Since Then, a whole lot has changed

If you pulled out of the equity markets at the start of last quarter, you must be feeling confident, as all global indexes peaked and hit a downturn.

The world now needs to wait for Tech. Stocks (FAANG) and Global Trade to settle into Q2 2019, despite grim predictions for Q1 some see a silver lining in South Korean equities and in digital payment companies.  

The unsettled economy is also echoed by a bare bone U.S. Executive branch with both Chief of Staff John Kelly and U.S. Secretary of Defense General James Mattis leaving Jan. 1st 2019. In the U.S. mid-terms, Republicans lost the House although retaining the Senate, meaning the Executive branch will face more opposition in the next 2 years.

Instead of bringing China into the 1987 Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty with Russia, Trump proposes the pull out method. He surprised military brass with a similar approach to pull out of Afghanistan and Syria, causing many step down, and now to be led by Patrick Shanahan former Boeing Executive.

In Brazil, the Populist Jair Bolsonaro becomes a president, Angela Merkel steps down leader of Christian Democratic Union and will not pursue Chancellor of Germany in 2021. Saudi Arabia’s Mohammed Bin Salman orders assassination of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in Turkish Embassy and signaling to the world how business is done in the Kingdom. India erects the world’s largest statue (182M) of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.

The Internet may get 100 times faster with ‘Twisted’ Fibre Optics, and the platinum ingot ‘Le Grand K’ defining a kilogram measure is replaced with the precise electromagnet Kibble Balance.

NASA finds a perfectly rectangular Iceberg in Antarctica, Black Sea MAP find a fully intact Greek Ship from 400BC, Obvious’ AI generated Art work sold for Auction at Christie’s, and China is perfecting ‘Nuclear Fusion’ for a clean form energy at the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak in Hefei.

Ø  Facebook – Facebook Dating is now in Columbia, Canada and Thailand

Ø  Amazon – Brings HQ2 to both Arlington, Virginia and Long Island, New York investing 2.5B in each area.

Ø  AT&T – With Time Warner content, they plan to start a streaming site alongside Apple and Disney. The Streaming landscape is going to look very different at the end of 2019.

Ø  IBM – buys Red Hat (distributor of Linux) for 34B.

Ø  Gold – rises 7% in Q4, referencing a good bet for 2019 as an inverse relationship to the U.S. economy 

Ø  Oil – have drops dramatic 40%, nobody is expecting prices to drop further nor make many gains in Q1

Forecast /

‘White Oil’

Renewable energy is getting cheaper to produce, more scalable and becoming a competitor to fossil fuel power generation. The result will be a cleaner generation of energy from Solar, Wind and Wave technologies that will require a place to store the collected energy for use and distribution. Enter global battery technology, currently tapped to be the Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion) market, since replacing the Nickel Cadmium model.

In 2017, the value of Li-Ion Market was 25B with an expected growth to 47B by 2023. 

The rechargeable Li-Ion Battery (LIB) allows for a high density of energy that can be collected quickly and dispersed over a long duration, perfect for smartphones, electric cars and solar home storage units. Lithium ions flow between the anode and cathode when submersed in an electrolyte to cause a discharge. Versions are Lithium Cobalt, Lithium Manganese Oxide, Lithium Iron Phosphate, Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide, Lithium Nickel Coal Aluminum and Lithium Titanate.

If you look at historical technological leaps and bounds, they were always tied to energy storage which allow a decades old ideas to come to market – the Walkman, an iPod, Telsa.

Where does Lithium come from?

               Chile, where President Sebastián Piñera has opened the country international licensing, Argentina (Mariana) or Australia (Mt. Marion) and the Democratic Republic of Congo although frought with supply-chain concerns.

Who is Producing Lithium (The Big 5)

>  Albemarle Corp. (Chile)

>  Sociedad Quimica y Mineral –SQM (Chile)

>  Ganfeng Lithium Co. (Jiangxi, China)

o    Partnered with International Lithium (Canada)

>  FMC Lithium of America Corp.

>  Tianqi Lithium Corp.

How it is manufactured into batteries

>  Panasonic Corporation

>  Samsung SDI Co. LTD

>  LG Chemical Power (LGCPI)

>  A123 Systems LLC

>  Toshiba Corporation and Hitachi Chemical Co.

>  Johnson Controls

>  Tesla

The market appears very bullish on the Lithium, which can be promising but also draws in false-prophets looking to make quick returns on speculations and support of mineral exploratory companies. So tread carefully, when considering investing in Mining and Venture capitalists. The safer investment would appear to invest in manufacturers as the market is destined to grow, despite new advanced in Triboelectric Nanogenerator’s (TENGs), Hydrogen Fuel Cells and Sodium-Ion batteries in development – these will take years to be adopted into the market. It is likely Lithium-Ion will be enhanced with Solid State developments or other faster charging mechanisms to remain the key player for years.

Sports & Combat /

Bo-taoshi, a Japanese noble sport

Bo-taoshi (棒倒し), translated to ‘Pole-Toppling’, is a Japanese game traditionally played at ceremonial events between school academies and the National Defense Agency (防大) cadets. The game pits 150 members (75 defense and 75 offense) from two teams battle it out to take down the other teams pole or lower it below a 30 degree angle (140cm from the ground). The result is a mix between capture the flag and rugby, with its own unique style.

The offense, wearing the team colour, attacks the opponent’s defense to topple the pole. Each team simultaneously attacks the other on opposite ends of the field. The attack moves from the brute force on the focused on the base of the pole, while springboard attacker’s step off their teammates and leap toward the top of the pole. The defense, wearing white, work inwards to protect the 11.8 foot pole – with a prized Ninja on top of the pole to counterbalance threats to the base.

Each team has 90 sec. to take down the pole, if neither side succeeds the game re-starts for a second round. If no winner arises after that, then a lottery decides. Previously, the game was 120 sec., and continuous play until a winner resulted.

The origin is undocumented, but is often linked to Japanese games of the 19th century, with Bo-taoshi combining them in the 1890’s. The game finds a home with Educational Academies and Military Cadets, as it builds camaraderie and inclusionary support in the institutions. The Cadets go on to serve in one of the 3 branches (Army, Navy and Air Force) in the Japanese Self-Defense Forces (自衛隊) and Academic Alumni return for annual support.

The 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, does not have it on the docket. However, sports enthusiast traveling to Japan can view this and other cultural sports teeming under the surface within the country.