ReleaseWire

Chinese efforts to integrate its financial system on a global scale have taken another step towards a conclusion with The Wealth Connect programme. The programme allows for investments of RMB 150 billion ($ 23 billion) to be made in either direction between Hong Kong and mainland China, with an individual limit of RMB 1 million ($ 155,000). It will open the door to more investment in Hong Kong from China, including the Greater Bay Area, which is home to more than 70 million people.

Digital currency is a hot topic in Hong Kong right now - and all across the globe. Since 2019, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has been working with Thai and Chinese central banks to make it easier to use digital currencies for cross border trade. A recent statement from HKMA, together with the Bank of Thailand, the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates and the Digital Currency Institute of the People's Bank of China revealed that the digital currency project for cross border payments - which was initiated from Hong Kong and Thailand - had now reached Phase II.

If there is one comment that can send markets into a frenzy of activity it's talking about the need for interest rate rises. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen - who is also a former chair of the Federal Reserve - has done just that by mentioning the need for a potential interest rate hike in the near future. However, although her remarks certainly triggered some activity it wasn't quite as extreme as it could have been. While the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite took a dive the Dow Jones Industrial Average actually rose a bit. What's been highlighted as interesting by many commentators is the way that hedge funds have been 'extreme' in selling stocks, although this is something that was already under way even before Yellen made her comments about interest rates. Selling was focused mostly in areas that experienced a boom during the pandemic such as information technology and communications services. Whether it's Yellen's comments or not, whatever is specifically making hedge funds nervous right now will probably be revealed in the coming weeks.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on many different areas of our lives. Perhaps one that may not have been predictable is the effect it's had on the way that women in India are approaching the stock market. When India went into lockdown in March 2020 many people found themselves with a lot more time on their hands and, according to local stockbroking businesses, this has resulted in a rise in the number of female investors.

Bitcoin is an area of financial technology that continues to evolve, often outside of the parameters of historic expectations. Dogecoin is a prime example of the unusual ways in which such an emerging market can take off. It was established in 2013 as a joke but is now the sixth largest digital coin and has a total market value of $42 billion. The coin draws inspiration from the 'doge' memes and has recently hit a record high thanks to some serious celebrity endorsements on social media. With Elon Musk and Mark Cuban both recently tweeting in support of this meme-inspired currency, Dogecoin hit a record high of 45 cents in April.

We have reached a phase in finance where machines have no doubt become the dominant traders in markets such as London and New York. However, human beings are still very relevant and a new study has identified that emotion in particular could be a big factor in moving markets. The emotions in question are those revealed in the human speech of central bankers. Algorithms are already being used to parse the speech of key figures in banking, seeking out information in conversation and mostly looking for buy and sell cues.

When it comes to big data, experts have become frustrated with their inability to interpret their data as they require. Owing to a lack of machine resources, their complex analytic queries often take a lot of time, preventing them to effectively evaluate the amount of data required to provide the insights they need. In the data-centric climate of today, an organisation's performance depends on its ability to take the data it has and use it to make strategic choices that benefit the data stakeholders. The pandemic has introduced new opportunities and the need for rapid, but robust, analytics for swift decision making, in addition to the increasingly rising data volumes that have already challenged data professionals.

The US House Committee on Homeland Security has approved five bipartisan laws to strengthen defensive capabilities against cyberattacks on American corporations and vital infrastructure. The committee's monitoring of recent cyber-attacks, notably the ransomware attack that caused Colonial Pipeline to shut down, prompted the introduction of these proposals. The new bills are set to make it simpler to protect networks against cyberattacks that use critical security vulnerabilities like those that targeted Microsoft Exchange Server and Pulse Connect Secure devices.

The impact of the pandemic has been widely felt in construction but new figures indicate that some parts of the industry are getting hit more forcefully than others. Recent statistics from the United States Department of Commerce have revealed that construction spending rose by just 0.2% in March 2021.

Clinical jobs offer a wealth of different career options today, often at the forefront of cutting-edge innovation in healthcare and life sciences. Technology is creating many new career paths, providing new ways to tackle old issues that have held back progress for years. Appia Bio is one business capitalizing on this, for example, as it has entered into the cell therapy field with a promising scalable technology platform that it will use in its development of engineered allogeneic cell therapies from hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) for cancer patients.

Astrazeneca is a name that has become synonymous with the COVID-19 vaccine roll out over the past year but that's not the only way the British pharma company is contributing to progress. A new collaboration has been announced between Astrazeneca and the Cambridge-based biotech business Alchemab, which it is hoped will accelerate the research around prostate cancer.

The number of COVID-19 cases in India has been shocking for those involved in healthcare with the country rapidly overtaking its first wave peak in 2020. Since April, India has been recording more than 300,000 cases of COVID-19 every day and the health infrastructure in place in a number of Indian cities has already collapsed under the weight of these shocking numbers.

The COVID-19 vaccination programs have dominated the news headlines in recent months, especially in the context of countries where there is less structured healthcare provision and access to treatment is less than easy. While much of the western world works towards getting entire populations vaccinated, countries such as India are seeing infection rates spiraling out of control. However, the new Biden-Harris administration has been one of the first to recognize that steps need to be taken to ensure much more equal access to vaccines.

Green energy has become an accelerating growth area across the world as countries look for more sustainable power options moving forward. The Biden Administration has now taken a big step towards the targets set for renewables with approval of the first commercial scale offshore wind farm built in the US and permitted in federal waters.

The past year has presented challenges for businesses across the globe. Those that have been agile and constructive in their approach to the pandemic have fared the best over this difficult time. This is specifically relevant in regard to supply chain management, where there are so many people and variables involved. Taking a systematic approach to supply chain management entails evaluating the whole supply chain and determining the risks that could impact manufacturing or final delivery. Proactive supply chain management requires a high level of flexibility. Being adaptable involves providing reliable replacements and contingency measures for all procedures involved in manufacturing, transport and delivery.

Procurement professionals play an important role in establishing resilient supplier networks. Discussions around increasing resiliency focus on increasing transparency and visibility in our supply chains, particularly given recent technological advancements. However, technological advancements such as artificial intelligence (AI) can be used in a variety of ways. Resiliency is heavily reliant on the ability to adapt in the face of adversity. AI can support category managers to stay on top of industry trends as well as find additional suppliers in the global market, making agile supply sourcing a reality.

Manufacturing production in the United States rose at a slower rate in April, hampered by input shortages as increasing COVID-19 vaccines and major fiscal stimulus released pent-up demand. The Institute for Supply Management (ISM) released a report in May that revealed record-long lead times, widespread shortages of essential raw materials, increasing commodity costs, and transportation challenges across industries. Supply chains have been greatly affected by the pandemic, with organizations and manufacturers continuing to struggle and satisfy rising demand rates due to the impact of COVID-19, according to the ISM. Worker absences, short-term shutdowns, and difficulty filling open vacancies could restrict manufacturing's growth potential, according to the report.

The reliance on multiple organizations to produce components has never been a greater driving factor in a company's success or failure in today's manufacturing industry. Global procurement and processing have resulted in an ongoing, complex, supply chain ecosystem, with a plethora of coursing and production options. As a result, a dynamic, interconnected network of vendors has emerged. Situations such as the COVID-19 pandemic highlight and intensify supply chain flaws, and with producers pursuing lean principles, the supply chain is stretched even further.

IT and Technology Recruitment On either side of the Channel, recent steps have been taken to improve the security of public telecoms networks which are witnessing dramatics technical transitions. Although 5G can provide many advantages for consumers and businesses, its advances in virtualisation, cloud computing, and software are expected to advance supply chains, technology convergence, and service provision. The UK Government has enacted new laws to strengthen the protection of telecoms infrastructure, under the Telecoms Security Bill, in order to ensure that telecoms networks and facilities are stable and robust.

The role of supply chain managers has become ever more intense over the last decade. SCM links the entire manufacturing process, from raw material processing and distribution to effective production, logistics processes for moving goods to manufacturers and consumers, and ever systems for returning unwanted or faulty products. External forces outside the manufacturing companies' reach affect this increasingly dynamic ecosystem of processes.

The German government has announced that by 2025 the science ministry will invest €1.1 billion in quantum computing research and development whilst the economics ministry will invest €878 million in application development. The German economy minister, Peter Altmaier, commented, "Quantum computing has the potential to revolutionise key industries of our economies". He went on to say that it is their goal to establish Germany as "one of the best players worldwide in the development and practical application of quantum computing". This is one example of how Germany is making strides in the IT and technology industry – using technology to reimagining the way we manage supply and demand and testing new active substances.

In the face of fast-paced digitalization and a constantly changing technology world, artificial intelligence is emerging as one of the most auspicious technologies. Accelerated growth across a multitude of applications and a wide variety of sectors is driving business growth. The adoption of AI technology in many end-use industries is on the rise, thanks to substantial advancements in data storage efficiency and parallel processing capabilities. This fast rate of development is fueled by the increasing adoption of cloud-based services and software and the exponential growth of big data. In the fight against COVID-19, artificial intelligence has proven to be a potent weapon. Governments are using this technology to predetermine the rate of circulation of the COVID-19 virus, allowing them to locate vulnerable people and pinpoint viral mutations.

FinTech has not grown as quickly in Germany as many other locations. However, there are signs that the financial market in Germany is now really getting behind this vibrant and innovative sector. One recent study by Comdirekt Bank found that the German market is now made up of more than 900 FinTech companies - within this the most represented industries are real estate and the financing sector.

The British Standards Institution (BSI) has recently joined an Innovate UK initiative aimed at digitalising British fresh produce supply chains. Produce Logistics' two-year 'Trusted Bytes' project will leverage emerging technologies to ease the international movement of produce and products whilst boosting productivity in the UK food industry. This will aid in the development of food provenance by digitalising vital border transfer processes and providing supply chain managers with integrated real-time digital communications. It would also allow for secure data encryption for the supply chain, the government, and other key stakeholders – improving cross-border transfers, enforcement, and amenability.

Global procurement and supply chain jobs have been heavily impacted by COVID-19. However, there are many opportunities within this sector, especially in Hong Kong and Singapore which are transforming into a global digital supply chain services hub. From product design to development and delivery, Hong Kong and Singapore have placed themselves at the centre of the evolution of the manufacturing chain, creating a wealth of procurement and supply chain jobs and playing a key role as regional hubs for Asia.