The Factors Behind the Taliban’s Profitable Business Model  

Behind the bloodstained guns and the old Toyotas lies the long-lasting business structure and sustainability of the Taliban. While by many, the Taliban is not recognized as an official government, their economic system certainly makes them seem like one. The Taliban currently has an annual income of $400 million. This money comes from a variety of sources, the first being foreign donations and investments from countries such as Saudi Arabia and the second being from opium harvesting and drug trade. 60% of the Taliban’s income comes from opium. Other sources of income are mining and territorial expansion. The Taliban continues to be a growing economic force. With no countermeasures towards this rapid economic growth, the Taliban’s economic structure and wealth will grow to be one of a self-sustaining nation.

Rising Unionization Causing Mass Disruption in  the Global Supply Chain

In monumental news, the British government for the first time placed a restriction on the purchases of petrol. In England, people are now only allowed to buy 30 pounds worth of petrol.  The cause behind this is not due to a lack of petrol, but a lack of drivers able to transport the petrol. Throughout the United Kingdom, there is a mass shortage of laborers and workers due to rising unionization. Factors such as subpar pay, Brexit, and COVID-19 have caused a rise of worker unions to resent working not only in the UK but globally. With benefits such as enhanced stimulus packages or better employment, the lack of workers in fields such as trucking is causing the British government to frantically reach out to individuals with a trucking license in hopes to get them back through monetary and in some cases via incentive. Meanwhile, in the US, worker shortages at ports are disrupting the US’s imports and exports to get stuck, as a crate that usually takes one hour to unload now takes 6 hours. The complex factors at play here make it very hard to predict when this will end but we will update you once it’s done.

The Future of Corporate America and its effect on the housing market.
In March of 2020, Corporate America transitioned to a virtual environment. This transition and its result: a permanent change in the residential real estate market, might be there for the long run, Companies such as Apple, Google, and Facebook have pushed back their “return to office” date to September of 2022. With working from home being present for the foreseeable future, the housing market will continue to be in a state of disarray as long-time commuters have no need to commute. The lack of the need to commute would mean that people would not need to stay in a bustling city and could reside in peaceful suburbia instead. With more and more people moving to suburban areas, house prices are on the rise with an average increase of 30% YoY growth in areas such as San Ramon. With experts claiming that working from home will be here for good, the housing market will continue to fluctuate and be in its own bubble far into the next few years.