Latest news with #Oxford Economics
Zawya
2 days ago
- Business
- Zawya
ServiceNow Index: Whilst AI investment is rising, AI maturity falls across Europe and the Middle East
Dubai, United Arab Emirates – ServiceNow, the AI platform for business transformation, has released its latest Enterprise AI Maturity Index in partnership with Oxford Economics. The findings reveal a surprising trend in Europe and the Middle East: although AI investment continues to grow, the average AI maturity score across the region has dropped by 10 points year over year. As enterprises struggle to keep pace with rapid innovation, many are finding it difficult to translate AI ambition into scalable, effective execution. The index examines five key components: leadership and strategy, workflows, talent, governance, and investment. Together they provide a comprehensive view of how prepared organisations are to scale AI successfully; their AI maturity level. Now in its second year, the global report draws on insights from almost 4,500 respondents globally, including 1,950 across nine markets in Europe and the Middle East including the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia. It shows that emerging technologies such as agentic AI are fuelling experimentation and delivering early returns across the region. However, the pace of change is moving faster than organisations' ability to scale AI in a structured, governed way. To this end, the region's average AI maturity score has dropped 10 points year on year, from 44 to just 34 out of 100. Cathy Mauzaize, President, EMEA at ServiceNow, says 'Organisations across Europe and the Middle East are accelerating their AI projects, but many are still in the early stages of their journey. They recognise the potential and now is the time to build on that energy. To keep moving forward, organisations are exploring how to lay the right foundations to make the data work for them, and give their people the skills to use AI with confidence. According to IDC, European spending on artificial intelligence will reach $144.6 billion in 2028 [1]. The opportunity is huge, but only if we focus on getting the basics right today.' The report also outlines three major trends shaping the region's AI journey and what's needed to turn early success into lasting transformation. AI is outpacing organisations' capacity to harness it There is a clear appetite for innovation, with nearly half (47%) of organisations in Europe and the Middle East launching more than 100 AI use cases in the past year. UAE-based organisations are showing similar AI activity (49%), reflecting growing interest in large-scale experimentation. Still, most remain in the early stages of implementation, as reflected in this year's overall European AI maturity score of just 34. The majority of the region's organisations are focused on experimentation and expansion, with only 6% reaching the augmentation stage, which is the most advanced stage identified in the survey. In the UAE, the AI maturity score stands at 35 which is the highest in Europe and the Middle East, tied with the UK with 9% of organisations progressing to the most advanced stage. Agentic AI presents a clear opportunity Agentic AI, the AI that can act autonomously, is positioned to reshape enterprise automation. However, awareness varies widely across the region. While 15% of organisations in Europe and the Middle East are already using agentic AI and 42% plan to implement it within 12 months, familiarity is still in its early days. Only one in five organisations are very family with agentic AI, revealing a significant knowledge gap. The opportunity is clear, with over half of early adopters in Europe reporting improved gross margins (58%), greater efficiency and productivity (59%), and better experiences (60%). Governance is the missing link Rising adoption brings rising risk. AI at scale introduces serious challenges around cybersecurity, privacy, and regulatory compliance. And while the number of UAE organisations that have made significant strides in AI data governance rose slightly from 42% in 2024 to 45% in 2025, there is a need for a greater focus on managing AI risk effectively. This is particularly true given that data security is cited by UAE organisations as the top barrier to realizing AI value. To scale AI safely and effectively, governance must be foundational — not an afterthought. That means embedding policy, oversight, and accountability into platforms from the outset and approaching new technologies like agentic AI with a clear strategy in place. Read the full report at to learn more. Methodology ServiceNow paired again with Oxford Economics to survey just under 4,500 executives from 16 countries and 11 industries to measure organisational performance across five pillars of AI maturity: AI strategy and leadership, workflow integration, talent and workforce, AI governance, and AI investment. Based on responses, ServiceNow assigned each organisation an overall AI maturity score between 0 and 100. About ServiceNow ServiceNow (NYSE: NOW) is putting AI to work for people. We move with the pace of innovation to help customers transform organizations across every industry while upholding a trustworthy, human centered approach to deploying our products and services at scale. Our AI platform for business transformation connects people, processes, data, and devices to increase productivity and maximize business outcomes. For more information, visit:
CNA
23-07-2025
- Automotive
- CNA
Nikkei rally buoys Asian shares as Trump announces Japan trade deal
SYDNEY :Japanese shares led an Asian share market rally on Wednesday after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a trade deal with Japan and fuelled hopes of more to come, offsetting mixed U.S. earnings that highlighted the drags from higher tariffs. Trump late on Tuesday announced a trade deal with Tokyo that he said will result in Japan investing $550 billion into the United States and paying a 15 per cent reciprocal tariff. It followed an agreement with the Philippines that will see the U.S. collect a 19 per cent tariff rate on imports from there. "Though details are not yet available, it is commendable that the 25 per cent baseline tariff was avoided," Norihiro Yamaguchi, senior Japan economist at Oxford Economics. "In the short run I think lowered uncertainty will be welcomed in the equity market. But global trade policy uncertainty will remain high, meaning that today's conclusion will provide little upside to the real economy." The U.S. president also said representatives from the European Union are coming for trade negotiations on Wednesday. In another positive development, U.S. and Chinese officials will meet in Stockholm next week to discuss an extension to the August 12 deadline for negotiating a trade deal, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said. Japan's Nikkei rose 1.7 per cent on Wednesday as shares of automakers surged. Mazda Motor rallied 12 per cent while Toyota Motor jumped 10 per cent. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan advanced 0.2 per cent underpinned by higher openings in Australia and South Korea. The yen initially gained on the news, but was last flat at 146.68 per dollar. Nasdaq futures climbed 0.1 per cent and S&P 500 futures gained 0.2 per cent in Asia. Overnight, Wall Street closed mixed as investors assessed a spate of varied earnings and signs that Trump's trade war is hitting corporate profit margins. General Motors tumbled 8.1 per cent after the automaker reported a $1 billion hit from tariffs to its quarterly results. Investors are now waiting for results from Tesla and Google's parent Alphabet - the Magnificent 7 stocks that have driven much of the market rally fuelled by AI optimism. In the foreign exchange market, the dollar index was flat at 97.45 against its major peers, having slipped 0.4 per cent overnight to mark the third straight day of declines. Benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury yields ticked up 2 basis points to 4.3579, after slipping 3 bps overnight, as Trump continued to lash out at Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell for not cutting interest rates, although Bessent said there was no need for him to step down immediately. Bessent did say the Fed's vital independence on monetary policy is threatened by its "mandate creep" into non-policy areas and he called on the U.S. central bank to conduct an exhaustive review of those operations.
CTV News
18-07-2025
- Business
- CTV News
CTV National News: Defence spending may not stop recession
CTV National News: Defence spending may not stop recession Analysts with Oxford Economics suggest Canada is headed for a recession, despite increasing defence spending. Judy Trinh looks at the numbers.
Telegraph
15-07-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Only tax inherited pensions worth more than £90k, Reeves urged
Savers with less than £90,000 in pensions would be spared from death taxes under proposals put forward to the Government. The Investing and Saving Alliance (Tisa), a lobby group representing hundreds of financial services companies, has urged the Chancellor to rethink plans to bring pensions into the inheritance tax system. In her maiden Budget, Rachel Reeves announced unspent pensions would be brought into the scope for inheritance tax from April 2027. The family of someone dying over the age of 75 would potentially see their inheritance reduced by death duties at 40pc, and then pay income tax on the remainder. In a report produced with Oxford Economics, Tisa suggested alternative ways to tax pensions and raise similar amounts of revenue without placing an 'additional burden' on grieving families. Under one proposal, families would pay no tax if the deceased's pension pots add up to less than £90,000. Over this threshold, the beneficiaries would pay income tax at their 'marginal' or highest rate. Dependants would be able to take the inherited pension as income over time, while non-dependants would have to take it as a lump sum. Currently, pensions are inherited entirely tax-free if the deceased is under the age of 75 – up to a limit of £1.07m. Under Tisa's second proposal, families would pay a flat tax rate on all unused pension funds over a certain threshold. It was suggested this could be a 25pc charge on pensions worth more than £150,000, 30pc over £200,000, or 35pc over £250,000. According to Oxford Economics' modelling, both proposals would raise about as much as the Government's inheritance tax raid. The reforms are expected to generate just over £1bn in revenue in the first year and £2bn annually after that. Tom Selby, of stockbroker AJ Bell, said inheritance tax was 'arguably the most complex, time-consuming way' of taxing pensions. He added: 'If the Treasury refuses to budge, it will be the bereaved families of people who have saved diligently all their lives who will be left to handle this administrative nightmare.' Under current plans, pensions will be included as part of an individual's estate for inheritance tax purposes from April 2027. The tax is charged at 40pc on the part of an estate worth more than £325,000 – or £500,000 if a homeowner leaves their main property to their children. Couples can share their allowances so they can potentially pass on £1m. The measures were announced in the Chancellor's October Budget, and a technical consultation was launched at the end of last year. But wealth managers and pension providers warn the new system could lead to widespread delays, with grieving families paying inheritance tax late through no fault of their own, and subsequently being hit with penalties by the taxman. Inheritance tax must be paid within six months, otherwise HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will start charging interest at 8.25pc. Andrew Tully, of the investment platform Nucleus, said: 'This complex process will cause bereaved families confusion and stress at a difficult time, and doesn't fit well with the support firms may want to provide people who are likely to be vulnerable following the death of a loved one. 'Most importantly, it will significantly slow down the payment of death benefits, and mean many beneficiaries will lose out financially after inheritance tax late payment interest penalties are levied.' Experts also warned the inheritance tax raid could ensnare far more families than predicted. According to government estimates, 10,500 estates which would previously have avoided the charge will now pay inheritance tax in 2027-28 because of the pension reforms. But the number of families caught out is likely to rise over the years due to rising house prices and frozen inheritance tax thresholds. Tisa's Renny Biggins said: 'The two alternatives we've set out offer a simple and proportionate approach, taxing beneficiaries on what they receive in a way that still discourages the use of pensions as a wealth transfer vehicle, but does not pull unused pensions into the complex inheritance tax system.'
