Author: Press Room

The writer was governor of the Bank of England from 2003 to 2013Fifteen years ago, the collapse of the western banking system led to the adoption of thousands of pages of complex regulations. Yet here we are in the middle of another crisis of confidence in banks. Silicon Valley Bank and Credit Suisse had idiosyncratic problems. In the latter case, weak regulation and procrastination by the Swiss authorities exacerbated the problem. In the former, contagion affected other small banks.Banks are inherently fragile — they transform short-term and safe funding into long-term and risky lending. This is the alchemy of the…

For the past 20 years — ever since UK companies started closing their “final salary” pension schemes to new members, and then closing altogether to existing members — headlines have announced the death of defined benefit pensions.Defined benefit — where employers guarantee an inflation-linked pension for life — has been replaced with defined contribution — a glorified savings plan, with no guarantees.The Parliamentary Work and Pensions Committee is holding an inquiry into private sector DB pensions, and the submission deadline has just closed.What conclusions should MPs — with generous DB pensions guaranteed by taxpayers — reach? Is private sector DB…

Source: Adobe StockAsset management giant Franklin Templeton has announced that it is setting up a second blockchain fund, after first entering the crypto market in 2021.Franklin Templeton Blockchain Fund II, which is the official name of the new fund, will be a private equity fund with a minimum investment amount of $100,000, according to an SEC filing.The rather high minimum investment amount indicates that the firm with its new fund is targeting institutional investors and high-net worth individuals.The new fund differs from the firm’s first blockchain fund, a venture capital fund with investments focused on the 10-15 largest digital assets.The…

More than 20 years after scientists first released a draft sequence of the human genome, the book of life has been given a long-overdue rewrite.A more accurate and inclusive edition of our genetic code was published on Wednesday, marking a major step toward a deeper understanding of human biology and personalized medicine for people from a wide range of racial and ethnic backgrounds.Unlike the previous reference — which was largely based on the DNA of one mixed-race man from Buffalo, with inputs from a few dozen other individuals, mostly of European descent — the new “pangenome” incorporates near-complete genetic sequences…

Rohan Doctor, CEO and founder of LouisaSource: Goldman SachsGoldman Sachs, known more for its Wall Street bankers than its technology, has just spun out the first startup from its internal incubator. The company, a networking platform for employees called Louisa, was funded and owned by the New York-based investment bank until a few weeks ago, when it became independent, according to founder-CEO Rohan Doctor.Now Doctor is hustling to grow his client base beyond the confines of Goldman, whose employees have used Louisa for the past two and a half years. The software automatically creates user profiles from an employer’s databases…

“Succession” is ending. So what’s next for Jeremy Strong? He’s returning to Broadway.Strong, whose celebrity has skyrocketed with his portrayal of the scheming Kendall Roy in HBO’s “Succession,” will star next year in a Broadway revival of the classic play “An Enemy of the People.” Strong will portray the title character, Dr. Thomas Stockmann, a physician who becomes a pariah when he decides to reveal that the water in local spa baths is contaminated.The play was written in 1882 by Henrik Ibsen and has been staged on Broadway 10 times, most recently in 2012. There have been other New York…

Dolly Parton has announced an album due Nov. 17, “Rockstar,” that will be full of remakes of hits, often joined by the original performers. But she also brought some songs of her own including this one, her worried, indignant assessment of a “World on Fire” that’s full of lies and conflict. It’s Dolly gone arena-rock goth, with power-chord blasts and martial drums. A gospelly bridge asks, “Can’t we rise above/Can’t we show some love?,” but then it’s back to minor chords as Parton belts her best intentions — “Let’s heal the hurt/let kindness work” — against a grim, stomping, “We…

England has long relied on imported players, imported coaches, imported best practices. Now it’s trying something new for a change.

NBCUniversal global advertising chief Linda Yaccarino has resigned to join Twitter as its next chief executive.Twitter owner Elon Musk confirmed the hire in a tweet Friday.”I am excited to welcome Linda Yaccarino as the new CEO of Twitter!” Musk tweeted. He said she “will focus primarily on business operations, while I focus on product design & new technology.”He added: “Looking forward to working with Linda to transform this platform into X, the everything app.”The announcement comes a day after Musk said via Twitter he would step down from the role and that there would be a new CEO of the…

The problem: Their trip was not technically “interrupted,” since they spent all 18 nights aboard. Several times in my conversations with insurance executives I heard the phrase “You’re not covered for loss of enjoyment,” but I imagined this applying to a week of rain at a Caribbean resort, not an Antarctic cruise that never makes it to Antarctica.I also heard from a reader named Alan, of Vaughan, Ontario, about a nightmarish return from Vancouver to Toronto during last Christmas season’s storms. After three WestJet flights were canceled and another delayed, all because of the weather, the next flight they were…