Business news

• Lyft and Uber receive reprieve in California employment rights row

  20-08-2020 22:35 via bbc.co.uk
  
  The companies have appealed a court ruling to classify their drivers as employees, not contractors.
  
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• Judge grants Uber and Lyft temporary stay, averting shutdown of California services

  20-08-2020 22:24 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Judge grants Uber and Lyft temporary stay, averting shutdown of California services. Lyft had announced planned suspension in blogpost as it awaited landmark decision which would enforce labor law AB5
  
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• Facebook confirms Zuckerberg interviewed in FTC investigation

  20-08-2020 21:54 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Facebookconfirmed on Thursday that chief executive Mark Zuckerberg was interviewed earlier this week at a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) investigative hearing as part of the government's antitrust probe into the social media company."We are committed to cooperating with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission's inquiry and answering the questions the agency may have," the social media company said in a statement.Politico reported the interview earlier on Thursday.
  
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• It is hard to spot the success of Mike Ashley's 'elevation' strategy

  20-08-2020 21:43 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  It is hard to spot the success of Mike Ashley's 'elevation' strategy. Frasers Group talks about their stores as a ‘work in progress’; others might call it a mistake
  
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• U.S. charges former Uber security chief with covering up massive 2016 hacking

  20-08-2020 21:29 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  In an unprecedented case, a former chief security officer for Uber Technologieswas criminally charged on Thursday with trying to cover up a 2016 hacking that exposed personal information of about 57 million of the ride-hailing company's customers and drivers.The U.S. Department of Justice charged Joseph Sullivan, 52, with felony obstruction of justice, saying he took "deliberate steps" to keep the Federal Trade Commission from learning about the hack while the agency was monitoring Uber security
  
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• Tesla's soaring stock cracks $2,000 ahead of share split

  20-08-2020 21:20 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  With many investors betting Tesla will be added to the S&P 500after a strong quarterly report last month, the stock has surged over 300% in 2020.The stock has jumped 45% just since Aug. 11, when Tesla announced a five-for-one stock split, with shareholders of record on Aug. 21 receiving four additional shares for each share they own, distributed after the close of trading on Aug. 28.Thursday's surge put Tesla's stock market value at $372 billion, greater than all but seven of the S&P 500
  
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• Airbnb to ban house parties and limit guest numbers amid Covid-19 crisis

  20-08-2020 20:49 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Airbnb to ban house parties and limit guest numbers amid Covid-19 crisis. New rules come after ‘lockdown parties’ and coronavirus risk blamed on platform by B&B; operators in the UK
  
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• Retail veterans lining up £6.5bn rival private equity bids for Asda

  20-08-2020 20:39 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Retail veterans lining up £6.5bn rival private equity bids for Asda. Either Rob Templeman or Paul Mason could possibly become chairman in a concluded deal
  
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• US unemployment claims rise above 1m as Covid recovery falters

  20-08-2020 20:31 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  The number of laid-off workers seeking unemployment benefits in the US rose unexpectedly by 135,000 in the week ended August 15, lifting the total to back above one million. Although the moving average continues to descend, the rise to 1.1 million was higher than economists' expectations of 925,000, heightening concerns about the outlook for the world's biggest economy. The number of jobless claims had fallen in the prior two weeks, dipping most recently below one million to 971,000 for the firs
  
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• U.S. judge narrows SEC lawsuit against VW over diesel emissions

  20-08-2020 20:30 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco granted the automaker's dismissal motion, apart from its request to strike the SEC's effort to obtain injunctive relief and disgorgement.The judge also rejected former VW Chief Executive Martin Winterkorn's motion to dismiss SEC claims against him.VW had been caught using illegal software to cheat U.S. pollution tests of its vehicles in 2015, triggering a global backlash that has cost the company more than 29 billion euros (26.02 billion pounds
  
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• Travel operators call for end to UK’s ‘stop-start’ coronavirus quarantines

  20-08-2020 20:17
  Frustration as Croatia, Austria and Trinidad and Tobago taken off list of safe destinations but Portugal added
  
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• UK nightlife industry facing 'financial armageddon'

  20-08-2020 19:56 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  UK nightlife industry facing 'financial armageddon'Night Time Industries Association warned 754,000 jobs at risk because of the Covid-19* Coronavirus – latest updates* See all our coronavirus coverage
  
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• Mummified animals from ancient Egypt 'digitally unwrapped' to unlock mysteries

  20-08-2020 19:37 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Researchers have “digitally unwrapped” mummified animals from ancient Egypt, revealing previously undiscovered details about ritualistic mummification.Analysis of the 2,000-year-old animals – which include a bird, a kitten and a snake – was done using a technique that achieves a resolution 100-times higher than a medical CT scan.
  
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• Uber and Lyft set to shut down in California after being forced to classify drivers as employees

  20-08-2020 19:27 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Uber and Lyft were on the verge of shutting down in one of their biggest markets on Thursday after being forced to classify drivers as employees. Lyft confirmed it was taking the dramatic decision to halt all rides in California on Thursday evening, with Uber expected to announce a similar suspension if a judge does not delay an injunction forcing them to reclassify tens of thousands of drivers. "This is not something we wanted to do, as we know millions of Californians depend on Lyft for daily,
  
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• Uber and Lyft granted last minute reprieve after threatening to shut down in California

  20-08-2020 19:27 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Taxi apps Lyft and Uber narrowly avoided shutting down in one of their biggest markets after a court awarded them an emergency stay, amid a legal battle forcing them to classify drivers as employees. Lyft told customers it would halt all rides in California on Thursday, after being ordered by a San Francisco judge to follow a new labour law which reclassifies tens of thousands of drivers as staff. Uber was expected to announce a similar suspension but a judge blocked the court order at the last
  
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• Government launches review of Cabinet Office

  20-08-2020 19:18
  Tory peer asked to look into the effectiveness of key Whitehall department
  
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• Bayer to pay $1.6 billion to resolve U.S. claims for Essure birth-control device

  20-08-2020 19:14 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  German drugs and pesticides group Bayersaid on Thursday it will pay around $1.6 billion (1.2 billion pounds) to settle the majority of U.S. claims involving its Essure birth-control device.The agreement follows a $10.9 billion settlement in June of U.S. lawsuits claiming the company's weedkiller Roundup caused cancer.Bayer said the Essure settlement is for around 90% of the nearly 39,000 claims by women alleging injury from the devices and that it was in discussion with counsel for the remaining
  
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• Twitch down: Live streams not working as site fails to load for some users

  20-08-2020 19:10 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Twitch has stopped working, with users unable to load live streams.The company confirmed that it was aware of an issue that would mean the service would "fail to load in some cases".
  
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• Lyft to suspend services in California over order to classify drivers as employees

  20-08-2020 19:10 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Lyft to suspend services in California over order to classify drivers as employees. Company announced suspension in blogpost as it awaits landmark decision which would enforce labor law AB5
  
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• Sheila Hawton obituary

  20-08-2020 19:02 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Sheila Hawton obituary
  
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• European markets drop after gloomy Fed minutes

  20-08-2020 18:54 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Markets have been rising recently, despite struggles in the global economy.
  
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• Harley's activist investor backs business reboot strategy

  20-08-2020 18:50 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  An activist investor who shook up Harley-Davidson Incearlier this year said he is impressed with the changes initiated by new Chief Executive Jochen Zeitz to turn around the 117-year-old motorcycle company.Months later, it tried to install two directors on Harley's board, asking for operational fixes to recover its market share in the United States, Europe and Japan."For the first time in five to six years, the company is on the right track again," Bob Bishop, founder and chief investment office
  
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• Uber, Lyft prepare to shut down California rides service on Friday

  20-08-2020 18:34 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Lyft in a blog post on Thursday said it would suspend its California operations at midnight.Uber in a blogpost said it would have to temporarily shut down unless the appeals court intervenes.The companies have sought the intervention of an appeals court to block an injunction order issued by a judge last week.
  
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• Uber, Lyft prepare to shut down California ride services over worker protection law

  20-08-2020 18:34 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Lyft in a blog post on Thursday said it would suspend its California operations at midnight.Uber, in a separate blog post on Tuesday, said it would have to temporarily shut down unless the appeals court intervenes.Lyft shares dropped more than 6%, but later pared losses and were down 0.6% to $27.96 in afternoon trading.
  
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• Market report: Tie-up talk boosts InterContinental

  20-08-2020 18:34 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Merger whispers lifted shares in InterContinental Hotels, after reports French rival Accor had eyed a tie-up between the two groups. The FTSE 100 company, which owns the Crowne Plaza brand, edged up 34p to £40.30 following a report in French newspaper Le Figaro. It said Sébastien Bazin, Accor’s chief executive, had formed a team in June to examine the possibilities of a transaction. Ultimately, Mr Bazin decided it was not the right time to move ahead, Le Figaro said, but Accor
  
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• Last-minute California court ruling paves way to stave off Uber, Lyft shutdown

  20-08-2020 18:34 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Lyft shares were up almost 9% after the last-minute ruling, and Uber shares were up 6.4%.The companies had sought the intervention of the California First District Court of Appeal in San Francisco to block an injunction order issued by a judge last week.
  
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• California court ruling gives voters last word over Uber, Lyft worker rights

  20-08-2020 18:34 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  A California appeals court ruling on Thursday avoided a shutdown of ride-hailing services Uber and Lyft in the state, effectively handing a decision over gig worker benefits and pay to voters in a November ballot measure.The last-minute ruling, in a case with potential ripple effects across the global gig economy, means drivers can continue working as independent contractors while the appeals court considers the question of driver status.The companies had threatened an imminent shutdown as early
  
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• California court ruling gives voters last word over Uber, Lyft driver protections

  20-08-2020 18:34 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  The companies had said they would be unable to comply with a new state law that would consider their drivers employees entitled to benefits such as minimum wage, overtime and sick pay and unemployment insurance instead of independent contractors.Thursday's last-minute ruling, in a case with potential ripple effects across the global gig economy, means drivers can continue working as independent contractors while the appeals courts consider the question of driver status.Lyft, Uber, DoorDash, Inst
  
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• Questor: will this diversified fund recover when the tech stock obsession starts to wane?

  20-08-2020 18:31 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  A “nobody’s fault recession” is the rather neat description used for the current slump in the interim report published a week ago by one of our newer holdings, Murray International investment trust. The portfolio’s manager, Bruce Stout of Aberdeen Standard Investments, said the fact that the recession could be blamed on the pandemic had enabled the authorities to “unleash a flood of liquidity into financial markets” – with “significant implications
  
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• U.S. recovery grinds along as coronavirus case growth eases

  20-08-2020 18:27 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  High-frequency data estimating retail stores visits and employment across industries as well as broader indexes of the recovery, after largely plateauing during a summertime surge in coronavirus cases, mostly moved higher through early and mid-August.Defying worries, at least so far, that the expiration of extra unemployment insurance benefits in July would lead to an immediate collapse of spending, August opened "on the right foot," Oxford Economics chief U.S. economist Gregory Daco wrote after
  
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• UK fintech start-ups unhappy with government's pandemic support

  20-08-2020 18:21 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Three quarters of financial technology start-ups in the UK are unhappy with the amount of Government help during the coronavirus pandemic, according to a new survey. The latest report from the Digital Finance Forum found that only 25pc of founders believed that the Government had done enough to support digital banking businesses during the pandemic. Current Government support such as the Future Fund, which tops up investments into businesses, as well as the Bounce Back Loan scheme, business inte
  
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• easyJet shares are still in deep trouble! Are they a bargain or a value trap?

  20-08-2020 18:05 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  easyJet shares haven't rebounded much from their March lows. Are they a bargain or a value trap now? Anna Sokolidou tries to find out.The post easyJet shares are still in deep trouble! Are they a bargain or a value trap? appeared first on The Motley Fool UK.
  
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• Coronavirus: Brits have spent £3.7bn on gardening in lockdown

  20-08-2020 18:01 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  UK adults have spent about £105 each transforming their garden since 23 March.
  
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• Trump redoubles vow to withdraw troops from Iraq; eyes prospects for oil deals

  20-08-2020 17:58 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday redoubled his promise to withdraw the few U.S. troops still in Iraq, but said Washington would remain ready to help if neighboring Iran took any hostile action.Speaking during his first meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, Trump said he looked forward to the day when U.S. troops could exit the country, but said U.S. businesses were already making "very big oil deals" there."We'll be leaving shortly," Trump told reporters.
  
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• Iraq is open for U.S. business, prime minister says; Trump eyes oil prospects

  20-08-2020 17:58 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  President Donald Trump on Thursday said U.S. companies were involved in many prospects in Iraq's oil business, as Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi declared his country open for American business and investment.Trump told reporters before a meeting with the Iraqi leader that the U.S. military had very few troops in Iraq and looked forward to the day when it did not have to be there, but would help the country if neighboring Iran should do anything.Al-Kadhimi took office in April, becoming
  
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• Estée Lauder plans to cut up to 2,000 jobs globally after profits dive

  20-08-2020 17:56 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Estée Lauder plans to cut up to 2,000 jobs globally after profits dive. Surged in online sales during pandemic not enough to offset temporary closure of outlets
  
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• Apple set to be worth more than entire FTSE 100

  20-08-2020 17:43 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  With a $2 trillion market cap under its belt, Apple has a new milestone in its sights: becoming worth more than the entire FTSE 100. The iPhone maker is worth £1.5 trillion in sterling terms, versus the FTSE 100’s total market capitalisation of £1.7 trillion. Apple – which nabbed the title of world’s largest company last month – has rapidly closed the gap with London’s blue-chip index over recent years as its share price undergoes a meteoric rise. Shares
  
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• Private equity titans go into battle for Asda

  20-08-2020 17:41 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Two retail veterans are poised to do battle for Asda as a £6.5bn bidding war hots up. Former Debenhams boss Rob Templeman is squaring off against previous Asda chief executive Paul Mason in a race to buy the supermarket from its US owner Walmart, according to Sky News. Mr Templeman has been lined up to oversee an offer from private equity company Apollo Global Management. Meanwhile, rival bidder Lone Star Funds has brought in Mr Mason to take charge of its bid. It comes as Walmart restarts
  
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• Private equity giants go into battle for Asda

  20-08-2020 17:41 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Two industry veterans are poised for battle as they lead rival bids for grocer Asda in a £6.5bn deal. Rob Templeman, a former chief executive of Debenhams, is working with Apollo Global Management on one bid. Meanwhile, Lone Star Funds, another private equity bidder, is using former Asda boss Paul Mason to table its bid, Sky News first reported. Walmart, the supermaket's US owner, has restarted talks with existing bidders after it paused discussions when the pandemic hit. The sale process
  
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• 'Dead' octogenarian found still alive in hospital morgue pronounced dead again

  20-08-2020 17:39 via ibtimes.co.uk
  
  The woman was pronounced dead after surgery even though she was alive, however, she eventually passed away within a week of the ordeal.
  
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• Airport ground-handling companies warn of more job losses

  20-08-2020 17:39
  UK’s four biggest air services groups urge government to provide extra support for aviation
  
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• UK Labour Party demands answers of trade minister Truss over think-tank meetings

  20-08-2020 17:33 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Britain's opposition Labour Party wrote to trade minister Liz Truss on Thursday demanding answers over the circumstances of her meetings with a hardline Brexit think tank which were removed from the public record.Truss's Department for International Trade reclassified two meetings and one dinner with the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) because it said she had attended in a personal capacity and therefore they did not need to be declared in transparency data published by the government.In a l
  
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• 2020-21 Premier League fixtures announced

  20-08-2020 17:32 via ibtimes.co.uk
  
  Manchester City and Manchester United's first games will be postponed to hand them a minimum rest period of 30 days.
  
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• Instagram, TikTok and Youtube users' personal data exposed by social media company

  20-08-2020 17:27 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  A company that sells social media data to marketers has left nearly 235 million Youtube, TikTok, and Instagram profiles exposed.Social Data managed a database that was neither password-protected nor had any authentication methods, according to a report from Comparitech.
  
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• Thousands of jobs will vanish without rates reform, says Frasers finance boss

  20-08-2020 17:20 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Chris Wootton, chief finance officer of Mike Ashley’s retail vehicle, called on the Government to revalue the property tax to aid the UK high street.
  
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• Ford to trial technology that can predict traffic accidents

  20-08-2020 17:19 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  Ford is set to trial technology designed to predict traffic accidents before they happen in its latest effort to improve road safety. The automotive giant will begin an 18-month project involving 700 connected cars across Oxfordshire and London, which can “communicate” with other connected vehicles through internet signals. Data from the fleet of vehicles – such as brake or accelerator pedal usage and steering wheel angle – will be analysed alongside information from up t
  
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• Real Madrid transfer news: Mourinho wants Gareth Bale back at Spurs

  20-08-2020 17:18 via ibtimes.co.uk
  
  The Welshman may have an opportunity to return to his former club.
  
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• What is Universal Basic Income?

  20-08-2020 17:16 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  The idea of government's playing all their citizens a minimum income has gained popularity in the last decade and researchers in Germany have announced a new pilot of the policy. But what exactly is Universal Basic Income and how does it work?
  
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• Six bottlenose whales die after stranding themselves on the shore in Irish beach

  20-08-2020 17:12 via ibtimes.co.uk
  
  The Irish Whale and Dolphin Group said this is the largest mass stranding of the species in Ireland.
  
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• Fear fading on Wall Street as investors learn to love the new bull market

  20-08-2020 17:12 via uk.finance.yahoo.com
  
  The Cboe Volatility Index, known as Wall Street's "fear gauge," is near its lowest level since late February and options markets are showing diminishing concerns of a near-term drop in equities.The S&P 500's run to fresh highs has come as some of Wall Street's biggest banks, including Goldman Sachs, UBS Global Wealth Management and Morgan Stanley, turn more bullish on stocks and are urging clients to remain exposed to equities.
  
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