The Digital Currency Crossroads: CBDCs across borders, and the UK approach September 10, 2020 Growing interest in Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) has widely been viewed as a response by central banks to the emergence of private stablecoins, most notably Facebook’s Libra, announced in June 2019. Regulators and intergovernmental organisations, such as the Financial Action Task Force, have been working to understand the risks and potential of stablecoins, and [...]
Nearly 100 UK MPs condemn the ethnic cleansing of China’s Uighur Muslims September 9, 2020 More than 100 British parliamentarians have written to China’s UK ambassador to condemn the ethnic cleansing of Uighur Muslims in the country’s north. The letter, written by Labour MP Siobhain McDonagh and signed by 76 MPs and 57 Lords, tells ambassador Liu Xiaoming that “chilling” footage of Uighur Muslims being sent to internment camps in [...]
Fortnite rival PUBG cuts ties with China’s Tencent in India September 8, 2020 The owner of Playerunknown Battlegrounds, also known as PUBG, is to sever a publishing deal with Chinese giant Tencent for its game in India, in an effort to get around the government’s ban of its app in the country. South Korean firm PUBG Corporation said today it will no longer give Tencent Games the rights [...]
Thomas Cook tipped for relaunch as online-only travel agent September 7, 2020 Iconic travel agent Thomas Cook could be relaunched as early as this month, a year after the firm went bust in dramatic circumstances. Sky News reported that Chinese conglomerate Fosun, which bought the company’s name and intellectual property assets for just £11m, is drawing up plans to reinvent the 178-year-old firm as an online travel [...]
Samsung wins $6.6bn US 5G tech deal as Huawei tensions simmer September 7, 2020 Samsung Electronics today said it has won a $6.6bn deal with telecoms giant Verizon to provide wireless communications equipment for 5G in the US. The South Korean electronics magnate is benefiting from a gap in the market left by Chinese rival Huawei, analysts have said, which is banned from working with US companies by the [...]
Rolls-Royce sales rebound as luxury car firm commits to UK September 2, 2020 The boss of luxury car maker Rolls-Royce today said that the company was committed to a future in the UK, adding that demand for the firm’s vehicles has come back after the coronavirus lockdown. Speaking with Reuters as Rolls-Royce launched a new £250,000 car, Torsten Muller-Otvos described the firm as one of the “crown jewels” [...]
FTSE 100 slides as pound surges but US stocks continue to rise September 1, 2020 The FTSE 100 slumped as the pound soared, but the relentless rise of the big US tech companies continued on a choppy day’s trading. London’s blue-chip stock index slid 1.8 per cent to stand at 5,859 points in afternoon trading. The FTSE 250 index of mid-cap firms shed one per cent. Read more: Asian markets [...]
Asian markets rise after strong Chinese manufacturing data September 1, 2020 Asian markets rose today after strong readings on China’s vast manufacturing sector offset the weak lead from a softer Wall Street session. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan rose 0.2 per cent, to regain some ground it had lost on Monday. The Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong traded 0.18 per cent higher [...]
EDF to shut Hunterston nuclear plant in January 2022 August 27, 2020 EDF today announced that the Hunterston B nuclear power station in Scotland would begin decommissioning in January 2022 at the latest. The plant, which began generating electricity in 1976, provides enough power to run 1.7m homes. It had been expected that the plant would continue to operate until March 2023, but EDF said it had [...]
Tiktok ‘nears deal’ for sale of US operations after chief exec quits August 27, 2020 Short-form video app Tiktok is nearing a deal for its US operations, CNBC reported today, ahead of a potential ban in the country. The reports come just hours after chief executive Kevin Mayer quit his role at the firm, citing political pressure from the White House. According to the report, Mayer was initially going to [...]