Vodafone and BT warn it may take five years and cost ‘billions’ to scrap Huawei July 9, 2020 Vodafone and BT have warned that it may take at least five years and cost “billions” of pounds to strip Huawei equipment from UK networks, as Prime Minister Boris Johnson faces mounting pressure to scrap a deal with the Chinese vendor over security concerns. Vodafone UK’s head of networks, Andrea Dona, today told the government’s [...]
HSBC shares tumble as US mulls Hong Kong crackdown July 8, 2020 HSBC shares have tumbled four per cent after advisers to the US government said they could undermine the Hong Kong dollar’s peg to the US dollar and crack down on banks in the city. The UK and Hong Kong-focused bank has been caught up in a geopolitical struggle over the semi-autonomous city which has seen [...]
Asian stocks falter as coronavirus cases surge July 8, 2020 Asian stocks dithered on Wednesday as an increase in new coronavirus cases in some parts of the world cast doubts over the economic recovery while oil prices eased on oversupply fears. MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan were a tad lower after hitting a 4-1/2 month high just on Tuesday. Chinese shares flickered [...]
FTSE 100 and US stocks drop on economy warnings July 7, 2020 The FTSE 100 and US stocks have fallen as investors weigh persistent worries about the economy against countries’ moves to reopen after lengthy coronavirus lockdowns. London’s blue-chip index was 1.6 per cent lower this afternoon, at 6,187 points. It rose more than two per cent yesterday after Chinese shares rallied more than five per cent. [...]
Hong Kong: All the tech firms pausing activity after China’s security law July 7, 2020 A host of tech giants have said they will be pausing the processing of requests by authorities in Hong Kong to review user data, following a strict new security law passed by China last week. China’s parliament has approved the national security law in Hong Kong, which pushes the city state towards a more authoritarian [...]
Zoom and Linkedin join tech giants in pausing requests from Hong Kong July 7, 2020 Microsoft’s Linkedin and Zoom are the latest tech companies to reveal they will be pausing all requests to review user data from authorities in Hong Kong, in light of new laws in the region. Zoom said it has paused processing of all data requests from and related to Hong Kong, while Linkedin said it has [...]
Tiktok exits Hong Kong as US ponders banning the app July 7, 2020 Tiktok is to remove its app from Hong Kong, as other technology firms say they will stop processing data requests from authorities in the city state. Tiktok, which is owned by Chinese giant Bytedance, said it had made the decision to exit the region after China approved fresh national security law for the region last [...]
Whatsapp and Telegram suspend user data review requests from Hong Kong authorities July 6, 2020 Encrypted messaging services Telegram and Facebook’s Whatsapp said today they had “paused” accepting requests from Hong Kong authorities to review user data. China’s parliament last week passed the national security law in Hong Kong, pushing the city state towards a more authoritarian approach to monitoring its citizens and internet censorship. Previously Hong Kong enjoyed relatively [...]
‘Utterly inadequate’: Experts slam watchdog’s Big Four audit split July 6, 2020 The audit watchdog’s move to force the Big Four accountancy firms to ring-fence their audit units has been condemned as a “cosmetic exercise” by industry experts. The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) today announced that the Big Four — PwC, Deloitte, KPMG and EY — must separate their audit and non-audit businesses by 2024 to ensure [...]
Markets live: Nasdaq hits record intraday high as FTSE 100 rallies on recovery hopes July 6, 2020 The FTSE 100 and US stock markets rose sharply today as investors cheered the prospect of more stimulus for the UK economy and followed the lead of Asian markets. London’s index of blue-chip companies was 1.87 per cent higher this afternoon at 6,2572.5 points. The FTSE 250 index of slightly smaller firms rose 1.27 per [...]