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UK inflation rate jumps to 2.1%: University of Warwick experts comment
The Office of National Statistics reports that the inflation rate in the UK has risen to 2.1%, passing the Bank of England target of 2%. Professor Abhinay Muthoo of the University of Warwick Department of Economics and Professor Nigel Driffield of Warwick Business School comment here on what factors could have caused this jump. Professor Abhinay Muthoo of the Department of Economics at the University of Warwick said: "Figures released by the UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) show UK inflation has jumped to 2.1% in the year to May. This means inflation is now above the Bank of England target of 2%. There is concern amongst some economists that inflation will rise further, and more importantly, that these higher levels of inflation are permanent. Hence, for example a call by some that the Bank of England should quickly raise interest rates. "I believe this higher than target inflation is very likely to be temporary. This current increase is driven by a few factors. One being a sudden and sharp increase in consumer spending as consumers are rushing to spend their savings from the past year of lockdown, and supply cannot, at the moment, keep up with that strong demand. I expect inflation to return to under Bank of England’s 2% target by around early next year." Professor Nigel Driffield of Warwick Business School said: “Supply of various goods and services is or has been constrained by Covid, and while many people have suffered financially because of Covid there is also a high level of pent up demand. This pertains not only to goods and services made here, but also imported. So for a while we are going to see pressure on inflation as the economy opens up.”
EURO 2020: The Business and Science of Football will see academics from across the University’s three colleges speaking on a variety of topics, including economic recoveries, the sustainability of huge sporting events and the psychology of penalties. It is great to use my research experience to provide a different perspective to a general audience with a project like this. Sporting mega events like Euro 2020 are always topical and it's been really interesting to discover the impact they have on the economy
UConn Expert on the "FDA's Big Gamble" with Controversial Alzheimer's Drug
The Food and Drug Administration's accelerated approval of the drug aducanumab for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease is mired in controversy -- three scientists have resigned from the independent committee that advised the agency on the monthly infusion treatment priced at $56,000 per year. C. Michael White, distinguished professor and head of the Department of Pharmacy Practice at the University of Connecticut, explains the situation surrounding the drug's approval this week in an essay published by The Conversation: Over 6 million Americans now have Alzheimer’s disease, and deaths from Alzheimer’s have risen over 145% over the past 20 years. Alzheimer’s disease not only robs individuals of their autonomy but also places a huge burden on family members and the U.S. economy: $355 billion is spent annually on caring for people with Alzheimer’s. Current FDA-approved treatments are only modestly effective at controlling disease symptoms, and none target a possible underlying cause. The accelerated approval pathway allows patients with early-stage Alzheimer’s to access aducanumab while a larger and more definitive clinical trial is conducted. Biogen says it hopes to have the clinical trial completed by 2030. If the study does not find reductions in the hard clinical endpoints, the drug will be withdrawn. If aducanumab is ultimately found to be effective, many patients with early-stage Alzheimer’s will reap the benefits in reductions in hospitalizations, doctor visits, nursing home costs and societal burden. If aducanumab is found to be ineffective, however, Medicare, insurers and patients will have spent tens of millions of dollars on a drug that not only did not work but also exposed patients to adverse events, including the risk of bleeding in the brain. June 10 - The Conversation Dr. C. Michael White is an expert in the areas of comparative effectiveness and preventing adverse events from drugs, devices, dietary supplements, and illicit substances. If you are a journalist looking to cover this topic, then let us help. Dr. White is available to speak with media -- click on his icon now to arrange an interview today.
Experts available to comment on G7 summit discussions
A range of experts from the University of Bristol are available to comment on the upcoming G7 summit taking place in Cornwall, UK. Professor Simon Tormey, Professor of Politics and Dean of Social Sciences and Law at the University of Bristol can speak about what G7 means for UK, reboot of US-China relations, climate change, and taxes on large corporations. Simon can also do interviews in French. Dr David Matthews, Reader in Virology in the School of Cellular and Molecular Medicine at the University of Bristol and a member of the 'G2P-UK' National Virology Consortium, can discuss vaccines and global health security. Dr Kate Hendry, Associate Professor of Geochemistry at the University of Bristol can discuss ocean action including net zero oceanographic capability. Dr Tommaso Jucker, Research Fellow at the University of Bristol’s Cabot Institute for the Environment, can cover: supporting the transition to a low carbon economy – the role of forest conservation and reforestation in mitigating climate change, and action to halt and reverse biodiversity loss – ecosystem restoration. Dr Kristen Reyher, Reader in Veterinary Epidemiology and Population Health at the University of Bristol, is able to discuss antimicrobial resistance, antimicrobial stewardship, antimicrobial use, and epidemiology. And Professor Awais Rashid, Professor of Cyber Security at the University of Bristol, is available for the following topics: Internet safety including protecting children and online fraud, darknet markets, privacy issues and data exploitation.
Maple Report - May 2021 Edition
May 2021 Welcome to our second edition of The Maple Report. This quarterly newsletter is designed to keep Canadian technology executives updated on the latest trends, market research, events and valuable resources from IDC Canada's expert analysts. In this edition, we want to show you how IDC can help Canadian executives like yourself make important technology decisions. We also want to invite you to our upcoming events and give you a sample of some of our thought leadership through our IDC blog. We hope you find these insights practical to help propel your business into a more resilient digital enterprise. Trust IDC to be your research partner in 2021. We welcome your thoughts about this newsletter. Please send them to askIDC@idccanada.com. HOW CAN IDC HELP YOU? IDC PeerScapes – Helping You Find Technology Best Practices An IDC PeerScape minimizes your missteps by identifying peer business practices worthy of emulating or avoiding, increasing the likelihood of positive impacts from a technology initiative. To assist your organization finding technology best practices, IDC publishes dozens of IDC PeerScape reports. Similar to IDC MarketScapes that we explored in the last edition of The Maple Report, IDC PeerScapes sit on the Engage part of our IDC DecisionScape framework , and include reports to help you launch, evaluate and optimize new technology initiatives. The report outlines key challenges your peers encountered when implementing a specific technology initiative, as well as key insights your peers learned along the way. IDC PeerScapes help you to increase the likelihood of a tech initiative’s success by giving you insight into best practices (and practices to avoid) through specific use case examples implemented by your peers who have already led a similar technology initiative. These documents can help your organization recreate successful implementations of technology and help you mitigate risk. To help you understand the value of these reports, we have included here our IDC PeerScape: Practices for Including Cloud Services into Outsourcing Contracts in Canada report. In it, you'll find Best practices from three areas of cloud adoption are discussed in the document: security, cost management, and skills gap. Companies created security checklists to mitigate security risks and retain control of security when working with external vendors. They also filled the skills gap and minimized cost unpredictability by collaborating with their outsourcing service providers. VIRTUAL EVENTS FOR IT EXECUTIVES IDC Fireside Chat | Content Cloud as a Critical Component of Virtual Work May 19, 2021 | 2:00 pm ET Does your organization have a holistic view of your customers when they contact you for assistance? Are your security protocols on your content systems up to snuff with your virtual workforce? Is your content customized for the different employee roles? If any of these content challenges sound familiar to your organization, then you need to attend this webinar to provide a seamless content experience for your customers and your employees. On our next webinar for Canadian technology executives on May 19th at 2pm ET, we'll hear how ATB Financial's Barry Hensch conquered multiple content management challenges to provide seamless experiences in its virtual workplace during a fireside chat with IDC's Megha Kumar. Walk away with a better understanding of what Cloud Content Management entails, why it's important to manage your content effectively and how you can leverage it to prosper in the digital future. Confirmed Speakers: Megha Kumar: Director, Software & Cloud Services, IDC Canada Barry Hensch: SVP & Head of Technology Enablement, ATB Financial Varun Parmar: SVP & Chief Product Officer, Box IDC CIO Panel Series | Accelerate & Simplify Your Canadian Digital Transformation Journey June 16, 2021 | 2:00pm ET Our IDC Canada research indicates that many Canadian organizations are not where they need to be yet to thrive in the digital economy. If you think your organization could benefit from simplifying and accelerating your digital transformation efforts, then you need to attend this upcoming webinar on June 16 at 2pm ET. Join this virtual webinar to understand where Canadian organizations are on their respective digital transformation journeys, what types of projects were accelerated as a result of the pandemic and what impact it had on Canadian industries. Then hear from our all-Canadian CIO panel on how they've stickhandled the impact of the pandemic at their organizations to set themselves up for future success in the digital economy. Learn what you need from your peers to get your organization moving in the right direction. Confirmed Speakers: Tony Olvet: Group VP, Research, IDC Canada Nigel Wallis: Research VP, IoT & Industries, IDC Canada Catherine Chick: SVP, IT, Canada Goose Pamela Pelletier: Canada Country Manager, Dell Technologies IDC THOUGHT LEADERSHIP HIGHLIGHTS DID YOU KNOW? You Can Get Actionable Research, KPIs, Benchmarks & Best Practices with IDC IDC Canada's IT Executive Programs (IEP) make it easy to access the relevant technology research and advice you need to make data-driven decisions as you lead your organization into the digital future. Get in touch today to learn more or visit our IT Executive Portal to learn more. IT EXECUTIVE RESOURCES Set Your Future IT Roadmap with IDC IT leaders need to rethink what is critical and evaluate where the organization stands as they manage complex changes. For strategies on transforming your organization's IT, read the new eBook from IDC: Future IT: Operating System of the Future Enterprise.
Research Reveals Uptick in Hostility toward Black Americans during Tough Economic Times
Goizueta Experts Encourage Business Leaders to Double Down on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Efforts. Do recessions stoke racial tension? When there’s an economic downturn, are White Americans more likely to feel distrust or even animosity towards their Black peers? Researchers have long wondered about the broader societal impact of financial recessions, but until recently their effects on race relations have been unclear. In a recent paper, Emily Bianchi, associate professor of organization and management, Erika Hall, assistant professor of organization and management, and Sarah Lee 19PhD, assistant professor of management, Dominican University of California and visiting professor of organizational behavior, Pepperdine University, find that there is indeed a subtle uptick in hostility towards Black Americans during bad economic times. Their paper, Reexamining the Link Between Economic Downturns and Racial Antipathy, examines publicly available data on attitudes, political trends, and behavioral patterns in the U.S. Sarah Lee 19PhD While businesses tend to cut diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts during economic downturns, Bianchi and Hall underscore that these efforts may be even more critical during these times. To study this phenomenon, the researchers analyzed more than 20 years of data from the American National Election Survey (ANES), a biannual survey capturing political affiliations and perceptions of political candidates from 1964 until 2012. They analyzed how White Americans’ attitudes towards Blacks changed depending on the state of the economy and found that in worse economic times, Whites felt more negatively about Blacks. As Bianchi notes: “we were able to analyze the responses of more than 30,000 individuals who identified as White. And we do find that for decades – between the 1960s and the first part of the 21 century – White Americans feel less warmly about Black Americans during times of financial hardship.” Emily Bianchi, associate professor of organization and management In a second study, Bianchi, Hall, and Lee examined data from Project Implicit, a popular website that allows people to test their own implicit bias and also gauges racial attitudes. Again, the authors found that in worse economic times, White Americans held more negative implicit and explicit attitudes about race. In particular, during the Great Recession, they found that White’s attitudes towards Blacks became substantially more negative in states that were hard hit by the economic crisis compared to states in which the economic downturn was less severe. Having established that economic conditions affected fluctuations in attitudes towards race, the authors then examined whether these emotional shifts translated into actual behavioral outcomes. In other words, if Whites felt more negatively towards Blacks during recessions would this mean that Black professionals were less likely to be successful when the economy floundered? They tested this possibility by looking at two domains of public activity: record sales and voting patterns. First, they examined data from the Billboard Top 10 American songs between 1980 and 2014 and recorded the race of each musician who secured a Billboard hit. They found that in bad economic years, Black musicians were 90% less likely to have a top 10 hit, presumably because White consumers (by far the biggest consumer group during this period) were less likely to support them. Next, they examined the results of more than 8000 elections to the U.S. House of Representatives over the same period. They found that in bad economic times, Black politicians were 21% less likely to win elections. Interestingly, the converse also appears to be true. In good times, Black musicians and politicians fared much better in the polls and the charts – pointing to a certain fluidity in attitudes, says Bianchi. “Across these very different domains, studies, and sample sizes, we find the same consistent pattern: when times are tough, White Americans feel more animosity towards Black Americans and are less likely to support Black musicians or politicians. When things pick up, White Americans have more positive attitudes towards Black Americans and are more likely to endorse Black musicians and Black candidates.” The authors attribute these effects to innate human feelings of fear in the face of threat. Economic threats or shocks tend to evoke uncertainty and fear about what is to come. This translates into greater distrust of others, particularly those perceived as different in some way. And it’s an effect, they argue, that should be very much on the radar of businesses and decision-makers. Erika Hall, assistant professor of organization and management The research cites, “Anecdotally, we know that when times are good, organizations will tend to prioritize their efforts in the area of diversity and inclusion. But while this is critically important at all times, our research suggest that these efforts are probably even more important when times are tough.” All of this points to a need to attend to these issues more acutely when there’s a downturn, says Bianchi. And she cautions that this is likely to be counterintuitive to most leaders, who are likely more inclined to sideline diversity efforts when the economy slides. In terms of the current debate around race relations in the US, however, Bianchi stresses that the economic dimension is just one piece of a “very complicated puzzle.” “What we have seen and are seeing in 2020 and 2021 is a confluence of many major factors: a pandemic that has put a lot of people out of work, and that has put everyone on edge, punctuated by some horrific and well documented instances of violence against Black citizens,” Bianchi says. “So many of these things are in the mixing pot, that it’s hard to pinpoint one specific cause behind the current race crisis in the U.S. So many things coming together at once that have put us in this moment.” Only time will tell how this might play out compared to what we saw in the 80s and 90s, which were economic fluctuations rather than a complete drop off a cliff, she says. It will be more difficult to tease apart the effect of the economy versus the effect of the pandemic versus the effect of police violence on America’s race relations – a situation that Bianchi describes as a “cauldron of mess.” That said, she stresses that for business leaders, now is a good time to double down on efforts to drive diversity and inclusion. “I’d suggest leaders be especially mindful that at times of economic stress such as we are currently experiencing, there is a very real danger of heightened racial animosity.” We’ve attached a full article with even more advice and helpful information from our experts – but if you are looking to learn more or cover this topic, we can help. All of our faculty are available to speak with media, simply click on either expert’s icon now – to book an interview today.
Is This Bitcoin's Time to Shine?
Bitcoin was invented in 2008 and launched in 2009, but after years of skepticism, it's finally becoming a part of mainstream conversation. The cryptocurrency's value has continued to rise since 2017, but with the start of 2021, its price has surged and many more companies are looking for ways to get involved. Tesla and Square have invested. (You can even buy a Tesla with bitcoins.) Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan are exploring ways to meet customer demand for cryptocurrency investment. A National Football League player converted half of his salary into bitcoins. And Major League Baseball's Oakland Athletics are offering a suite for the 2021 season at the price of one bitcoin. So, if it's been around for so long, why are we only seeing this mainstream push now? "I think the Bitcoin ecosystem is developing to the point where people can start to think about using it as a currency," said John Sedunov, PhD, an associate professor of finance who studies Bitcoin. "However, the price still remains volatile, and it isn't clear that the currency can maintain its current $50,00-to-60,000 value." While there are companies adopting and investing now, this will still be a gradual process, Dr. Sedunov says. "As businesses become better able to accept the currency, and perhaps more importantly better able to withstand and manage the volatility of Bitcoin, then the currency will become more widespread in its use. The process would be expedited if the entire supply chain accepted Bitcoin, rather than just the retailer and the end of the chain. This would smooth the process and allow people to utilize the currency without as much concern for converting it." Additionally, Dr. Sedunov notes that there needs to be a continued evolution of the ability of firms to accept and manage the currency, in addition to a reduction in the volatility of the currency. Smaller businesses may be at much more of a risk than large corporations and banks if there is price instability. But the value of Bitcoin won't be this high forever. As the country and economy continue to deal with the impact of the pandemic, there are growing concerns that inflation could be next, pushing consumers to other options, like cryptocurrency. "When the pandemic ends and there is, perhaps, more economic stability, Bitcoin's value will wane a bit, but I don't think it will fade to nothing," Sedunov notes. "The big question mark, to me, is the U.S. Dollar and inflation. Inflation expectations are rising, and this only pushes people more toward alternatives. If this trend continues, then perhaps economic stability will be a bit lower, and more people will flock toward Bitcoin."
New research examining the economic impact of micromobility on local economies found shared e-scooter systems created an estimated $13.8 million in additional sales across 370 food and beverage companies in four cities over six months in 2019, as compared to four similar cities over the same time period without e-scooter programs. The study compared consumer purchase patterns in four cities that allowed operation of shared e-scooter systems – Atlanta, Austin, San Francisco, and Washington, D.C. – to similar cities that did not at the time – Boston, Houston, Phoenix, and Seattle. The study used extensive econometric methods to uncover purchasing that was caused by e-scooter rides, which would not have occurred otherwise. “The post-COVID economic recovery remains slow, but this research shows we shouldn’t ignore the positive impact of micromobility on small businesses,” said Dan McCarthy, senior author of the study and assistant professor of marketing at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School. “This is especially relevant for the food and beverage sector, a significant source of jobs, which is suffering sales declines larger than most other sectors of the economy.” The study uncovered e-scooter usage generated significant positive economic spillovers for the food and beverage industry purchasing in a similar way that consumers make impulse purchases at grocery stores – its effects are larger for businesses where the consumption happens more quickly, and businesses selling at lower prices. Across the cities studied with e-scooter programs, total sales in the food and beverage category increased by an estimated 0.6 percent on average, or approximately $921 in incremental spending per available e-scooter for the food and beverage companies over the six-month period studied in the analysis. “Since these companies represent approximately 15 percent of the overall food and beverage market in these cities, the actual impact could be much larger,” said McCarthy. “If, for instance, subsequent research confirmed a similar level of uptick across all food and beverage companies in these markets driven by micromobility, the overall full-year economic impact could be close to $200 million.” If you're interested in learning more - there's a full article published by Emory Business attached. And, if you're a journalist looking to cover this exciting and emerging topic - then let us help. Dan McCarthy is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at Emory University's Goizueta School of Business. His research specialty is the application of leading-edge statistical methodology to contemporary empirical marketing problems. Dan is available to speak with media - simply click on his icon now to arrange an intwrview today.
A federal budget is coming soon – and as Canada is still stuck in the grips of COVID-19 and the thin ice its economy is still walking on, it is expected sooner or later, the tab will have to be paid and that bill will be satisfied with taxes. Recently, Don Scott, Director of Tax Services at Welch wrote an insightful piece where he lends his many years of wisdom, experience and perspective to share what he thinks will be how Canada’s federal government digs itself out of what has been more than a year of bills and bailouts. In his piece, he looks at whether or not the government will raise such revenue streams as: corporate and business tax rates personal income taxes capital gains principle residence redemptions and even the GST It’s required reading for anyone interested in the finances of the federal government – and if you are a journalist looking to cover this topic, then let us help. Don Scott is the Director of Tax Services at Welch and is a nationally recognized expert for his extensive knowledge in the area of Personal and Corporate Tax Planning. Don is available to speak with media regarding the upcoming budget, to arrange an interview today – simply click on his icon now.
Why customers hold the key to a company’s true valuation
When determining a fair valuation for a company—especially in anticipation of an initial public offering (IPO)—investors often rely heavily on “top down” approaches focusing primarily on traditional financial measures to do so. But what if this approach doesn’t paint the full picture? Daniel McCarthy, assistant professor of marketing at Emory’s Goizueta Business School, is building the case that augmenting traditional data sources with customer behavior data gives investors a more accurate company valuation. For the past several years, McCarthy and Peter Fader, professor of marketing at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, have worked to refine a customer-driven investment methodology they created. “Customer-based corporate valuation (CBCV) simply brings more focus to how individual customer behavior drives the top line,” they explained in “How to Value a Company by Analyzing Its Customers,” an article published in the Harvard Business Review (HBR) earlier this year. “This approach is driving a meaningful shift away from the common but dangerous mindset of ‘growth at all costs,’ towards revenue durability and unit economics—and bringing a much higher degree of precision, accountability, and diagnostic value to the new loyalty economy.” Fader, McCarthy’s PhD advisor while he was at Wharton, had done some of the seminal work on forecasting customer shopping/purchasing behaviors. This helped build baseline expertise for how one could go about the customer-level modeling. McCarthy recognized that this behavioral modeling could be put to good use in a financial setting, if done the right way. “There was this untapped source of intellectual property that’s been accumulating within marketing over the last 30 years,” McCarthy said. While other academics have done some conceptual work in the area, none, McCarthy noted, had done so in a way that was consistent with how financial professionals go about performing corporate valuation. McCarthy and Fader merged these well-validated customer-level models with standard corporate valuation methods, then put their resulting valuation tool head-to-head with alternative approaches. They found that their CBCV model subsequently outperformed. A full article on this subject is attached, within it, you will find key CBCV highlights such as: Using unit economics to more accurately predict revenue forecasts Gaining access to the right data The CBCV model is also good for managers and for customers Working to have publicly traded companies adopt CBCV McCarthy’s work on the CBCV methodology has earned him a number of awards, including the MSI Alden G. Clayton, American Statistical Association, INFORMS, and the Shankar-Spiegel dissertation awards. If you are a journalist covering this topic or if you want to learn more about this work or customer-based corporate valuation – then let our experts help. Daniel McCarthy is an Assistant Professor of Marketing at Emory University's Goizueta School of Business where his research specialty is the application of leading-edge statistical methodology to contemporary empirical marketing problems. If you are looking to contact Daniel – simply click on his icon now to arrange an interview today.