Ralph Lauren to cut 15 per cent of global workforce September 22, 2020 Fashion magnate Ralph Lauren has said it will cut around 15 per cent of its global workforce, as it seeks to recover costs and streamlines its offering to focus more on digital channels. The cuts, which will take place by the end of this fiscal year, could affect up to 3,700 jobs. The layoffs could [...]
Tiktok proposes social media coalition as MPs grill app over online harms September 22, 2020 Tiktok has proposed social media firms form a global coalition to better combat harmful and offensive content on their platforms, as MPs grilled the app’s European policy boss on its track record. Tiktok said in a statement ahead of the parliamentary hearing that it had sent letters to nine firms — Facebook, Instagram, Google, Youtube, [...]
Venezuela heads back to court over £800m pot of gold in the Bank of England September 22, 2020 The Venezuelan central bank is heading to court in London today, as it appeals a ruling from over the summer that affirmed the UK’s recognition of Juan Guaido as the country’s interim leader. Banco Central de Venezuela (BCV) has brought a case at the Court of Appeal to decide ownership of a £800m horde of [...]
Financial Conduct Authority to crack down on insurers’ loyalty penalty September 22, 2020 Loyal customers should not pay more for home or motor insurance than new clients, the Financial Conduct Authority has said, as it promises reforms in the sector. The FCA said the changes could save consumers up to £3.7bn over the next 10 years. The new rules would apply to any customer buying or renewing a [...]
Beazley shares fall as it doubles coronavirus claims forecast to $340m September 22, 2020 Specialist insurer Beazley has doubled its forecast for insurance claims related to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic to $340m, as it braces for further disruption to business activity. Almost all of the increase in its estimate stems from event cancellations, as countries appear to be heading into various stages of a second lockdown. Its [...]
Government’s satellite startup Oneweb to restart launches in December September 21, 2020 Oneweb is to restart satellite launches in December, after being rescued from bankruptcy by the UK government earlier this year. The launches will be carried out with Arianespace, with plans for the satellites to be ready for commercial services next year. Its first launch in December will be one of sixteen under an amended agreement [...]
Microsoft buys Elder Scrolls and Fallout maker for $7.5bn September 21, 2020 Microsoft has bought Zenimax Media, the owner of game developer Bethesda, for $7.5bn. It is hoped the deal will help Microsoft boost its Xbox gaming capabilities, with two new consoles to hit the shelves in November. Zenimax is the parent company of Bethesda Softworks, which has created developed hits including The Elder Scrolls, Wolfenstein, and [...]
Trump says US firms must have total control of Tiktok September 21, 2020 US President Donald Trump has said he won’t approve the deal between Tiktok owner Bytedance and US partners Oracle and Walmart if the Chinese tech firm maintains any control. “If we find that they don’t have total control, then we’re not going to approve the deal… We will be watching it very closely,” Trump told Fox [...]
Twitter apologises over racial bias in image algorithm September 21, 2020 Twitter has issued an apology after users highlighted how its image-cropping algorithms would favour showing white or lighter faces over Black ones. When images are attached to a tweet, Twitter will crop the preview of the image so that it takes up less space on a user’s timeline. Users who noticed the feature’s bias on [...]
London venture capital firm Kindred Capital closes second £81m fund September 21, 2020 London venture capital firm Kindred Capital has closed its second fund for seed-stage startups at £81m. Kindred has invested in the likes of self-driving car startup Five, software firm Paddle and will-writing startup Farewill. It backed a total of 29 companies using its first fund, which closed at £80m in 2018. Partner Leila Zegna said [...]