Identifying Opportunities in Economic & Regulatory Trends

Economic trends



- https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/28/business/coronavirus-financial-markets.html

Global Markets Are on Edge as Coronavirus Spreads ; The New York Times


As the illness spreads, many countries are not receiving imports from China, and there is an opportunity for other countries to largely contribute to the constant imported and exported products among societies. This opportunity mainly exists because so many countries are struggling with not receiving their usual items from China. As this could hurt many country’s economies, it is important to suggest an opportunity for countries other than China to step in and take over parts of their responsibilities as a nation.

The potential customers for this opportunity include the countries who rely on China for their imports. I know the United States is one of these countries and if the importing systems will be halted for long periods of time, the country would be more likely to buy these products or goods from other countries that have the same capabilities as China. China is one of the largest mass producers for millions of goods and many parts of the import economies are having issues during this time. I am sure that many products that come from China can be mass produced elsewhere and it may be the time to shine for other countries.

The opportunity is difficult to exploit due to the fact that these items are already being sold by other countries. The opportunity existed a while ago, and to take the buyers would be more difficult than it seems. However, in a time of crisis, it may be the only option.

I think I personally see this opportunity because I am always trying to find effective ways to solve problems. I have seen so many articles recently regarding the economic issues that other countries are having due to China’s disease outbreak. I have always recognized that many nations are dependent on China and what China produces. This made me realize that maybe this could be an opportunity for other countries to step in and possibly have economic advancements, although so many people see this scenario as a disadvantage.




https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/23/business/climate-change-central-banks.html


Climate Change Could Blow Up the Economy. Banks Aren’t Ready. ; The New York Times


With climate change being such a large problem in today’s society, it is no wonder that it is predicted to affect the economy. There are withering coral reefs, rising sea levels, devastating storms and now brush fires in Australia. Many of our efforts no longer mean anything due to the already devastating impacts that we have seen. The banks are worried that the warming of the earth could change the economy drastically.

With so many people worried about the effects of climate change, as they should be, there are many opportunities for businesses to get ideas to the public that stop climate change from occurring as fast as it is. Although it is impossible to backtrack, there are many ideas that could help decrease the intensity of climate change and the likelihood of it all happening so fast. Inventions that assist in lowering the rates of climate change could be brought up by anyone and change the economy drastically. The potential customers of these products would be companies, small and large, and individuals who are aware that they are not helping the climate change situation. Some companies could be shut down in order to prevent the intensity of climate change getting higher, and to avoid this, many would be interested in products or other ways to decrease their individual impacts on climate change.

This opportunity is slightly easy to exploit because many people are worried about the earth and will do anything to attempt to fix our current situation. There are statistics available that show the realness and intensity of climate change. There are many ways that it has already affected our earth and there is no disagreement that it will only get worse. So many are willing to change their ways to keep the earth alive, so the opportunity for new businesses is better than ever before.

I personally see the opportunity for these kinds of businesses because I am an avid follower of climate change issues. I am very aware of the future possibilities and would try to change them in any way that I could. Although I am writing this with the mindset of economic opportunities, it is definitely more important to look at climate change from an environmentalist standpoint. Even if you are not an environmentalist, the impacts that the earth could face is proven to be detrimental and everyone should fight to fix what we have done.




Regulatory trends




https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/20/opinion/facial-recognition-ban-privacy.html


We’re Banning Facial Recognition. We’re Missing the Point ; The New York Times


There is an opportunity to expand on other technologies that are methods of identification. As so many areas are banning the use of facial recognition, there is an open field for ways to please these communities and promote a different invention. Many factors that go into banning these technologies include the safety of the people using these technologies, but there are still many people and companies using such assistance. Perhaps there is a market of people and companies looking for safer identification methods, and it just may be the perfect time to introduce one.

The potential customers for these new opportunities are large companies who already use such technologies or want to begin including them into their routines. Many large companies use methods such as fingerprinting or facial recognition to log employees into the system, but any of these companies who fear for safety issues may want to dive into a new technology that does this same thing.

This opportunity seems easy to exploit because of how many companies are taking a turn away from these facial recognition technologies. With so many companies wanting to find another way to identify people, they are open to new inventions and ideas. This makes it easier to create and get your ideas out to the world because of the vulnerability of the buyers and people looking for these new technologies.

I personally see this opportunity because I, too, think that facial recognition as a form of identity is unsafe. I have always been weirded out by scanners such as these that know all of your facial features. I would love to see some new technology that works just as good as facial recognition, but is not as creepy or unsafe. I personally do not like how much it knows and remembers one person’s features. For instance, many people tell me I look just like my sister and when I try to get into her phone using facial recognition, it denies me. Yes, this is beneficial for her privacy, but it makes me feel uncomfortable that it has scanned her face so in depth that it can tell when a few features are slightly off from her face to mine.




https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/31/health/vaping-flavors-disposable.html


Teens Find a Big Loophole in the New Flavored Vaping Ban ; The New York Times


With the Food and Drug Administration’s ban of most flavored e-cigarettes, they hope to prevent kids and teenagers from becoming addicted to these items. Little do they know, by only allowing menthol and tobacco flavors, kids and teens have resorted to other forms of nicotine. There are now Puff Bars, Stigs and multiple other disposable nicotine products that are allowed in the hands of these individuals. There are so many people buying these new devices and the addiction lives on, although Juuls, the beginning of the addictions, were banned.

An opportunity exists for devices that act as a placeholder for these nicotine devices, but do not have any nicotine in them. This opportunity exists because there are plenty of people who want to quit nicotine, but there are reasons keeping them addicted. There are possibilities of smaller-dose devices or devices that do not even have any nicotine in them. This would not be an end-all change, but it could definitely help the situation.

The potential customers of these products would be the thousands of people that are already buying these small nicotine devices. Many people have tried to stop using nicotine, but there are not that many teenage-friendly devices for that. Some do not understand that half of the time the users are truly addicted, and the other half they are just doing it to fit in or look cool. It would be beneficial for a product to be released that looks as though it is one of these nicotine devices, but it does not have the bad consequences along with it.


I personally see this opportunity because I am around a lot of people who could possibly use this new device. Many of my acquaintances were addicted to nicotine and had to slowly lower their use due to the age raise. Although I still know a few people in their 20’s using these devices, there are always people disobeying laws and many underage children and teens are still getting a hold on these devices. With the current nicotine addiction rate in the United States, I don’t see how a new product like this could harm the public, even if it is only selling in small quantities.