FEATURED IN TODAYS NEWSLETTER

• After the Budget: 7 Steps to Keep Your Finances Secure

• How Product Delays Expose Big Tech’s Fight to Stay Cutting-Edge

• SEC Targets Immutable with Wells Notice Amid Crypto Crackdown

Business

After the Budget: 7 Steps to Keep Your Finances Secure

Now that the budget details are clear and the rumor mill has quieted, it might feel like a good time to relax. However, this moment is crucial for safeguarding your finances against potential budget impacts and preparing for the future. If any rushed pre-budget financial moves are causing regret, there may still be a chance to reverse them.

Instead of getting lost in endless budget analysis, focus on actionable steps that can protect your finances. Here are seven essential steps:

1. Start Saving: With wage increases expected in the near term, consider setting up automatic savings to build an emergency fund. While wages are projected to grow by 4.7% in 2024 and 3.6% in 2025, they may level off afterward, so preparing now is wise.

2. Manage Capital Gains Tax (CGT): The budget increased CGT rates to 18% for basic rate taxpayers and 24% for higher rate taxpayers. To minimize CGT, consider using your annual allowance, transferring investments to an ISA, or offsetting losses against gains.

LATEST IN CRYPTO

SEC Targets Immutable with Wells Notice Amid Crypto Crackdown

Web3 gaming firm Immutable announced on Friday that it received a Wells Notice from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) shortly after its first interaction with the agency. The notice, which contained limited details, is believed to target the listing and private sales of Immutable's IMX token in 2021, particularly a pre-launch purchase by Huobi Ventures Blockchain Fund. Following the announcement, IMX's price dropped over 13% to $1.16. A Wells Notice indicates that the SEC plans to pursue legal action, and Immutable criticized the SEC's approach, asserting that the IMX token is not a security and expressing readiness to challenge the regulator's actions.

TECH

How Product Delays Expose Big Tech’s Fight to Stay Cutting-Edge

Amazon's Alexa has been interacting with the public since November 2014, becoming one of the first AI systems widely used. Over the years, Amazon refined Alexa's capabilities, but with the rise of ChatGPT and its ability to understand complex queries and produce realistic responses, Alexa’s simpler command-based system began to feel outdated. To maintain its market lead, Amazon hurried to integrate advanced AI into Alexa; however, delays and technical challenges, including "hallucinated" responses in tests, have postponed a new AI-enhanced Alexa until next year.

Originally expected in 2023, the revamped Alexa faced setbacks due to development issues and uncertainty around the product’s strategic purpose. The Verge noted that Amazon may have learned from other tech product missteps and delayed the launch to avoid releasing a flawed experience. Meanwhile, Meta has encountered similar challenges with augmented and virtual reality tech, as it works to produce a high-end headset to rival Apple’s Vision Pro. Though Meta’s Quest line has been popular, selling at $500 and focused on gaming, it now faces the pressure of competing with Apple’s more advanced AR/VR headset.