MPs criticise government for slow coronavirus misinformation response July 21, 2020 MPs have lashed out at the government over its failure to respond to concerns regarding online harms during the coronavirus pandemic, calling for legislation to be introduced as a matter of urgency. Members of the Digital, Cultural, Media and Sport select committee published a report today in which they pushed the government to name the [...]
Pompeo arrives in UK to discuss China, 5G and Brexit July 20, 2020 US secretary of state Mike Pompeo today arrived in the United Kingdom, with plans to discuss China, 5G and a Brexit free trade deal with Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Pompeo, who did not speak to reporters on the plane, was due to be greeted by US ambassador Woody Johnson shortly after landing. “While in London, [...]
Softbank pulls investment from Credit Suisse funds July 20, 2020 Softbank is said to have pulled an investment from Credit Suisse’s supply chain finance funds, after the Swiss bank reviewed the Japanese giant’s role in the funds. The Swiss bank launched the review after reports last month that Softbank had injected $500m into some of Credit Suisse $7.5bn range of funds, which in turn invested [...]
Uber to assist officials with coronavirus test and trace scheme July 20, 2020 Uber has launched a service to give health officials access to data on its drivers and riders as part of coronavirus test and trace schemes. Offered free of charge in any country where Uber currently operates, the service will provide health departments with data about who used Uber’s services and when, and allows health agencies [...]
BoE’s Haldane: V-shaped recovery ‘a description of the past’ July 20, 2020 The Bank of England’s chief economist Andy Haldane has said discussion by experts of a so-called V-shaped recovery for the UK economy were not meant to be “a prediction of the future”. Haldane told the Treasury Select Committee that the use of phrase V-shaped recovery was “so far, a description of what has happened”. “The [...]
Klarna restricts lending rules during lockdown July 20, 2020 Fintech lender Klarna said it has tightened its lending criteria during the coronavirus pandemic. Its vice president Luke Griffiths said Klarna is only accepting new customers that it believes will repay on time, and is increasing the frequency with which it reviews its acceptance criteria. “[Klarna’s] default rate is less than one per cent and [...]
Monzo relaunches premium accounts in third profit-chasing attempt July 16, 2020 Monzo is today relaunching its paid-for Plus account, in a near complete overhaul from its previous iteration that was scrapped last year. The new account will utilise open banking rules to allow users to view and move money from different bank and credit card accounts within the Monzo app, in a direct challenge to fintech [...]
Markets live: FTSE 100 and US stocks soar as vaccine optimism builds July 15, 2020 The FTSE 100 doubled its gains on Wednesday as investor optimism about a coronavirus vaccine grew stronger, also fuelling US and European stocks. London’s blue-chip index climbed as high as 6,241 as it opened trading this morning, following positive trial results of a Moderna vaccine. By 1.30pm the FTSE 100 was up 2.07 per cent [...]
Google injects $4.5bn into India’s Reliance Jio unit July 15, 2020 Google has become the latest technology giant to invest in Reliance’s digital unit Jio Platforms, putting up $4.5bn in exchange for a 7.7 per cent stake. Reliance has now gained a total of $20.2bn from strategic and financial investors in the last few months — surpassing the $15.4bn that the entire Indian startup sector took [...]
Google ousted from NHS coronavirus data project July 15, 2020 Google has been dropped from a partnership deal with the NHS to populate its coronavirus database, posing a setback for the tech giant’s plans to integrate into the UK’s digital infrastructure. The health service’s digital arm NHSX signed a contract with Google in April to consult on the project, but the deal was terminated last [...]