As our long-time friend C K. Prahalad reminds us, despite the fact that nearly 8 million people now have investable assets of over $1 million, another 4 billion people subsist on $1,500 per year or less. Many firms are salivating over the prospect of serving the former group, but few have any idea of how to serve the latter. Fortunately, technology is in the process of changing that. We'll show you how.

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One of the biggest geopolitical factors facing the world is as old as civilization itself: too little usable fresh water in the places we need it. From the Middle East and Africa to the western United States, we can expect to see a growing water crisis over the next decade and beyond. Just how big is the problem? What are the implications, and what are the solutions? We'll show you.

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Whether we're talking about exploiting outer space, selling cars, or making breakfast cereal, the employees and consumers who will shape the next two decades will be profoundly different from the Boomers and older Xers who dominate the present. And, one of the most important factors shaping the attitudes and habits of these consumers and workers is the prevalence of electronic gaming in their lives. We'll explain the implications, threats, and opportunities that every manager and investor needs to understand.

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In developed countries like the U.S. and Western Europe, the underground economy represents about 17 percent of the gross national product. In the developing world, it represents up to 40 percent. The implications are too important for our businesses and governments to ignore. We'll explain.

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As strange as it may sound, space exploration — which has represented a cash "black hole" for government for nearly 50 years — may be one of the best investments for businesses in the next decade. Why? Because extraordinary breakthroughs in nanotech are about to transform the economics of exploiting outer space.

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If you've taken time to examine the aggregate balance sheets of the S&P 500, you know that cash is being accumulated at an unprecedented rate and in enormous quantities. What are companies going to do with this cash? What are the implications for shareholders, employees, and the broader economy?

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