Annual inflation in the euro zone sank to 2.4% in November 2023 from 2.9% in October 2023, data showed Thursday 30th November 2023. Core inflation was also below expectations at 3.6%. The European Central Bank has stressed that it is too early to declare victory in the 20-member euro zoneRead More →
China’s factory activity contracted for a second month in a row in November 2023. Non-manufacturing activity hit yet another new low this year, signalling that the world’s second-largest economy was still not out of the woods and may require more policy support. The official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index unexpectedly dropped slightlyRead More →
Online investments app Robinhood said Thursday 30th November 2023 that it’s set to launch its platform in the U.K. in early 2024, marking the company’s third attempt at cracking international expansion. Features on offer by the firm include the ability to choose from 6,000 U.S. stocks including Tesla, Amazon and Apple, andRead More →
It has been a turbulent time at Twitter since Musk’s acquisition and the subsequent renaming of the company to X. X is a subsidiary of X Holdings Corp., which is owned by Elon Musk. X has faced several issues and controversies since its inception, such as advertiser boycott, declining user base,Read More →
U.S. GDP figure better that forecast The U.S. economy grew even stronger than previously calculated in the third quarter, the result of better than expected business investment and stronger government spending, the Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Wednesday 29th November 2023. Gross domestic product (GDP), a measure of all goodsRead More →
Bob Marley 1945 – 1981 ‘Don’t gain the world and lose your soul; wisdom is better than silver and gold’ – Bob Marley, a reggae singer-songwriter who reminds us of the futility of chasing material things.Read More →
Some expect gold to above climb $2,500 Gold prices are on track to rally to all-time highs in 2024 on the back of interest rates increases, inflation fear, looming recessionary concerns and geo-political unrest. The precious metal is always sought after as a safe haven asset. The gold price hit aRead More →
Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced Trainium2, a chip for training artificial intelligence (AI) models, and it will also offer access to Nvidia’s next-generation H200 Tensor Core graphics processing units. Amazon’s AWS cloud department of the encompassing Amazon empire has announced new chips for customers to build and run artificial intelligenceRead More →
Spending plans outlined in the chancellor’s Autumn Statement represent ‘a very big fiscal risk’, according to the UK’s OBR. Mr Richard Hughes, chair of the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), told MPs on the Treasury Select Committee that spending plans carried a level of ‘uncertainty’. He suggested that much ofRead More →
A recent cyber-attack on CTS, a company that provides IT services to law firms and other organisations in the UK legal sector. It was reported the cyberattack occurred on Wednesday, 22nd November 2023, and caused a widespread outage that affected dozens of law firms and homebuyers. The cyberattack was reportedlyRead More →
William Shakespeare 1564 – 1616 Measure for Measure, Act 2, Scene 2. O, it is excellent to have a giant’s strength, but it is tyrannous to use it like a giant.Read More →
The governor of the Bank of England, Andrew Bailey has raised concerns over economic growth as he warned again that interest rates will not be cut in the ‘foreseeable future’. The bank boss said he was concerned over the UK economy’s potential to grow. It comes after the government’s forecasterRead More →
The first transatlantic flight using 100% sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) is scheduled to take off on Tuesday, 28th November 2023. UK Government funded project The flight is operated by Virgin Atlantic and will fly from London’s Heathrow to New York’s JFK airport. The flight is part of a UK government-funded projectRead More →
Gold prices on Monday 27th November 2023 climbed to a more than six-month high as the U.S. dollar weakened. Investors, it is reported, have placed their bets, suggesting the Federal Reserve is finished with interest rate hikes. Gold was up around 0.52% at $2,012 per ounce in early afternoon trading (LondonRead More →
Lilium is a German start-up that is developed a five-seater electric jet that can take off and land vertically. It is a flying taxi. The company aims to offer sustainable, high-speed air mobility through its aircraft, vertiports and digital service. Lilium successfully tested its prototype in 2019 and 2021 and plansRead More →
Santa rally is a term that refers to the tendency of the stock market to rise in the last week of December and the first two days of January. This is not a guaranteed or consistent pattern, and it may depend on many and various factors that affect the marketRead More →
Black Friday generated $9.8 billion in U.S. online sales, according to latest data analysis, up 7.5% from a year ago. The spending pump reflects consumers taking advantage of big deal online discounts. After Cyber Monday, sales will likely recede through the rest of the holiday season as retailer’s trim discounts.Read More →
Mahatma Gandhi 1869 – 1948 Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi – was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist and political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India’s independence from British rule.Read More →
Singapore is planning to introduce stricter regulations for cryptocurrency service providers in order to protect retail customers from the higher financial risks associated with digital assets. Some of the proposed measures Requiring crypto service providers to disclose the fees and charges for their services, as well as the risks andRead More →
It is widely reported that HSBC‘s online banking system is experiencing some problems today, 24th November 2023. According to the news reports, many customers are unable to access the app or the website or make payments. The bank has acknowledged the issue and said it is working hard to fixRead More →
The UK energy price cap is expected to rise by 5% in January 2024, which means that a typical household who pays by Direct Debit will face an annual bill of £1,931, up from £1,834 in the previous quarter. This increase comes at a “difficult period” for struggling households, asRead More →
Some of the main takeaways from the chancellor’s autumn statement November 2023 National Insurance rate cut from 12% to 10% from 6 January, affecting 27 million people. The 75% business rates discount for retail, hospitality and leisure firms in England extended for another year. Class 2 National Insurance – paidRead More →
Federal Reserve members, in their most recent meeting, gave little indication of cutting interest rates anytime soon, particularly as inflation remains well above their goal of 2%, according to minutes released Tuesday 21st November 2023. The detail of the meeting held 31st October – 1st November 2023, showed that FederalRead More →
Stan Lee 1922 – 2018 Stan Lee was an American comic book writer, editor, publisher, and producer. He rose through the ranks of a family-run business called Timely Comics which would later become Marvel Comics.Read More →
Too much power for too few Tech execs have expressed concern that the development of artificial intelligence (AI) is concentrated in the hands of too few companies, potentially giving them too much power. OpenAI’s ChatGPT marked the start of what many in the industry have called an AI arms race,Read More →
Binance is still open for business and is now being run by, Richard Teng. But who is the new boss of Binance? Mr Teng, from Singapore joined Binance just over two years ago as the chief executive of the Singapore business. That was the year when Binance came under aRead More →