Please just carry on and go about your day-to-day business as usual…
‘Nothing to worry about here – everything is just fine and under control!’
UK pound closes in on a six month low
According to the latest data, 1.00 GBP is equal to 1.22 USD
This means that one British pound can buy 1.22 U.S. dollars at the current market rate. The exchange rate fluctuates depending on various factors such as supply and demand, interest rates, inflation, trade balance, and political stability.
Weak against U.S. dollar
The British pound has been weakening against the U.S. dollar since the Brexit referendum in 2016, when the UK voted to leave the European Union. The uncertainty and instability caused by the Brexit process have reduced the confidence and attractiveness of the British currency in the global market. The U.S. dollar, on the other hand, has been strengthening due to its status as a safe haven and a reserve currency in times of crisis.
In September 2022 the pound fell to its lowest level against the U.S. dollar
- Excessive government spending and tax cuts that undermined confidence in the UK economy.
- Price caps and record high inflation that eroded the purchasing power of the pound.
- The strength of the dollar as a safe haven currency amid global uncertainty.
- The prospect of a new Scottish independence referendum that increased political risk.
- The impact of the Covid pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict on supply chains and trade.
Artwork of GBP
September 2022
The pound reached $1.0327 at one point in late September 2022, its lowest since Britain went decimal in 1971. It also fell more than 1% against the euro to about 86.80p, its lowest level since May 2020.
Today, 22nd Septmber 2023
The current exchange rate of 1.22 USD per GBP is near the lowest point in the last 30 and 90 days, which was 1.2383 USD per GBP.
The highest point in the same period was 1.3128 USD per GBP. The average exchange rate in the last 30 days was 1.2563 USD per GBP, and in the last 90 days was 1.2721 USD per GB pound.
Pound Sterling from 2012 – 2023
Introducing the UK magic message government lectern
‘Have you noticed everytime the government needs to persuade the public that their ‘message’ is so super important – they roll out the magic message lectern”.
Other important messages
And this…
And this one…
The latest government slogan… ‘LONG-TERM DECISIONS FOR A BRIGHTER FUTURE’
Let’s roll out the advertisements to persuade the UK public the government knows best… again.
They convinced me!
Not!
It’s a joke!
The UK government is trying to peruade the public that the recent Sunak climate rollback decision is a good thing… ‘LONG-TERM DECISIONS FOR A BRIGHTER FUTURE’
Who are the kidding?
‘Time is a game played beautifully by children’.
Heraclitus
Heraclitus was an ancient Greek pre-Socratic philosopher from the city of Ephesus, which was then part of the Persian Empire. Little is known of Heraclitus’s life. He wrote a single work, only fragments of which have survived.
Cathie Wood and Ark Invest company STOCK WATCH
Tech’ investor and disruptor
Cathie Wood is an American investor and the founder, CEO and CIO of ARK Invest, an investment management firm that focuses on disruptive innovation. She is known for her bullish views on Tesla, DeepMind, and many other AI companies.
DeepMind and Tesla
Cathie Wood is a fan of DeepMind, an artificial intelligence research lab acquired by Google in 2014 and founded in 2010. She reportedly says it is ‘one of the best AI companies in the world’ and that the ‘AI revolution’ will ‘change everything’.
She also says that Tesla is the ‘biggest AI opportunity in the world’ today. She believes that Tesla has a huge advantage in data collection and innovation, and that it has just started its growth potential.
Additionally, Cathie Wood has been betting on other AI stocks, such as C3.ai, UiPath, Exact Sciences, and Upstart. She thinks these companies have strong prospects in various fields, such as cloud computing, automation, healthcare, and lending.
British-American AI DeepMind
DeepMind is a British-American artificial intelligence research lab that is a subsidiary of Google. It was founded in 2010 and acquired by Google in 2014. DeepMind is known for creating neural network models that can learn how to play video games, solve complex problems, and mimic human intelligence. Some of its famous products are AlphaGo, AlphaZero, AlphaFold, and Flamingo.
Mission
DeepMind’s mission is to ‘solve intelligence and use it to make the world a better place‘. It has been involved in various fields, such as healthcare, climate change, computer systems, and board games.
DeepMind also collaborates with Google Cloud to enhance its solutions for customers
NOTE: Always do your own research!
RESEARCH! RESEARCH! RESEARCH!
Spacecraft to return from asteroid mission with precious cargo
NASA mission
Osiris-Rex is a NASA mission that aims to collect and return a sample from asteroid Bennu, which is believed to be a remnant of the early solar system. The mission hopes to learn more about the origins of life on Earth and the potential for asteroid mining in the future.
Osiris-Rex stands for Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer. The spacecraft launched in 2016 and arrived at Bennu in 2018. It spent two years mapping and studying the asteroid before successfully collecting a sample of about 300 grams (10.6 ounces) of dust and rocks in October 2020.
Asteroid Bennu
Capsule
The sample capsule is now on its way back to Earth and is expected to land in Utah on September 24, 2023. Scientists are eager to analyze the material and look for clues about how the solar system formed and how organic molecules that are essential for life were delivered to Earth.
Osiris-Rex is also planning an extended mission to visit another near-Earth asteroid called Apophis in 2029. Apophis is considered a potentially hazardous asteroid because it has a small chance of hitting Earth in the future. Osiris-Rex will observe and measure Apophis to improve our understanding of its orbit and characteristics.
Nasa’s Osiris-Rex capsule will come screaming into Earth’s atmosphere on Sunday 24th September 2023 at more than 15 times the speed of a bullet.
It will make a fireball in the sky but a heat shield will protect the craft. Parachutes will then deploy to slow the descent and bring it to a gentle touchdown in Utah’s West Desert.
Bringing with it a special space cargo that may help the human race discover the origin of life.
Sampling an Asteroid
TikTok’s algorithm is failing to provide a safe and positive experience for its users and for society
TikTok is a popular social media app that allows users to create and share short videos. But, it has faced some controversies regarding its algorithm, design, and data protection.
Tiktok has issues
The company was fined $368 million in Europe for failing to protect children’s data. The Irish Data Protection Commission, which oversees TikTok’s activities in the European Union, said that the company had violated the bloc’s signature privacy law.
An investigation by the DPC found that in the latter half of 2020, TikTok’s default settings didn’t do enough to protect children’s accounts.
Anti-social app
TikTok drove online ultra online ‘frenzies’ that encouraged anti-social behaviour to spill over into the real world, a BBC Three investigation revealed.
Ex-employees said that the issue was not being tackled for fear of slowing the growth of the app’s business. These ‘frenzies’ were evidenced by interviews with former staffers, app users and BBC analysis of wider social media data. They included false murder accusations, interference in police investigations, school vandalism, and riots.
Anti-social algorithm
The algorithm and design means people are seeing videos which they wouldn’t normally be recommended – which, in turn, incentivise them to do unusual things in their own videos on the platform.
Former employees likened these frenzies to ‘wildfires’ and described them as ‘dangerous’, especially as the app’s audience can be young and impressionable.
ATM cash deposits go missing at NatWest
NatWest customers reported money missing from their accounts after making a cash deposit. The bank has said an issue with its cash deposit machines has been now resolved
Customers shared their concerns on social media on Thursday 21st September 2023 that recently-deposited cash was not showing up in their account balance.
Early on Friday 22nd September 2023, NatWest said the issue had been resolved and that no-one would be left out of pocket.
Some customers had reported going overdrawn because of the issue and expressed concern they would be charged fees.
In a statement, NatWest said, ‘Cash payments to a small number of accounts have been delayed and the issue is now resolved and customer accounts are being updated’.
It is unclear how many people were affected by the issue.
It is also unclear why this happened.