An interesting post from Things Magazine about Habitat's new "VIP" range of celebrity-branded products.

Having posted about prospective alternative currencies, it's interesting to read about the 'tokens' in use in London over 300 years ago.

The International Journal of Community Currency Research, their discussion group, AbolishMoney.com, and books on similar topics.

Economist Edward Castronova continues his investigations into the expansive economies of multi-player online games.

Economist Bernard Lietaer on alternative currency systems around the world and how they can create foster more cooperative societies.

I finally got round to reading the June issue of Wired, a large chunk of which is edited by architect Rem Koolhaas. There are some interesting, but extremely short, articles about global trends, all shoehorned into the vague theme of...

Clay Shirky on an alternative regulation-free model for TV and radio broadcasting.

Some billboards in California, USA, are going to have the advertisements they display determined by the radio stations car drivers are listening to, according to this San Francisco Chronicle article. A device picks up signals from car radio aerials and...

I always thought it interesting that there are people who make their living selling things on eBay. Something about the Internet enabling a new kind of person-to-person commerce that was stable enough to provide people with a livelihood. Now, eBay...

An article at Smartmoney.com suggests some jobs that may see higher demand over the next decade and the reasons for this change. If you're planning ahead they also suggest what qualifications you need to get one of these "hot jobs"...

Half a dozen signs that a company may be heading for a fall. Perhaps a little more short-term than most things here, and some points are a little obvious ("Watch stock sales by top company executives") but they're handy pointers...

Not specifically future-oriented, but full of useful rules-of-thumb about how new business markets change over time. (24K PDF.) Looks at how markets move from fragmentation, through companies growing larger, to the biggest survivors consolidating their positions, and finally onto mergers...

I love this, whether its statistics are meaningful or not. Players of Sony's online game EverQuest spend a lot of real world money on transactions such as selling game assets via eBay. Edward Castronova at Cal State Fullerton University, USA,...

An interesting look at the future fusion of "fabbing" (using a machine to create an 3D object using digital instructions) and peer-to-peer concepts as popularised by Napster. (via Haddock)...

The USA's National Center for Environmental Research is looking for grant applications for futures-related work. Lots of money for educational and non-profits apparently available for futures research in Natural Sciences and Socio-Economics. (via Haddock)...

Some are claiming that the concentration of gays in a city (or, more broadly perhaps, the level of acceptance of alternative cultures) could be a leading indicator of future economic booms. Cities with the highest concentrations of gays are currently...

Supplies of fresh water are, of course, disappearing rapidly. Canada has 40 per cent of the world's supply and this article looks at the position the country will be in when it controls so much of a scarce commodity. (via...

Demand for power has risen dramatically throughout the USA, leading some firms to source their own supplies. New electronic systems use a surprising amount of power, and according to this Risks List posting the costs of power are rising dramatically....

Four scenarios from a report called 'Work in the Knowledge Driven Economy' produced by the Department of Trade and Industry. However, of the four, only the most optimistic two were presented to ministers and these are almost polar opposites: one...

1999 saw a large increase in the use of industrial robots around the world. The increase is attributed to the decreased cost of robots (40 per cent cheaper than 1990), and higher labour costs and labour shortages in the developed...

Perhaps an oversimplistic comparison of the state of the Internet in the world's largest countries, but interesting nonetheless. The Chinese government has closed 127 Internet cafes in Shanghai, in the same week the Delhi government launches its first cybercafe, undercutting...

UK building societies converting to banks tend to close branches in the poorest areas. This leaves many people without access to financial services and other businesses often begin to leave the area. People "become social lepers excluded from mainstream society."...

A description of Monsanto's plans to expand its business providing water in a world where safe water is becoming increasingly scarce. Looks ahead to 2025 "when the supply of water in India will be 700 cubic kilometres per year while...

So-so roundup of personal finance in the UK into the next century....

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, plus China, Japan and South Korea have said these are "distinct possibilities". Import duties on most goods will be eliminated by 2010....

"The Canadian government yesterday introduced legislation to ban the export of water from the Great Lakes and other boundary waters ... The move is a response to growing domestic fears that Canadian fresh water may be turned into commercial goods...

The Japanese are beginning a project to drill for methane beneath the ocean floor. Estimates of when commercial use will occur vary from 18 months to 10 years. Mistakes when drilling can be catastrophic with the methan expanding to 160...

In the UK "call centres employ over 400,000 people, a figure predicted to rise to over a million by 2004."...

A deal has been signed which sets China on course to join the World Trade Organisation subject to member agreement. Easier access to China for foreign companies and to foreign markets for China whose state industries will face increased competition....

Three Dutch scientists are developing a method of mass producing meat without animal suffering. Samples of animal cells are cultivated on a matrix of collagen....

Report on a United Nations Population Fund report saying the world's population will be about 8.9 billion in 2050. This is down from an earlier prediction of 9.4 billion; a third of this gap is due to HIV/Aids which is...