Russians learn the only thing worse than social media is no social media March 18, 2022 This week, Instagram feeds in Russia went dark. With Facebook already blocked, Twitter access restricted and a threat of the same to Youtube, the Russian state is silencing fora of dissent. In this column, I have often criticised the social media giants. Their business models are built on their ability to surveil you. They have [...]
Abramovich’s toxic Chelsea FC legacy must make us rethink ownership in our communities March 18, 2022 Chelsea football club is in limbo. It can’t sell tickets or shirts, it can’t even renew contracts. This is a London cup-winning team that has been sent to Coventry and has no idea how long it will stay cut off. Dozens of players, thousands of employees and millions of fans are all now suffering for [...]
Economic sanctions must be backed up by a tax regime ready to isolate the Kremlin March 18, 2022 Almost three million people have fled Ukraine since Vladimir Putin ordered the Russian invasion nearly three weeks ago. Three million people – equivalent to the population of Wales – fighting to retain some semblance of normal life while Putin’s cruel assault shatters their homeland. And as I listen to heart-wrenching stories of individuals and families [...]
My morning in the metaverse March 17, 2022 Yesterday morning, Heineken (yes, the beer), hosted a press conference for their new drink. Instead of thinking about what tube or bus I would catch, I followed a link to the brave new world of the metaverse. Their new drink – Heineken Silver – will be the booze for Decentraland, the metaverse platform. I tuned [...]
Dorries’ laws for Big Tech have become overrun trying to keep everyone happy March 17, 2022 Today marks the introduction of the Online Safety Bill: a “world-first” for online safety, but a behemoth bill of confusion. Variations of today’s bill have been bounced around since David Cameron, drawing media attention and public uncertainty, and ultimately landing in the hands of reality TV personality turned politician Nadine Dorries. As it stands today, [...]
Behind-the-story: Nazanin’s liberation from Iran after six long years March 17, 2022 Yesterday, Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe was finally allowed to return to the UK and reunite with her family after almost six years of detention in Iran. Zaghari-Ratcliffe was on holiday in Iran visiting her parents when she was arrested for “plotting against the government.” Another British-Iranian, Anoosheh Ashoori, was also released after being arrested in 2017. Both [...]
London’s startup community is thriving off of the full scale of investors’ tolerance for risk March 17, 2022 Last month London celebrated yet another fintech triumph. PrimaryBid, a young company that provides retail investors with fair access to public markets, secured an impressive $190m of venture funding. The size of this Series C financing round, and the involvement of internationally renowned investors provided yet more validation that world-beating start-ups are increasingly being created [...]
Sky’s video application recruiting gimmick is a dangerous step to discrimination March 17, 2022 This week, Sky excitedly announced that it was bringing in “video applications” for people applying for jobs in its back-of-house marketing team. No more CVs, but instead the submission of a two minute video where candidates explain why they want to work on the team and what they do for fun. When I read this [...]
A lot can happen in two years, just ask Governor Bailey March 16, 2022 A lot can happen in two years. Countries can go through the worst of a global pandemic and (hopefully) come out the other side. Policymakers can win plaudits and crash and burn. Nations can go to war. Governors of monetary authorities can oversee the largest level of central bank intervention in markets ever. That is [...]
Interview: Former rate setter Andrew Sentance on Governor Bailey’s ‘off the cuff’ remarks and where the BoE went wrong March 16, 2022 It is often a mark of how dire an economy’s situation is when incremental rises in interest rates hit the front pages. The worst cost of living crunch in a generation has, however, sent the Bank of England to the front of many households’ minds. Those outside of the City care less about the vagaries [...]