May 29, 2020
Trump signs executive order targeting Twitter after fact-checking row
AFP US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order aimed at removing some of the legal protections given to social media platforms. President Trump accused social media platforms of having "Unchecked power" while signing the order. The order sets out to clarify the Communications Decency Act, a US law that offers online platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube legal protection in certain situations. While his announcement of an executive order was heavy on rhetoric - accusing...
May 29, 2020
Renault cuts 15,000 jobs in major restructuring
The French carmaker announces a €2bn cost-cutting plan after seeing a collapse in sales.
May 29, 2020
Facebook dominates cases of recorded social media grooming
Police in England and Wales recorded more than 10,000 online grooming offences on social media over two-and-a-half years. Police only recorded the platform used in 5,784 of those cases. Of those, more than half took place on a Facebook platform - including Facebook itself, its messenger app, Instagram, and Whatsapp. Another 1,060 were recorded as taking place on Snapchat, owned by Snap Inc. The remainder was made up of small numbers of cases across dozens of other platforms such as text...
May 29, 2020
Twitter hides Trump tweet for 'glorifying violence'
Twitter has hidden one of President Donald Trump's tweets from his profile, saying it violates rules about glorifying violence. The warning says "Twitter has determined that it may be in the public's interest for the Tweet to remain accessible." In a Twitter thread, the social network said: "This Tweet violates our policies regarding the glorification of violence based on the historical context of the last line, its connection to violence, and the risk it could inspire similar actions today."...
May 29, 2020
Thousands of TalkTalk users hit by internet problems
Tens of thousands of TalkTalk customers reported problems with their internet connection on Friday morning. Popular tracking website DownDetector logged more than 30,000 reports beginning at around 10:00 BST, scattered across the UK. TalkTalk's Twitter feed was flooded with reports from users trying to work from home without internet. The firm said the problem was fixed at around 11:30 BST, but it did not provide any details about the cause. The scale of the failure is similar to one that...
May 28, 2020
Video streaming: Lockdown sees fifth of UK homes sign deals
One in five households in Britain - six million - signed up to an online video subscription service during the Covid-19 lockdown, data suggests. "It's been a huge quarter for streaming in the UK. We can certainly associate a good deal of that with the current lockdown situation," Dominic Sunnebo, senior vice president at Kantar, told the BBC. Mr Sunnebo also noted the instant popularity of Disney+, which only launched in the UK on 24 March. "Of people who are in the video streaming sector...
May 28, 2020
Trump to 'sign executive order about social media'
US President Donald Trump will sign an executive order on social media firms on Thursday, the White House has said. Before leaving Washington for Florida to watch a space launch that was postponed due to bad weather, Mr Trump again accused Twitter and other social media of bias, without offering evidence. Mr Trump also continued his criticism of social media platforms on Twitter, ending a tweet with: "Now they are going absolutely CRAZY. Stay Tuned!!!". The long-running dispute between Mr...
May 28, 2020
EasyJet to cut 4,500 jobs and reduce capacity
EasyJet plans to cut up to 4,500 jobs and reduce its capacity as the low-cost airline seeks to rebuild and improve productivity after the coronavirus pandemic forced it two months ago to ground almost its entire fleet. EasyJet expects to fly about 30 per cent of the planned capacity in the fourth quarter, it said on Thursday. EasyJet plans to restart a number of flights on June 15, which will initially involve flying domestic routes in the UK and France. The airline held a general meeting...
May 28, 2020
Nissan backs UK plant but protests erupt in Spain
Nissan is closing its factory in Barcelona with the loss of about 2,800 jobs, according to the Spanish government. The closure could cost Nissan, which has a major UK plant in Sunderland, up to €1bn, the government said. Nissan is part of a three-way alliance with Renault and Mitsubishi, which are restructuring global operations to enable them to work more closely. Even before the Covid-19 outbreak, Nissan's sales and profits had been falling, forcing it to pull back from the ambitious...
May 28, 2020
Daily Mail owner swings to operating loss in April as pandemic bites
Publishing group suffers from drop in advertising but raises interim dividend
May 28, 2020
Uber destroys thousands of bikes and scooters
Uber is destroying thousands of electric bikes and scooters, after selling its Jump business to Lime. In the UK, Uber continues to operate Jump and has not scrapped any bikes. As part of the deal, Uber invested $170m in Lime, while Lime acquired "Tens of thousands" of Uber's Jump bikes - and the associated intellectual property. Disappointed charities and organisations suggested the bikes could have been donated to community groups, or sold to individuals to boost the uptake of electric...
May 28, 2020
Twitter fact-checks China amid bias row
Twitter added the warning more than two months after the tweets were posted. It comes amid a row with the White House, after similar warnings were added to tweets from President Trump. Earlier this week, after Twitter added its fact-checking links to President Trump's tweets, he threatened to "Shut down" social networks for alleged anti-conservative bias. A Twitter spokesperson would not confirm whether that was the case, saying only that Mr Zhao's tweets "Contain potentially misleading...
May 28, 2020
Cineworld: Once Upon a Time in Brentford
The plot hole in cinema operator’s fairy tale is its planned purchase of Canada’s Cineplex
May 28, 2020
Monsoon on brink of calling in administrators
UK fashion chain struggles to find a buyer, leaving 3,500 jobs at risk
May 28, 2020
Trump to redefine social-media legal protections
AFP US President Donald Trump is expected to sign an executive order redefining the legal protections given to social-media platforms. On Wednesday, Mr Trump accused Twitter of election interference, after it added fact-check links to two of his tweets. The order sets out to clarify the Communications Decency Act, a US law that offers online platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube legal protection in certain situations. The long-running dispute between Mr Trump and social-media...
May 28, 2020
Renault prepares for 15,000 job cuts
Struggling French carmaker Renault is said to be planning 15,000 job cuts around the world as it tries to contain losses amid the pandemic. Speaking on French television, a French labour leader briefed on the plans said many of the cuts in France would come through voluntary layoffs or retirement. Even before the pandemic, the firm was in trouble, with sales down 3% last year. The firm is currently in talks with the French government, which holds a 15% stake in the company, over a €5bn...
May 27, 2020
Twitter tags Trump tweet with fact-checking warning
A post by US President Donald Trump has been given a fact-check label by Twitter for the first time. President Trump tweeted: "There is NO WAY that Mail-In Ballots will be anything less than substantially fraudulent." Twitter placed a warning label under that message and a subsequent tweet. The social media company had pledged to increase the warning labels under false or misleading information on its site but it has been slow to take steps against the US president. The move comes on the...
May 27, 2020
Facebook shareholders try to block encryption plan
Investors at Facebook's annual stockholder meeting will vote on a proposal to postpone the firm's plans for end-to-end encryption. Activist shareholders say this would make it nearly impossible to detect child exploitation on Facebook. In March 2019, Mr Zuckerberg said he wanted the firm to make end-to-end encryption the base level of security for all its messaging services - including Facebook Messenger and Instagram messaging. The initiative would mean that messages - including text and...
May 27, 2020
Sky Q kicks off HDR support starting with on-demand nature shows
Sky has launched three new on-demand nature programmes featuring high dynamic range for Sky Q customers. Sky viewers will need a Sky Q 1TB or 2TB set-top box and a Sky Experience or Ultra HD subscription to see the difference. Previous reports had suggested Sky wouldn't launch HDR until late 2020. "If you've got a compatible Sky Q box and a TV that supports HDR, it should be as simple as turning on your TV," she told the BBC. Ms Roberts noted that BT Sport was the only British broadcaster so...
May 27, 2020
Tesco and Sainsbury’s sales outpace Aldi for first time in a decade
The UK's two biggest supermarkets have increased sales at a faster rate than discounter Aldi for the first time in a decade, as the coronavirus pandemic spurred weekly shops and more online ordering. In the 12 weeks to May 16, Tesco's sales rose 11.7 per cent and those of J Sainsbury grew 11 per cent year on year, according to Nielsen. Sales at Aldi, the larger of the two German-owned discounters operating in the UK, rose 10.1 per cent. Sales growth at the biggest supermarkets was still...
May 27, 2020
Fraggle Rock to be revived by Apple TV+ after 33 years
ALAMY It's time to stream your cares away, and leave your lockdown worries for another day.... Because classic children's show Fraggle Rock is to be revived by Apple TV+, 33 years after the last series was made. As well as the new series, every existing episode of the puppet show has just landed on Apple TV+. It's first time Apple TV+ has offered previously produced content. The Emmy-winning Fraggle Rock was devised by late Muppets creator Henson, and first appeared on TV in 1983. The new...
May 26, 2020
City Bulletin: HSBC prepares to restart radical restructuring
Back in February, the bank announced plans to axe 35,000 jobs, cut $4.5bn in costs and $100bn of risk-weighted assets by shrinking its US and European business and its investment bank. Now the board of Europe's largest lender is pressing executives to restart the restructuring - and come up with even more radical changes. Meanwhile the dividend has gone, the bank's shares are at their lowest in more than a decade, and HSBC faces up to $11bn of provisions for bad loans this year if its...
May 26, 2020
Coronavirus: John Lewis plans phased reopening of stores
John Lewis is planning a phased reopening of its stores, using lessons it has learned on social distancing from the partnership's Waitrose shops. John Lewis and other non-essential shops in England can reopen on 15 June, with open air markets and car showrooms allowed to open from next week. Shops must install new safety measures,but there are fears too few customers will come in to make it profitable and to keep businesses alive. "Shopping is a social, fun experience a lot of the time and...
May 25, 2020
Coronavirus: How do we record history in the internet age?
How will the coronavirus pandemic be remembered? Neil Prior takes a look at the projects documenting history-in-the-making in the age of the internet. When future historians study the global coronavirus pandemic and how Wales responded, the material available to them will differ from previous major events. Already, at least six projects are underway across Wales to record and archive people's coronavirus experiences, including efforts by Swansea University, National Museum Wales and the...
May 25, 2020
Volkswagen loses landmark German 'dieselgate' case
Germany's highest civil court has ruled that Volkswagen must pay compensation to a motorist who had bought one of its diesel minivans fitted with emissions-cheating software. The ruling sets a benchmark for about 60,000 other cases in Germany. VW has already settled a separate €830m class action suit involving 235,000 German car owners. VW disclosed at the time that it had used illegal software to manipulate the results of diesel emissions tests. Last month, their case cleared its first...
May 25, 2020
HSBC board rethinks overhaul and seeks even sharper cuts
HSBC's board is set to deepen the biggest restructuring in the bank's 155-year history after deciding that the coronavirus crisis requires more drastic measures. The board is now pressing executives to restart the restructuring and come up with even more radical changes, including further cuts or even a possible sale of its US business alongside its retail network in France and operations in smaller non-strategic countries. The bank's US business is under particular scrutiny, where HSBC has a...
May 24, 2020
Has the virus prompted an early mid-life crisis for some?
The coronavirus pandemic prompted 24-year-old Cece Philips, a graduate from London, to embark on a dramatic career change. During previous economic downturns young people have often been the group whose incomes, job prospects and future careers are hardest hit. Carolyn Parry is the founder of Career Alchemy, a coaching and training network focused on helping school leavers and graduates find the right career for them. The disruption is "Giving them the chance to really consider the purpose of...
May 24, 2020
Coronavirus: Jaguar Land Rover in talks over government loan
Jaguar Land Rover is in talks with the government to secure a loan of more than £1bn, following a drop in sales during the coronavirus pandemic. A spokeswoman said JLR is in "Regular discussion with government on a whole range of matters". JLR has taken advantage of the government's Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and around 18,000 of its UK workers remain furloughed. Credit rating agency Standard & Poor's recently estimated that JLR will burn through £1bn in cash each month following the...
May 24, 2020
Fresh UK review into Huawei role in 5G networks
The UK government is conducting a new review into the impact of allowing Huawei telecoms equipment to be used in British 5G networks. In January, the UK resisted US pressure to ban Huawei from contributing to 5G. A UK government spokesman said: "The security and resilience of our networks is of paramount importance." The UK government had approved a limited role for Huawei in building the country's new mobile networks. UK mobile operators were told by the NCSC - part of the intelligence...
May 23, 2020
Gap between retail winners and losers widens to a chasm
Geoff Ruddell, Morgan Stanley's retail analyst since 2005, wrote in a recent note that the effect of Covid-19 on the industry "Is set to be so profound that it will render irrelevant most of the research we have ever written". While the FTSE 350 General Retailers index is down 21 per cent over the past three months, there is a wide divergence between the winners and losers over that period, offering clues on where investors think future earnings power will be concentrated. The future of...