Books on Islamic Finance and Economics and the Merdeka Tower

Here is the link to the recommended books in 2020. Happy reading. I include below the one that I am going to read because Shariah perspective in construction industry should be intriguing.

Note: I spent the weekend at Kuala Lumpur. From the hotel room at the 20th floor (The restaurant is located at the 27th floor), I could see the Warisan Merdeka Tower (KL118 or PNB118, Translation - Heritage of Independence). The megatall skycraper is set to be the second tallest in the world, after Burj Khalifa. More information here, and some awesome pics. I really want to talk to the person behind the idea of KL118. Remind me of 'The Matrix Resurrections.'

Image credit - World Scientific

'The raising hand of Tunku Abdul Rahman inspired the design of the spire of PNB118'

Image credit - The TowerInfo.com

7 Books to Read

If you are an Economics students, here are 7 Books to read in 2022. The list is compiled by Chloe Lane in October 2021. 

1. Freakonomics by Steven D. Levitt and Stephen J. Dubner.

2. Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky.

3. The Undercover Economist by Tim Harford.

4. 23 Things They Don’t Tell You About Capitalism by Ha-Joon Chang.

5. Animal Spirits by Akerlof and Shiller.

6. The Armchair Economist by Steven E. Landsburg.

7.The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable by Nissim Nocholas Taleb.

Image credit - goodreads.com

36 weeks on the New York Times best-seller list. 

A Book from 1896

Political Economy for Beginners. The 280-pages book is available here, thanks to Internet Archive.

Image credit - Internet Archive.

40 Awesome Inventions to Note in 2022

United Nations’ World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) notes that 3.3 million patents were granted in 2019.  This article handpicked 40 of them. Mostly comprises inventions in the fields of technology.

Here are the Lists:

1. Starkey Livio AI – Advanced Hearing Aids
2. Valve Index
3. SkinCeuticals Unique Skin Care
4. FLYTE Levitating Light Bulb
5. Verilux CleanWave Sanitizing Wand
6. Flexwarm Smart Jacket
7. Water Walker & Spa
8. Phree Electronic Sensor Pen
9. Copy & Paste
10. MIITO
11. Arubixs Foldable Smartphone-Cum Smartwatch
12. The Wearable Reading Light
13. Ambassador Headphones Translators
14. iMicro C – a Fingertip Microscope for Any Phone
15. OrCam MyMe – AI for Humans
16. Smart Buckle
17. Spin On
18. NANO1 – World’s Smallest Astronomy Camera
19. SiB – The Simple Internet-Connected Button that is only $5
20. ATOMIC Pi – A high power alternative to RPi
21. Xiaomi Handwarmer Powerbank
22. Solar Roadways
23. Enomad Uno – Portable Water Power Generator
24. Dolfi – Next Gen Washing Device
25. Bimoz – World’s lightest and smartest e-bike drive
26. Eyelights – The First Holographic Car Assistant
27. Padrone Ring – Coolest Mouse Ever
28. Hoversurf
29. HiMirror Mini
30. LUMZAG – The Smart Bag Packed With Cool Features
31. US:E – Camera Equipped Smart Lock with Facial Recognition
32. CleanseBot – World’s First Bacteria Killing Robot
33. Cubinote – Smart Sticky Note Printer
34. Nybble – World’s Cutest Open Source Robotic Kitten
35. KEY-X – Smart Keyboard for People with Disabilities
36. PWR 27 – Your Traveling PowerStation
37. Unagi – The Ultimate Electric Scooter
38. Geopress Purifier – Clean Water, Anywhere in the World
39. Hover 2 – The 4K Drone that Flies Itself
40. Levia – Unique Levitating Marble Lamp

No 4: FLYTE Levitating Light Bulb

Made in Sweden, powered through the air. Made of oak, ash, and walnut. FLYTE uses highly efficient LEDs that are rated at around 50, 000 hours, i.e. 12 hours of usage a day for 11 years.

Image credit - BeeBom

Inventing Ideas

Diane Coyle reviewing the book on "Inventing Ideas" in her Blog The Enlightened Economist. She found the book 'very interesting.'

Image credit - Amazon

The Young China

You can read the rest of the article here from the Harvard Business Review.

Pigouvian Taxes and Biden's BBB

An article written by Prof. Mankiw in 2009. In his recent blog post, Prof. Mankiw commented on Biden's signature BBB's (Build Back Better) plan.  

Image credit - Environmental Economics