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Jaan Tallinn, the co-founder of Skype, is working on finding ways to use blockchain technology to solve problems that require global cooperation, such as overfishing, crime, corruption and deforestation, according to The Telegraph. Jaan Tallinn was speaking at the International Business Festival, a global marketplace for making connections, in Liverpool, U.K. The festival runs through […]

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The bitcoin price held above $660 (Bitstamp) today, as the market stays in flux. Another declining wave seems due, but it is unsure whether this will unfold sooner rather than later. This analysis is provided by xbt.social with a 3-hour delay. Read the full analysis here. Not a member? Join now and receive a $29 […]

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Britain leaving the European Union would have a strong negative on European equity markets, but the impact would be nowhere near as bad as the fallout following the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008, according to Goldman Sachs.

In a recent note sent to clients by Goldman analysts led by Sharon Bell, the bank argues that European stocks could tumble as much as 15% in the event of a Brexit.

That's a pretty massive fall, but less than a third of the 46% fall seen in the Stoxx 600 broad index of European companies after Lehman went under.

The fall in stocks would be driven, Goldman argues, by a substantial increase in the equity risk premium — basically the excess return investing in the stock market provides over a risk-free rate. Here is the key line from the bank:

"The largest impact of Brexit on European equities would likely be via a higher equity risk premium (ERP) in our view. Historically, we find all indices in Europe are negatively correlated to UK policy uncertainty and risk. From current levels we would expect a further 15% or so downside [to the Stoxx]."

Rather than being similar to Lehman, Brexit would be more comparable to an event like the European sovereign debt crisis in 2011, Goldman notes (emphasis Goldman's):

"Exhibit 1 puts in perspective moves in the pan-European ERP1 following major shocks since the 1990s. During the European sovereign crises, the ERP rose by more than 200bp before receding following ECB president Mario Draghi's 'Whatever it takes' speech in July 2012. During the Lehman Brothers crisis, the ERP rose almost 300bp on our estimates. Exhibit 2 summarizes these previous risk events, the rise in the ERP, and the impact on stock markets. The Lehman Brothers collapse provides an upper limit in our view and not one we think is an appropriate benchmark of comparison for Brexit.

The sovereign crises in 2010 and 2012 are probably a better guide to the degree of potential impact, or the Russia/LTCM crisis (which had direct implications for Europe). Interestingly, the UK leaving the European exchange rate mechanism (ERM) did not coincide with a significant rise in the ERP; markets shrugged it off quite quickly."

Here are the two charts the analysts make reference to:

Stocks that would be most affected, Goldman argues, are those that make up the bank's UK Domestic Exposure Basket — basically companies with the highest exposures to the UK market. The companies in the basket include the likes of Lloyds Bank, ITV, supermarket chain Sainsbury's, and high street stalwart Next. Many of the companies Goldman says would be hit hardest reflect those cited by Macquarie analysts as the biggest losers after a Brexit.

Barclays analysts warned earlier in the week that the global economy is approaching a Lehman Brothers style event, but whatever it is, it won't be Brexit.

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Inexperience with bitcoin and distributed ledger tech could spark systemic risks, according to a report issued by US financial regulators.

The Hyperledger Project, an open-source cross-industry endeavor focused on blockchain technology and led by the Linux Foundation will see seven new members. In an announcement today, the Hyperledger Project revealed seven new members join the ranks to help enable the development and rollout of enterprise grade, open-source blockchain solutions. In a statement, newly appointed executive […]

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San Francisco-based distributed ledger tech provider Ripple has added seven partner financial institutions.

Ethereum developers may be pulling a rabbit out of a hat as they secure more than seven million ether and suggest that “[t]here are many plans in place to attack the child daos and either block the funds or recover them.” 80% of the #DAO ether is safe for now. And there is a way […]

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As The DAO struggles to find its path forward after multiple attacks, entrepreneurs must find a way forward. Is bitcoin's blockchain ready for them?

By working together the full potential of FinTech can be unlocked ensuring a smooth evolution to tomorrow’s financial system, a senior Bank of Canada said on Friday. Bank of Canada senior deputy governor Carolyn Wilkins said in a speech to Payments Canada in Calgary, Alberta, that blockchain technology could help to reduce the time it […]

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One of the main demographic shifts in the world today is an aging population.

In developed countries, life expectancy has increased and fertility rates have fallen, leading to countries that have a lot of older people and fewer working-age citizens.

And the economic implications of this shift are severe. When there are fewer people working, growth slows down — both within countries and globally.

Now, a new report from German bank Berenberg has used over 100 years of economic data, as well as UN projections, to attempt to figure out what exactly the world will look like, demographically, in the next fifty years. The findings are pretty staggering.

Japan has always been the epitome of this change to an older and smaller population — the population began falling in 2004 and hasn’t stopped. Economists have recently identified a similar problem in China as well, where the working age population has begun to shrink.

But this report shows that within fifty years, the problem of an aging and shrinking population is likely going to affect most countries.

For one thing, Berenberg projects that life expectancy is going to keep increasing and fertility is going to keep decreasing on a global scale. The number of countries with high life expectancies (over 75 years old) and low birth rates has been steadily increasing since the mid-twentieth century, and it’s going to keep rising. Berenberg projects that over 75% of countries will reach this by 2050.

Taken together, long lives and low birth rates means that the percentage share of older people in these countries — and in the world — will increase as well. This isn’t such a steady change: The number of countries with a high percentage of citizens older than 65 is set to skyrocket within a few years, as will the number of countries with negative population growth.

That means that the demographic problems that have almost crippled Japan in the last few decades are going to be impacting about 40% of all countries by 2050.

The magnitudes of these changes do vary country by country. For China, the situation looks dangerously similar to Japan's. Its historical data and projections follow Japan’s almost exactly — but 25 years later.

The dependency ratio is the ratio of non-workers to workers. It's a commonly used measure of the age structure of a population, because it compares the number of people who consume things but don’t work (so, the very young and the very old) to the number of people who actually produce things (the working-age citizens). In China, as in Japan, the ratio of dependent citizens is about to skyrocket.

As for Europe, the UK and France are okay for now, according to Berenberg. But the rest of the eurozone is expected to age extremely rapidly. In Italy and Spain, the projections estimate that over one-third of the population will be older than 65 by 2050. Eastern Europe is especially vulnerable: The ten largest population declines by 2050 are expected to take place in Eastern Europe.

The US, however, should be fine for a little while.

“While the US marginally lags the other three economies in terms of life expectancy,” the report states, “it is expected to sustain a much higher fertility rate in the future, creating an important economic advantage.”

The US is less healthy than other developed countries — a lot of the difference in life expectancy can be chalked up to higher mortality rates below age 50. But birth rates are high enough to keep the working-age population larger than in other countries. 

The researchers note, of course, that these are just projections, and that things may or may not work out exactly as they predict. People adapt, and economies adapt.

But no matter what happens, the shift to an older population is taking over much of the globe — it's not limited to a few countries, and it’s not unique to Japan. “Japan is the playbook,” the authors write, “not the exception.”

SEE ALSO: This scary chart shows a major problem facing China

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Imagine driving directions showing up over the road in front of you, or assembly instructions floating above the IKEA furniture you are putting together.

This is the promise of augmented reality, and Snapchat has already taken an early lead in the area.

Augmented reality is when graphics are projected into a physical scene, "augmenting" what is already there.

Microsoft is developing goggles called Hololens, and Google is developing room scanning technology with its Project Tango, but both companies are currently in the development stage.

Snapchat has already monetized the technology.

It may seem silly at first. Filters in Snapchat let users turn their head into a Doritos Locos taco, or pour a container of Gatorade over their head. But, it takes augmented reality technology to a place it hasn't been before.

"Snapchat is evolving beyond just "another social media platform" and could be headed to be the first "social augmented reality platform," Robert Peck, analyst at Sun Trust Robinson Humphrey, said in a note to clients on June 21.

"Snapchat uses facial recognition technology to create a live and interactive image the user can play with before snapping the final picture," he added. 

It's not as ambitious as the tech Microsoft and Google are working on, but it's already widely available to consumers and advertisers.

Snapchat reaches 41% of millennials each day in the US, and users spend an average of 20 seconds playing with a sponsored filter. Compare that to a video ad on YouTube that users can skip after five seconds and you can see how powerful Snapchat's technology is.

The Gatorade filter created for the Superbowl is a great example.

"The Lens was a massive success, yielding over 165 million views on Snapchat, and a ripple effect felt across every social platform," the company says on their website.

"The Gatorade Lens made an already strong brand even more preferred."

Peck sees the technology going further than just selfies and Gatorade. Instead of scanning a code on a cereal box to enter a contest, imagine holding up Snapchat and watching the "Trix" rabbit jump out of the box to tell you you've won.

Or maybe after scanning an ad for the local aquarium, you could see the fish swimming as if they were actually behind the sign.

It doesn't stop on your smartphone. Evan Spiegel, CEO of the company, has been spotted wearing prototype augmented reality sunglasses, presumably based in part on technology it gained when it bought a company called Vergence Labs. The company has been hiring talent from Microsoft, Google, Qualcomm, and Nokia, which could be a move to further its augmented reality tech, according to Peck.

Snapchat has missed the monetization mark before, but the company is focusing on advertisers now and offers higher engagement potential than other platforms. Augmented reality is an exciting new realm in the tech realm, and Snapchat is crushing the competition.

"Snapchat has tapped into an unaddressed aspect of human behavior that other platforms haven’t, creating a rare opportunity in the social media / messaging app ecosystem," Peck said.

SEE ALSO: Snapchat might one day make a profit thanks to a former investment banker

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The Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC), a group of U.S. regulators, warned that bitcoin and blockchain are threats to financial stability and noted they need to adapt to the changing market structure if cryptocurrency reduces the importance of traditional centralized intermediaries. The FSOC includes the Federal Reserve, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Treasury […]

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