Bitesize Blighty: January 5, 2018
- At last this week the much-anticipated Markets in Financial Instruments Directive II was implemented (also known as MiFID II)! MiFID II's January 3rd debut did not go unnoticed by the media (Trendkite estimates 5,661 articles mentioning MiFID this week alone) and was certainly the focus of the week. MiFID II was billed as the biggest shake-up to European markets for a decade, but some bankers and investors warned it will take several years before its effects are fully felt.
- How is social media impacting our mental health? Turns out it depends on your personality and pre-existing conditions. BBC Future investigated the impact of social platforms on stress, mood, anxiety, depression, sleep, addiction, self-esteem, well-being, relationships, envy and loneliness as part of a series called '#LikeMinded' looking at social media's effect on mental health and well-being.
- Unfortunately there has been bad weather on both sides of the Atlantic this week. Super storm Eleanor has swept over the UK and the rest of Europe this past week. Packed with hurricane-like gusts (over 100 miles per hour), the storm pounded into the British Isles and Ireland Tuesday evening, and continued to ravage the rest of Europe for the remainder of the week, leaving thousands without power or access to transportation. The storm, combined with the ferocious surf caused by the super moon, has created gargantuan sand cliffs along the Cornish coastline, creating problems for coastal business owners and forcing beaches to close for the time being. The gusts all over Europe have caused rerouted landings and cancellations of flights in a number of domestic and international airports. Unfortunately, the storm has also seen casualties: in France, a skier has died due to being hit by a falling tree, and in Spain, two surfers died after being swept away by a huge wave.