Every day, we vote with our clicks that we value Facebook February 5, 2019 With front-page headlines including “Facebook paid kids and spied on them”, “Generation of web addicts”, “Wild West Web firms facing ban”, and “Stop online giants who help kill our kids”, it’s fair to say that it has not been the best UK press week for social media firms. Poor old Nick Clegg must have thought that [...]
Stop the inter-city infighting – London can lead a network of UK urban centres February 5, 2019 There’s no more money in the pot. Tightening local budgets have poured fuel over already heated debates on London’s role as a capital, with most Brits now believing that the city gets more than its fair share of public spending. Badly-timed or seemingly imbalanced funding announcements that appear to give major new transport projects in London [...]
DEBATE: Is Brexit likely to be the biggest factor behind Nissan choosing Japan over Sunderland? February 5, 2019 Bridget Phillipson, Labour MP for Houghton and Sunderland South, says YES. Is Brexit likely to be the biggest factor behind Nissan choosing Japan over Sunderland? Nissan’s announcement was deeply disappointing, not just for Sunderland but for the north east as a whole. And it shows the reality of Brexit. Carmakers do not make these decisions [...]
The trade war in your head? A look behind the US-China feud February 5, 2019 As the US-China talks resume this week, the spectre of global trade disintegration on looms ever larger. There is one month for Donald Trump and Xi Jinping to strike a deal before the 90-day ceasefire in tit-for-tat rhetoric expires. At stake is $200bn of Chinese exports to the US, which will otherwise see tariffs rise [...]
China’s success among western firms will depend on the desirability of the brand February 5, 2019 Not a week goes by when there isn’t a data print-out of China posting the weakest number since… well pick a year. Last Friday, for example, the Caixin manufacturing survey posted a second consecutive month of contraction and the lowest reading since 2016. The slowdown has triggered a set of 2019 growth downgrades from the analyst [...]
Sam Torrance: Dustin Johnson and Rickie Fowler lay down their markers for Major sprint February 4, 2019 Major season feels like something of a sprint this year, with all four taking place within a 15-week spell and finished by 21 July, which means that early form carries a bit of extra significance. With Justin Rose and Bryson DeChambeau already off the mark, Dustin Johnson became the latest player from the world’s top [...]
What’s holding back the female entrepreneurs? February 4, 2019 Achieving gender equality in economic opportunities is a struggle that has many dimensions. Not only is there a pay gap between men and women who are salaried employees, stark gender gaps also exist in the area of entrepreneurship. In particular, more men report being business owners than women, and even when women are business owners, [...]
Don’t let healthy scepticism about China become paranoia February 4, 2019 With Britain looking so intently at itself in the mirror of the Brexit debate, we are missing something important at the other side of the world. The China slowdown is the most important single factor in the bad news that keeps coming out of Jaguar Land Rover, and it is causing many other companies to reassess [...]
DEBATE: Should Apple produce a cheaper iPhone to stem the decline in sales? February 4, 2019 Should Apple produce a cheaper iPhone to stem the decline in sales? Carolyn Dailey, founder of Creative Entrepreneurs, says YES. Apple has been missing out on a huge opportunity to increase sales, keep ahead of the competition, and build brand loyalty with key audiences that can’t currently afford an iPhone. These include students, freelancers and startup entrepreneurs, [...]
An end to gridlock? How artificial intelligence could help get London moving again February 4, 2019 London is a truly remarkable city – an economic powerhouse and a cultural destination without equal. It’s a magnet to millions, and rightly so. But it’s a terrible irony that this fast-moving, fast-living, fast-earning metropolis is stuck in traffic so much of the time. We simply cannot move. According to traffic data company INRIX, London [...]