An overview on the industry Increasing loss ratio and declining insurance margin New lines of insurance and flexible coverage terms   The US Property and Casualty (P&C) insurance industry has been witnessing a decline in the YoY revenue growth from 2013. The industry registered a YoY revenue growth of 2.7% (2016) as compared to 4% (2015). This decline in the...

IoT, an explanation The impact of IoT on the world Sectors that will benefit from the IoT growth   Introduction Ever since the evolution of the internet, the world has been shifting towards the digital and IoT promises to turn everything around to a lot more digitally savvy in the next decade. IoT has the potential to generate large-scale efficiencies within...

Overview on the industry Increase in demand for fuel cell powered vehicles Fuelling infrastructure will play a crucial role in deciding the future of the industry   Fuel cells are alternative energy solutions, which convert chemical into electrical energy by combining hydrogen and oxygen. The fuel cell industry witnessed a significant transformation in the past...

Is leveraged buyout dangerous for businesses? Can online players capture the toy industry? An outlook on current operations of Toys“R”Us   Toy business has a vast scope and requires a lot of innovation. One of the key names in the toy industry is of Toys"R”Us. This is a US-based company, which was incorporated as a baby furniture store in 1948 and diversified into...

Global consumption of electricity continues to rise backed by enhanced economic growth Increasing focus on renewable power generating sources with solar among the top Lower input costs, technological advancements and government policies driving solar power capacity   The power sector has been a major pillar of the world economy along with other segments. The...

Trend and movement in Baltic Dry Index Will Chinese demand play a crucial role in the Index? Is dismantling of ships and low order book leading to limiting of supply?   The world economy has seen several ups and downs during the past decade. While the broader economy continues to mend and is backed by a healthy improvement in the major macro and microeconomic...

Prominence of mobile biometrics in the biometrics market Fingerprint, the most significant biometric system in the contemporary world Future of biometrics, iris, face recognition, etc.   In this age of rapid transformation, where information technology has spread its wings through several facets of our lives be it personal, professional or social. The security...

Performance of department stores in China Preference of the Chinese consumers Steps taken to enhance customer experience   A department store is a one-stop shop for buying different categories of items ranging from appliances and furniture to apparels and cosmetics. Moreover, with an increase in consumerism department store trend also saw an uplift, especially in...

The size of the private tuition centre industry The factors for increased demand for private tuition centers How is growing population of attending schools and colleges and increased expenditure on education is supporting the industry?   Tuition centres or cram or preparatory schools have become an integral and ineradicable part of the education system in the...

How big is the online gambling industry? Which is the major market geographically? How increasing internet penetration and mobile users are contributing to the growth?    Historically, gambling has been a means of entertainment, wherein people gambled at casinos, poker rooms, game parlours, bookmakers and in the contemporary world gambling has moved online. ...

Different types of fuel stations with attached convenience store format Success factors for the business model What is more profitable? Fuel station or convenience store?    Convenience stores usually have an area of 2,000 to 4,000 square feet. A fuel station normally has an ample space and can accommodate a convenience store, ATM, fast food takeaway or a...

E-commerce market in China Online consumer product retailers in China Performance of Amazon in China   Amazon is a global e-commerce player selling a wide variety of products online. The firm is a market leader in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and Japan. It is a dominant player in the West, but has struggled in the Chinese market since the...

Current state of EV industry in Norway Factors that contributed to the growth of EV industry Future of EV growth in Norway, especially after 2020   Norway, as a nation, generated wealth through the use of fossil fuels, but lately, the country became a world leader in EVs (Electric Vehicles). While Norway generates ~12% of its GDP from the petroleum sector (one...

What triggered volatility in the M&A activity in the gold mining industry over the past few years? Why were all mega deals concentrated in the gold price bull run? What attracted small gold companies for M&A post-2012?   The growth in the form of organic or inorganic is the primary reason that keeps stakeholders interested, attracted and glued to a company. ...

The reasons for China’s decreasing presence in the industry Initiatives by the governments in Southeast Asia to boost the textile trade Vietnam and Bangladesh’s quest to conquer apparel industry and surpass India   Textile manufacturing is characterised as a high labour-intensive industry and the enterprise has been steering the economic growth in Southeast Asia....

Why eBay and PayPal merged? The tale of separation How successful was the spin-off?   PayPal is an American organisation. The company was founded in 1998 as ‘Confinity’, originally it was a software security firm that provided services to the handheld devices. In 1999, PayPal was launched as a money transfer service and Confinity was merged with X.com and all...

Will the recent price stabilization continue? OPEC November meeting to decide short-term course for the market    The crude oil prices which were on a roller coaster ride during the past few years, appear to have stabilized in the last few quarters. ICE Brent, the major international benchmark for crude prices declined from its intermittent peak of ~$100 per...

The most competitive power generation technology and what lies ahead? Will the recent support from the majority of EU members change the offshore wind power outlook?   The global power generation has historically been dominated by the thermal sources, mainly coal. But governments around the world are struggling to fight the climate change, the focus is shifting...

Few of the major use cases of blockchain Responses of sovereign governments to blockchain and cryptocurrencies The future of blockchain   Blockchain changing the way business is done The major categories of applications of the blockchain technology and its advantages were summarized in the previous blog on the topic. However, the true potential of this...

What is blockchain? How is blockchain revolutionary? Cryptocurrency, the new money ICOs, the new way of raising money Summary Blockchain is a software architecture which creates a chain of records. This is supported by member computers serving as nodes to maintain and verify the records adhering to common protocols of a network. The main features of this...