SnoQap

Jul 29

Jul 29 From Pig Poop to Power

Industrial-scale livestock farms have made meat more accessible than ever before by lowering costs and increasing availability across the United States. Obviously, producing more meat requires more animals. But one aspect that is often overlooked is the fact that more animals means more animal feces. For example, a single pig can produce up to 13 pounds of manure a day. Now consider Duplin County. The “pork mother lode for the $14 billion meatpacking goliath Smithfield Foods” houses 2.3 million hogs which are estimated to generate twice as much waste each day as the entire city of New York. With such an immense amount of waste to deal with, farms have to institute manure management infrastructure.

Jul 28

Jul 28 All Eyes Are on Rwanda

Adam Hilelly

Rwanda is quickly emerging as one of the strongest economies on the African continent. Its president, Paul Kagame, has successfully managed to steer its country into financial stability and success thanks to an iron will and pro-market policies. Furthermore, the president has sought to reunite the country along ethnic lines by emphasizing community-based actions and programs. The government was also quick to ensure the monopoly on the use of force back in 1994, contributing to the post-conflict transition (Rayarikar). While the ruling party was suspected of having fiddled with official poverty numbers back in 2019, the country has nonetheless demonstrated strong growth in other sectors and continues to pioneer industries on the continent, most recently launching a fully African-made cellphone. However, the leader, while economically beneficial to Rwanda, has been accused of infringing political rights and of becoming ideologically aligned with China’s model of government, which could spell dire consequences for the country’s democratic future.

Jul 25

Jul 25 Payments: The $100 Trillion Revolution

Ethan Plasker

In the past decade, people have transitioned from using cash or in-store payments to online or contactless processes. More recently, these trends are speeding up as consumers spend more time shopping on their computers and phones than actually going into stores. This pandemic could be a reckoning for the payments industry. Transformation and convergence in payments on a global scale is changing the finance and technology landscapes. Integration between the two encourages an innovative space and increases competition. According to Paypal’s CEO, Dan Schulman, the digital payments industry could reach $100 trillion after only being valued at $979 billion in 2019. This is an extravagant prediction, but where is Schulman seeing this?

Jul 23

Jul 23 Locust Swarms: Will We Listen to Nature’s Warnings?

Catherine Chen

The COVID-19 pandemic has wreaked havoc all over the world, everywhere from the U.S. Sunbelt region, with rapidly growing cases, to Italy, which has since recovered after being one of the hardest-hit countries. The pandemic has already taken such a physical and mental toll, yet developing countries in East Africa, like Somalia, are simultaneously battling an equally destructive plague: locust swarms.

Jul 22

Jul 22 Dogecoin: The Internet Sensation

Luke Kathman

Over the past few years, Cryptocurrency has become increasingly popular with retail investors. The past few months have only amplified that popularity with the growth of economic stimulus. Some altcoin cryptocurrencies have soared, with some pushing almost 1,000% increase from last year. However, In the past several weeks, Dogecoin has been pushed to the front of the media headlines thanks to Chinese app phenomenon, TikTok.

Jul 21

Jul 21 The Bubonic Plague and COVID-19 in 2020

Ina Patrice Gonzales

When you hear the words “bubonic plague”, the horrors of a time ravaged with illness and death probably enter your mind. You may think with the advancements of modern medicine and science that a pandemic like this is a thing of the past, that there is no chance of it returning with a vengeance again. However, this assumption is wrong. On July 4, 2020, a hospital in Bayannur, China told authorities of a suspected plague case, which they confirmed as the bubonic plague three days later. A week after this initial plague case, two more citizens developed plague-like symptoms after eating marmot meat. The city responded with a Level 3 warning, telling its citizens to limit face to face interactions and to avoid the consumption as well as handling of marmots. Marmots are large ground squirrels, resembling groundhogs, and are popular forms of meat for dishes in China and Mongolia. Officials closed five grassland scenic points, enacted stricter regulations of other grassland tourist sites, and told its citizens to not eat or hunt marmots. These plague cases in China come during a time devastated by a comparable influenza, COVID-19 or the novel coronavirus. The novel coronavirus is a viral disease that spreads through respiratory droplets, like from sneezing or coughing. Similar to the bubonic plague, COVID-19, is easily spread and just as deadly. The two pandemics are quite similar in their disastrous effect on humanity; however, when diving deeper into their cellular makeup, they are quite different.

Jul 20

Jul 20 What is Causing Tesla Short-Sellers to Abandon Ship

Luke Jachim

On July 15, Tesla Motors closed at its highest price of $1546.01 per share on the New York Stock Exchange, bringing Tesla’s total growth up 1,111.75 points since the start of this year. Multiple causes can be linked to Tesla's sudden market growth: the early reopening of its Fremont factory in California, the stable quantity of deliveries throughout harsh pandemic conditions, or the newest electric car model set to release in 2021. Whichever it was, investors betting against Tesla combined for a total loss of more than $15.9 billion since the start of this fiscal year (S3 Partners). Tesla’s recent rise has generated significant consequences for short-sellers. With Tesla still on the rise and the economy reopening, short-sellers are now confronted with the decision to buy back their shares or hold their position as Tesla will release its second quarter financials within the next week.

Jul 18

Jul 18 Why are the Stock Market and Economy Moving in Different Directions?

Meryem Berrada

The coronavirus pandemic has ravaged every aspect of the United States and the conclusion of quarter two has revealed some interesting economic results. The juxtaposition of a thriving stock market with a fall in GDP and rise in unemployment has left many wondering what the actual state of the economy is. Understanding the interactions between the stock market and economy is key to understanding what has actually happened to both during this pandemic.

Jul 14

Jul 14 An Inquiry into Declining Expert Trust

Monica Wallace

“I think the people in this country have had enough of experts… people from organizations with acronyms saying that they know what is best and getting it consistently wrong.” If you have read anything about Brexit, you have already heard this infamous quote spoken by the Justice Secretary Michael Gove in an interview for Sky News four years ago. These words preceded the National Referendum Vote determining the UK’s membership in the EU occurring twenty days later that seemingly confirmed the Justice Secretary’s haunting prediction. The citizens of the United Kingdom, against the recommendations of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the International Monetary Fund, the Bank of England, the Institute for Fiscal Studies and countless other respected economic, financial, and governmental institutions, voted to leave the European Union.

Jul 13

Jul 13 Partisan Politics and the Stock Market

Luke Kathman

Partisan politics have played a large role in the course of the stock market's history. With Presidents, Senators, and Congressmen trying to take credit for the highs and blaming the opposing party when something turns south. Policy changes directly affect the price of stocks since they can change the investor outlook on future profitability.