Month: June 2023

Specialty insurance market welcomes “ground-breaking” new law

by admin on June 30, 2023 in Business Breaking News

Specialty insurance market welcomes “ground-breaking” new law | Insurance Business UK

CEO says focus must now shift to ensuring speedy implementation

Insurance News

By
Terry Gangcuangco

The Financial Services and Markets Act 2023, which the UK government described as a ground-breaking law, has been welcomed by the specialty insurance market.

Granted Royal Assent on Thursday, the Financial Services and Markets Bill was introduced in the House of Commons in July 2022 to tailor financial services regulation to fit UK markets following Brexit. Aside from new powers that will set the path for reforms to Solvency II, the law consists of new secondary objectives for the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority.

“2023 is proving to be a banner year for reforming our financial services,” Economic Secretary to the Treasury Andrew Griffith said in a release. “This landmark piece of legislation gives us control of our financial services rulebook, so it supports UK businesses and consumers and drives growth.

“By repealing old EU (European Union) laws set in Brussels, it will unlock billions in investment – cash that can unlock innovation and grow the economy.”

“Important changes”

Commenting on the development, the London Market Group (LMG) said it welcomes the Royal Assent on behalf of the specialty insurance market, noting that the Act closely reflects the measures the trade body has asked for over the last 18 months.

“We want to thank the MPs and peers who have supported our campaign and the work they have undertaken to make these changes happen,” stated the LMG in an emailed release. “This Bill, together with

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Top Investment Areas That Can Help Businesses Combat Economic Volatility and Catapult Their Growth

by admin on June 30, 2023 in Business Investment News

73% of businesses prioritizing AI, financial technologies, and expanding e-commerce over next 12 months

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., June 22, 2023–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Despite today’s challenging macroeconomic landscape, the majority of businesses (73%) are prioritizing AI, financial technologies, and expanding e-commerce solutions with an average investment of $45,000 to $142,000 in technology tools to help drive growth and success – up an average of $10,000 from 2022.

The findings are from a new survey of businesses released today from Intuit Inc. (Nasdaq: INTU), the global financial technology platform that makes Intuit TurboTax, Credit Karma, QuickBooks, and Mailchimp. The survey reveals critical areas where small and larger businesses are planning to invest and the potential growth impact of these investments.

As businesses grow, managing finances and accounting (39%), lacking time to complete important tasks (35%), and dealing with customer related issues (33%) are the top challenges faced by their owners. To address these challenges, business owners want solutions that can streamline and automate their operations (38%) and give greater visibility into financial performance (37%).

Unlocking the Value of AI
Essential to their short and long term success, adoption of AI-based tools is top of mind with 35% of small businesses saying they will lack the time to complete important tasks as their business grows.

Common AI investments: The most common AI-based tools small business owners plan to adopt in the next 12 months include solutions for marketing and content creation (34%) and analyzing consumer trends and behaviors (32%), and customer service support (31%).
Operational tasks ripe for disruption by AI: The top five business operations that owners wish to automate are: expense management (69%), invoicing (68%), completing payroll (51%), running financial health reports (47%), and conducting customer communications (30%).
The AI payoff: The time saved by automating

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The Online News Act may let Meta and Google decide winners and losers in the media industry | What’s New in Publishing

by admin on June 30, 2023 in Business Google News

We examined policy documents and interviewed news media executives about their experience of negotiating with the platforms. What we found wasn’t all good news.

The Online News Act, Bill C-18, was barely a few hours old when Meta announced it will soon start blocking Canadians from accessing and sharing news on Facebook, Instagram and all of its platforms.

The act is meant to change the way journalism in Canada is funded by requiring tech giants like Meta and Google to bargain with Canadian media businesses for using news content on their platforms. The Parliamentary Budget Office has estimated news organizations could share a total compensation of $329 million annually.

But Meta explained its decision to block news by saying journalism content contributes a pittance to the company’s annual earnings — and so it would be easier to pull news altogether than comply with the legislation.

The Online News act was modelled on Australia’s News Media Bargaining Code (NMBC), legislation that was the first to compel Meta and Google to pay for third-party news content on their sites.

Since the NMBC was passed in 2021, other countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, South Africa and Brazil, have considered imposing similar laws.

But it looks as though Canada will be the first to succeed in implementing legislation that Ottawa says will “improve” on the Australian code.

Meta’s predictable response

For Australians watching the legislation proceed through the Canadian Parliament, Meta’s actions seem to signal a case of history repeating.

Meta acted in much the same way while the NMBC was being debated, blocking Australians from accessing or posting news content. The ban included links to both Australian and international news publications — and even charities, emergency services and Australian government Facebook pages, such as

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How are Iranian Americans impacting U.S. business? | Opinion

by admin on June 29, 2023 in American Business News

As we celebrate America’s independence in July, let us highlight the significant contributions of immigrants who have woven the fabric of the United States since its founding. They have played a vital role in building our country, working in all sectors of the economy from agriculture to technology.

Iranian Americans serve as a powerful testament to the positive impact that immigrants can have on our country. The Iranian diaspora in the United States is a vibrant and successful community, estimated to be around 1 million individuals. To Americans, they serve as a window into Iran, while for Iranians residing in the country, they represent successful examples of their compatriots in the United States.

From Silicon Valley to UCLA, Stanford University and Princeton University, Iranian Americans contribute to the economy of our country by leading major technology firms, holding positions in prestigious universities and owning small businesses.

Successful Iranian American businessmen in Utah have made remarkable contributions to our state. Khosrow Semnani founded the Maliheh Free Clinic, which provides high-quality, same-day urgent medical care to those in the greatest need. Hamid Adib supports hundreds of children through the Heal Child Skin Disease Foundation. And Mehdi Heravi, an alumnus of Utah State University, made generous donations to establish the Heravi Peace Institute at the university.

These individuals are a part of the national picture of successful Iranian Americans who have enriched our country and contributed to the positive perception of Iranian Americans in the United States.

A 2008 report by the Small Business Administration found that Iranian Americans had a business ownership rate of 21.5%, significantly higher than the national average of 18.3%. The report also revealed that Iranian Americans earned a total of $2.56 billion in net business income.

It is likely that these numbers are even higher

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Frozen Meat Market Size analysis 2023, Strategic Investment Plans, Business Opportunities, Growth, Challenges upto 2030

by admin on June 29, 2023 in Business Investment News

Report Description:

Coherent Market Insights added the statistic report, titled “Frozen Meat Market Recent Trends, In-depth Analysis, Size and Forecast 2023-2030”. The Frozen Meat report includes an overview of the competitive landscape, geographic segmentation, innovation, and future developments, as well as a collection of tables and data. An examination of the competitive landscape reveals information about each vendor, including company profile, total revenue (financials), market potential, global presence, revenue, market share, pricing, locations of production facilities, and the introduction of new products. To learn about the various aspects of the organization, this report uses exploratory approaches like primary and secondary research. It provides a valuable data source that supports challenging business decisions. The research analyst provides a thorough breakdown of the various industry sectors.

Ask Us to Get Your Sample Copy Of The Report, Covering TOC and Regional Analysis @ – https://www.coherentmarketinsights.com/insight/request-sample/2576

The research also offers a thorough analysis of the key market components, including drivers, challenges, opportunities, restrictions, risks, and micro and macroeconomic factors. The next section, which focuses on industry trends, discusses market drivers and major market trends. The research provides production and capacity analysis that takes into account marketing pricing trends, industry capacity, production, and production value. This study examines the market in addition to its primary geographies, market segments, and recent industry trends. The report’s thorough SWOT analysis, Porter’s Five Forces analysis, feasibility analysis, and investment return analysis are all meant to assist the reader in deftly developing corporate growth strategies. In order to strengthen their financial position in the industry, established market players can benefit from strategic recommendations.

Important Features that are under Offering Market Highlights of the Reports:

⋆ Detailed Overview of this Market
⋆ Changes in industry market dynamics
⋆ Detailed market segmentation by type, application, etc.
⋆ The historical, current,

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Canada’s Online News Act Targets Facebook and Google

by admin on June 29, 2023 in Business Google News

The Canadian Parliament has passed a law that will require technology companies to pay domestic news outlets for linking to their articles, prompting the owner of Facebook and Instagram to say that it would pull news articles from both platforms in the country.

The law, passed on Thursday, is the latest salvo in a push by governments around the world to force big companies like Google and Facebook to pay for news that they share on their platforms — a campaign that the companies have resisted at virtually every turn.

With some caveats, the new Canadian law would force search engines and social media companies to engage in a bargaining process — and binding arbitration, if necessary — for licensing news content for their use.

The law, the Online News Act, was modeled after a similar one that passed in Australia two years ago. It was designed to “enhance fairness in the Canadian digital news marketplace and contribute to its sustainability,” according to an official summary. Exactly when the law would take effect was not immediately clear as of Friday morning.

Supporters of the legislation see it as a victory for the news media, as it fights to make up for plummeting advertising revenue that it attributes to Silicon Valley companies cornering the market for online advertising.

“A strong, independent and free press is fundamental to our democracy,” Pablo Rodriguez, the minister of Canadian heritage in Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government, wrote on Twitter late Thursday. “The Online News Act will help make sure tech giants negotiate fair and equitable deals with news organizations.”

Tech companies feel differently.

Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, had previously warned lawmakers that it would stop making news available on both platforms for Canadian users if the legislation passed. The company said

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US banks push back as regulators prepare international capital hikes

by admin on June 28, 2023 in American Business News

[1/2]The logo for Morgan Stanley is seen on the trading floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in Manhattan, New York City, U.S., August 3, 2021. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly/File Photo

WASHINGTON, June 22 (Reuters) – U.S. banks are pushing to soften a major regulatory proposal to hike bank capital requirements, worried it could prove too onerous, especially for lenders still reeling from the March banking crisis, according to six people briefed on the matter.

Bank regulators led by the U.S. Federal Reserve are finalizing the proposal which would implement international capital standards agreed by the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision in the aftermath of the 2007-2009 financial crisis.

Bankers are particularly concerned by an aspect of the draft proposal that would apply higher capital charges on non-interest revenue, such as the fees lenders charge on credit cards or investment banking services.

That capital charge is part of the package agreed by the Basel Committee in 2017, but the industry says it overstates the risk for banks that have a high proportion of non-interest income and had hoped U.S. regulators would mitigate its impact, the people said.

Bank groups are pushing for regulators to cap the proportion of assets on which such charges would apply, said three people, but it was unclear if the agencies would take that approach.

Non-interest services income has been a key focus of many lenders’ growth strategies in recent years, one industry official noted.

American Express (AXP.N), Morgan Stanley (MS.N) and the U.S. units of UBS, Deutsche Bank and Barclays are among banks with a high proportion of non-interest income, according to a 2022 blog by Washington group the Bank Policy Institute.

Barclays, Deutsche Bank, and Morgan Stanley declined to comment. UBS and American Express did not immediately provide comment.

On Wednesday, Fed Chair Jerome

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Scale of rate hike is shock therapy for UK’s inflation problem | Business News

by admin on June 28, 2023 in Business Breaking News

Blimey.

The Bank of England was always going to increase its Bank rate this month. But every economist had expected only a quarter percentage point increase.

There was good reason for this.

Although inflation data had been higher than expected this week, the bank had been slowing down the rate at which it was lifting borrowing costs. So too had its counterpart central banks around the world, most notably the Federal Reserve in the US and the European Central Bank.

Typically a quarter percentage point increase is considered a “normal” increase. And while some investors had begun to bet on a bigger rate increase this month, most people expected another normal increase.

Well, the bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC) has surprised them with a bigger increase.

It’s a sign, if any were needed, of just how worried it is about inflation, which looks like it is becoming dangerously sticky.

The stickier it gets, the harder inflation is to bring down, hence why the bank is taking this more radical step.

It is a form of shock therapy that it hopes will send out a clear message: when it comes to inflation-fighting, it’s not messing around.

The problem is that some will depict it as a form of panic.

The bank has been roundly criticised for failing to forecast the sharp increase in inflation in the last couple of years. It has been criticised for being too slow to respond. Now it is responding far more quickly, but some will argue that this is a problem of its own making.

And an increase like this will have a bearing on households. For as economic tools go, interest rates are a particularly blunt instrument.

Cutting

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UK needs pension ‘superfunds’ to drive business investment, says think-tank

by admin on June 28, 2023 in Business Investment News

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Britain needs to overhaul its pension system to create “superfunds” that can take controlling stakes in large companies and drive business investment, a leading think-tank has argued.

A long-term decline in capital spending by UK businesses is a key reason why living standards have not improved in line with those of other rich countries, according to economists.

The Resolution Foundation said in a report published on Thursday that managers needed to be put under more pressure by shareholders and employees to invest for the long term.

Although the UK’s weak investment is often blamed on Brexit or an unfavourable tax regime, the think-tank said the main reason was that too few managers wanted to invest, despite good rates of return.

It noted that ownership of listed companies was dispersed and largely based outside the UK, while workers did not have the formal role in corporate governance common elsewhere in Europe. This meant UK managers were under “uniquely little pressure . . . to focus on long-term growth”.

“Too few British firms have large shareholders with a clear incentive and ability to hold management to account for having a long-term growth strategy,” the think-tank said.

The Resolution Foundation urged ministers to launch a series of reforms to encourage consolidation in the pensions industry, creating a smaller number of larger, actively managed funds that could take big enough stakes in listed companies to engage with management and influence strategy.

One measure to help with this consolidation would be to allow the UK’s Pension Protection Fund, which currently absorbs pension funds when an employer becomes insolvent, to buy out legacy defined benefit pension schemes that are often sold to

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Is American Culture Becoming More Pro-Business?

by admin on June 27, 2023 in American Business News

In Capitalism: Hollywood’s Miscast Villain, a piece I wrote in 2010 for the Wall Street Journal, I described the slew of movies and television shows featuring mass-murdering corporate villains including “The Fugitive,” “Syriana,” “Mission Impossible II,” “Erin Brockovich,” “The China Syndrome” and “Avatar,” and Hollywood’s not so subtle attacks on capitalism with characters like Jabba the Hut in the Star Wars universe and the Ferengi in Star Trek. I explained some reasons for Hollywood’s antipathy to capitalism:

Directors and screenwriters see the capitalist as a constraint, a force that prevents them from fulfilling their vision. In turn, the capitalist sees the artist as self-indulgent. Capitalists work hard to produce what consumers want. Artists who work too hard to produce what consumers want are often accused of selling out. Thus even the languages of capitalism and art conflict: a firm that has “sold out” has succeeded, but an artist that has “sold out” has failed.

…Hollywood share[s] Marx’s concept of alienation, the idea that under capitalism workers are separated from the product of their work and made to feel like cogs in a machine rather than independent creators. The lowly screenwriter is a perfect illustration of what Marx had in mind—a screenwriter can pour heart and soul into a screenplay only to see it rewritten, optioned, revised, reworked, rewritten again and hacked, hacked and hacked by a succession of directors, producers and worst of all studio executives. A screenwriter can have a nominally successful career in Hollywood without ever seeing one of his works brought to the screen. Thus, the antipathy of filmmakers to capitalism is less ideological than it is experiential. Screenwriters and directors find themselves in a daily battle between art and commerce, and they come to see their battle against “the suits” as emblematic of a larger war

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