics makes me think how we can use this knowledge and apply it in order to understand the hierarchic relationships inside our families, work environment, how we construct our idols, how we obey our ''masters'', how we crave for power, how we flirt with the forbidden, love or despise the holy, reject or embrace the pure. Our ethics and traditions, our norms are based on old totems and taboos. Buy the book here  

Malthusian forces were sufficiently strong and widespread to explain the economic stagnation from the dark ages to the industrial revolution. Read the full article HERE via voxeu.org