Author: News Room

I am always keen to shamelessly remind readers that I am a man who can ‘see around corners’, as they say. In 2018, as I handed in the last draft of ‘The Levelling’ I wrote the following regarding Russia, its broad strategy of ‘total war’ and more specifically its tactic of ‘maskirovka’… ‘Some countries, such as Russia, are already practicing war by “many means”—that is, where traditional military force is mixed with covert action, propaganda, and disinformation. The Russian doctrine of maskirovka, has roots that go back to the fourteenth-century Battle of Kulikovo and was further developed more recently, beginning…

At the start of the digital revolution, Bill Gates said that “banking is necessary; banks are not.” That was back in 1994. After 30 years of digital change disrupting dozens of industries, it’s not clear that he was right. The biggest changes in banking to date focus much more on “how” than “what.” Customers interact with banks way more often now than in the pre-digital days, but those interactions mostly consist of checking balances and moving money between accounts. It’s been 25 years since the start of the dotcom boom and not a single digital-only bank has truly hit scale…

Going to see the doctor soon? Prepare to be hounded with appointment reminders by phone. By text. By robocall. By email. And in your online “patient portal.” Doctors and dentist offices for years left a courtesy voicemail on patients’ home answering machines giving them a heads-up about their appointment. But now, medical practices are flooding patients with reminders of upcoming appointments — and warnings of cancellation penalties. The financial pressure for medical practices to keep patients from ghosting them is a major factor. Practices miss out on revenue when a patient doesn’t show up for an appointment or cancels at…

Cardano price analysis: ADA has exhibited notable resilience and growth in its price performance over the past month despite encountering intermittent corrections in its weekly chart amid a modest bearish trajectory. At present, Cardano’s price stands at $0.7073, marking a slight 2.56 percent downturn across the four charts. However, investor sentiment remains buoyant, with optimism prevailing for a potential bullish upswing in the future. The current market capitalization of Cardano stands at a robust $24.92 billion, firmly solidifying its position among the top ten digital currencies. Notably, ADA’s trading volume witnessed a notable 48% decline over the past 24 hours,…

The European Central Bank must take its time to get interest rate cuts right and will have a clearer picture of inflationary pressures in June, the institution’s chief economist told CNBC.”A lot of evidence is accumulating, but what’s also fair to say is that the transition from this holding phase, we’ve been on hold since last September since a substantial hiking cycle, we do have to take our time to get that right, from holding to dialing back restrictions,” Philip Lane told CNBC’s Steve Sedgwick on Thursday.Lane, a Governing Council member, said the euro zone central bank’s March meeting had…

1. ‘Who has happiness should hide it’In Finland, we tend to believe that if you’ve found happiness, you shouldn’t show it. Arguably, this is a strange expression. Why should you hide your smile when the world treats you well?This saying, coined by Finland’s national poet Eino Leino, stems from the modest national temperament. Overt displays of wealth and success are shunned here.For example, in Helsinki, the capital, you will rarely see fancy or expensive cars on the streets. Even the CEOs and financial sharks here tend to drive boring Volvos and Volkswagens rather than anything that would make them stick…

The G7 issued a strong joint statement warning that the international community’s response will include “new and significant measures against Iran” if the country moves ahead with sending ballistic missiles to Russia to use in its war effort against Ukraine. “We are extremely concerned about reports that Iran is considering transferring ballistic missiles and related technology to Russia after having supplied the Russian regime with UAVs, which are used in relentless attacks against the civilian population in Ukraine,” the G7 statement says. “Were Iran to proceed with providing ballistic missiles or related technology to Russia, we are prepared to respond swiftly and in a…

With the world watching, the biggest Women’s Super League game of the season between Chelsea and Arsenal was delayed due to a clash of socks, labelled “embarrassing”. The match selected for live broadcast by Sky Sports and moved to a Friday night to capture a larger evening peak-time audience was held-up for 30 minutes as both sides took to the field wearing white socks. The teams had warmed-up at a packed Stamford Bridge stadium for almost half an hour without anyone spotting the clash. It was only as kick-off approached that the match officials were alerted to the fact that…

The Federal Reserve has slowed the rate of tightening. Where once tightening would end about now, with the reduced rate it ends around the time of the U.S. presidential election. You can draw your own conclusions whether slowed tightening is good or bad for whoever is seeking the top job, but the outcome is less grind for longer. There are so many ways, visible and invisible, to tighten or loosen monetary policy; the best way to see it is in the reverse repro system, where the access money in the banking system sloshes around. When banks are in receipt of…

At the end of last week’s note on Russia’s tactic of ‘Maskirovka’ I touched on another favourite of the Kremlin, ‘kompromat’. I was tempted to mention the Ritz Carlton Moscow, the scene – allegedly – of some epic ‘kompromat’, and joke that whenever I stayed there, I was always in bed early, out of trouble as it were. One reason I got to bed early in Moscow was that I like to make early morning runs through the city, often from Red Square through Gorky Park, which I think locals found amusing as there is not much of a running…