Independence, innovation, and online voting: How Estonia built itself into a digital paradise February 23, 2018 This Saturday, my native country, nestled in a remote corner of the Earth about 500 miles south of Santa’s village, celebrates its hundredth year of independence. Today, Estonia is probably the most digitally advanced country in the world. As the New Yorker magazine recently put it: “Its government is virtual, borderless, blockchained, and secure. Has [...]
The ‘big tech’ backlash: How sustainable is the success of Google, Facebook and Amazon? February 22, 2018 In recent months it has felt like the tide is turning against big tech. Google has been fined for market abuse in the EU. Silicon Valley heads have been hauled in front of the US Senate and the UK Parliament to answer for the abuse of their platforms by extremists and Russian saboteurs. The repeal of [...]
Cryptocurrency founder has a wise head on young shoulders February 20, 2018 As sales pitches go, it’s an unconventional one. In fact it’s more warning than advert, but you can’t argue with the logic behind it. The tweet was as stark as it was short: “Cryptocurrencies are still a new and hyper-volatile asset class, and could drop to near-zero at any time.” So wrote Vitalik Buterin, the [...]
Winter Olympics 2018: Olympic Athlete from Russia who was designated clean tests positive in Pyeongchang February 18, 2018 Olympic chiefs are facing further embarrassment over their handling of Russian doping after one of the country’s athletes who was permitted to compete at the Winter Games after being designated clean tested positive. The Olympic Athletes from Russia (OAR) team confirmed that it had been notified of a possible infringement of anti-doping rules but declined [...]
Among the uncertainty, crypotocurrency derivatives should still be treated seriously by investment professionals February 13, 2018 Last year saw a major change in the way that news outlets covered bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. Though cryptocurrencies have generated outrageous headlines in the years since their initial introduction, 2017 marked a milestone in their transition from fringe investment to alternative asset. Bitcoin derivatives, which would make the investment accessible to a broader pool [...]
Unilever threatens to pull advertising spend with tech giants Google, Facebook, and Twitter over toxic culture and fake news February 12, 2018 One of the world’s biggest advertisers is threatening to slash the amount of cash it spends with tech companies if they fail to tackle fake news and toxic cultures on their platforms. The stark warning comes from Unilever and its marketing chief Keith Weed who oversees an annual budget of €7.7bn (£6.8bn), spent on marketing [...]
Charts of the month: Rising bond yields, dividends and Putin February 9, 2018 Each month, dozens of charts cross our investment writing desk at Schroders, the asset manager. Here, the team pick out six that particularly caught their interest. Bond yields on the up US Treasury (UST) yields have risen 30 basis points (bps) since the start of 2018, across different maturity levels. We have to go back [...]
Explore Ontario with the First Nations – Manitoulin Island offers an insight into Canada’s rich cultural heritage February 9, 2018 Flags line the terminal as I land at Toronto Airport, celebrating ‘Canada 150’, the official birthday of the nation. My trip to a remote part of Ontario, however, would reveal that there is much more to the country’s history than the past century and a half. This was my first time in Canada, and as [...]
Jeremy Hunt thinks social media’s as bad for kids as smoking and obesity February 8, 2018 The health secretary Jeremy Hunt has claimed that social media can be as damaging to children as smoking or obesity in one of the starkest warning yet from the government that it is eyeing curbs on tech companies He likened the effects on young people’s mental health as “every bit as big a threat” as [...]
Pyeongchang 2018 Winter Olympics: What to watch and storylines to follow February 8, 2018 Six Winter Olympics storylines to follow The 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang officially gets underway ton Friday. If you’re interested but don’t know whether to start with slaloms or skeletons, these are the storylines you’ll want to be following. The Korean detente North and South Korea will march under a unified Korean flag [pictured] (Source: [...]