Category: Economy

Economy, Profitability, Social Theory, UKLeave a comment

Revealed: Scottish state pays staff £27m for jobs that don’t exist

Colin Henderson

An SNP ban on compulsory redundancy means 800 public-sector ‘ghost workers’ are on full pay even though their roles are gone Saturday October 24 2026, 5.00pm BST, Hundreds of public sector workers in Scotland are costing the taxpayer at least £27m a year because their jobs no longer exist and the SNP refuses to make them redundant. A Sunday Times investigation has uncovered about 800 cases of NHS, central government, council and quango workers who no longer have a fixed role and who might ordinarily have been made redundant but remain on the public payroll.  The cost to the taxpayer is … Continue reading Revealed: Scottish state pays staff £27m for jobs that don’t exist

AI, AI_research, Economy, Geopolitics, Innovation, sociology, UK

Leading in the Age of AI: How to Build an AI-Enabled State

Colin Henderson

 Summarize Tony Blair https://institute.global/insights/politics-and-governance/leading-in-the-age-of-ai-how-to-build-an-ai-enabled-state?utm_medium=email&utm_source=salesforce&sftoken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpYXQiOjE3OTAyODY1MTIsImV4cCI6MTc5MDI4NjU3MiwiaW5kaXZpZHVhbElkIjoiMDBRU3EwMDAwMGZmc2xKTUFRIiwidGVuYW50SWQiOiJhMzYwL3Byb2QxMy80YTJiMjQ0ODA1YzA0MDUzODA5NTRkYjRjOGFmMDU4ZSIsImNvcmVUZW5hbnRJZCI6ImNvcmUvcHJvZC8wMERkMzAwMDAwMlp4akpFQVMifQ.DSEi6U6fhKW8KflQAEEOS0axalMt3OoxG_MImqN8Xrs Foreword The question leaders should be asking themselves is not whether AI is a good thing or a bad thing. Rather, it is simply the thing: the defining technological reality of our age. Their task is to understand it, shape it and ensure that their countries have the mechanisms to both harness and control it.  AI is often compared with the Industrial Revolution, but even that comparison risks understating the scale and speed of what lies ahead. The previous revolution transformed our world over generations; AI will do so within a decade. The speed is without … Continue reading Leading in the Age of AI: How to Build an AI-Enabled State

AI_regulation, Diplomacy, Disinformation, Economy, Europe, Geopolitics, NATO, World Order

Morning Briefing — Thursday, 4 June 2026 · 08:00 EST · ~1,250 words

Colin Henderson

Today’s news environment is dominated by a single thread pulled tight: the Iran ceasefire is fracturing in real time, with US-Iran military exchanges now drawing Kuwait and Bahrain into the blast radius, even as both sides claim talks are progressing. Against that backdrop, two significant flanking developments emerged overnight — the House passed a war powers rebuke of Trump, and the EU dropped a landmark tech sovereignty package that structurally repositions it against both the US and China. The tariff story is also re-escalating in a new legal wrapper. 1. What Changed Iran ceasefire at its most dangerous inflection pointThe … Continue reading Morning Briefing — Thursday, 4 June 2026 · 08:00 EST · ~1,250 words

AI_regulation, briefing, Diplomacy, Economy, Europe, Geopolitics, iran, US

Morning Briefing — Monday, 1 June 2026 · 10:21 EST · 1,310 words

Colin Henderson

Today’s news is dominated by a single unresolved inflection point: the US-Iran MOU that was “essentially agreed” Thursday is still not signed, with Trump adding tougher nuclear language over the weekend and Tehran not publicly confirming acceptance. That ambiguity is holding oil markets in a narrow anxious range around $93/bbl. Alongside that, Hegseth’s Shangri-La speech Saturday and fresh reporting that Washington will table an accelerated European troop drawdown at the June NATO force conference give the transatlantic thread new urgency. The briefing today has more forward-looking instability than news of events already resolved. 1. What Changed Trump holds on Iran … Continue reading Morning Briefing — Monday, 1 June 2026 · 10:21 EST · 1,310 words

Diplomacy, Economy, Europe, Geopolitics, iran, Israel

Morning Briefing — Sunday, 31 May 2026 · 09:37 EST · ~1,250 words

Colin Henderson

Today’s news environment remains entirely dominated by the Iran-Hormuz-ceasefire cluster, with three sub-threads in simultaneous motion: the fragile MoU framework falling short of Trump’s Friday demands, Israel’s deepest ground incursion into Lebanon since 2000, and the first suspected mine in the strait since the ceasefire. Secondary pressure comes from a global economy absorbing a historic energy shock with no resolution in sight. AI governance produces a genuinely significant structural signal: Colorado has rewritten its landmark AI law just before its effective date, stripping the risk-management framework and removing the banking exemption that financial institutions previously relied on. 1. What Changed … Continue reading Morning Briefing — Sunday, 31 May 2026 · 09:37 EST · ~1,250 words

AI, Business Models, Economy

Analysis of Tony Blair essay on policy and business operating framework

Colin Henderson

The Labour Party Is Playing With Fire Over Its Future and the Future of the Country This new essay from Tony Blair is aimed at the British Labour party, however politics aside there is much to consider as the world and business wrestles with the industrial and business revolution from AI and the associated political and economic framework within which they operate. The full essay follows the analysis.. Summary Assessment Blair’s essay is analytically useful not for its British political context but for its structural framing. The core intellectual contribution is the elevation of AI governance from a technology policy … Continue reading Analysis of Tony Blair essay on policy and business operating framework

Development, Economy, Innovation

New Data: China, India & CEE buck investment trends, Venture capital soars, US capital left on the sidelines

Colin Henderson

Latest Data & Analysis Report by the Global Private Capital Association. The Q1 Report features in-depth private capital data and key trends across global markets. N.B. GPCA represents private capital investors managing >US$2 trillion in assets across the Middle East, Asia, LatAm, Africa, and C&E Europe. Highlights          – Chiefly due to less PE & Infrastructure mega-deals closing. Deal volume remained steady India & China buck this trend – value up 44% y-o-y in India, and 10% in China Second highest quarter on record for Digital Infrastructure build – AI infrastructure, computing power and data storage – $5 billion-  Acceleration continues – … Continue reading New Data: China, India & CEE buck investment trends, Venture capital soars, US capital left on the sidelines

Economy, Europe, Geopolitics, iran, Israel, US

Morning Briefing — Monday, 25 May 2026 · ~9:00 AM EST · ~1,150 words⸻

Colin Henderson

Today is dominated by two simultaneous inflection points: a US-Iran ceasefire framework reportedly agreed this morning, and Russia’s heaviest missile-and-drone attack on Kyiv since the war began — both breaking within hours of each other. The geopolitical frame shifts from the Iran theatre to Eastern Europe and back in the same news cycle. The Ebola PHEIC in DRC/Uganda is escalating faster than most media coverage reflects. ⸻ 1. What Changed Iran-US: 60-Day Ceasefire Framework Reportedly in Hand ⚑The Washington Post and Axios are both reporting this morning that the US and Iran have finalized a framework document. Under it: ceasefire … Continue reading Morning Briefing — Monday, 25 May 2026 · ~9:00 AM EST · ~1,150 words⸻

Economy, Geopolitics, iran, Israel

Morning Briefing — Monday, May 18, 2026 · 9:31 AM EST · ~1,150 words

Colin Henderson

Today’s briefing is dominated by a single escalating thread: the Iran conflict is approaching a decision point. Three signals converged over the weekend — an Iranian proxy drone strike on the UAE’s nuclear power plant, Trump’s “clock is ticking” social media post following a call with Netanyahu, and a confirmed White House NSC session Tuesday to review military options. The news environment is materially more kinetic than Friday. Diplomatic space is compressing. 1. Top Stories — What Changed Drones strike Barakah nuclear plant perimeter in the UAEThree drones entered UAE airspace Sunday; two were intercepted, one struck an electrical generator … Continue reading Morning Briefing — Monday, May 18, 2026 · 9:31 AM EST · ~1,150 words

China, Diplomacy, Economy, US, World Order

Morning Briefing — Friday, May 15, 2026 · EST · ~1,150 words

Colin Henderson

Today’s briefing is dominated by the aftermath of the Trump-Xi summit in Beijing, which closed overnight with underwhelming results and a sharp Chinese threat on Taiwan that the US readout chose to ignore. That asymmetric framing is the sharpest geopolitical signal of the week. Simultaneously, Iran negotiations remain deadlocked on two core issues — Hormuz sovereignty and nuclear sequencing — while the three-day Ukraine ceasefire expired amid mutual recrimination. Europe’s strategic posture continues to harden structurally, independent of any single day’s events. 1. What Changed Trump-Xi summit closes: stabilisation, not breakthroughTrump left Beijing with a Boeing order (200 jets vs. … Continue reading Morning Briefing — Friday, May 15, 2026 · EST · ~1,150 words