Moral hazard: Covid has created a generation of investors with a skewed sense of risk May 14, 2021 The financial industry has a penchant for complex terminology. Contango and backwardation, to name two – are designed to describe a particular event or scenario in ‘finance’ speak. Moral hazard is another one. The use of two surprisingly normal words creates an opaqueness that is hard to puncture. Moral hazard is thrown around a lot. [...]
Sadiq Khan needs to get real on housing – Londoners deserve it May 14, 2021 After a surprisingly close race, Sadiq Khan has secured another term as Mayor of London. He has promised to rebuild London, post pandemic, and announced big spending plans to bring life back to the capital. Piccadilly Circus now has its very own David Hockney design. But Khan has failed to put forward a coherent policy [...]
DEBATE: Should the Tokyo Olympics go ahead? May 13, 2021 Gonzalo Brujo, Global President, Interbrand says Yes If it is possible to carry out the Tokyo Olympics without jeopardising the safety of the public, the volunteers or athletes, they should go ahead. Consumers and competitors were already prepared for the absence of an international audience, and the rise of a virtual audience in the next games. [...]
Boohoo’s profits surged during the pandemic – do the fast fashion giants really need social responsibility? May 13, 2021 Last week, Boohoo reported a surge in profits despite damaging revelations about its supply chain and poor treatment of workers. As the world of retail pivots towards social responsibility, the bumper results could be seen as consumers rejecting the importance of brands’ embracing purpose. While Boohoo was able to reap in revenue, it is still [...]
Taiwan Health Minister: We survived Covid with a handful of deaths, let us help build a global healthcare system May 13, 2021 Emerging infectious diseases pose an unceasing threat to global health, international economies, trade and tourism. As the world has grown close through international aviation and transport, the ability of pandemics to spread rapidly has increased. Covid-19, the novel form of pneumonia which first emerged in Wuhan, China, at the end of 2019 has killed more [...]
50 days after the Ever Given blocked the Suez canal, supply chains still have not recovered May 12, 2021 On the 29th of March, tug boats and dredgers freed the Ever Given from the banks of the Suez Canal. In just six days the blockage obstructed over $60 billion of global trade, sending disruptive ripples to every corner of the world. The beached container ship, weighing in at 220,000 tonnes and longer than the [...]
Social care reform must do more than prop up of a broken system with a bottomless pit of money May 12, 2021 Cries of a missed opportunity for social care reform have been rife following the Queen’s Speech but let’s be honest, we knew it was coming. It doesn’t make the pill any easier to swallow. It’s more than a missed opportunity. It’s an absolute disgrace for a system that has borne the brunt of the catastrophic [...]
Sharing about Mental Health Awareness Week? Beware targeted advertising preying on your weaknesses May 12, 2021 This year the theme of Mental Health Awareness Week is on nature and the enormous benefits it has for our mental health and wellbeing. In a year cut off from loved ones, with our lives pushed online and limited availability of real-life hugs, the wild green spaces of South West London have been fundamental to [...]
To level up, Boris Johnson needs to build homes in satellite towns May 12, 2021 A key priority for the government is to revive the fortunes of Britain’s old industrial towns. Boris Johnson promised to bring jobs and skills directly to these areas, so people no longer need to leave in order to prosper. The economic revival of regional cities in the past two decades or so has put even [...]
Extinction Refinancing: Banks are the next generation of climate activists withholding funding for carbon-heavy businesses May 11, 2021 Banks are unlikely to be the first group that comes to mind when thinking of climate activists. Although there is now immense and growing pressure on every area of the financial community to drive down emissions and lead the transition to a low-carbon economy, banks often seem to face the most scrutiny. A massive 92 [...]