Sterling rises against the US dollar (GBPUSD) as Bank of England (BoE) chief economist Andy Haldane says it should withdraw Brexit vote stimulus “later in the year” as division with Mark Carney grows June 21, 2017 The Bank of England should withdraw its post-Brexit vote monetary stimulus “later in the year”, according to its chief economist, as the divisions among the central bank’s monetary policymakers become starker. Andy Haldane said the Bank is running the risk of delaying too long in raising interest rates, with a hike “relatively soon” necessary. Sterling [...]
Queen’s speech 2017: Here’s the full text of Theresa May’s plan covering Brexit, HS2 but no mention of US President Donald Trump visit June 21, 2017 The much anticipated Queen’s speech for 2017 has been delivered, outlining Theresa May’s plans and her pledge to win “the trust and confidence” of the British people. Read more: Live: The Queen’s speech The Queen’s speech: The full text My Lords and Members of the House of Commons. My government’s priority is to secure the [...]
Why crowd-based capitalism has changed the economy June 14, 2017 Technological advances are reshaping our jobs and the nature of work. How will the global economic system evolve? What will the future of work look like? As an observer of digital disruption, Arun Sundararajan, author of The Sharing Economy and Professor of Information, Operations and Management Sciences at the NYU Stern School of Business, noticed [...]
Job cuts? No, artificial intelligence and automation will usher in a new wave of roles, IT bosses say June 12, 2017 Widespread job losses will not be a natural consequence of greater use of artificial intelligence (AI) by UK businesses, research released today by telecoms giant BT suggested. In fact, a third of those polled by BT felt AI and automation said the so-called “Fourth Industrial Revolution”, would have the opposite effect: to create more jobs. [...]
Insurance sector readies for soaring M&A (merger and acquisition) activity as firms look to spend surplus capital following Solvency II Directive June 12, 2017 A surge in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and share buybacks could sweep Europe’s insurance sector this year, as firms look to put surplus capital to work. According to a survey of chief financial officers conducted by Moody’s Investors Service, low interest rates remained the single biggest worry in the sector. The results gathered opinion in [...]
Big four UK banks on the mend after racking up £66bn of charges in six years, says S&P Global report June 8, 2017 The UK’s big four banking groups have racked up £66bn of conduct and litigation charges in the last six years, a new report out today has estimated. But analysts at S&P Global Ratings expect 2016 will “prove to be the last year in which charges remain at the outsized levels we have seen recently”. The [...]
Rampant ransomware raises risk of data breach sanctions under GDPR June 7, 2017 A ransomware infection would be considered a data breach under the terms of the new data protection regulation that comes into force next year, cybersecurity and legal experts say. Ransomware encrypts the data on an infected machine, and criminals demand payment from the owner to release the information. Ransomware is one of the fastest-spreading forms [...]
London is home to more of the hottest fintech startups than ever before according to the Fintech50 2017 June 7, 2017 London’s status as the world leading centre of fintech has been questioned in the wake of Brexit, but new figures suggest the capital continues to be a global powerhouse for financial technology. The city has produced more of the hottest fintech startups than ever before, with over half of the Fintech50 calling it home. Challenger [...]
Blockchain: Getting down to basics June 2, 2017 There has been much talk about blockchain disrupting the financial services industry. Earlier this month, IBM’s vice president of blockchain declared that ‘2016 was the year of blockchain experimentation,’ and ‘2017 is the year of adoption.’ (The fact that IBM has an executive with ‘blockchain’ in his job title is a data point by itself.) [...]
Artificial Intelligence is a threat to society, an EU committee (EESC) has warned June 1, 2017 Artificial intelligence (AI) could pose a threat to the fabric of our society, according to an opinion published last night by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC). The EESC’s Workers’ Group, which is comprised of representatives from national trade unions, found 11 areas in which AI raises societal concerns – ranging from labour to [...]