What lessons have we learned from a decade in cyber security? January 22, 2020 A colleague recently asked me what I thought had changed in cyber security over the last 10 years. We agreed that it had certainly been a time of momentous change. In 2012, there was the Shamoon attacks in the Gulf region. In one stroke, 35,000 computers were wiped and disabled within a matter of hours. [...]
DEBATE: Is the Bank of England out of ammunition for the next recession? January 22, 2020 Is the Bank of England out of ammunition for the next recession? Jumana Saleheen, chief economist at commodities consultant CRU Group, says YES. Lessons from history: central banks need to cut interest rates by about five percentage points in a recession. So if rates were six per cent, they would need to drop to one [...]
From A&E waiting times to the Windrush scandal, beware bureaucratic targets January 22, 2020 Last week, health secretary Matt Hancock signalled an important change of strategy. Accident and Emergency Departments have a target that 95 per cent of patients should be admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours. Hancock suggested that the target will be scrapped. Instead, wait times will be determined by clinical need. Cue predictable hyperbolic outrage. [...]
Davos Diary: Day 2 January 21, 2020 Today we hit the ground running at the World Economic Forum. It’s been a big day, with speeches by Greta Thunberg and President Trump, which is, as you would expect, the whole spectrum of opinion when it comes to climate change, sustainability and environmental concerns. They couldn’t be any more different, of course: Ms Thunberg [...]
The UK should be confident in its business future January 21, 2020 With the UK just days away from leaving the EU, one might think it would be a major talking point at the World Economic Forum in Davos. However — and perhaps refreshingly — conversations are largely focused on other geopolitical issues, those fundamental to our future global society, like inequality, societal divisions, and the climate [...]
Without visa reform, there can be no UK-Africa partnership January 21, 2020 On Monday, the UK government hosted one of the largest African trade and investment conferences it has ever been involved with. Even so, in comparison to most African trade and investment conferences, it was relatively small — which is in keeping with Britain’s low starting point relative to our global competitors. There is no greater [...]
Jeremy Corbyn has busted the myth of Labour’s moral superiority January 21, 2020 Let’s play a game. Imagine that a Tory-supporting business leader had delivered her company’s worst financial results for more than three decades. Let’s further imagine that the company had then, because of significant overspending, had raised the prospect of firing dozens of ordinary workers — while rewarding said senior executive with a bumper new contract [...]
DEBATE: Should the government move the House of Lords to York? January 21, 2020 Should the government move the House of Lords to York? Alastair Benn, news editor of Reaction, says YES. The British state is now more centralised than it has been for many decades. In large part, we owe that to Margaret Thatcher, who tended to treat the UK’s constituent parts as regions, rather than as distinct [...]
Move over, ‘Davos Man’, climate is the big issue this year January 21, 2020 It’s that time of the year again: policymakers, politicians, bankers, activists, journalists, and a swathe of cameras are descending upon the snowy peaks of Davos for the World Economic Forum (WEF). Once branded the playground for the elite, epitomised by the stereotypical champagne swashing “Davos Man”, this year the gathering ostensibly seems to be morphing [...]
Open Banking can rebalance the market and put consumers in control January 21, 2020 Two years since its inception, Open Banking has begun to transform the banking world. While understanding may still be low among those outside of the financial sector, do not underestimate this phenomenon. In fact, low awareness is to be expected — Open Banking is a technology that exists behind the scenes, and customers will only [...]