Understanding how global conditions become local costs, demand and choices.
Explore the economic channelsI am interested in the point where an economic idea becomes a practical business question.
At the macro level, I look at interest rates, inflation, employment, trade and the movement of capital. At the micro level, I ask how a particular asset or business competes, what its customers value, what it costs to deliver and how the incentives are arranged.
A broad growth story does not, by itself, establish a sound project. Equally, an attractive spreadsheet needs to be considered in the market in which it must perform. My approach is to move between those two scales.
Ask how the project behaves if borrowing costs rise or completion takes longer. Lender pricing also reflects the specific borrower and project.
Funding terms, interest reserves and refinancing assumptions.
Compare the cost plan with current quotations and the timing of purchases. A broad inflation trend does not replace a trade-by-trade budget.
Quoted scope, contingency and who bears a cost change.
Employment and household purchasing power inform the wider context. Then ask who will buy or occupy this particular property, at what price and against which alternatives.
Comparable evidence, competing supply and absorption assumptions.
When an input or payment crosses a border, currency movements and delivery conditions can change its local cost. The exposure depends on the contract.
Currency, delivery responsibility, sourcing alternatives and timing.
Conceptual applications, not forecasts. On interest-rate and exchange-rate transmission: Bank of Canada — Understanding how monetary policy works ↗.
Site economics connect land, approvals, construction, financing and achievable revenues. CMHC’s 2022 rental-feasibility research illustrates why the relationship between development costs and attainable rents matters.
CMHC feasibility researchA product requirement sits within specifications, logistics, commercial terms and counterpart responsibilities. The local delivered cost matters as much as an appealing headline price.
Explore commodity introductionsFor a business workflow, the question is what changes: time spent, rework, response quality or capacity. Define the baseline, test a narrow use case and compare the result before scaling.
Explore applied AI“What has to be true for this idea to work—and what changes if it isn’t?”Test assumptions in the project economics studio
