Facebook to use AI to combat Russian interference ahead of US mid-term elections | City A.M. July 25, 2018 Social media giant Facebook has said it will start using artificial intelligence to fight people including Russian operatives who use false information to influence public opinion on its website. Speaking to media, the company said they were expecting there to be activity From Russian agents and other parties on the site ahead of the mid-term [...]
The Girl Power puzzle: What women really, really do (and don’t) want | City A.M. July 25, 2018 Girl Power seems to be the feminist mantra these days – on T-shirts, mugs, and across a whole shelf of sparkly notebooks in Paperchase. Does this phrase make anyone else feel a little bit nauseous? (And this from an original Spice Girls fan.) Let’s start with “girl” – what’s so bad about that? Well, nothing, [...]
Facebook suspends another data analytics firm over surveillance concerns | City A.M. July 21, 2018 Tech giant Facebook has suspended another analytics firm during its own investigation into data sharing and collection on the social media platform. Crimson Hexagon, a US company offers “consumer insights” and works with government agencies around the world. The Wall Street Journal also reported that the firm had contracts “to analyse public Facebook data for [...]
Last Week in the City: August rate rise now less likely July 20, 2018 Garry White, chief investment commentator, looks at the market-moving events that have shaped the UK equity markets this week (16 to 20 July 2018). The chances of an interest rate rise at the Bank of England’s August meeting appeared to recede this week after inflation data was more subdued than expected and retail sales data [...]
Insurance giant Aviva sells Friends Provident for £340m to International Financial Group subsidiary July 19, 2018 Insurance giant Aviva will sell its loss-making Friends Provident arm to International Financial Group for £340m, the firm announced this morning. The sale follows a strategic review of Friends Provident International Limited (FPIL), which made a post-tax loss of £2m last year and remitted no cash back to the parent company, Aviva said. The sale [...]
London deserves a mayor who believes in the city’s bright entrepreneurial future July 19, 2018 Come March 2019, Britain will have left the EU, but our city will continue to be the most vibrant and dynamic economic urban economy on earth. Londoners deserve a mayor who represents this and protects our position of strength. Unlike Sadiq Khan, he or she can ill-afford to be sucked in to talking down London’s [...]
London deserves a mayor who believes in the city’s bright entrepreneurial future July 19, 2018 Come March 2019, Britain will have left the EU, but our city will continue to be the most vibrant and dynamic economic urban economy on earth. Londoners deserve a mayor who represents this and protects our position of strength. Unlike Sadiq Khan, he or she can ill-afford to be sucked in to talking down London’s [...]
Airbus and Boeing reach sky-high orders as Farnborough Airshow begins to wind down July 19, 2018 Leading plane manufacturers Airbus and Boeing have won combined orders for nearly 1,000 aircraft at the Farnborough AirShow so far this week, as the UK’s biggest calendar event for the aerospace and defence sector draws to a close. In a week-long competition to land multi-billion dollar deals, Boeing beat Airbus to the top spot with [...]
Budget watchdog the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) says extra unfunded NHS spending adds to “unsustainable” outlook for public finances | City A.M. July 17, 2018 The Treasury’s budget watchdog today warned that the government’s spending plans, including a planned £20.5bn boost to National Health Service (NHS) spending, are unsustainable without tax rises or further spending cuts. The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) said that the public finances are “likely to come under significant pressure over the longer term” as an [...]
Brexit immigration targets could ring up a £12bn annual bill on UK finances | City A.M. July 15, 2018 Government immigration targets to reduce net migration to under 100,000 people a year could end up costing the UK economy up to £12bn annually within the next five years, according to analysis from think tank Global Future. Based on data provided by the Office of Budget Responsibility ahead of the government’s latest migration figures, efforts [...]