What to expect from Jerome Powell, US President Donald Trump’s new Federal Reserve head January 24, 2018 Jerome Powell has been confirmed as the new Federal Reserve chair after a vote of US senators last night. So what can we expect from the incoming head of the central bank? Powell, 64, is a multi-millionaire Republican with an estimated income of at least $20m, and a former partner of Carlyle Group. He trained [...]
Facebook hires Jerome Pesenti, an expert from UK startup BenevolentAI, to lead its artificial intelligence efforts January 24, 2018 Facebook has poached a top scientist from a UK tech startup to lead its artificial intelligence efforts. Jerome Pesenti is leaving BenevolentAI – a startup using machine learning technology to discover new drug treatments for diseases like motor neuron disease – to take on Facebook’s top job in artificial intelligence research. Read more: Facebook’s promising [...]
UK employment figures hit record high as wages rise by 2.5 per cent January 24, 2018 UK employment surged to a record high of 32.2m people in work between September and November 2017, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), pushing the pound up by 0.7 per cent against the dollar. The employment rate, which is the proportion of people aged from 16 to 64 who were in [...]
Countrywide’s (CWD) share price rises as chief executive Alison Platt resigns after profit warning January 24, 2018 Alison Platt has resigned as chief executive of estate agent Countrywide, and will stand down from the board, after a shares slump last week off the back of a profit warning. The board has asked Peter Long to become executive chairman until a successor is appointed. Paul Creffield, previously managing director of commercial development, becomes [...]
The £14.8bn Crossrail project faces “increasing cost and schedule pressures” ahead of Elizabeth Line opening from December 2018 January 24, 2018 London’s transport commissioner has said the £14.8bn Crossrail project is facing “increasing cost and schedule pressures” with deadlines looming for the new railway, which is planned to open in stages from December. Among board papers published today, a report from Transport for London’s commissioner Mike Brown said: Overall the Crossrail project, which is now 90 [...]
Stripe is scrapping its support of bitcoin payments by April but says it remains “very optimistic about cryptocurrencies” January 24, 2018 Stripe has said it will no longer be supporting bitcoin payments by April, noting a decline in customers using it as a method of payment. The payment platform said it will gradually wind up support with the end date being 23 April. In a blog post, Stripe said it had “long been excited about the [...]
Apple’s buzz score among UK consumers falls flat after battery issue, YouGov data shows January 24, 2018 Around this time last month, tech giant Apple faced criticism after admitting to slowing down older model iPhones when their battery is old, cold or has low charge. Apple chief Tim Cook responded by announcing an update for iOS will provide a new option to turn off the feature that slows down devices. But what [...]
Did RBS abuse its turnaround process? We deserve to know January 24, 2018 During my tenure as secretary of state for business, innovation and skills, one of my major preoccupations was the banks’ treatment of SME customers. I appointed Lawrence Tomlinson as one of the department’s two “entrepreneurs in residence”, based on his record as a successful, innovative businessman. He wrote a report on the activities of Royal [...]
DEBATE: A decade on from the crash, has the financial services sector done enough to restore trust? January 24, 2018 A decade on from the crash, has the financial services sector done enough to restore trust? Lisa Fernihough, a partner in the KPMG financial services team, says YES. The sector has made significant progress in improving culture, holding individuals to account and building products that have the end customers’ interest at heart. Firms know they [...]
Carillion shouldn’t be brought under state control, but maybe central banks should be January 24, 2018 A strong thread in the acres of print about the Carillion debacle is that the private sector should not really be involved in infrastructure projects. The public sector would, apparently, do it better. Readers who experienced life under the nationalised rail and telephone systems might be forgiven their scepticism. One idea which is taking hold [...]