Human governance in the metaverse: Part One April 24, 2023 In part one of his examination of human governance in the metaverse, Dr Chris Kacher looks at 'the network state'.
Bank of England to hike interest rates to five per cent after inflation tops forecasts to stay in double digits April 19, 2023 UK inflation has smashed expectations to stick in the double digits, in a sign that the cost of living crisis is still gripping families and businesses across the country, prompting markets to bet the Bank of England will hike interest rates to five per cent. The rate of price increases trimmed to 10.1 per cent [...]
AI better than our staff, reckon half of business leaders – so what does that mean for jobs? April 19, 2023 NEARLY half of business leaders reckon AI could replace humans, new data out today shows, but experts think job losses caused by mass adoption of tools such as ChatGPT would be limited. Some 44 per cent of C-suite executives think AI could perform tasks to a similar or better quality than humans, according to a [...]
UK workers still gripped by inflation despite better than expected near six per cent pay growth April 18, 2023 UK workers are still being squeezed by a historic inflation crunch despite wage increases smashing expectations, official figures out today reveal. The average pay increase including bonuses hit 5.9 per cent over the three months to February, up from the previous period and above the City’s expectations of a 5.1 per cent increase, according to [...]
Decarbonising fleets ‘impossible’ due to absence of infrastructure and lack of plan, says HGV sector April 18, 2023 The heavy goods vehicle (HGV) sector is calling for an urgent government strategy to drive uptake of zero emission trucks, amid concerns over poor EV and hydrogen infrastructure. New analysis published by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) revealed that HGV electric and hydrogen models account for just one in 600 trucks on [...]
UK economy stalls in February but is just about on track to dodge recession in early 2023 April 13, 2023 Britain is just about on track to dodge a recession in the first half of this year, defying gloomy predictions from experts heading into 2023 that the economy would suffer the largest slump in recent memory, figures out today show. Gross domestic product (GDP) – which measures the value of all goods and services produced [...]
Retail sector pins hopes on King’s coronation to lift sales April 12, 2023 Shoppers put cost of living fears behind them as they splashed out on Mother Day gifts in March, helping to slightly boost retail sales, but damp weather and soaring inflation has left the sector holding out for the King’s coronation in May to see a “larger uptick” in sales. According to data by the British [...]
Recession clouds lift over UK jobs market as hiring begins to recover April 12, 2023 Recession clouds are receding from the UK jobs market as companies gradually regain confidence about hiring workers following a batch of better than expected economic data since the turn of the year, new figures out today reveal. Firms are dipping their toes back in the recruitment market, lured by household spending holding up better than [...]
Meet the KPMG dealmaker putting the Big 4 firm in the green energy mix April 5, 2023 Hardly a week goes by without a new survey showing the slump in M&A activity in 2022. By some estimates M&A dropped 18 per cent after the flurry in 2021. However, looking a little closer reveals a more nuanced picture. Mid-level M&A remained fairly consistent while certain sectors saw continued growth. One of the most [...]
UK 2023 economic outlook brightens but ‘big gaps’ remain, Deutsche Bank says April 3, 2023 The UK’s economy will to flatline rather than contract in 2023, according to analysts from Deutsche Bank, as last week’s upgrade to GDP for the final quarter of 2022 will likely have a positive knock-on effect for the remainder of this year. The ONS revised its initial GDP reading for the fourth quarter of 2022 [...]