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Mar 13
2018

March 13, 2018

Cryptocurrencies and the Impact of Blockchain Technology

Cryptocurrencies have soared in their fame, value, and variety since their patron currency, Bitcoin, was conceived in 2009.  Consider that, since its 2009 conception, one Bitcoin is now worth $9,000, Bitcoins have a market capitalization of $155 billion and, as of January 2018, 219,000 Bitcoin transactions occur per day! Bitcoin derivatives are now being traded on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and Chicago Options Futures Exchange (CBOE) and now have the backing of major financial institutions and hedge funds.  Even JP…

Posted in Business, Economics, Finance, Global Business, Money, Technology | and

2 Comments

Jan 18
2018

January 18, 2018

Retail in the Age of Amazon

Even if you are not a Wall Street analyst, you are probably well-informed about Amazon’s recent accomplishments.  The company has come a long way from its humble book-vendor beginning, as it is now inches away from owning (some would say monopolizing) the modern consumer experience much in the same way Sears owned the consumer experience in the post-war era. Amazon has become so massive that antitrust policy-makers are starting to question its reach; it has all but become common practice for…

Posted in Business, Commercial Real Estate, Real Estate, Technology | and

3 Comments

Nov 8
2017

November 8, 2017

Flying Cars Have Arrived

Ever since The Jetsons introduced the concept as a viable means of future transportation 1962, America has been obsessed with the idea of the flying car.  Hollywood has reinforced the idea in American science fiction via the “airspeeders” commandeered by rebel pilots in Star Wars (1977), “spinners” used by police officers in Bladerunner (1982), and the “DeLorean time machine” featured in Back to the Future (1985). However, movies have usually been too optimistic about their adoption timelines. Back to the…

Posted in Business, Economics, Global Business, Technology | and

11 Comments

Oct 11
2017

October 11, 2017

Why Amazon’s HQ2 Should Be Dallas Midtown Bound

Amazon (ticker: AMZN) recently sent shockwaves across most major American cities by announcing it would be building a second headquarters, called HQ2, which would be a “full equal” to its Seattle campus.  The aftershocks have persisted into this week, as major metropolitan newspapers continue to assess their respective cities’ viabilities in the competition — examples include the Chicago Tribune’s “How big a deal? Amazon’s massive HQ2 in Chicago scale,” The Baltimore Sun’s, “Breaking down Baltimore’s chances for Amazon HQ2,” and…

Posted in Business, Commercial Real Estate, Real Estate, Technology | and

11 Comments

Aug 8
2017

August 8, 2017

Why did Dallas grow North?

It is no surprise that Dallas gets hot in the summer—the Dallas Morning News is reporting that Dallas is expected to bake in temperatures as high as 110ºF early next week— and when the city of Dallas starts to scorch, so does the rest of the metroplex. However, back in 1907, a few Dallas suburbs apparently defied the laws of meteorology. In 1906, Dallas developer John Armstrong bought the land that would later become the city of Highland Park and…

Posted in Business, Commercial Real Estate, Economics, Real Estate | and

3 Comments

May 16
2017

May 16, 2017

Jumping the Markets Boom Bust S-Curve

As a country, the United States is arguably the most economically successful and powerful in the history of modern man. We have survived and flourished, adapting into the world’s largest economy. However, despite our success, our economy continues to experience massive ups and downs. In this blog, I propose a theory that, unlike past boom-bust cycles, this boom may be different: our country—as in prior eras of the silver age, transportation/industrial revolution, the communications/internet revolution—is once again on the precipice…

Posted in Business, Economics, Politics | and

4 Comments

Mar 7
2017

March 7, 2017

Parks Catalyze Economic Growth

The success of many global cities can be traced directly to the quality of their public spaces and parks.  Urban parks are among the most noteworthy and visited attractions of any major city— think Central Park in New York City, Millennium Park in Chicago or Hyde Park in London—and serve important social, public-health and environmental functions for their urban populations. Consider these examples: Urban parks tend to decrease crime.  A prime example of the positive impact of urban park can…

Posted in Business, Economics, Real Estate | and

3 Comments

Sep 21
2016

September 21, 2016

Ride Sharing, Autonomous Vehicles and the predictable crash of the Consumer Car industry

Within the past year, mobile car services like Uber and Lyft have threatened to eclipse limousines and taxis as the transportation option of choice to and from DFW International Airport. Together Uber and Lyft tallied 107,437 rides to and from DFW airport this past January, compared to 68,871 taxicab rides and 47,188 limousine rides. Uber and Lyft show no signs of slowing down as, within the past six months, their collective share of the airport market increased from 1/6 to…

Posted in Business, Economics, Technology | and

1 Comment