Escalators : EI Weekend 3267
The world of going up and down through mechanised means…
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Exchange Invest was founded by former exchange CEO and author of the first bestselling book of fintech (“Capital Market Revolution!” FT 1999) Patrick Young. Monday through Friday our daily paid subscriber email discusses the business of bourses of all kinds across the world.
On this day in 1965, in a boardroom on Cove Street in New Bedford, Mass., a young, crew-cut Warren Buffett took control of decrepit textile maker Berkshire Hathaway Inc., whose stock closed that day at $18 a share. Over the next thirty-three years, the stock price rose to $84,000 a share. Today, shares of Berkshire Hathaway Class A Stock sell for more than $750,000 apiece. The stock has never split, nor has Buffett issued a dividend. He and partner Charlie Munger have made billions of dollars since their 60-year partnership began, and have turned thousands of investors into multi-millionaires.
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MACRO THOUGHTS
There’s a point in the marvellous Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy multimedia extravaganza where ahead of a concert by the loudest band in the galaxy “Disaster Area” , environmentalists’ concerns are, er, allayed, by the concert organiser, unaliving the protesters.
Anyway…In China, an 350 metre-long escalator has been constructed on Tianyu Mountain in Zhejiang Province, at a cost of $2.2 million. The ride cools visitors with a mist as they are elevated 120 metres with a 10 minute ride replacing a tricky 50 minute hike albeit visitors remain 3 kms from the peak.
Elsewhere in ‘painless mountain climbing’ currently it seems a pursuit limited to only the Chinese mainland but several such elevators have emerged in difference regions in recent years.
Escalators have become a huge part of modern life — albeit sometimes with hilarious issues. I can well remember the old Credit Lyonnais brokerage offices in London — one of the early buildings on the far side of Liverpool Street where the goods / shunting yards had once been and it had a magnificent escalator through the middle which never worked — ‘cost cutting — management won’t switch it on’ my CLS host solemnly informed me.
IN BIGWORLD
From Exchange Invest 3259 & 3260:
Interesting to note that the world’s two major commercial canals have quite different capacities for ships:
SuezMax ships can have a capacity of 19000 TEUs (20 foot equivalent containers) whereas neo Panamax ships are capped at 14,999 TEUs. (Originally the locks on the panama canal restricted cargo to “Panamax” ships with a mere 4500 TEU capacity).
Interesting to note the relative difference in the Suez vs Panama Canal with about 12% of global trade through Suez and 5% via Panama but then again Panama is bouncing back to capacity after capacity constraints caused by La Nina drought leaving the canal low on water capacity last year. At the same time, Suez is struggling with traffic at present due to the ongoing Houthi attacks on traffic in the Persian Gulf.
BITCARNAGE
Ample Authority
New SEC Chairman Paul Atkins seeks no additional legislation — hooray!
SEC Already Has Ample Authority To Oversee Crypto, Atkins Says (Bloomberg), albeit that may confuse some crypto bros who appear to be eager to have their own unique legal system.
If you enjoyed this excerpt you may be interested to know that you can read Bitcarnage every day in Exchange Invest.
Alternatively, if you want to follow Bitcarnage — the daily update on happenings in the world of crypto and digital assets, then you can find Bitcarnage as a standalone on Substack.
EXCHANGE INVEST WEEKLY PODCAST
Hong Kong Exchange dazzles as TMX Impresses.
And there’s hope CBOE is rising with news of good results and a dynamic new CEO.
OF INTEREST
As always, a review of interesting reading to provoke thoughts and consideration… Not sure we agree with much of it….but it’s thought-provoking!
Escalator History And Who Invented The Escalator?
La Grazia
PLY: For insomniacs, La Grazia also publish this humdinger: Article 13- Different Types Of Escalator Balustrade…
The Birth Of The Modern Escalator
Elevator World
How The Escalator Forever Changed Our Sense Of Space
Smithsonian Magazine
The History Of Escalators
Stannah
7 Types Of Escalator [Explained With Details]
Engineering Learn
Books worth reading:
Finance Book Of The Week
“The Bottom Billion: Why the Poorest Countries are Failing and What Can Be Done About It” by Paul Collier reveals that fifty failed states — home to the poorest one billion people on Earth — pose the central challenge of the developing world in the twenty-first century. The standard solutions do not work, aid is often ineffective, and globalization can actually make matters worse, driving development to more stable nations. What the bottom billion need, Collier argues, is a bold new plan supported by the Group of Eight industrialized nations.
Get the book here.
*Paid link, as an Amazon Associate, Exchange Invest earns from qualifying purchases.
Suggestions welcome if you would like to nominate a book for us to cover!
Our next Book of the week will be unveiled Saturday in the EI Weekend Edition.
& don’t forget if you want all the news on the bourse business sent daily to your Inbox subscribe to Exchange Invest — via Exchange Invest.com — it’s only $499 per annum to join “The Exchange of Information.
Capital Market Revolution
First published in 1999, “Capital Market Revolution!” offered a clear, concise roadmap for navigating the financial revolution fueled by technology. And 25 years later, as the world of fintech continues to evolve, the core principles laid out in the book remain surprisingly sharp
This new edition was produced to celebrate PLY ringing the NYSE Closing Bell July 5th, 2024. There are several new sections of PLY pith to add 10,000 more words of context and the original book which is remarkably prescient and elegantly dated all at once! It’s only $9.99 on Kindle, a fraction of the original price in 1999 to encourage revolutionaries with any budget!
Get the book here.
*Paid link, as an Amazon Associate, Exchange Invest earns from qualifying purchases.
IPO-VID LIVESTREAM: NEXT TUESDAY
“The Benefits of Financial Inclusion”
Guests: Alessandro Hatami & Meaghan Johnson
May 6th, 2025
1700 UK, 1800 CET, 1200 EST
Alessandro Hatami is a financial transformation strategist, author, and a leading voice in the digital transformation of banking, payments, and finance. He is the co-author of Reinventing Banking and Finance — Best Banking Book of 2021 by Investopedia.
Alessandro was previously on IPO-VID #084: Reinventing Banking.
Co-author of Inclusive Finance, Meaghan Johnson is a seasoned fintech researcher and consultant passionate about using emerging technologies and business models to increase financial inclusion, improve banking and create the best possible customer experiences.
Meaghan is a Senior Lecturer at CFTE and leads a Digital Finance online course at Manchester Business School.
Watch the stream on:
LinkedIn | Youtube | Facebook
IPO-VID LIVESTREAM PODCAST
In the latest #IPOVID podcast episode, we welcome back sharp insights and straight talk on the future of business with Sir John Kay. One of Britain’s most respected economists, Sir John takes us Beyond 21st Century Corporations — challenging conventional wisdom on how businesses are structured, what they’re really for, and why it’s time to rethink the corporate model. From boardrooms to economic policy, this conversation is a must for anyone navigating today’s capital markets with an eye on tomorrow.
🎧 Catch up now and stay ahead in the world of markets!
EI Website | Spotify | Apple Podcast | Anchor
LAST WORD
The future continues in the water cooler of the bourse business.
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