<p>In early September, 800,000 tons of mining slurry (the equivalent weight of half a million cars) unexpectedly careened into the underground caves of the Grasberg copper mine in Indonesia ("mud rush"), killing two workers and trapping five more. Mine operations have been suspended since then, with resources diverted towards rescue. The miners have not yet been found.</p>

<p>The Belo Monte Dam in the North Region of Brazil is the fifth-largest hydroelectric dam in the world generating about 11 GW of electricity. However, electricity is needed in the south, over 1,500 miles away (the equivalent distance between New York and Denver). To meet the demand, Brazil built the Belo Monte UHVDC Bipole II line (the longest transmission line globally) using 4,500 towers through 80 cities to transmit 4 GW of electricity to 22 million Brazilian homes.</p>

<p>These concepts might not seem to fit the current state of financial markets. After all, the top 10 market-cap companies at the end of any given decade are unlikely to be the top 10 in the subsequent decade, as companies die or falter. Wall Street also loves to create new financial instruments to sell. CDO-Squared, anybody?</p>

<p>Over $30 trillion in global trade transactions remain subject to antiquated processes, which serve to throttle transaction volume, increase costs and lengthen cash conversion cycles, harming businesses globally.</p>