Alice Fullwood
Showing 1–4 of 4 transcripts.
- The Economist22 min
Google’s lurch: how to fix its monopoly
Rosie Bloor, Alice Fullwood, Kate Parker, Vishnu Padmanabhan
The US Department of Justice has proposed remedies to dismantle Google's alleged search monopoly, which generates roughly $26 billion annually through exclusive default agreements, with final penalties to be decided in a trial next year. While Google faces potential restrictions on paying for default status and mandatory data sharing to foster competition, the agency must also weigh the rising threat of generative AI as a market disruptor. Concurrently, global water utilities are deploying advanced leak detection technologies, including acoustic loggers and in-pipe robots, to combat aging infrastructure losses despite significant capital costs and regulatory hurdles. These technical solutions are increasingly supported by government green transition funds aimed at mitigating water scarcity, even as trials continue to address contamination risks associated with autonomous repair systems.
- The Economist8 min
Crypto: a beginner’s guide
Mathieu Favard, Alice Fullwood, Helen Joyce
This presentation defines cryptocurrency as a decentralized system using blockchain technology to validate transactions without intermediaries, detailing the mining process that secures networks like Bitcoin and Ethereum. It distinguishes unique assets from standard tokens by explaining Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) and traces the origins of industry slang such as "hodler" within the market's volatile culture. The discussion ultimately contextualizes the sector as a complex landscape where technical innovation in finance coexists with significant concerns regarding fraud, environmental impact, and narrative cycles.
- The Economist11 min
GameStop: what it reveals about the US stockmarket
In early 2021, a coordinated surge by millions of retail investors on the Reddit forum WallStreetBets drove GameStop's stock price to over $450, triggering a historic short squeeze that forced institutional short sellers to absorb massive losses. The volatility caused significant market disruption, including trading restrictions by platforms like Robinhood and intense regulatory scrutiny regarding liquidity management and retail investor protection. While analysts view the event as an isolated phenomenon rather than a broad bubble, it permanently altered market dynamics by highlighting the growing influence of social media-fueled retail trading against traditional Wall Street institutions.
- The Economist9 min
Stockmarket v economy: the impact of covid-19
Amidst the 2020 pandemic crisis, the US stock market surged 38% despite widespread unemployment and racial unrest, driven primarily by Federal Reserve interventions that injected unprecedented liquidity into financial markets. This rally decoupled market performance from real-world economic conditions by disproportionately benefiting technology giants and wealthy asset holders, who own the vast majority of equities compared to lower-income households. While these central bank actions successfully prevented a total economic collapse, they simultaneously exacerbated wealth inequality and created a precarious dependency on federal stimulus for continued asset inflation.