Without an eye on social value, Europe risks losing the global fintech race Europe has been left behind in Big Tech. The scene is overwhelmingly dominated by US companies, with China potentially coming up from the rear. The question is whether Europe has the potential to avoid the same fate in digital finance — a sector that is likely to play a big role in future economic development. [...]
Whinging car giants are giving business a bad name News broke last week that the UK government is reportedly planning to ban sales of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030. As night follows day came the inevitable howls from the car industry. It’s not possible. It’s all too quick. Our societies are not ready for it. And on it goes. The reality is [...]
How ‘following the science’ has let our country down If I were to be diagnosed with a malignant tumour, I would expect my doctors to lay out for me the alternative treatment options, how each would affect my quality of life, its impact on survival or potential cure and, as far as is knowable, all the other potential costs and benefits. I would listen [...]
The Wirecard scandal is a warning to the EU to think twice before cutting itself off from London’s financial expertise August 24, 2020 “The last place we expected something like this to happen was Germany,” said Peter Altmaier, the German economy minister in the wake of the Wirecard fiasco. But is it really? City A.M. readers will likely now be fully familiar with the Wirecard debacle. But for those who are not, here is a potted history. Since [...]
Coronavirus has exposed the flaws of our globalised system February 12, 2020 We cannot yet be sure how many lives have already been tragically lost to the coronavirus outbreak, nor how many are still to be lost until the epidemic is brought under control — if that proves even possible. At the time of writing, the estimated death toll is over 1,000. What we do know is [...]
Has the business world found its purpose? Trust, but verify January 29, 2020 Last week’s Davos carnival was an orgy of virtue signalling. A group of senior executives flew in on private jets to talk about how to tackle climate change. Leaders of companies that have been highly active in lobbying for corporate tax breaks signed a letter calling for higher taxes on the rich if we are [...]
Let this dismal election spur us towards national renewal December 4, 2019 For political nerds, a club of which I confess to being a fully paid-up member, elections are usually times of great excitement. Yet this election is by far the most dismal I have ever experienced. My general feeling — matched, it feels, by much of the electorate — is one of deep, gnawing disappointment and [...]
Over the last decade, central banks have gained huge influence over our lives November 4, 2019 Monetary policy, central bank independence, quantitative easing. These and many other subjects tend to make people’s eyes glaze over, and are best left to finance nerds to battle over in quiet corners. Yet central banks have, over the last decade, emerged from the shadows of arcane macroeconomic policy discussions to become fundamental to all our [...]
Debate: Is the re-election of Justin Trudeau as Prime Minister good news for Canada? October 23, 2019 Is the re-election of Justin Trudeau as Prime Minister good news for Canada? Yes – Dr Joe Zammit-Lucia is a co-founder and trustee of Radix, the think tank for the radical centre. Both Justin Trudeau’s re-election and the fact that he will not command a majority are good news for Canada. Canada is essentially a [...]
This bland and disappointing Queen’s Speech is no remedy for our broken politics October 15, 2019 “Civilisation is a hopeless race to discover remedies for the evils it produces.” So wrote Jean-Jacques Rousseau, maybe somewhat cynically. Yet, listening to yesterday’s Queen’s Speech it is hard not to glimpse a thread of truth in Rousseau’s words. Longer sentences to make up for increased crime exacerbated by past cuts and the progressive breakdown [...]
