Month: January 2024

The Chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, has given a strong hint that he wants to cut taxes in the spring Budget.
Mr Hunt said that countries with lower taxes have more “dynamic, faster growing economies”.
In the Autumn Statement, the chancellor reduced national insurance for workers by 2% and announced tax relief for businesses.
If inflation falls, followed by lower interest rates, Mr Hunt may consider he has scope for further tax cuts.
Mr Hunt was speaking during his visit to the World Economic Forum, in Davos, Switzerland, where he is hoping to lure more investment to Britain.
He said the “direction of travel” indicates that economies growing faster than the UK, in North America and Asia tend to have lower taxes.
“I believe fundamentally that low-tax economies are more dynamic, more competitive and generate more money for public services like the NHS,” he added.
Mr Hunt did not offer any further detail on the scale of potential future tax cuts, as the government awaits a forecast from the Office for Budget Responsibility.
However, it is widely expected that the chancellor will focus on income tax in the Budget on 6 March.
Currently, the overall tax burden is on course to rise to the highest level for decades as households are pushed into higher income tax brackets as a result of tax thresholds remaining at the same level for more than two years.
Usually tax thresholds rise in line with inflation, the rate at which prices increase,but the government has kept them at the same level since 2021 and they will remain frozen until 2028.
Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson Sarah Olney MP said: “People have been left poorer by years of economic mismanagement under this government, and none of Jeremy Hunt’s vague promises can change that fact.
“We urgently need to boost investment in skills and the NHS to get people back into work and the economy growing again.”
While it is hoped that inflation will fall as the year goes on, it unexpectedly ticked up to 4% in December from 3.9% in November.
The chancellor said he was “confident” that inflation will continue to fall and that prices were “heading in the right direction”.
He said on Thursday: “I think it’s coming down. I think it will continue to fall.”
Lower inflation could help to pave the way for faster interest rate cuts by the Bank of England, as well as reducing the government’s huge debt interest bill.
In a bid to curb inflation, the Bank of England has held interest rates at 5.25% at its last three meetings, but rates are expected to be cut this later this year.
Lower debt interest payments alone could strengthen the chancellor’s hand in cutting taxes to the tune of almost £15bn.
However, the UK still remains at risk of recession, after official growth figures showed the UK economy shrank between July and September. A recession is usually defined as when the economy contracts for two three-month periods – or quarters – in a row.
While Mr Hunt insisted that it was “too early to know the extent to which we’ll be able to cut taxes”, he said the rapid fall in inflation was a sign that Britain’s economic prospects are improving.
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Hunt hints further tax cuts could be announced in spring budget

A cross-party group of MPs have slammed HMRC over its tactics and approach to enforcing the Loan Charge and said it drew “frightening” parallels with the Post Office Horizon scandal.
The Loan Charge was introduced to recover taxes from workers who operated arrangements that paid income often in the form of loans, which advertised themselves as compliant, claiming very little or no tax was due on them. These arrangements have since been deemed tax avoidance schemes, and HMRC has aggressively pursued tens of thousands of contractors who operated this way for taxes on income earned – dating back as far as 1999.
With ten suicides linked to the policy, calls for justice over the Loan Charge have swiftly followed the government’s promises to exonerate victims of the Post Office Horizon scandal. During the debate, MPs from across the board called for greater transparency at HMRC, greater regulation to protect workers, and an end to the charge.
Commenting on the debate, Seb Maley, CEO of Qdos – a tax insurance provider and IR35 specialist – said: “MPs from across the board are right to draw comparisons between the Horizon and Loan Charge scandals. There’s a gross injustice here, and there are questions over the way HMRC has conducted itself – acting, as others have highlighted, as judge, jury and executioner.
“And of course, there’s the irony that IR35 and IR35 reform have been major catalysts for these sorts of arrangements. Many contractors were only caught up in the Loan Charge because they were advised at the time that these arrangements were compliant. But rather than holding the promoters of these schemes to account, HMRC has pursued the victims.
“The retrospective nature of the Loan Charge and HMRC’s conduct has rightly attracted criticism across the political spectrum. But until the government gets serious about tackling the promoters of tax avoidance, it’s unlikely that the victims of the Loan Charge will see justice.”
Read more:
HMRC slammed in Parliament for Loan Charge and its “frightening” parallels with Horizon scandal

Purchases of new Bentley cars have fallen sharply because of the state of the global economy, according to the company that assembles the luxury vehicles in Cheshire.
Bentley Motor Cars, a division of Volkswagen, the German group, said it had sold 13,560 vehicles in 2023, 1,600 fewer than in the previous year, a fall of 11 per cent.
Its worst performances were in its home British market, which has been a mainstay of Bentley sales, and in China and Hong Kong, which have long been a cash cow region for luxury motor marques. Annual sales declined by 18 per cent in both markets.
The performance of Bentley is in stark contrast with that of Rolls-Royce, the equivalent luxury division of BMW that is based in West Sussex, which achieved record sales of 6,032 cars in 2023.
It has been argued by the top end of the motor market that luxury cars are immune from economic downturn as buyers tend to be so wealthy that they buy cars to add to their collections and rarely ask to know what price they are paying. Bentley now admits that this is not the case.
“The luxury market was not immune from the challenging market conditions seen around the world in the second half of 2023,” Adrian Hallmark, 61, Bentley’s chairman and chief executive, said.
It was not revealed what the sales decline had done to Bentley’s bottom line. In recent years, when Bentley was reporting record sales and profits, Volkswagen reported Bentley’s earnings separately. That has stopped, but what has been reported is that Bentley is the only brand in sales decline out of the whole VW stable, which also includes Lamborghini, Porsche, Audi, Seat and Skoda
Hallmark indicated that Bentley’s margins remained strong as customers demanded customisation and derivatives of models, including hybrids. However, the company is also going through an expensive £2.5 billion transition to be an all-electric marque by 2030. It is yet to produce its first all-electric vehicle. Rolls-Royce began delivery of its first, the Spectre, in recent months.
Bentley said that nearly half its total sales were of the Bentayga, the £170,000 4×4 vehicle that was launched nine years ago.
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Luxury cars ‘not immune’ as Bentley sees sales fall in 2023

Google has announced a billion-dollar investment in a UK data centre in a move hailed by the government as a “huge vote of confidence in Britain”.
The data centre, which will be built on a 33-acre site in Hertfordshire, will power Google’s cloud and AI services for British customers and will be the company’s third big site around the capital, after King’s Cross and Central Saint Giles in London.
It marks the latest investment by a leading American technology company in Britain, coming less than two months after Microsoft said it would invest £2.5 billion to expand data centres for artificial intelligence nationwide.
Google already has more than 7,000 staff in the UK and sites in London and Manchester. Its DeepMind AI research and development laboratory is also based in the capital.
Ruth Porat, 66, the chief financial officer of Alphabet, Google’s parent company, said the Waltham Cross site would “create construction and technical jobs for the local community”.
Rishi Sunak, who has been wooing Silicon Valley companies to invest in Britain over the past year, said the Google investment “is testament to the fact that the UK is a centre of excellence in technology and has huge potential for growth. Foreign investment creates jobs and grows all regions of our economy and investments like this will help to drive growth in the decade ahead.”
The announcement was made on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, where Jeremy Hunt has been meeting the world’s business leaders to sell the UK as a destination for foreign investment and technology jobs.
The chancellor told a panel that Britain was the “third largest tech economy in the world after the US and China” and he called on global governments to adopt a “light touch” approach to regulating AI. He added that Google’s investment was “a huge vote of confidence in Britain as the largest tech economy in Europe, bringing with it good jobs and the infrastructure we need to support the industries of the future”.
Ben Barringer, technology analyst at Quilter Cheviot, a wealth manager, said the investment was a “drop in the ocean” for Google and “simply represents prudent business. The announcement on the Google data centre is a good start, but lots more is required before the UK can start thinking in such grand terms as a future Silicon Valley.”
Google said it had started to build the facility on a 33-acre site in Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire, with an aim for construction to be completed by 2025. The company said it was too early to say how many jobs would be created at the site, but it confirmed the centre would require engineers, project managers, data centre technicians, electricians, catering and security personnel.
It adds to its 27 data centres worldwide, with sites in 11 countries, including 13 in the United States.
Google said that the site, which it bought in October 2020, also would be constructed in line with its net-zero aims, with plans for the significant heat generated by the data centre to be used to heat homes and businesses in the local area.
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Google to build new $1bn data centre in Waltham Cross

The manufacturing industry today is marked by its pronounced shift toward digitization.
While this transition promises enhanced efficiency and accuracy, it also unearths critical challenges, especially when it comes to maintaining impeccable product quality. A minor oversight on a circuit board or a subtle software bug could jeopardize your entire production batch, tarnishing your brand’s image in the process.
According to the International Federation of Robotics, global robot installations were projected to grow by 10% in 2022, reaching almost 570,000 units, with average annual growth rates expected in the medium to upper single-digit range from 2022 to 2025. As the adoption of robotics and automation intensifies, it becomes increasingly critical for businesses to support these systems with advanced data analytics to ensure impeccable product quality.
Strategies for Implementing Advanced Data Analytics and Automation
Overcoming Human Limitations
In manufacturing quality control, overcoming human limitations is a critical objective. Human inspectors are susceptible to fatigue-induced errors, and the subjectivity in standardizing quality assessment among inspectors can lead to inconsistencies. To address these challenges, manufacturers are turning to cutting-edge technologies, such as Computer Vision (CV) and Advanced Machine Learning algorithms.
CV and Advanced Machine Learning offer a revolutionary approach to quality control. These systems ensure precise, consistent, and rapid anomaly detection, surpassing the capabilities of human inspectors. Unlike humans, these technologies do not tire, ensuring round-the-clock vigilance over manufacturing processes. Moreover, they excel in standardizing quality assessment by applying consistent criteria to every inspection, eliminating subjectivity. Beyond recognizing superficial defects,  these algorithms excel in diagnosing intricate issues that might escape the human eye, making them indispensable tools for ensuring impeccable product quality in the manufacturing industry.
Ditching Outdated QC Methods
Despite the era of Industry 4.0, many manufacturing companies still rely on outdated quality control methods, including spreadsheets, paper logs, and manual checklists. These archaic approaches not only consume excessive time but are also prone to errors. To stay competitive and ensure the highest quality standards, transitioning to an integrated digital quality management system is essential. Such automated systems enable real-time monitoring, data analysis, and quality assurance, reducing the risks associated with manual processes. These systems typically consist of the following components:

Data Integration: Digital quality management systems integrate with various data sources, including production equipment, sensors, and databases, to collect real-time data on product quality and manufacturing processes.
Automation: These systems automate quality control tasks, such as inspections and data collection, reducing the reliance on manual labor and minimizing human errors.
Quality Assurance: There are modules in these digital systems for quality assurance, allowing organizations to define quality standards, track compliance, and manage deviations.
Integration with IoT: Many modern systems integrate with the Internet of Things (IoT) devices and sensors, allowing for continuous data collection from production equipment and products.
Scalability: These systems are designed to be scalable, accommodating the needs of growing manufacturing operations.

Harnessing Actionable Insights from Big Data
In a digitized manufacturing environment, every process, machine, and product generates a wealth of data. However, raw data, without the lens of insightful analytics, can cloud decision-making. This is where advanced data analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) come into play. By employing these technologies, businesses can derive actionable intelligence from the data deluge. This shift toward data-driven decision-making enables a proactive approach to quality management, where potential issues are identified and addressed even before they manifest, preventing costly defects and production delays.
As a pivot to this technological overhaul, integrating low-code/no-code platforms can simplify the implementation of these advanced systems. For instance, a no-code platform can be used to swiftly design dashboards for real-time quality monitoring without delving deep into intricate coding. This ensures that even those unfamiliar with programming can contribute to maintaining quality standards.
A Case Study in Advanced Data Analytics and AI Integration
One notable example of the application of advanced data analytics and AI in manufacturing quality control is the case of Global Unichip Corporation (GUC). As GUC develops increasingly complex microchips, ensuring quality at scale becomes a formidable challenge. To address this, GUC collaborated with proteanTecs, an AWS Partner Network member, to implement a solution that combines embedded data within the ASICs (application-specific integrated circuits) with predictive AI. This approach allows GUC to track and proactively repair silicon defects before they can lead to system failure. The results of this partnership have been remarkable, with GUC and proteanTecs significantly enhancing the quality and reliability of GUC’s microchips.
The integration of predictive AI into quality management exemplifies the power of data-driven decision-making in the manufacturing industry. By identifying potential issues in advance and taking corrective actions promptly, manufacturers can not only prevent costly defects but also optimize production processes for greater efficiency and consistency. This highlights the transformative potential of advanced data analytics and AI in ensuring impeccable product quality.
Final Thoughts
The manufacturing industry’s pursuit of the highest quality standards necessitates the integration of advanced data analytics, automation, and low-code/no-code solutions. Manufacturers that embrace these technologies not only enhance their operational efficiency but also fortify their market reputation. As the era of Industry 4.0 unfolds, staying ahead in quality control is not just an option but a strategic imperative for sustained success in the manufacturing sector.
Read more:
How to optimize manufacturing quality through advanced data analytics and automation

Tata Steel is to push ahead with plans to close both blast furnaces at its Port Talbot works in south Wales.
The move is expected to lead to the loss of up to 3,000 jobs.
The decision follows a meeting between Tata executives and the Community, GMB and Unite unions at a London hotel today.
It is expected to be formally announced by Tata tomorrow.
Tata is planning to replace the blast furnaces – which produce new steel from iron ore – with a modern electric arc furnace.
This will produce usable steel from scrap metal. It will be more environmentally friendly to operate, but require a smaller workforce.
Last year, the government said it would support the £1.25bn plan with up to £500m of public money.
A plan put forward by the GMB and Community had argued that one of the blast furnaces should be kept open for a transitional period, alongside a new electric arc furnace, to safeguard jobs and preserve the UK’s ability to make new steel. However, Tata has been reluctant to do this because of the costs involved in keeping the existing furnaces and support operations going.
Tata Steel’s Port Talbot plant is the largest steelworks in the UK, it currently employs 4,000 of the company’s 8,000-strong UK workforce.
These plans would see 75% of of the workforce at Port Talbot lose their jobs.
It is understood that a large proportion of these 3,000 jobs will be gone by September of this year.
The first job losses are likely to begin in April, with more following in September.
Read more:
Tata Steel to cut 3,000 jobs at Port Talbot

Britain’s biggest high street lenders expect the sharpest rise in defaults on unsecured lending since 2009, according to a Bank of England survey, as households come under growing pressure amid the cost of living crisis.
The figures from Threadneedle Street show banks expect a marked rise in the number of people who fail to meet repayments on credit cards, loans and other forms of unsecured borrowing over the next three months.
An index of lenders’ expectations for defaults in the first quarter of 2024 showed a reading of +31.7 on the Bank’s credit conditions survey. If the forecasts are accurate, it would mark the sharpest quarterly rise in defaults since late 2009 during the global financial crisis.
Households are coming under mounting pressure from rising borrowing costs after 14 consecutive interest rate rises from the central bank since December 2021, launched in response to the inflation shock triggered by supply shortages cause by the Covid pandemic and Russia’s war in Ukraine.
Defaults on mortgage payments also increased sharply at the end of last year, according to the credit conditions survey, and are expected to continue rising in early 2024 as more borrowers feel the pinch.
Despite a price war in the mortgage market at the start of the year, millions of homeowners are expected to face a sharp rise in borrowing costs as they reach the end of cheaper deals agreed before interest rates began to rise.
Sarah Coles, the head of personal finance at the investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “There was a massive surge in missed debt repayments at the end of last year, as a huge number of those whose finances had been on a knife-edge, finally tipped over into a debt disaster.”
Lenders have been too pessimistic about potential increases in loan defaults in the recent past. As recently as late 2022, the index for default expectations over the next three months hit +34.3 for the third quarter of 2023, but then fell to +19.9 after the quarter was complete.
The latest survey showed that banks expected demand for mortgages for house purchase and remortgaging to have fallen in the fourth quarter of last year, but would pick up in the first three months of 2024. Demand for unsecured lending also fell at the end of last year, but was expected to increase in the first quarter.
Coles said high street banks had not yet taken steps to clamp down on lending, although they were shortening the period of interest-free credit cards in response to concerns over consumers’ ability to repay.
“However, if the picture worsens again in the coming months, they may well take more steps to limit their lending. It means those who are counting on being able to borrow more to get through could find themselves running into a brick wall,” she added.
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UK banks expect sharp rise in defaults on unsecured debt

Apple has been forced to stop selling its Apple Watch in the US over claims the devices are running on stolen technology – after a federal court lifted a pause on the ban.
All Apple stores and third party retailers will be prohibited from selling the latest Series 9 and Ultra 2 models with the blood oxygen today.
The announcement means the only available Apple watch in the US will be the company’s budget SE model.
Industry experts have said that it could result in up to a $200 million revenue loss for Apple during one of its most lucrative times of year.
The order comes after Apple was found to have copied patented medical technology from the California-based biotech company Massimo.
A ban on Apple sales was originally set to start on December 26 but was lifted temporarily a day later after Apple requested a hold for the duration of the appeals process, but that is likely to take months.
The legal proceedings only affect Apple Watch sales in the US, which accounted for 42 percent of its overall revenue from North America last year. One in three apple watches sold worldwide are sold in the US.
Apple argued it was likely to win its appeal and that keeping the ban in effect would harm the company, its suppliers and the public.
The commission countered that Apple’s arguments ‘amount to little more’ than a patent infringer ‘requesting permission to continue infringing.’
US Customs and Border Protection has said that Apple can continue selling the devices in the meantime if it redesigns and replaces the hardware – a process that could take months.
Apple has not yet described the redesign publicly, which could involve an update to the watches’ software.
According to court documents, the tech giant is planning to remove the technology from the smartwatches in question in a solution that Masimo has welcomed.
Ben Bajarin, chief executive of analyst firm Creative Strategies, said Apple likely will disable the blood oxygen features on the two models rather than stop selling them.
Reports have suggested that with Apple replacing the hardware, it will take the company at least three months to produce and ship corrected smartwatches.
Masimo accused Apple of entering discussions with it for a potential partnership in 2013, only to steal the biotech startup’s idea and poach some of its engineers to implement it.
Masimo say that they pioneered a sensor technology that consistently emits light through the skin to monitor blood oxygen saturation.
Apple’s technology shines red and near-infrared (IR) light into blood-perfused tissue.
According to the company website, Masimo, founded by Joe Kiani in 1989, holds thousands of healthcare and consumer-focused patents.
Data shows that Masimo is valued at $6.69 billion, and Kiani’s net worth is $1.3 billion.
Massimo CEO Joe Kiani is leading the lawsuit against Apple and it is reported that he has spent at least $60 million fighting Apple in court.
In October, the ITC announced its ruling, finding that the devices infringed on two patents owned by biotech company Masimo, based in California.
Apple decided to halt sales on December 18 in an effort to ‘preemptively take steps to comply should the ruling stand.’
‘Apple strongly disagrees with the order and is pursuing a range of legal and technical options to ensure that Apple Watch is available to customers,’ the company said in a December statement.
The ban went into effect on December 24, which then left the decision to the Biden Administration that opted not to veto a ruling on patent infringements.
It is rare for a president to veto a decision from the ITC, but Apple has benefitted from such an intervention in the past and likely had high hopes it could happen again. But the Biden Administration stayed quiet.
Apple then filed an emergency motion with the US Appeals Court in an attempt to pause the ban, which went in effect on December 28 – letting retailers restart sales.
However, the move was temporary and sales have again been halted.
A Masimo has stated on record that  ‘Masimo is willing to settle and  As Joe Kiani has indicated,s aying: “we believe the path forward is to have honest, good-faith discussions with Apple to explore the various ways the parties could resolve their dispute.:
Read more:
Apple banned from selling smartwatches over claims it stole medical tech after court rejected tech giant’s appeal banned sales in US

With the self-assessment tax return deadline looming, HMRC has highlighted that as many as 44,800 taxpayers have already chosen to spread their tax payments via payment plans with the tax office – however, millions of people yet to file their tax returns have been warned by an expert to be mindful of “sky-high interest rates” applied by HMRC.
In a press release published today, HMRC said more than 7.7m self-assessment customers have filed their tax returns for the 2022/2023 tax year. Included in this group are 44,800 individuals who have requested to set up a ‘Time to Pay’ arrangement with the tax office, totalling £148m.
Anything submitted past midnight on 31st January is considered late and can incur a £100 fixed penalty, which applies even if there is no tax to pay or if the tax is paid on time. After 3 months, these penalties can rise to £900, with HMRC applying a further 5% penalty (or £300, whichever is greater) after 6 months and again after 12 months.
If self-assessment taxpayers owe less than £30,000 they can use the affordability checker on gov.uk and see online to see if they can set up a ‘Time to Pay’. However, with interest applied to any outstanding balances from 1st February – and currently set at 7.75% – self-employed workers have been urged to be mindful.
Seb Maley, CEO Qdos – a tax insurance provider for self-employed workers – commented: “While spreading out your tax bill helps many people make ends meet for the short term, the sky-high interest charged by HMRC means it can cost you considerably more overall.
“As it stands, HMRC charges 7.75% on late payments, which it slaps on tax bills paid after the 31st January deadline, irrespective of whether you’ve set up a Time to Pay or not.
“Incidentally, those due a tax refund – after having paid too much tax on their self-assessment – will only receive 4.25% interest back from the tax office. Put differently, HMRC charges 3.5% more interest than it pays out.
“If you’re not able to pay your tax bill – whether in one go or via a Time to Pay – it’s vital to get in contact with HMRC. Along with being hit with fines and interest, by burying your head in the sand and not sorting your tax return, you could well face a tax investigation too.”
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HMRC promotes tax payment plan as self-assessment deadline looms