Latest news with #PeterKent
Bloomberg
18-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Ninety One's Kent on Blurring Lines Between EM and DM: EM Lens
Traditional safe havens are misbehaving as the once distinct boundaries between emerging and developed markets begins to blur. Peter Kent, Co-Head of Emerging Market Fixed Income at Ninety One, joins Bloomberg Intelligence Chief EM Fixed Income Strategist Damian Sassower to break down the risks and opportunities facing asset allocators across the globe. Kent and Sassower touch on global trade, supply shocks, capital flows, fiscal balances, investor positioning and currency volatility as the perceived safety of developed market debt is called into question.
Yahoo
01-07-2025
- Yahoo
From bulky car phones to pocket computers, cellphones mark 40 years in Canada
MONTREAL — Pierre Robitaille remembers feeling embarrassed in 1985 when he made his cellphone calls from a bulky device that came with its own carrying case. Now 86 years old, Robitaille was one of the first people in Canada to sign up for a wireless plan when they became available 40 years ago, on July 1, 1985. As an electrician, Robitaille wanted a way to keep in touch with colleagues and clients while on the road at various construction sites. First came a car phone, then came the early hand-held versions, which included a mobile device and a suitcase in which to carry it. "It wasn't very heavy but it was embarrassing, it was big," Robitaille said of the mid-80s cellphone, in an interview from his home in the western Quebec town of St-André-Avellin. The first wireless call in Canadian history took place 40 years ago on July 1, 1985, when then-Toronto mayor Art Eggleton used a 10-pound mobile phone to call his Montreal counterpart, Jean Drapeau. Telecommunications company Rogers says that in the first month, mobile networks in Canada handled 100 calls per day. Today, that number has risen to 100 million calls, as well as 6.5 billion megabytes of data on the Rogers network alone. Oakville, Ont., resident Peter Kent was another early mobile phone adopter — though the initiative came from his boss rather than himself. His car phone had to be installed professionally and cost around $3,500, he recalled in a recent interview. At first, he was unsure if he should be thankful for the new connectivity. "I said, 'why are we doing this?' And then (my boss) said, 'well, when I want you, I want you.'" Kent, however, soon started to enjoy his new phone. He recalls driving with his wife to his mother-in-law's home and making a call from her driveway. "She said, 'where are you?' And I said, I'm in your driveway," Kent recalled. "She couldn't believe it. She ran to the door with her cordless phone and she could see me talking in the car." Eric Smith, the senior vice-president for the Canadian Telecommunications Association, said the early commercial cellular services were limited to voice calling in select urban areas and involved "very large, bulky devices" with limited battery time. Users were charged by the minute. "If you flash forward 40 years, people really have more than just the capability of calling, and they have a kind of a computer in their pocket," he said. Today, some 99 per cent of areas where people live and work in Canada have some form of mobile coverage, he said. Smith said that initially, there was skepticism about whether cellular service would be widely embraced. "It required a large investment by companies in a country that's very large geographically with a widely dispersed population," he said. "And some people thought that the companies who were investing in this were taking a very big risk." Over time, the cellphones evolved from offering calls only, followed by text messaging, early internet connectivity and later a range of features from cameras to GPS. "It's hard to think of things you can't do on your mobile device," Smith said. Smith says there are still hurdles that remain for Canadian telecommunications, including poor connectivity in rural areas and "regulatory challenges" that he says can discourage investment. In recent years, there have been questions around cellphone use, especially among children. Several jurisdictions have banned phones in classrooms, while Quebec has gone a step further in prohibiting them on elementary and high school grounds. Robitaille sees both the good and bad. He believes their widespread use among children is problematic because of the type of sensitive and vulgar content they have access to. On the other hand, as a senior who lives alone, his phone is an important tool to stay in touch with his friends and his children. Kent, meanwhile, is convinced that cellphones have made life in Canada easier — despite the pressure to remain always connected — although he says he's happy he only got one as an adult. Smith says the mobile industry is still evolving. Increasingly, connectivity is expanding beyond phones to other devices: everything from cars to appliances are connected to the internet, while internet-enabled sensors monitor conditions in the agriculture and mining industries. He says it's hard to know what the future will be, as people continue to adopt different forms of technology, enabled by increased computing power and innovation. "I'm excited to see what happens, but I don't think anyone really knows what it's going to look like 40 years from now," Smith said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 1, 2025. Morgan Lowrie, The Canadian Press Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
The Independent
08-05-2025
- General
- The Independent
D-Day veteran, 100, shares wartime memories at VE Day service
A 100-year-old D-Day veteran has shared his powerful memories of the war outside Westminster Abbey, as commemorations took place to mark VE Day. Peter Kent, from Westminster, served in the Royal Navy aboard HMS Adventurer and took part in the Normandy landings. Now one of the last surviving veterans of D-Day, he told the PA news agency: 'So many young boys got killed, so many dead bodies on the beach – it was just a big waste of life. It was terrible.' The father of two, who worked in theatre after the war, said it 'means a lot' to see people still honouring those who served. 'We wouldn't have the freedom we have today if it wasn't for those men,' he said. Peter did not enter the abbey itself, but his son Stephen, 64, said people 'haven't stopped pulling him up asking for his autograph'. Peter also brought along his wartime medals, including France's prestigious Legion of Honour. Inside, the VE Day service drew reflections from religious and military leaders. Reverend Shaw Paterson, moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, said: 'Just the experience of all that's gone before – it was very moving. 'We've got to remember those who gave so much and sacrificed so much all those years ago. 'We must always keep them in mind and keep working for peace.' Lord Lyon King of Arms Joe Morrow, 70, a Royal Navy Reserves chaplain and honorary colonel, described the service as 'absolutely magnificent'. 'What I loved about it was a true sense of unity that came across,' he said. 'Having the King there, the King's Scouts, it was just so special.' Former air marshal Stewart Atha, who served in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya, struck a more cautionary tone. 'This is not a safe world – if you want peace, you prepare for war,' he said. 'That's the lesson from the 1930s, we failed to deter Hitler and we need to make sure we don't make the same mistakes again.' Among the congregation was a group of young people determined to challenge assumptions about their generation. Georgina Heron-Edmends, 19, Henry Hughes, 21, and Sophia Kaur Badhan, 24, from Youth Collaborators, said they were working on a report to influence government strategy. Ms Badhan said: 'There's been some coverage in the media suggesting we aren't interested in VE Day – we're here to challenge that. 'We think it's really important and it's a privilege to be here.'
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
D-Day veteran, 100, shares wartime memories at VE Day service
A 100-year-old D-Day veteran has shared his powerful memories of the war outside Westminster Abbey, as commemorations took place to mark VE Day. Peter Kent, from Westminster, served in the Royal Navy aboard HMS Adventurer and took part in the Normandy landings. Now one of the last surviving veterans of D-Day, he told the PA news agency: 'So many young boys got killed, so many dead bodies on the beach – it was just a big waste of life. It was terrible.' The father of two, who worked in theatre after the war, said it 'means a lot' to see people still honouring those who served. 'We wouldn't have the freedom we have today if it wasn't for those men,' he said. Peter did not enter the abbey itself, but his son Stephen, 64, said people 'haven't stopped pulling him up asking for his autograph'. Peter also brought along his wartime medals, including France's prestigious Legion of Honour. Inside, the VE Day service drew reflections from religious and military leaders. Reverend Shaw Paterson, moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, said: 'Just the experience of all that's gone before – it was very moving. 'We've got to remember those who gave so much and sacrificed so much all those years ago. 'We must always keep them in mind and keep working for peace.' Lord Lyon King of Arms Joe Morrow, 70, a Royal Navy Reserves chaplain and honorary colonel, described the service as 'absolutely magnificent'. 'What I loved about it was a true sense of unity that came across,' he said. 'Having the King there, the King's Scouts, it was just so special.' Former air marshal Stewart Atha, who served in Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya, struck a more cautionary tone. 'This is not a safe world – if you want peace, you prepare for war,' he said. 'That's the lesson from the 1930s, we failed to deter Hitler and we need to make sure we don't make the same mistakes again.' Among the congregation was a group of young people determined to challenge assumptions about their generation. Georgina Heron-Edmends, 19, Henry Hughes, 21, and Sophia Kaur Badhan, 24, from Youth Collaborators, said they were working on a report to influence government strategy. Ms Badhan said: 'There's been some coverage in the media suggesting we aren't interested in VE Day – we're here to challenge that. 'We think it's really important and it's a privilege to be here.'
Perth Now
01-05-2025
- Perth Now
Police report tells chief constable believed Loch Ness Monster existence 'beyond doubt'
Police dubbed the infamous Loch Ness Monster myth as real "beyond doubt". William Fraser, a former Inverness-shire chief constable, wrote in a report in 1938 that he supported the myth that a mysterious beast called Nessie lurks beneath the Scottish Highlands freshwater loch after two London-based people - Mr. Peter Kent and Miss. Marion Stirling - were "determined" to get hold of it "dead or alive". It was even said that Peter visited Fort Augustus where "he stated that he was having a special harpoon gun made and that he was to return with some twenty experienced men on the 22 of August for the purpose of hunting the Monster down". William said of his belief in the report - which has come back to light after 87 years thanks to Kenny Welsh, from the Loch Ness Centre in the Scottish Highlands: "That there is some strange creature in Loch Ness seems now beyond doubt, but that the Police have any power to protect it is very doubtful. "I have, however, caused Mr. Peter Kent to be warned of the desirability of having the creature left alone, but whether my warning will have the desired effect or not remains to be seen." Reacting to the report, Kenny, from Drumnadrochit, said: "It offers a rare glimpse into how even the police believed there might be something in the water."
