Might cryptocurrencies replace regular ones? Agustin Carstens of the Bank for International Settlements has called cryptocurrencies a Ponzi scheme and an environmental disaster. Robert Küfner has made millions with bitcoins and thinks they are great.

Bitcoin burst onto the scene in 2009 as the first cryptocurrency. It was created as a purportedly safe alternative to the crisis-prone banking system. Mainstream investors and banks now toy with cryptocurrencies. What has become of the original idea?

Can you imagine following a cheery chirpy birdy around a store? No, nor can I. But virtual shopping assistants like this are being developed. They are meant to learn what customers want - or could be persuaded to want.

Interviewing job applicants takes lots of time. Evaluations and outcomes often seem rather arbitrary. But there is software that speeds things up. Some claim the results are more 'objective' and free-of-bias.

Young folk seem to love quaint old-fashioned things - mid-century modern furniture and record players. Why? Is it a response to the hectic pace of innovation and change?

Repairs on a high-voltage, electrical substation require years of experience and a steady hand. Could VR make the entire process much safer and easier?

Financial analyst Luis Miguel Sanchez lost his job on 15 September, 2008. He had believed his employer was "too big to fail." The insolvency cost him his livelihood. What happened to him after the bankruptcy? DWs Maya Shwayder visited him in New York.

Countries like Greece and Italy are still suffering from the fall-out of the debt crisis. In 2008, Iceland was also facing bankruptcy. But today its economy is booming – thanks, in part, to tourism. How did they do it?

DW style guru Gerhard Elfers recommends steering clear of cheap suits, if possible. His advice is to buy good quality garments secondhand or when they're on offer. But if you do have a cheap suit, all is not lost.

Germany’s second-largest lender Commerzbank has been pushed out of the country’s blue chip stock index by a small fintech firm called Wirecard. The trailblazing company has grown in leaps and bounds since being set up in 1999.