London Housing Rents Fall for the First Time Since the Pandemic
They fell 0.1% on average to £2,250 ($3,036) per month following three months of near-stagnation, Land Registry figures published Wednesday by the Office for National Statistics show. London rents last declined in July 2021.
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Yahoo
11 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Generative AI Course With Certification For SWE's, PM's and Engineering Managers - Interview Kickstart's Roadmap To Becoming An AI ENGINEER in 2025 For US Tech Professionals
Santa Clara, Aug. 20, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In a world where financial institutions grapple with increasingly complex compliance and risk detection requirements, generative AI is emerging as a game-changer. The launch of the UK Financial Conduct Authority's "supercharged sandbox" in partnership with Nvidia has opened the floodgates for banks to pilot advanced AI for fraud detection and market manipulation in a controlled environment. For more information, visit: Meanwhile, AI-powered tools from major banks and fintech firms are slashing manual review times from contract analysis to transaction monitoring by hundreds of thousands of hours annually. Generative AI models, backed by Retrieval-Augmented Generation (RAG) frameworks and LangChain components, are enabling precise, context-aware responses while keeping data secure behind enterprise firewalls. Interview Kickstart, a leading upskilling platform trusted by thousands of tech professionals, offers an Applied Generative AI course designed to prepare engineers for high-impact roles at FAANG and top-tier companies. Tailored tracks for software engineers stand out, covering a structured Python crash course, deep dives into LLMs, neural networks, and applied modules on image and audio GenAI. The program spans 12 weeks of hands-on training and culminates in software-focused capstone projects. By the end, learners are able to build intelligent meeting summarizers, virtual coding assistants, and AI customer service agents—skills that mirror the real-world needs of financial institutions and tech giants alike. In financial services, AI-driven risk detection and compliance systems are rapidly becoming the backbone of operational efficiency. JPMorgan Chase's COiN platform leverages NLP to process thousands of contracts per second, saving over 360,000 manual review hours annually. Similarly, Mastercard's real-time fraud detection system evaluates 160 billion transactions each year, improving detection rates by up to 300% while minimizing false declines. These cutting-edge deployments rely heavily on RAG systems that couple textual embeddings with deep language models. To stay legally compliant, they embed secure pipelines that shield sensitive data, often combining vector embeddings, fine-grained permissions, and local indexing to ensure confidentiality. Interview Kickstart's Applied Generative AI course equips learners with exactly these in-demand skills. Modules centered on prompt engineering, model fine-tuning, and secure deployment directly map to real-world compliance workflows. LangChain integration is a core highlight: students learn to build secure RAG agents over private databases, employ document loaders, manage vector stores, and create RAG chains with retrieval and generation linked by authorization checks—a training path that mirrors enterprise-grade architectures. Speakers from the financial industry are often hired by FAANG companies, meaning the expertise students gain matches the expectations in top-tier interviews. Crucially, interview readiness is baked into the program. Mock technical interviews with FAANG engineers in both domain-specific and system design contexts ensure candidates are not just technically competent, but also interview-savvy. Personalized coaching helps refine your resume, optimize your LinkedIn presence, and practice behavioral competencies. This means that by the time learners head into interviews, they can confidently discuss how to architect a RAG-based compliance tool that enforces access control, mitigates bias, and passes audit scrutiny, exactly the kinds of systems being piloted by regulators and banks today. Ethical and legal considerations are also woven into the curriculum. With regulators like the UK FCA and Germany's BaFin demanding transparency in AI usage, understanding biases, audit logging, and federated or on-premise deployment is essential. The program includes modules on ethical guardrails, evaluation metrics, and bias mitigation, ensuring learners can articulate how to deploy AI responsibly in sensitive environments. Beyond technical depth, Interview Kickstart's Applied Generative AI course offers tailored tracks for different roles, including software engineers, product managers, engineering managers, and technical program managers. While engineers learn to code and construct models, product roles explore prompt design and value communication; managers focus on technical feasibility, ROI assessments, and integration planning. This multi-role alignment reflects real-world teams deploying GenAI responsibly, making every graduate well-prepared for interdisciplinary collaboration in enterprise settings. The capstone projects reflect this alignment with industry trends. For software engineers, a project like an intelligent meeting summarizer or virtual assistant parallels what financial firms build to comply with audit logging and real-time compliance monitoring. Deploying these applications through AWS, integrating with finance databases, or applying LangChain permissions replicates those mega-scale systems. In a AI-driven compliance wave, Interview Kickstart's Applied Generative AI course doesn't just teach generative models, it trains you to build enterprise-ready, safe, and compliant AI systems. Combining the best of RAG, secure agentic pipelines, prompt-driven LLMs, and real-world deployment, this course lays the foundation for tech professionals to confidently interview and land roles at FAANG and beyond. With generative AI transforming risk and compliance across global financial markets, professionals skilled in LangChain, RAG, secure model deployment, and AI ethics are in high demand. Interview Kickstart's Applied Generative AI course equips you with the exact knowledge and practice to seize these opportunities in FAANG+ careers and beyond. In a future where AI-powered compliance becomes the norm, this course positions tech talent to not just participate but to lead. For more information, visit: About Interview Kickstart Founded in 2014, Interview Kickstart is a premier upskilling platform empowering aspiring tech professionals to secure roles at FAANG and top tech companies. With a proven track record and over 20,000 successful learners, the platform stands out with its team of 700+ FAANG instructors, hiring managers, and tech leads, who deliver a comprehensive curriculum, practical insights, and targeted interview prep strategies. Offering live classes, 100,000+ hours of pre-recorded video lessons, and 1:1 sessions, Interview Kickstart ensures flexible, in-depth learning along with personalized guidance for resume building and LinkedIn profile optimization. The holistic support, spanning 6 to 10 months with mock interviews, ongoing mentorship, and industry-aligned projects, equips learners to excel in technical interviews and on the job. ### For more information about Interview Kickstart, contact the company here:Interview KickstartBurhanuddin Pithawala+1 (209) 899-1463aiml@ Patrick Henry Dr Bldg 25, Santa Clara, CA 95054, United States CONTACT: Burhanuddin PithawalaSign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
11 minutes ago
- Yahoo
England international agrees to join Liverpool
Liverpool are facing a contract problem with . The French defender is out of contract in 2026 and if no agreement over a new deal is reached then he will be leaving on a free next summer. That would be a bitter blow for sporting director Richard Hughes - with the Reds having invested around £35m in Konate back in 2021. 🔴 Shop the LFC 2025/26 adidas home range 🚨2025/26 LFC x adidas range🚨 LFC x adidas Shop the home range today! LFC x adidas Shop the goalkeeper range today LFC x adidas Shop the new adidas range today! The 26-year-old joined from RB Leipzig but it was only last season that he truly emerged as a world-class talent alongside Virgil van Dijk. 🔴 Shop the LFC 2025/26 adidas away range With so much uncertainty over Konate - who has been mentioned as a potential sale this summer if no contract is signed - it's no wonder Liverpool are considering alternatives. Liverpool linked with Marc Guehi Although the club signed Giovanni Leoni for £26m from Parma last week, it remains to be seen just how much football the 18-year-old gets through in his rookie season. Accordingly, senior options have been discussed and Marc Guehi looks the ideal candidate in that respect. Like Konate, the Crystal Palace captain is out of contract in 2026 and he too could be departing on a free. Of course Palace are against that idea and if a team comes up with the asking price during this transfer window - said to be £40m - then he too would be on his way. Guehi pledges to join ONLY Liverpool Liverpool seem content to wait although expect them to strike if they get the idea that a deal is in reach before the end of the window. Now according to the Athletic, the Reds have got one less thing to worry about. That's because Guehi has assured the Reds that it's Anfield or nothing - and that he is currently NOT interested in a move elsewhere. The 25-year-old England international has earmarked a move ONLY to the Premier League champions. © IMAGO - Marc Guehi Liverpool Guehi has eyes only for Liverpool "If he leaves Palace now, Guehi only has eyes for Liverpool, who believe they already possess four elite central defenders, so are not expected to seek an alternative if they fail to land the 25-year-old,' the report reads. This stance would appear to tally with other reports concerning the former Chelsea player. Liverpool can be optimistic of landing Guehi for around £40m this summer or else bringing him in on a free in 2026. He may well be a replacement for Konate in time - should the Frenchman fail to renew his deal - but having lost Jarell Quansah and given Joe Gomez's injury record, Arne Slot could do a lot worse than add centre-back depth.
Forbes
43 minutes ago
- Forbes
On A Mission To Lift Hospitality Sector's Smaller Players
One of the curiosities of the current U.K. high street is the astounding number of cafes or coffee shops. Moreover, they are mostly full of people — at pretty much any time of day. Given that in many of these towns the other premises are often dominated by charity shops and not especially inspiring outlets of chain stores, it would appear that most of these patrons are coming primarily to meet other people and to drink coffee rather than to shop. This would seem to be good news for the coffee shops. But appearances can be deceptive. After all, ever since the pandemic initially kept people at home and then changed how they go about going out the hospitality industry in general has been claiming that it is in deep trouble. Rising payroll bills — partly because of the Government's decision to raise the minimum wage and increase the contributions employers pay towards social security benefits — and uplifts in other costs, such as energy, have all hit profitability. But, according to Frederick Szydlowski, there is another problem. The coffee shop sector is dominated by a few large, international chains, but in fact 65% to 75% of outlets are small or medium-sized businesses and — unlike their larger competitors — they generally 'have no clue how many customers they have or who are repeat bookings.' This lack of useful data means that they can fall into the classic trap of confusing sales with profits and also fail to develop loyal, profitable customer bases because they rely on random customers dropping in from time to time. Moreover, a lot of their business is down to online ordering, which has expanded rapidly in recent years and is dominated by well-known large platforms, such as Deliveroo, which has recently agreed to a £2.9 billion ($3.9 billion) acquisition by Door Dash of the U.S., and Uber Eats, that take substantial commissions and keep all the customer data that would be so valuable to small stores. Szydlowski knows all this because he was one of the first U.K. employees of Joe and the Juice, a Danish coffee and juice chain whose backers are said to be targeting an IPO in the U.S. valuing it at about $2.4 billion. He is now co-founder of Embargo, which promises to help small players in the hospitality sector catch up with their larger rivals by providing a software tool that enables them to boost customer loyalty at the same time as enabling customers to order online while also collecting the data that can drive future business. A plug-and-play customer relationship management (CRM) system that can be up and running within 48 hours at a cost of as little as £30 to £40 ($40 to $54) a month, Embargo 'democratizes' the sector, says Szydlowski. 'We're empowering people who don't have technology. They are realising how many people are returning and how often they are coming.' With such information they can target existing customers with special offers or encourage them to spend more or visit more frequently. Changing work habits mean that many people are not in their workplaces every day, so small coffee shops and similar outlets can no longer rely on casual trade. 'They have got to get them to come in every day [that they are at work]'' he adds. But as well as increasing retention of customers visiting outlets, users of the technology can also boost their online sales without having to use the big platforms and hitting their profits. In this sense, Szydlowski says, it can do for small hospitality businesses what Shopify has done for the smaller retailers that are no longer reliant on Amazon to reach online customers. Embargo has clearly struck a chord. It is used by nearly 3,000 venues in the U.K. and has a presence in parts of Europe and elsewhere. A recent funding round of $3.5 million from a group of investors with experience of the food and hospitality sectors will be used to boost expansion, and is a sign of others' confidence in the offering, says Szydlowski. But he and his co-founder, Tsewang Wangkang, are also keen not to follow many technology companies in using the money to expand their headcount. Szydlowski said in an interview earlier this month that the number of employees would only rise by three to five from the current 20, with most of the investment going into digital tools designed to make the already highly-rated app even more appealing to businesses. If Embargo's customer base continues to expand at the rate of recent months, it is probable that those high-street cafes and small restaurants will become even busier — in spite of the lingering cost-of-living crisis.
