Issue #39

Gold hits record high, astronauts wear Prada, graduates face record job competition, and more.

News from October 17 - October 24, 2024

HSBC Launches Major Overhaul 

HSBC is undergoing a major restructuring under new CEO Georges Elhedery, dividing its operations into eastern and western markets to cut costs and manage rising tensions between China and the West. 

The plan creates separate divisions for the UK and Hong Kong, as well as wealth management and corporate banking. This shift reflects HSBC’s challenge of balancing its Asia profits with its London headquarters. Set to take effect in January 2025, the changes may include job cuts, potentially saving up to $300 million. 

Elhedery also promoted Pam Kaur to CFO, the first woman in the role in HSBC’s 159-year history.

Source

Gold Hits Record High 

Gold surged to a record $2,740.37 per troy ounce, driven by rising geopolitical tensions, including the Middle East conflict, and uncertainty surrounding the upcoming US presidential election. 

Investors are turning to gold as a safe-haven asset amid global instability. Central bank interest rate cuts, including in the US, eurozone, and UK, have also fueled demand, as falling rates benefit non-yielding assets like gold. 

Central banks are diversifying away from the US dollar, with record gold purchases this year. Additionally, silver prices have spiked, reflecting tight supply and a knock-on effect from gold’s rise. Joni Teves, UBS precious metals strategist: “The outlook for gold is quite bullish.”

Source

Disabled Workers Marginalized by AI

The increasing reliance on AI transcription tools in the workplace has raised concerns about accessibility for deaf workers. As companies adopt AI for video conferencing and other tasks, technology limitations, such as difficulties recognizing accented or irregular speech, are proving problematic. 

While advancements are being made, experts argue that these tools are not yet accurate enough to replace human interpreters. Paul Meyer, deaf since birth: “The company thought the AI technology for captioning was perfect. They were confused why I was missing a lot of information.”

The lack of input from disabled people in AI development creates extra challenges. Advocates warn that if these tools aren't properly designed, they could further exclude disabled workers and fail to meet their communication needs.

Source

Bulletin Board 

• Astronauts Wear Prada. Prada and Axiom Space have unveiled the design for the spacesuit to be worn during NASA's Artemis III moon mission. The white suits, featuring gray patches and red accents, are designed for improved mobility, heat protection, and lunar dust resistance. Prada’s expertise in textiles contributed to blending functionality and style. The suits, which are gender-neutral and one-size-fits-all, have been in development since before the pandemic. Scheduled for 2026, Artemis III aims to achieve the first moon landing since 1972, potentially making it the first mission where a woman walks on the moon. Source 
• Meta To Use Facial Recognition. Meta is trialing facial recognition technology to combat celebrity investment scam ads on Facebook and Instagram. Starting with a pool of 50,000 public figures, Meta will use the tech to detect and remove ads featuring unauthorized celebrity images. The system compares ad images with profile pictures and deletes the ad if it’s a scam. Meta, which previously scaled back facial recognition, emphasized that all data is deleted post-verification. This initiative addresses growing pressure to tackle deepfake scams. Source 
• Billionaires Treat Philanthropy Like Startups. Johanna Småros, co-founder of Finnish tech unicorn Relex, used her startup success to launch the €100mn Relex Foundation in 2022, dedicated to biodiversity—“simply because we could.” Småros joins a growing class of tech billionaires, who now account for over 12% of the world's 2,781 billionaires, collectively worth $2.6tn. Like Craig Newmark, creator of Craigslist who calls himself an “accidental entrepreneur,” tech leaders see philanthropy as a natural extension of their business success. A general trend has emerged where tech entrepreneurs apply startup strategies—emphasizing scalability and innovation—to ambitious causes like climate and biodiversity. Source 
• UK Regulator Defends Tough Crypto Stance. The UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) explained its approach to crypto regulation, stating that its measures aim to protect consumers and financial markets from risks such as terrorism financing and organized crime. Val Smith, head of payments and digital assets at the FCA, highlighted the importance of maintaining high standards for long-term stability. While the crypto community has raised concerns about the registration process, the FCA noted it has approved 4 of 35 applications in the past year and continues to support firms through initiatives like its digital ledger technology sandbox with the Bank of England. Source 
• Graduates Face Record Job Competition. UK graduates are facing unprecedented job competition, with 140 applications per vacancy in 2024, a 59% increase from 2023, according to the Institute of Student Employers (ISE). The rise in applications is driven by AI tools that streamline the application process but lower quality. Graduate vacancies have only grown 4%, with sectors like IT and finance seeing declines. Smaller companies have reduced hiring, leading more graduates to compete for positions in larger firms, while job postings in London fell 22% over the past year. Anne Clinton, director of careers at the London School of Economics: “There is too much pressure on students . . . It’s crossed a line.”  Source

Disclaimer: This blog offers insights into international business and global events for informational purposes only. It is not intended as investment or business advice. WeavePay is not liable for any decisions made based on the content provided.

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