Iwould like to enumerate what I’m thankful for in technology. I know, it sure doesn’t feel like there are many things to feel good about. Tech tools have allowed misinformation, bullying and social division to spread like a virus. They have empowered tyrants and monsters, and created an underclass of impossible jobs. Some days I want to do a Road …
Read More »Sky plans new UK studio for online streaming war
Bloomberg Sky plans to build a major new studio in the UK, as the global streaming war forces media companies to secure more space for upcoming productions. Comcast Corp’s European pay-TV business will build 14 sound stages on a 32-acre (13-hectare) site north of London, the company said in a statement, without disclosing the cost. The development would be on …
Read More »Robot vacuums are the big hit, says Kohl’s CEO
Bloomberg Move over, Instant Pots. Robot vacuums are also now at the top of the most-sought after items this holiday season, according to Kohl’s Corp Chief Executive Officer Michelle Gass. Their popularity was “a litttle bit more surprising,†Gass said in an interview. “We’re seeing a lot of demand this year for vacuums. There’s a lot of innovation, there’s a …
Read More »The loneliness of a highbrow teenage songwriting robot
Bloomberg Meet Yona. She loves reading Margaret Atwood and articles about teenage life and sings about loneliness and relationships on her newly released track. If this sounds a bit scripted, that’s because it is: Yona’s not human. Yona has been created by London-based company Auxuman and trained using artificial intelligence (AI), fed on music and literature, and learning from reactions …
Read More »German banks to charge retail clients for savings
Bloomberg After five years of negative rates imposed by the European Central Bank (ECB), German lenders are breaking the last taboo: Charging retail clients for their savings starting with very first euro in the their accounts. While many banks have been passing on negative rates to retail clients for some time, they have typically only done so for deposits of …
Read More »â€˜Thailand has options to curb baht strength’
Bloomberg The Bank of Thailand said it has many tools left to manage capital inflows to curb the local currency’s strength, which is hurting growth prospects in the Southeast Asian economy. The scope and speed of the baht’s appreciation is out of line with economic fundamentals such as the current-account surplus, Don Nakornthab, a senior director in the central bank’s …
Read More »World Bank sees Tanzania growth rising to 5.6%
Bloomberg The World Bank sees Tanzania’s economic growth accelerating to 5.6% this year from an estimated 5.4% in 2018, driven by a recovery in exports and growing tourist arrivals. The rate of expansion will also quicken to 5.8% in 2020 and 6.1% in the following year, it said in a report published on Tuesday. “Tanzania was again one of the …
Read More »UniCredit pushes bank job cuts past 70k mark
Bloomberg UniCredit SpA’s plan to eliminate 8,000 jobs is pushing cuts announced by banks this year past 73,000, almost all of them in Europe, where negative interest rates and a slowing economy force lenders to slash costs. Chief Executive Officer Jean Pierre Mustier announced the measures as part of the next, four-year chapter in his overhaul of Italy’s largest bank. …
Read More »Most valuable Indian lender sees signs of a rural revival
Bloomberg HDFC Bank Ltd, India’s most valuable lender by market capitalisation, sees tentative signs of a revival in rural areas at a time when the wider economy is sputtering. “The recent loan outreach programmes underway in rural areas have given us the sense that the consumption in rural and semi-urban areas is turning more positive,†HDFC Bank Executive Director Kaizad …
Read More »Philippine seeks tough anti-money laundering laws
Bloomberg Financial regulators are pushing for legal changes in order to avoid the Philippines being placed on a global monitoring list for countries with weak anti-money laundering and terrorism financing controls. The government needs to implement the changes by October or risk being placed on a “grey†list by the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force, the Philippines Anti-Money Laundering Council …
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