The UK economy grew for the first time in three months – but only just. The tiny growth was driven in part by an increase in trade for pubs, restaurants, and the construction industry. Official figures showed an expansion of 0.1% after the economy contracted in each of the twoRead More →
The U.S. Consumer Price Index rose by a seasonally adjusted 0.4% for the month, resulting in a 12-month inflation rate of 2.9%. This figure was consistent with forecasts. Core CPI annual rate was 3.2%, down from the month before and slightly better than the 3.3% outlook. Stock markets surged followingRead More →
The UK is charting its own course when it comes to regulating artificial intelligence, signaling a potential divergence from the approaches taken by the United States and the European Union. This move is part of a broader strategy to establish the UK as a global leader in AI technology. UKRead More →
The latest U.S. producer price index (PPI) data indicates that wholesale inflation increased by 0.2% in December 2024, primarily driven by higher energy costs This rise was slightly less than the 0.4% gain witnessed in November 2024. Compared to a year earlier, producer prices were up by 3.3%. The riseRead More →
The pound has continued to fall after UK government borrowing costs rose and concerns grew about public finances Sterling dropped as UK 10-year borrowing costs surged to their highest level since the 2008 financial crisis when bank borrowing virtually ground to a halt. Economists have warned the rising costs couldRead More →
Mark Zuckerberg’s recent actions seem to be driven by a mix of strategic business decisions and political pragmatism. As Trump prepares to retake the White House, Zuckerberg has made several changes at Meta, including scaling back content moderation and fact-checking, and moving safety teams to Texas. These moves appear toRead More →
Nvidia is pushing the boundaries of AI technology with its new mini-AI computer, Project DIGITS, recently unveiled at CES 2025 Priced at $3,000, this mini powerhouse aims to bring cutting-edge AI capabilities to individual desks, making it accessible for AI researchers, data scientists, and students who need to develop andRead More →
It’s not just any Artificial Intelligence… its Apple Intelligence Last week, a newly launched feature by Apple that uses artificial intelligence to summarise users’ notifications inaccurately summarised BBC News app notifications, falsely claiming that British darts player Luke Littler had won the PDC World Darts Championship (before he actually did)Read More →
Howard Marks, a widely respected value investor and co-founder of Oaktree Capital Management, recently issued a memo highlighting several cautionary signs of a potential bubble in the stock market. Marks, who famously foresaw the dot-com bubble, pointed out that today’s high market valuations could lead to poor returns over theRead More →
The annual inflation rate in euro zone increased for the consecutive month reaching 2.4% in December 2024, according to the statistics released on Tuesday 7th January 2024 by Eurostat The reading, according to economists’ forecasts, indicated an increase from a revised 2.2% figure in November 2024. Core inflation remained steadyRead More →
As we head into 2025, the landscape of artificial intelligence (AI) regulation is poised to undergo significant changes, and these shifts are likely to have a profound impact on the stock markets. The introduction of new regulations, particularly in regions like the European Union and the United States, will createRead More →
Hybrid-powered vehicles are becoming more popular than battery-only ones in China, according to latest full-year reports, even as consumers move away from fossil-fuel-only cars. Market leader BYD reported that well over half of the 4.3 million passenger cars it sold in 2024 were hybrid-powered, marking a significant reversal from 2023.Read More →
The S&P 500 index witnessed big gains right from the start of 2024. In the first quarter of the year, it jumped up 10.20%. That’s around more than 10 times its average gain since 2000. However, the momentum couldn’t be sustained as the S&P added 3.9% and 5.5% in theRead More →
The advent of quantum computing presents both opportunities and challenges for the field of cryptography, especially in relation to cryptocurrencies. Quantum computers, leveraging the principles of quantum mechanics, have the potential to revolutionise computing by solving certain problems significantly faster than classical computers. One of the primary concerns is theRead More →
Revised official figures indicate that the UK economy was weaker than initially estimated between July and September 2024. The economy experienced zero growth in these three months, down from an earlier estimate of 0.1%. UK Chancellor, Rachel Reeves reportedly stated that the challenge to fix the economy “after 15 yearsRead More →
The PCE price index, the Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, showed an increase of just 0.1% from October and a 2.4% annual rate – which was below expectations. Excluding food and energy, core PCE also increased 0.1% monthly and was 2.8% higher from a year ago, with both readings being 0.1%Read More →
Russia’s central bank on Friday 20th December 2024 left its key interest rates unchanged at 21% surprising markets The central bank reportedly cited monetary tightness as Moscow wages an ongoing battle with sky-high inflation. What is the rate of inflation in Russia As of November 2024, the rate of inflationRead More →
Google released the first version of its Gemini 2.0 family of artificial intelligence models in December 2024 Gemini 2.0 Flash, as the model is named is available in a chat version for users worldwide, while experimental multimodal version of the model, with text-to-speech image generation capabilities, available to developers. ‘If GeminiRead More →
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) cut its borrowing rate to a range of 4.25% – 4.50%, mirroring its December 2022 level. The Fed indicated that it probably would only lower twice more in 2025, according to the closely watched ‘dot plot’ matrix of individual members’ future rate expectations WhileRead More →
The Dow Industrial Average dropped 1,123 points to 42,326.87, marking its 10th consecutive day of decline and the longest since 1974. The Dow is lining up for potentially its worst weekly performance since March 2023. The S&P 500 fell 2.95% to 5,872.16, while the Nasdaq Composite decreased 3.56% 19,392.69 asRead More →
The UK inflation rate has gone up for the second month in a row, rising at the fastest pace since March 2024. The UK inflation rate rose to 2.6% in the year to November 2024, according to official figures. However, the rise was predicted by economists and was apparently withinRead More →
On Tuesday 17th December 2024, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 0.61%, completing a nine-day losing streak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average has recently experienced its longest losing streak since the 1970’s – 1978 to be precise. The index has suffered nine consecutive days of declines. This downward trend began on 4th December,Read More →
Nvidia recently entered correction territory, with its stock falling over 10% from its peak. This decline comes after a robust rally fueled by investor excitement around AI technology. Despite Nvidia’s slip, the Nasdaq Composite continues to soar to new highs, driven by strong performances from other tech giants like Apple,Read More →
Apple has finally rolled out updates for iPhone on Wednesday 11th December 2024, iPad, and Mac software, featuring the highly anticipated ChatGPT integration with Siri. The integration is activated when Siri is posed with complex questions. If a question is deemed more suitable for ChatGPT by Apple’s software, Siri willRead More →
OpenAI, which gained widespread attention last year due to the popularity of ChatGPT, initially announced Sora in February 2024, it has now been rolled out to users in the U.S. and other countries during the week commencing Monday 9th December 2024. The AI video-generation model operates similarly to OpenAI image-generationRead More →
The U.K. economy contracted unexpectedly in October 2024, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Gross Domestic Product (GDP) fell by an estimated 0.1% on a monthly basis, the ONS said Friday 13th December 2024, attributing the downturn to a decline in production output. It marked the second consecutiveRead More →