Australian Facebook ban: A political gamble gone terribly wrong February 19, 2021 This week, Google and Facebook took two different approaches toward Australian policy changes that would force the tech giants to pay for linked news content on their platforms. Google announced a long-term deal with News Corp, Rupert Murdoch’s media empire. Facebook, meanwhile, called the Australian government’s bluff and abruptly blocked Australian users from sharing or [...]
Big Bang 2.0 will only succeed with a revolution in the back-office of financial services February 19, 2021 Negative news about the new post-Brexit challenges for the UK’s financial services currently dominates headlines. The market structure is still far from settled ahead of upcoming talks between the UK and the EU on equivalence. Whatever level of equivalence is agreed upon will dictate the direction for UK financial services, with some eyeing up an [...]
Save Our Summer: The travel industry is pulling the emergency alarm February 18, 2021 Travel firms large and small are united in outrage. In recent days, government ministers have unsettled consumers and the entire travel sector by telling UK citizens not to book a holiday in the UK or abroad, now or indeed ever. It is hard to think of a more damaging approach to boosting confidence and it’s [...]
Health and wellbeing could be the business opportunity of our age February 18, 2021 Generations become defined by their obsessions, but it is often only after the event that the nature of those obsessions become clear and their consequences easier to understand. The historical bread crumb trail revealing what should have seemed obvious at the time and with them opportunities lost. But sometimes we live through periods of such [...]
Tracking the pandemic’s impacts on small business February 18, 2021 Next week the Government will provide an update on the lockdown exit plan with a much-speculated upon roadmap to recovery out of the pandemic. This roadmap needs clear signposts and barrier-free routes to help small and medium enterprises (SMEs) recover. It has been a turbulent year for them, evidenced in results from the ACCA UK [...]
The future of cities: The age of urban miracles is not over February 18, 2021 Will the Covid-19 pandemic permanently derail our urban world and end the eminence of the greatest global cities, like London? The answer depends on whether the switch to working from home is permanent. Our city centres are ghostly quiet because so many of us have stopped commuting and are dialling into our jobs. But not [...]
Could the ‘circular economy’ be the answer to post-Covid growth? February 18, 2021 January’s third lockdown and fallout from Brexit have added insult to the injuries inflicted in 2020, and Britain’s economic outlook hasn’t been looking very bright in recent weeks. With the Chancellor continuing to pump money into relief schemes, with more desperately needed cash set to be announced in the March budget, those early pandemic conversations [...]
A VAT break on booze would allow entrepreneurs to rebuild British high streets February 18, 2021 Hospitality employs 9 per cent of the UK’s workforce. Or perhaps ‘did employ’ is a more accurate phrase. Undoubtedly, there will be more redundancies within this sector – at a phenomenal cost, ultimately, to the taxpayer. We all know that hospitality has been one of the worst hit sectors in the economy as a result [...]
The Great Frost of Covid-19 will pass – and Britain’s economy will heat up February 17, 2021 The Great Frost of 1709 has been in the news this week, quite possibly for the first time since 1709 itself. According to Bank of England estimates, this was the last time that GDP fell by more in a single year than it did in the Covid year we have just had. The Office for [...]
Brexit gives us the chance to refit our financial regulation for the 21st century February 17, 2021 Britain’s departure from the European Union has created a unique opportunity to re-shape our regulatory framework for financial services; setting the sector up for continued success in the years to come and maintaining the UK’s position as a globally competitive financial centre. With Brexit complete – and many regulatory powers returning to the UK for [...]