Big tech firms like Google, Amazon and Facebook spent a record amount on political lobbying last year January 24, 2019 Google, Amazon and Facebook's bill for lobbying the US government hit record highs last year, as life under the Trump administration put big tech firms in the spotlight. Google parent firm Alphabet said it spent $21.2m (£16.3m) on political lobbying costs in the US last year, topping its previous all-time high of $18.2m achieved in 2012. It [...]
DEBATE: Following reports of the Dyson relocation, is Singapore the new go-to place for tech? January 24, 2019 Following reports of the Dyson relocation, is Singapore the new go-to place for tech? Elsa Hu, director of Asia at GP Bullhound, says YES. Singapore has long been the headquarters of choice for Southeast Asian tech startups, due to its mature business ecosystem, proximity to two of the world’s booming economies, huge talent pool, and attitude [...]
The US government shutdown drags on, but London never closes for business January 24, 2019 As the longest government shutdown in US history rumbles on – sparked by Donald Trump’s insistence to build a border wall that Democrats in Congress have refused to grant funding for – Wall Street and Silicon Valley have been left in serious IPO limbo. Staff at the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have not worked [...]
Donald Trump to hold second summit with Kim Jong Un in February to continue denuclearisation discussion January 19, 2019 Donald Trump will hold a second summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in late February having held a meeting with the country’s top nuclear negotiator on Friday. The US president met with Kim Yong Chol, a hardline former spy chief, to continue the denuclearisation effort that had stalled since the first meeting between [...]
Trump orders thousands of employees back to work during government shutdown January 16, 2019 US President Donald Trump has ordered thousands of furloughed government employees back to work without pay during a partial government shutdown. A total of 46,052 Internal Revenue Service (IRS) staff will return to work to fulfil tax refunds as the shutdown – which has affected around a quarter of government agencies – enters its 26th [...]
US government shutdown hits 800,000 federal workers as they miss first payday of the year January 12, 2019 As many as 800,000 public sector workers missed their first payday of the year on Friday as the US government’s partial shutdown continued for a third week. Many workers have been working without the guarantee of pay since the shutdown began on December 22, including airport staff, prison guards and other vital public service personnel. [...]
Donald Trump insists he has ‘absolute right’ to use emergency powers over wall January 11, 2019 Donald Trump has threatened to "declare a national emergency" and use emergency powers in order get funding for a border wall as the impasse between Democrats and the US president continued for a third week. The president has insisted he has the "absolute right" to force the proposal through as a deal to reopen government [...]
Trump has gone to war with the US model of government January 11, 2019 There’s an ancient Greek fable about some frogs who ask Zeus for a king. The god gives them a log to be their ruler, which proceeds to do exactly what you’d expect: nothing. Disappointed, the frogs complain that their king isn’t getting anything done, and ask for a more active one. Zeus gives them a hydra, [...]
People’s Vote campaigners are playing dirty with the facts January 10, 2019 As Monday's Channel 4 drama Brexit: The Uncivil War reminded us, the Remain campaign likes to take comfort in the fact that it tried to win us over with facts and figures, never stooping to the kind of outright lies about the economic benefits of leaving the EU or the threats of immigration indulged in by members [...]
Rod Rosenstein, key figure in Trump probe, set to leave US justice department: reports January 9, 2019 US deputy attorney-general Rod Rosenstein, a key figure in the probe into Russia’s role in the 2016 US presidential election, is set to leave the Department of Justice in the coming weeks, according to multiple reports. Rosenstein is likely to leave after the appointment of William Barr, President Donald Trump’s pick to replace Jeff Sessions [...]