Explainer-in-brief: Europe proves a hostile market for Big Tech March 14, 2022 European and UK regulators have teamed up for the second time in less than a year to crack down on tech giants skirting anticompetitive practices. On Friday, the Competition and Markets Authority in the UK and the EU Commission launched a probe into an online advertising deal between Google and Meta to allegedly shut out [...]
UK looks north: Oil and gas remain key to energy independence March 14, 2022 The UK is seemingly committed to North Sea oil and gas as it cuts itself off from Russian energy supplies following the invasion of Ukraine.
We must not put ourselves into turmoil for a short-lived upper hand on Russia March 14, 2022 Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the security of our energy supply – already volatile over the last few months – has taken on a renewed urgency. It is not a new concern—the “energy gap” has been a hot topic for at least the last decade—but the prospect of disrupting, suspending or severing entirely our economic [...]
Big Tech’s heyday of privacy abuses is coming to an end – and it’s going to cost them March 14, 2022 When it comes to data privacy, a slew of recent, multi-million-pound fines for data privacy breaches, have showed exactly how closely regulators are watching for transgressions. Already this year the UK’s Ministry of Justice has been served with an enforcement notice (which could lead to a fine of £17.5m) by the ICO; the Internet Advertising [...]
The vibrancy of our lives, careers and our city depends on a return working together March 14, 2022 Spring is in the air and the sound of footfall is increasingly common across the City of London. Lunchtime queues at popular Square Mile’s cafes, restaurants and shops are spilling out across our streets and this renewed buzz – particularly midweek – is bringing back the creative energy that is the lifeblood of the City. [...]
Letters: A much-needed shakeup for education March 14, 2022 [Re: Covid fuels deepening education inequalities in UK, March 11] The Education Select Committee’s findings that the pandemic has fuelled education equalities in England brings to light the serious impact of learning loss for young people. Findings also show that Yorkshire and the Humber and the North-East are the worst affected areas with the average [...]
Saturday Sitdown: In five years remote working will ‘just be work’, says digitally-native brands guru March 12, 2022 As the city begins to ramp up again and offices swing open their doors the debate rolls on – how many days should people return to the office? Should this be mandatory or flexible? Will the days be set or of a person’s choosing? Employers and employees find themselves at loggerheads when it comes to [...]
Can the world’s first climate change escape room really help us change the ways we act? March 11, 2022 I’m standing in what used to be a Paul Smith store in Covent Garden, but instead of browsing for snazzy striped shirts I’m on my hands and knees, poking my head through a hole in a table and blowing air at a model wind turbine. Can I simulate the process of making green energy all [...]
Letters: Making the most out of crypto March 11, 2022 [Re: Biden signs executive order on crypto amid surging US adoption, March 9] Is Biden beckoning the beginning of the end for “wild west” crypto markets? The executive order hints at more regulation of digital assets, which has implications for how institutions engage with the burgeoning asset class. For example, quant driven hedge funds running [...]
Explainer-in-brief: OPEC+ isn’t coming to the rescue March 11, 2022 As the US and the UK took the dramatic step of turning away from Russian oil, the Biden administration has been putting significant pressure on the group of Gulf oil suppliers to ramp up production. The OPEC+ group, which includes Russia, resisted the calls to pump more crude to help bring down oil prices, which [...]