Opinion-in-brief: Pandemic era etiquette for the common cold September 29, 2021 So London has been hit by the plague. No, not Covid – how desperately 2020. It’s the monster common cold, which most of us have managed to dodge for the last 18 months thanks to social distancing. Now it’s back with a vengeance. After aggressive messaging telling us to protect our loved ones by staying [...]
Editorial: Go-Ahead’s cock-up doesn’t look good for anybody September 29, 2021 If ever a news story could capture a nation’s mood, the shooting of a stunning, rare white stag by police in Merseyside yesterday, apparently against the RSPCA’s advice, seems to sum up a general feeling of melancholy sweeping the shires. The stag, we are informed by the powers that be, could have become a menace [...]
No, not that German election: An anti-capitalist referendum on rent prices September 29, 2021 Entrepreneurs can breathe a sigh of relief and stay in Germany without having to worry about emigrating. At least for now. A government made up of Germany’s three biggest left-wing parties was narrowly averted in Sunday’s elections. Narrowly is the operative word, because the Social Democrats (SPD), the Greens and Die Linke (the former communist [...]
Robot lawyers aren’t the distant future – they’re real and will revolutionise trade September 29, 2021 Would you trust artificial intelligence to make your financial decisions? How about conducting legal services? In some areas it may already do so. As AI becomes more advanced and the world becomes more integrated, these technologies are reshaping the way we think of the global trade in services. Last week, the new Secretary of State for [...]
Opinion-in-brief: Brexit barriers are hampering our small businesses September 28, 2021 The energy and ambition of Britain’s start-up community is palpable. According to the latest research from the Global Entrepreneurship Monitor, two-thirds of UK adults are looking to start a business in the next three years. Compared with the start-up ecosystem of a few years ago, today’s firms are forging ahead with an eye to the [...]
Mike Lynch extradition decision will be watched by tech entrepreneurs the world over September 28, 2021 The coming days will define whether British entrepreneurs are subject to British law, or the whims of American prosecutors. The consequences could be felt for years and have a direct impact on the likelihood of homegrown tech giants being created here in the UK. Last week the Home Office decided to delay the extradition to [...]
Shortages are a devilish dance with Covid and Brexit September 28, 2021 There’s an old cartoon that has Satan outside a church, crying. A passer-by asks him what’s wrong and he responds “They blame me for everything in there!”. For the past 18 months, Covid has been the folk devil of almost every business issue. Look at what’s happening now, with fears of a further “winter of [...]
Ancient Rome taught us a lesson in destroying our digital footprint September 28, 2021 During the Roman empire, former emperors and elites had their image destroyed from the public memory through vandalised statues or even removal of names from official documents. The practice was known as Damnatio Memoriae or the condemnation of memory. The images of former emperors and elites were vandalised or their names removed from official records. [...]
Editorial: It’s time to be straight on the cost of net-zero September 28, 2021 In the final years of New Labour’s time in office, free market campaigners, deficit hawks and the Conservatives sought to change the language used for government projects. For years, Gordon Brown et al had used the word investment to describe the use of public money. Those campaigners and politicians were successful; first, the word investment [...]
Time to go nuclear: a net zero solution to the gas crisis September 28, 2021 Last week gas prices soared to record highs and there’s no signs of them falling anytime soon. Prices have surged as the world has emerged from the pandemic; they are now trading at around four times the average of the last decade. Renewable energy has been the easiest scapegoat and climate sceptics are trying to [...]