Angela Merkel urges UK to explain how it will replace the Irish backstop February 4, 2019 Angela Merkel has urged the UK to set out exactly how it wants to avoid a hard border with Ireland in the absence of a trade deal as she called for “creative” conversations to solve the Brexit deadlock. Speaking on Monday morning, the German Chancellor tried to strike an upbeat tone as she insisted a [...]
Trump tore down the walls for the Democrats’ socialist superstar February 1, 2019 Half-baked policy ideas that don’t stand up to economic scrutiny but spread like wildfire across social media. The ability to tear up the rulebook to forge a new path to power. A US politician who is almost certainly dramatically under-qualified for the office they hold, but who has captured the imaginations of millions through sheer charisma [...]
Social media sites must take legal responsibility for child safety, states tech committee January 31, 2019 Social media sites must take on legal responsibility for the health and wellbeing of children of their platforms, a parliamentary committee has found. The Science and Technology Committee (STC) today said tech giants such as Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat must be subject to a formal legal duty of care for their users. Read more: Social media [...]
DEBATE: Is there any point to the annual WEF summit in Davos? January 22, 2019 Is there any point to the annual WEF summit in Davos? Bill Michael, chairman and senior partner of KPMG in the UK, says YES. Elements of the World Economic Forum (WEF) do raise an eyebrow. From the setting in the Swiss Alps to the A-listers in attendance, it can seem like the last bastion of global [...]
Chasing global uncertainties with an active toddler is not easy January 22, 2019 You know you are a “Brexhausted” mother when you spend your day (and sometimes nights) chasing Brexit madness and the rest of the time chasing a super-active toddler. At least my toddler is starting to understand when I say “I think we are done for today, it’s time to go to bed”. While that’s been [...]
Lloyds Bank suffers IT outage as customers struggle to send and receive money January 18, 2019 Thousands of Lloyds Bank customers were unable to make payments this afternoon after the bank experienced an IT outage. Customers complained of difficulties transferring money from their accounts due to issues related to the lender's Faster Payments system, which allows customers to send and receive payments by internet or phone. "We are aware that some customers [...]
Rahaf Mohammed has lifted the veil on the brutal Saudi regime January 17, 2019 Rahaf Mohammed is at first glance an unlikely harbinger of change in Saudi Arabia. Teenage girls usually know their place in Saudi society: unlike the Victorian child, they are neither to be seen nor heard. But her near-miraculous escape from the clutches of Saudi authorities, which sought to forcibly return her to a family outraged [...]
Eager for a house price fall? It’s time for a lesson in economics January 15, 2019 Would it be a good thing if house prices in the UK fell? The British public, a host of commentators on Twitter, and even some economists seem to think so. A recent YouGov poll asked Britons whether a 30 per cent fall in property values after Brexit would be a “bad thing”. Just 32 per [...]
Digital finance technology is wonderful, but we must design it with consumers’ best interests at heart January 10, 2019 Every morning, I browse my phone as I commute to work. I check my emails, the news, Twitter, and increasingly I open my various finance apps. I recently logged into my investment platform app and made a new investment – £1,000 in a startup Swedish retailer. Once the money was invested, I was applauded with [...]
Olivia Colman’s Golden Globe award acceptance speech is a masterclass in public speaking January 9, 2019 We may not all win Oscars or Baftas, but that doesn’t mean that we cannot learn from the best acceptance speeches made by the world’s top performers. This week’s Golden Globes ceremony is a prime example, as British stars Olivia Colman and Christian Bale scooped up awards for best actress and actor respectively. In light [...]