Higher yields not necessarily bad news for stocks, argues City-based investment veteran March 9, 2021 The spike in yields of late has sent shivers through stock markets, which recently reached an all-time high and whose valuations have been labelled as ‘stretched’ by more than one analyst. But this rise in yields, if contained, is not necessarily bad news for stocks. In fact, it suggests that the rotation into reflation-driven cyclical [...]
We need a humanitarian vision for AI and robotics March 9, 2021 Robotics and artificial intelligence are beginning to transform a broad spectrum of industries, and I believe that in time, given its near-endless applications, omnipresent AI will contribute $150 trillion to the global economy. I also believe that humanitarian efforts all over the world will be greatly advanced by emerging artificial intelligence and robotics technologies as [...]
Why poitín, Irish moonshine that was illegal until 1997, could be the next big thing March 8, 2021 “It’s Ireland’s original national drink,” says sixth generation independent poitín producer Padraic O’Griallais. He uses the 17O-year-old recipe of his great great-great-grandfather Mical Mac Chearra from Connemara to distill his own version of “Irish moonshine”. The recipe, which includes Connemara ‘bog bean’ is realised in the first legal Poitín distillery in Galway. First distilled by [...]
This IWD, meet the women changing the booze industry March 8, 2021 The world of beer, wine and spirits has also been dominated during our lifetime by men, with phallocentric brands including Jack Daniels and Johnnie Walker aimed squarely at male drinkers. But it wasn’t always so – for thousands of years brewing was undertaken by women. And as we celebrate International Women’s Day (IWD), there are [...]
Electric cars will lead to a design transformation on the scale of iPhones & Apple laptops March 6, 2021 There was a golden age of car design that ran from the mid 1950’s to early 1970’s. Cars like the Jaguar e-type, Ferrari Dino, or Pontiac Firebird emerged; they were not only engineering miracles, but objets d’art. During this time, the imagination of the auto industry was running wild, setting out ambitious visions of the [...]
Apple’s new privacy features may finally trigger a more transparent tech ecosystem March 6, 2021 A new feature in Apple’s operating system has received relatively little attention in the wider media recently, yet it is set to kick start a new era of transparency in the tech industry and hopefully instil more respect for consumer and enterprise privacy. With the launch of iOS 14, Apple introduced a privacy information section [...]
Best of travel: Rampaging through Dartmoor in an Aston Martin March 5, 2021 To tide us over until we’re able to travel again, we’re republishing classic travel stories from our archives. Today we revisit Adam Hay-Nicholls’ tour through the rugged terrain of Dartmoor in an Aston Martin Vanquish. ••• It’s the tail-end of dusk in Devon and silence is broken. Thundering down the twisting A382 from Exeter to [...]
Pop quiz: How much do you really know about German wine? March 5, 2021 At this time of the year my palate changes and I start craving more refreshing styles of wine. I always end up rediscovering German wines – like an album you played to death and haven’t heard since last summer. I love reconnecting with these wines. German wines have a bad reputation in the UK. I’ve [...]
Screenshot: Will nightclubs really reopen in June? March 5, 2021 This week: **Media Moment of the Week: Telly’s still got welly **Will nightclubs really reopen on 21 June? **The BBC turns back time Media Moment of the Week: Telly’s still got welly In the age of Silicon Valley streaming giants and relentless references to “content” and “eyeballs”, it’s easy to forget that TV can, sometimes, [...]
Tech billionaires’ privacy brawl: Facebook’s defence of its darkest arts defies belief March 5, 2021 Facebook’s new advertisement – “Good Ideas Deserve To Be Found” – is a study in audacity, in which the company wraps its darkest arts in a cloak of moral purity. Facebook tracks its users’ behaviour, not only on its own apps but all across the web. What it learns about you in the process, it [...]