What can science fiction tell us about the future? August 3, 2016 A recent book on the future of warfare warned that Britain’s pristine new aircraft carriers will be vulnerable to swarms of small, semi-autonomous drones that could not be stopped by conventional protective weaponry. Another looked at whether mass online gaming might be used to recruit networks to attack military or commercial targets. A third raised the [...]
A Bank of England interest rate cut is almost inevitable: It’s a shame it’ll prove ineffective August 3, 2016 In all likelihood, today will see the most predictable yet most ineffective policy move from the Bank of England in its 19 years of monetary policy independence. We should be concerned, especially on the second point, because at a time when the economy is slowing, the limited ability of the Bank to lend a helping hand should [...]
As a bitcoin exchange loses $65m in a hack, will the crypto-currency ever be more than an alternative asset? August 3, 2016 Ed MacNair, chief executive and founder of CensorNet, says Yes. While this security breach is a set back, the incident does not necessarily sound the death knell for bitcoin that some are predicting. Any form of currency which exists in digital form – and for that we should read all currency – has a significant exposure [...]
What does your gender pay gap say about your business? August 3, 2016 Despite a tumultuous time in recent weeks dominated by the EU referendum, the gender pay gap is still very much on employers' minds. It's an issue that companies can't continue to ignore – and not just because of growing public scrutiny. Employees will increasingly look at published gender pay gap data to reveal a company's [...]
Why charities like RNLI must behave like a brand August 3, 2016 The RNLI recently re-launched its ‘Respect the Water’ campaign, aimed at raising awareness of the danger that our waters can present. Coastal fatalities reached a five-year-high in 2015, underlining the need for the RNLI’s message to be heard. The initiative has also been supplemented by a documentary programme broadcast by the BBC, which tracked the [...]
Brexit vote reminds us of existing concerns August 3, 2016 The full consequences of the UK's vote to leave the European Union are not yet known. Advocates of a painless Brexit can point to data that refutes the worst fears put about by a panicking Remain campaign. But those looking for evidence to demonstrate that those fears weren't baseless have plenty to go on, too. [...]
Brexit doom-mongers are wrong: London house prices aren’t going to crash August 2, 2016 On the morning of 24 June, as Britain woke up to the reality that as a nation we’d voted to leave the EU, it may have seemed like the world was turning on its head. The pound was crashing, stock markets see-sawed, and the political landscape of the UK was irrevocably changed. Just over a month [...]
Why the economic picture tends to be rosier than the initial estimates suggest August 2, 2016 One of the surprises of last week was the Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimate of economic growth in the second quarter of 2016, the period from April to the end of June. In the run up to Brexit, the economy expanded by 0.6 per cent on the first quarter of the year. This was [...]
The RMT must cancel its self-indulgent and self-harming Southern Rail strike August 2, 2016 After the vote for Brexit, it is more important than ever that London does all it can to reassure people from around the globe that it remains the best city in the world in which to do business. Part of this is ensuring that London remains a city that works, including that employees and visitors [...]
With controversy surrounding the Rio Games, was it a mistake to hold the Olympics in an emerging market? August 2, 2016 Sam Dumitriu, head of projects at the Adam Smith Institute, says Yes. It’s bad enough when wealthy countries are plunged into debt to fund sporting events that offer, at best, a short-term boost to tourism. It’s much, much worse when those countries are grappling with high levels of poverty and a public health crisis. Supposed economic [...]