NatWest goof is a boon for sketchy bank clients 21 Jul 2023 The UK lender’s CEO apologised to right-wing talking head Nigel Farage amid an account-closure row. Britain will now force banks to respect freedom of expression. Yet that may make it harder to ditch other, more problematic clients – and weaken the fight against money laundering.
How to breathe life into zombie office property 18 Jul 2023 Lenders are steering clear of buildings that face reckonings from remote working, pushing prices down. In this Exchange podcast, real estate investor Scott Rechler argues that it will take financial and civic engagement to make empty space desirable for living – and investing.
In US, strike now or forever hold your peace 17 Jul 2023 Hollywood’s first joint walkout by writers and actors in six decades adds to a year riven by strikes. A hot labor market strengthened workers’ hands, but as hiring slows, bosses will reassert themselves. That could prompt more employees to flex their power while they still can.
Venture capital has female entrepreneur black spot 11 Jul 2023 Companies founded by women get at best 3% of venture money each year. That’s a sign investors are not allocating capital wisely and missing lucrative deals, Loyal VC founding partner Kamal Hassan tells The Exchange podcast. It’s time to change the venture playbook.
Capital Calls: Digital euro, Thames Water 28 Jun 2023 Concise views on global finance: Brussels is in a new push to convince EU member states and the European Parliament to endorse a digital euro; Britain’s Thames Water could be placed into special administration.
AI’s deflationary winds will blow away profits 27 Jun 2023 Artificial intelligence could add $8 trln a year to world GDP, McKinsey estimates, defying the gloom about robots replacing humans. Though companies should benefit from lower costs, consumers could use the technology to find better deals. It all adds up to lower prices.
Why backing prevention can yield better health 27 Jun 2023 Treating illnesses like cancer consumes 11% of global GDP, according to the World Health Organization. In this Exchange podcast, Dr. Katie Tryon, director of healthcare strategy at Vitality, explains that overburdened care systems need to spend their way back into shape.
Ukraine’s push for speedy rebuild faces obstacles 23 Jun 2023 Kyiv is keen to put aid money to work on an early start of the reconstruction effort. Foreign donors and investors remain wary of the war dangers. A scheme to insure those risks could speed up things, but going too fast could also compromise Ukraine’s long-term recovery effort.
Interest rates have broken the global wealth pump 23 Jun 2023 The world has been through a second Gilded Age where the rich got richer, helped by ultra-low interest rates. In the past, such episodes ended in revolution or civil war. This time, higher borrowing costs can bring about a painful but peaceful transition, says Edward Chancellor.
Credit-card crackdown will net limited rewards 22 Jun 2023 Over 80% of Americans have one, yet plastic’s complexity rivals financial derivatives. A Biden administration plan to cut late fees to $8 sounds like a step toward simplicity and a savvy vote-winner. Banks will probably be no worse off, however, and consumers scantly better.
Crypto is dead: long live crypto! 16 Jun 2023 Already reeling from fraud and falling prices, cryptocurrencies suffered a fatal blow with US charges against two leading exchanges. Yet Felix Martin argues that the demise of speculative digital tokens may help revive their original purpose as private global currencies.
Lessons from the original Industrial Revolution 9 Jun 2023 There’s much excitement that automation will unleash a new era of innovation. Yet in Britain, which led the first transformation of the industrial era, growth has stalled. Policymakers should study the conditions which sparked previous economic success, writes Edward Chancellor.
Pampered pets unleash booming market 6 Jun 2023 The pet craze brought on by the pandemic has become a boon for companies that sell products to dog-loving owners. FidoCure founder Christina Lopes explains to The Exchange podcast how this might be able to help humans, too.
Stingy European savers will help the ECB, not LVMH 6 Jun 2023 Euro zone citizens have 1 trln euros in pandemic-era savings. Unlike their US peers, they are unlikely to splash the cash in malls and restaurants. That’s bad news for retailers and service providers, but it will help Frankfurt’s rate-setters slow the economy and cool inflation.
Pricey services are weary ratesetters’ last battle 1 Jun 2023 The rising costs of flights, restaurants and concerts are hampering central bank efforts to drag consumer price inflation back down to 2%. In the US the post-pandemic consumption boom is fading. In Europe and the UK, though, higher wages are prolonging the fight.
Summer vote can dissipate Spain’s economic clouds 31 May 2023 Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is gambling on a snap general election after a rout in local polls. Frictions within his ruling coalition irked voters. Strong popular backing would give him the mandate to tackle the country’s fiscal woes, pension costs and high unemployment.
‘Greedflation’ loosens its grip on food retailers 24 May 2023 Suppliers like Unilever and Kraft Heinz are easing inflation-busting price rises that hit grocers hard. That will benefit profit margins at the likes of Kroger and Carrefour. Their next challenge will be convincing cash-strapped consumers to pay, and buy, more in supermarkets.
AI boom could expose investors’ natural stupidity 19 May 2023 Corporate leaders and money managers are jumping on the artificial intelligence bandwagon. The study of behavioural economics suggests people are easily carried away by hype. Some of the limits of human reason may also apply to supposedly smart machines, writes Felix Martin.
Why the jobs market could brush off AI threat 16 May 2023 Hiring seems to be waning in the US and Europe. Yet in this Exchange podcast, recruitment boss Sander van ’t Noordende strikes a hopeful note. The Randstad CEO explains why artificial intelligence and a possible economic slump are doing nothing to dampen demand for talent.
AI offers leisure, if not happiness 12 May 2023 Technology has outpaced economic growth for 50 years, while workers have long traded higher productivity for more leisure. These trends will continue as artificial intelligence automates more jobs. The salient question is how to distribute the gains – and the free time.