Energy

July 21, 2020

The two phases of the coronavirus

July 17 marked the 200th day of counting the number of infections and deaths arising from the Covid-19 pandemic, writes Dr John Egan. This count…

June 17, 2020

Covid conundrum: interact, produce, consume, or infect

There are early signs to suggest that a coronavirus and a steam engine have enough in common to provide a useful perspective for our economic…

April 15, 2019

A changing climate boosts the political divide

The young have taken to the streets in peaceful protest showing governments that they too have a voice. The upcoming Australian election may prove them…

January 14, 2019

Maxwell’s Brexit: A case of intangible destruction

Strip away from Brexit the bitterness, debate and division and what is left – an abrupt change of circumstance with a future that is unknowable,…

December 6, 2018

Maxwell’s Consumer: seeking a sustainable world

The recent uprising of the Gilets Jaunes in France is one idiosyncratic national reaction to a global problem. But global problems demand global answers and…

November 26, 2018

Maxwell’s Entrepreneur: finding the edge

If there is a powerful take-home message from last week – for chief-execs and business students alike – the succinct observations of Ray Dalio, founder…

September 5, 2018

Climate of division, even in the Lucky Country

Australia was once dubbed ‘the lucky country’. The difficult and divisive issue of climate change may just have put paid to that, writes Geoff Kitney….

December 18, 2017

Plasma drive puts Mars within reach for humans

EXCLUSIVE Interplanetary travel: science has finally caught up with fiction, James Fitzgerald discovers. Gene “Star Trek” Roddenberry’s vision of a pioneering intergalactic society has been…

April 28, 2017

Tracing the path of an energy dissipative UK economy

Today saw the publication of the latest GDP figures for the UK economy. It grew 0.3 per cent over the first quarter of 2017, according…

April 14, 2017

On sustainability and profit

What determines the sustainability of your commercial enterprise? What makes it profitable? An answer is in the balance of investment into innovation and production, writes…

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Trump’s Northern Ireland envoy issues warning
Donald’s Trump special envoy to Northern Ireland has warned against creating a “hard border by accident”, as Boris Johnson presses ahead with new legislation which threatens his Brexit divorce deal with Brussels. Mr Johnson wants to introduce laws which will limit the EU’s ability to influence customs arrangements and subsidies in Northern Ireland if the EU and UK cannot agree a trade deal by the end of the Brexit transition period on December 31. The move, which the UK admits is a breach of international law, has led to a backlash from the EU and senior US politicians in Washington who fear a violation of the Northern Ireland protocol in a no-deal scenario could undermine more than two decades of peace in the region. Financial Times, September 18

Uber gives police data on drivers and passengers
Uber has won support from police to keep its licence because it hands over thousands of pieces of intelligence on drivers, passengers and journeys each year, The Times has learnt. The National Police Chiefs’ Council claims that its ability to tackle drug dealing, human trafficking and child sexual exploitation would be hindered if it lost such “data and support”. A court has been told that senior officers want it to continue operating because of the “vital” information, amounting to 2,000 pieces of intelligence a year in the capital alone. The information provided by the company, which is in contact with police forces across the UK, is useful because minicabs have been used for drug transporting and child trafficking but the revelation has prompted concerns from drivers about their privacy, as well as that of their customers. Uber has 45,000 drivers and is used by 3.5 million people in London, its biggest European market. The Times, September 18

UK test and trace ‘barely functional’ as 11m face lockdown
The coronavirus test and trace system was condemned as “barely functional” today as its tsar admitted that demand was up to four times capacity, while 90 per cent of tests were failing to hit the 24-hour turnaround target. The Guardian has seen documents showing tracers taking up to two weeks to contact friends, relatives and workmates of people diagnosed with Covid-19 – the entire length of the self-isolation period. But amid growing anger and lengthening queues at testing centres, Dido Harding, head of the £10bn NHS test-and-trace programme designed to prevent a second wave of Covid-19, told MPs on Thursday: “I strongly refute that the system is failing.” It came as sources said Leeds and Lancashire were expected to face enhanced lockdown measures, bringing the number of people subject to restrictions to more than 11 million, including nearly 2m in north-east England. Official figures confirmed a 75 per cent increase in positive weekly cases across England last week. The Guardian, September 18

UK on standby to nationalise more rail lines
The UK’s Department for Transport is on standby to nationalise more railway lines within days if it fails to agree a new rescue deal with train operators pummelled by the Covid-19 crisis. In March the government rescued the railways by providing six-month Emergency Measures Agreements, worth about £700m a month, underwriting losses for the entire industry. The package, which effectively nationalised the sector, ends on Sunday and the DfT is holding detailed negotiations with the train companies for a successor scheme dubbed ERMAs. The pandemic has prompted a crisis in the railways with passenger numbers plunging as many workers were ordered to stay at home through the late spring and summer. It was only in July that the government allowed train operators to encourage passengers to return after discouraging all but essential travel for key workers for four months. Despite the ideological opposition of Conservative ministers to sweeping rail nationalisation, the government has been running two lines since well before coronavirus caused economic havoc: the Northern franchise since March and the East Coast Mainline franchise since 2018. Financial Times, September 18

Care homes to get free PPE in winter action plan
Care homes will get free protective equipment and a chief nurse will be appointed to oversee adult social care as the government tries to protect the sector in the face of rising infections. Tighter restrictions will be placed on care home visits in areas with high numbers of coronavirus cases as part of ministers’ winter action plan. Visits may be temporarily limited in all but end-of-life situations in areas subject to local lockdowns, while in other places officials are considering having one designated visitor per resident. It comes amid fears that mistakes made early in the pandemic could be repeated. ITV and Channel 4 found evidence of care homes facing pressure to accept hospital discharges of patients who have tested positive for coronavirus. Between March and June coronavirus was linked to nearly 30 per cent of all deaths in care homes. The Times, September 18

Tighter virus rules considered for England
New England-wide measures which could see hospitality businesses shut are being considered by the UK government to slow a surge of coronavirus cases. A short period of tighter restrictions – lasting a few weeks – could be announced in the next week, BBC political editor Laura Kuenssberg said. Schools and most workplaces would be kept open during those weeks. Health Secretary Matt Hancock has told the BBC the government is “prepared to do what it takes” against Covid-19. Speaking to BBC Breakfast, the health secretary said there had been an “acceleration” in the number of coronavirus cases in the last couple of weeks, and the number of people admitted to hospital with coronavirus was doubling about every eight days. He stressed it was “critical” that people follow social distancing guidelines and local lockdown rules – where they apply. BBC news, September 18

Home Office data on undocumented immigrants ‘disturbingly weak’
The UK government relies on a “disturbingly weak” evidence base in assessing the effects of its immigration enforcement and has little knowledge of basics such as how many undocumented migrants are in the country, parliament’s public spending watchdog has said. The House of Commons public accounts committee made the findings in a scathing report scrutinising the effectiveness of the Home Office’s £392m annual spending on immigration enforcement. The department says the aim is to reduce the number of people living in the UK without permission and the harm that population causes. However, the committee found the department had not estimated the size of the undocumented population since 2005, when it was put at 430,000. The independent Pew Research Center of the US last year estimated that between 800,000 and 1.2m people were living in the UK without permission. Financial Times, September 19

£50bn in cash has gone missing
At least £50 billion of bank notes – the equivalent of more than £1,000 for each adult in the country – has disappeared from circulation, according to the spending watchdog. In a report published today, the National Audit Office says that demand for bank notes has increased continuously over the past two decades despite the use of cash halving since 2010. It adds that no one really knows why demand is increasing or where all the missing money has gone. Theories include that people are storing cash at home because savings rates are so low and confidence in banks has fallen since the financial crisis. Low inflation has also made stuffing cash under the mattress more attractive. The report speculates that the notes could be being used in the shadow economy or taken overseas by criminal gangs or tax evaders. There is also likely to be a significant, though unknown, number of lost or destroyed notes. The Times, September 18

FBI warns of Russian interference in US election
Christopher Wray, the FBI director, on Thursday warned that Russia is interfering in the 2020 US presidential elections with a steady stream of misinformation aimed at undermining Democrat Joe Biden as well as sapping Americans’ confidence in the election process. Moscow is also attempting to undercut what it sees as an anti-Russian US establishment, Wray told the Democratic-led House of Representatives’ homeland security committee in a hearing on Capitol Hill. He said his biggest concern was a “steady drumbeat of misinformation” that he said he feared could undermine confidence in the result of the 2020 election. The Guardian, September 17

Qantas cuts chief’s pay by 80% and touts scenic trip in bid to survive
Qantas Airways has slashed the pay of its chief executive by more than 80 per cent and sold tickets for a “flight to nowhere” as part of efforts to survive the coronavirus pandemic. The Australian airline said Alan Joyce, one of the world’s highest paid airline executives in recent years, would not take any salary in the final three months of the 2020 financial year. He has deferred a long-term incentive payment of almost 350,000 shares until next year, pending board approval. Overall, Mr Joyce’s pay plunged 83 per cent to A$1.7m (US$1.2m) in the year to June. Total executive remuneration at Qantas fell to A$6.9m in the 2020 financial year, down from A$22.4m in the prior year, according to the company’s annual report, published on Friday. Qantas has turned to other avenues to generate revenue with much of its flight grounded. The airline said on Friday that tickets for a seven-hour scenic tour of Australia – which takes in landmarks including Uluru, Byron Bay and the Great Barrier Reef – sold out within 10 minutes. Tickets for the flight to nowhere cost between A$787 and A$3,787. Financial Times, September 18