On the third floor of a stately hotel, investment conference participants were spilling into a buzzing reception area. Long tables draped in white tablecloths held clusters of gleaming silver coffee urns surrounded by a lavish array of refreshments: tropical fruit salad, pastries, giant chocolate chip cookies, tiny crustless sandwiches, the work…
Finance theory is a phrase that encompasses under its umbrella portofolio theory, the capital asset pricing model, call option pricing, and arbitrage pricing theory; in sum, it includes those models most often associated with financial economics. In the late 1960s and early 1970's, the field was most closely associated with the capital asset pricing model (CAPM), as evidenced by the emergence o…
The Eurozone crisis began in late 2009. It followed in the wake of the globalfinancial crisis and quickly developed into one of the most serious economic andpolitical crises in the history of the European Union (EU). Nonetheless, after adecade of unsuccessful attempts to resolve the fundamental structural and insti-tutional issues that underlie the Eurozone’s problems, a long-term reform that…
Europe’s cities are global leaders. Though they lack the clout that comes with ten million-plus populations or the headquarters of the world’s largest firms, on important international agendas such as cultural production, public health, knowledge and education, and sustainability, the European metropolis leads. Europe’s cities win on many measures of liveability and resilience, and these…
With the signing in 2016 of the Amsterdam Pact1, the EU Member States committed to an Urban Agenda designed to encourage and promote integrated planning and development in pursuit of a more sustainable and equitable settlement pattern. The Urban Agenda acknowledges the significant role that cities have played in Europe’s development following the industrial revolution. It also recognises the …
Finance has gone farming. Since the financial and food price crises of 2007/ 8, the world has seen a stark rise in financial investments in farmland and agri-cultural production by investment banks, sovereign wealth funds, pension funds, private equity funds, insurance companies, family offices, endowment funds and high- net-worth individuals (HNWIs). Indeed, finance has been …
Agri-food is more than a strategically important economic sector. It is also crucial for society, because it provides affordable and sustainable nutrition for the population. An increasingly growing part of society, especially the young, are willing to pay more for sustainable food. This is important, as the sector is extremely sensitive to price changes. Crowdfunding can give more financing to…
One of the most valuable lessons of the Italian kitchen is to make the most of everything you have available and never to throw anything away. No crumbs or bones are ever thrown in the bin. In a certain sense, a ragù is nothing more than a sauce made with leftover scraps of meat or fish or vegetables. In the classic Italian cookbook …
Water falls from the heavens, runs into streams, flows into groundwater, feeds lakes, then evaporates. It fuels biodiversity, sustains our crops and animals, helps generate energy and supports our towns and villages. Its scarcity affects people’s daily lives, even if we tend to forget this all too often in the developed world, as water tre…