INDUSTRY
Featured
Featured
Backstage at Manhattan’s Marquee venue, Michael Natenzon, Damian Cacciato, and Michael Goldman finalize their set minutes before Blank Hospitality’s debut performance. This moment was once a distant vision for Natenzon, Cacciato, and Goldman, founders of a hospitality firm that has since expanded from the stages of New York to an international platform, hosting, organizing, and performing at events in Miami, Canada, Israel, Portugal, and the French Alps.
By Natalie Hughes
It’s without doubt that the global economy continues to reel from the effects of stay-at-home and pandemic restrictions around the world. In the U.S. alone, countless retail giants have been forced into bankruptcy, commercial real estate has been permanently impaired, and the Federal Funds Rate has plummeted. Unfortunately, those misfortunates are transpiring on an international scope as well. However, recent reports of budding Merger & Acquisition activity demonstrate some promise for potential revitalization. While certain sectors and fiscal statistics like the ones mentioned may take more time to recuperate, there remains hope for global M&A. Activity hit a record $1.3 trillion this past quarter and has shown the strongest start to the year in three decades. Not only is this figure the largest of any Q1 ever, but it’s also the second-largest of any quarter in world history. Additionally, the value of impending and completed deals jumped 93% from Q1 of 2020 while the total number of deals increased 9%.
By Alexandre Taylor
On the surface, modern loyalty programs, which are now ubiquitous in consumer markets, have changed little since their appearance in American cereal boxes a century ago. Initial loyalty programs sought to retain customers by offering incentives, whether financial or physical, alongside a purchase. This spending-fueled strategy for customer loyalty management continued well into the 2000s. But firms were approaching a roadblock, one which they may have been ignoring for a long time. Customer loyalty programs weren’t all that profitable. The reason was obvious – everyone was doing it.
In 1985, a humble group of programmers from Silicon Valley began exploring the concept of virtual reality from a tiny cottage in Palo Alto. This group would later be recognized as VPL Research, a small company founded by pioneer Jaron Lanier, the man credited for coining the buzzword “VR.”
By Hyun Ho Lee
The story of the year in hospitality, the announcement of the merger between Starwood and Marriott, has continued to make its reverberations felt throughout the industry, and Hilton Worldwide has felt the effects of the disruption more than any other. Hilton, which competes directly with Marriott in nearly every class, lost its position as the largest hotel company in the world by number of rooms in September when the merger finally closed. This revelation is a major threat to Hilton’s current market share and status as an industry leader
By Katherine Pioro
For the past forty years, France has relied primarily on nuclear power. But as the energy landscape continues to rapidly change, France’s nuclear sector is plagued with both financial and safety troubles. Can France maintain its status as renewable energy powerhouse, or will it have to integrate alternative sources of energy?
Source: Tenuta Torciano
Early Christmas morning in 2014, the front door of the iconic Napa Valley restaurant French Laundry was greeted not by Saint Nick, but by an unknown masked man whose intrusion would only be discovered the following day. The burglar, however, was not after the cash in the vault nor the expensive décor of the restaurant.
By Sanjana Sethi
Adorning the shelves of cafés on the Cornell campus is a new entrant, and what they’re selling is not just a scrumptious mix of healthy goodness: Cayuga Crunch is selling a story. Their story. A story of unassuming freshmen who found something they loved doing and decided to share a bite of their passion with fellow students. And so the story goes.
By Shohini Kundu
Since the summer of 2015, crude oil prices and the Dow Jones Industrial Average have been dancing a two-step tango. The pivot steps, marked by a sharp change in direction, are fully synchronized even when the music from the Fed signals no such turn. This is a sharp departure from the past five years when every turn of the stock market could be traced back to a change in key, orchestrated by the Fed.
By Catherine Wei
The world has never seen anything like this before. These revolutionary machines have changed society’s preconceptions of innovation by lowering production costs and increasing mass customization. They surpass traditional manufacturing processes and have become applicable to any field ranging from medicine to fashion. The gamechangers: 3D Printers.
By Andrew Billiter
In 2007, in response to widespread discontent over Apple’s refusal to divulge any details about the company’s carbon footprint, Steve Jobs penned a letter promising greater transparency and a shift to more sustainable practices across the corporation.
By Ethan Coy
Navigating the financial markets is all about predicting the future. Yet very few of the brightest minds in finance foresaw the precipitous crash in oil prices that began late last year. Not even Carl Icahn, one of the most respected fund managers in history.
By Paulina Kang
The luxury hotel market is on the rise, creating increased competition that will generate a need for luxury hotel companies to refocus their business strategies according to its dynamic market preferences.
By Reed Boehringer
Current agricultural and food consumption practices are unsustainable, and so a new wave of food-technology startups are hoping to reform the way the world eats.
By Andrew Billiter
Three months after the initial announcement in February by CEO Elon Musk, Tesla Motors recently revealed the Powerwall, a line of rechargeable battery units for residential and commercial use.
By Sang Hyun Park
Google is moving into the $189 billion market for wireless service with Project Fi, a Mobile Virtual Network Operator (MVNO) created in partnership with T-Mobile U.S. and Sprint.
By Sang Hyun Park
In light of a growing fossil fuel divestment movement, banks and investors are limiting their financial exposure to coalmining companies.
By Andrew Billiter
The price of crude oil, seemingly stabilized after a lengthy period of precipitous decline, dropped again to $43 a barrel last week as global production continued mostly unabated, prompting the International Energy Agency to issue a warning that current oil storage capacity is reaching its limit.
By Sang Hyun Park
S&P Dow Jones Indices announced that Apple will join the Dow Jones Industrial Average on March 19, replacing telecommunications giant AT&T Inc. A planned stock split by Visa Inc. this month reduced the information technology-sector weighting of the Dow, clearing the way for Apple’s inclusion.
By Sang Hyun Park
For the unsuspecting entrepreneur, the announcement of an “A+” regulation in the venture capital ecosystem may seem like remarkably good news. A closer examination of the terms, however, will leave many venture heads disappointed.