Letters: Trusting me, trusting VC April 29, 2022 [Re: UK venture capital surges ahead of Europe as investors shake off market jitters, April 22] Pitchbook’s analysis reveals one thing very clearly: VCs in the UK are full steam ahead in 2022. VCs in Britain and Ireland have committed nearly £7bn in the last few months, nearly a third of total European investment. The [...]
Letters: Small businesses still losing out April 27, 2022 [Re: CBI president: UK needs to tap into fintech’s ‘flotilla of benefits’, April 25] Lord Bilimoria and the CBI aren’t wrong. Businesses need all the support they can get against a backdrop of slow post-pandemic economic growth. The UK has one of the most advanced fintech ecosystems in the world and we’re proud to run [...]
Letters: Time to go back to school April 26, 2022 [Re: Most women don’t ‘feel financially independent’ as cost of living crisis bite, yesterday] The results from the Fidelity International survey show that less than half (45 per cent) of women feel financially independent. During a time where people are likely to be facing rising costs, it seems challenging to control and improve finances, and [...]
Letters: Chatbots to the rescue? April 25, 2022 [Re: Chatbot matrixes are an outdated betrayal of our tech capabilities, April 22] Russ Shaw is right to point out that chatbots, once held up as the next big thing for communication, must be under-pinned by excellent technology and good quality data. Only a well-engineered chatbot will provide a delightful customer experience, but when it [...]
Letters: A five star review – if it’s true April 22, 2022 [Re: Fake reviews and ‘subscription traps’ could be illegal under new proposals, April 20] The watchdog is finally baring its teeth on a hugely important issue for consumers that has not been properly addressed for years: fake reviews. A fine of 10 per cent of global turnover for those that fall foul is a big [...]
Letters: Next episode might be better? April 21, 2022 [Re: Netflix shares tumble as streaming giant loses 200k subscribers, yesterday] Quelle surprise, as the French would say. After years of being trapped at home having little else to do except watch TV, people have started to cancel their subscriptions for Netflix. If the streaming giant wasn’t prepared for this moment, then they really were [...]
Letters: Stop paying out without result April 20, 2022 [Re: Deloitte wins £9m contract with government, April 12] Last week, Deloitte won a new £9m contract with the government, having previously won a £4.8m deal, for work on One Login – a type of digital identity system for across government services. Currently, around half of the 370 different services on gov.uk have their own [...]
Letters: Traders, what’s up with WhatsApp? April 19, 2022 [Re: Whatsppp messages expose “Essex Boys” traders to multi-million US lawsuit, April 14] The lawsuit against eight “Essex Boys” traders”, accused of colluding to drive the price of oil down in order to make huge profits selling futures contracts, reinforces how it is possible for any message to get out over Whatsapp. All recorded in [...]
Letters: New rules for a new age? April 13, 2022 [Re: Police training documents suggest the force are unequipped to investigate Big Tech, 11 April] Matthew Lesh’s comment that the Online Safety Bill is “draconian”, and the government’s focus on it means it is “failing to educate and resource the police to tackle real crime”, fails to acknowledge the crux of the bill and what [...]
Letters: Steer clear of risky debt April 11, 2022 [Re: Shoppers turn to buy now, pay later amid cost of living crunch, March 21] Buy now pay later is quickly changing the face of consumer finance. If used in the right way, the benefits it can bring to consumers are enormous. But – and it is a big “but” – this is no ordinary [...]