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Rhys ap Gwilym

Senior Lecturer in Economics, Bangor University
Dr Rhys ap Gwilym is a Senior Lecturer in Economics at Bangor University’s Business School. He trained as a macroeconomist at Cardiff University, gaining his PhD on the “Macroeconomic Implications of Behavioural Finance Models” in 2009. His academic research has involved developing models which introduce behavioural factors into macroeconomic analysis (including DSGE models) and the analysis of financial instruments in a general equilibrium setting. He has published in journals including the Journal of Banking and Finance, Economics Letters and the Southern Economic Journal.

More recently, his research interests have evolved to cover spatial economics and public finance. He is currently working on a project examining how geographical differences in access to finance influence regional economic disparities; in particular the links between the financialization of land and regional economic development.

Rhys has a strong interest in regional development policy and its role in Wales in particular. He has been a principal investigator on two grant-funded research projects for the Welsh Government relating to land value tax and tourism taxes. He is a member of the Institute of Welsh Affairs’ Economic Policy Group, where he has been involved in the development of discussion papers on the Welsh economy. He recently contributed to the “expert roundtable on the Welsh tax base & implications for public policy”.

Why you should expect to pay more tourist taxes – even though the evidence for them is unclear

May 09, 2024 07:09 am UTC| Insights & Views Business

In April 2024, Venice began its controversial experiment to charge day trippers 5 (4.30) to visit the city on some of the busiest days of the year. But its not just the lagoon city, with its 30 million visitors a year...

Economy

UK Hiring Slows as Iran War Fuels Economic Uncertainty in 2026

Britains labor market showed further signs of weakness in April 2026 as employers reduced hiring amid growing economic uncertainty linked to the Iran war and rising energy costs. Fresh data released Tuesday by the Office...

Asian Stocks Mixed as Tech Shares Slide Ahead of Nvidia Earnings

Asian stock markets traded mixed on Tuesday as technology shares followed overnight losses on Wall Street, while investors reacted to stronger-than-expected Japanese economic growth and ongoing geopolitical tensions in the...

US Stock Futures Steady as Nvidia Earnings and Iran Tensions Keep Investors on Edge

U.S. stock futures traded mostly unchanged late Monday as investors remained cautious following a technology-driven pullback on Wall Street. Market sentiment stayed fragile as traders closely watched escalating tensions...

Oil Prices Drop as Trump Delays Iran Strike, Russia Sanctions Waiver Eases Supply Concerns

Oil prices declined during early Asian trading on Tuesday after U.S. President Donald Trump announced a delay in a planned military strike against Iran, signaling that diplomatic negotiations were still underway. The...

Gold Prices Climb as Trump Delays Iran Strike, Boosting Safe-Haven Demand

Gold prices edged higher during Asian trading on Tuesday after U.S. President Donald Trump announced that a planned military strike against Iran had been postponed while diplomatic negotiations continued. The development...

Politics

Russia Downs Drones Near Moscow as Airstrikes Hit Ukraine’s Izmail Port

Russia and Ukraine exchanged fresh overnight drone attacks on Tuesday, escalating tensions as the war continues with no breakthrough in peace negotiations. Ukrainian officials said a Russian air assault damaged critical...

TrumpRx Expands Discount Drug Access With 600 Generic Medications

U.S. President Donald Trump announced that TrumpRx.gov will now offer more than 600 generic prescription drugs, significantly expanding the administrations effort to lower medication costs for Americans. The...

Minnesota ICE Agent Charged in Venezuelan Immigrant Shooting During Trump Immigration Crackdown

Minnesota prosecutors have charged a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent in connection with the January shooting of a Venezuelan immigrant in Minneapolis during President Donald Trumps intensified...

Pentagon Watchdog Probes U.S. Caribbean Boat Strikes Amid Legality Concerns

The Pentagons internal watchdog has launched an investigation into whether U.S. military boat strikes in the Caribbean complied with official targeting procedures during operations tied to anti-crime and security missions,...

Alex Saab Faces U.S. Money Laundering Charges Over Venezuela Oil and Food Deals

Alex Saab, a Colombian-Venezuelan businessman closely linked to former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, has been charged by the U.S. Department of Justice in a major money laundering case tied to Venezuelan government...

Science

Trump Administration Releases New UFO Files and Apollo Mission Records

The U.S. Defense Department has released dozens of previously classified UFO-related files following an order from President Donald Trump, sparking renewed debate over unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) and government...

China vs. NASA: The New Moon Race and What's at Stake by 2030

The space race is back and this time, its a direct competition between the United States and China for dominance on the lunar surface. NASAs Artemis II mission recently made history when four astronauts flew farther into...

NASA Artemis II: First Crewed Moon Mission Since Apollo Takes Four Astronauts on 10-Day Lunar Journey

NASAs Artemis II mission launched Wednesday, marking humanitys return to crewed lunar exploration for the first time since the Apollo era. Carrying four astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft, this historic 10-day mission...

NASA's Artemis II Mission: First Crewed Lunar Journey Since Apollo

NASA's Artemis II Crew Arrives in Florida for Historic Moon Mission

The four astronauts chosen for NASAs Artemis II mission have touched down at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, marking the beginning of final launch preparations for the first crewed lunar journey in over 50 years. NASA...

Technology

Mistral AI Acquires Emmi AI to Expand Industrial AI Solutions in Europe

French artificial intelligence company Mistral AI has acquired Austrian startup Emmi AI in a strategic move to strengthen its industrial AI capabilities across Europe. The deal, announced Tuesday, highlights the growing...

Tencent Shares Jump 4% as AI Models Move Toward Paid Commercial Services

Tencent Holdings (HK:0700) shares surged more than 4% on Tuesday after the Chinese tech giant announced plans to commercialize several of its artificial intelligence models, signaling a stronger push into monetizing AI...

Analog Devices Nears $1.5B Acquisition of AI Chip Firm Empower Semiconductor

U.S. semiconductor giant Analog Devices is reportedly in advanced discussions to acquire AI-focused chipmaker Empower Semiconductor in a deal valued at approximately $1.5 billion in cash, according to a Bloomberg News...

Google, Blackstone Launch $5B AI Cloud Venture to Challenge Nvidia and CoreWeave

Alphabets Google and Blackstone are reportedly joining forces to launch a new artificial intelligence cloud company powered by Googles proprietary AI chips, according to a Wall Street Journal report published Monday. The...

OpenAI Wins Elon Musk Lawsuit as Jury Rejects Claims Over AI Mission

A U.S. jury has ruled that OpenAI is not liable in a lawsuit brought by Elon Musk, marking a major legal victory for the artificial intelligence company. The verdict was delivered Monday in a federal court in Oakland,...