A cashless society is proof we need to challenge the Visa and Mastercard monopolies Charlie Mercer How often do you see a “card only” sign as you go to pay for your coffee? Cash payments have declined by two thirds since 2010, and card payments have become the de facto way to pay, accounting for 73 per cent of UK transactions in 2021. From this change, there have been two significant [...]
As the energy crisis hits pockets, we need to protect our future economy Charlie Mercer Against the backdrop of the cost of living crisis, there is a growing vocal minority in the Conservative Party calling for the Prime Minister to slow down on decarbonising the British economy. The Net Zero Scrutiny Group of backbench MPs in parliament have started to grumble that the government’s net zero plans will cost too [...]
Five reasons why energy transition stocks can weather the inflation storm City Talk The current inflationary pressures putting strain on global equity markets are impacting energy transition equities more than most, with many of its sub-sectors right in the eye of the storm. But while these short-term threats are painful, they should not detract from the longer-term investment opportunity. Inflationary pressures have been at the heart of this disruption. Global supply [...]
Regulate now or worry about it later: Klarna has rewritten its own rules October 19, 2021 Covid-19 accelerated the rocketship of Buy Now Pay Later schemes: over 10 million Brits used the service in 2020. This trend was growing before the pandemic though, with consumers drawn to a zero-interest product that saved them £76m in interest fees in 2020 that they would otherwise have paid on credit card interest. Before, consumers [...]
On a charge or out of juice – can EV charging infrastructure keep up with demand? October 11, 2021 One of the most notable trends of the past 18 months has been soaring demand for electric vehicles (EVs). This is particularly the case in Europe, where the share of EVs as a percentage of overall car registrations has grown to almost 10% (chart 1). Other geographies are also now showing renewed signs of strength, [...]
