Markets
Covid jobs crisis 'most severe' since the 1930s
But the world also saw "unprecedented levels of employment loss" previous year, it said. The fourth-quarter reduction in working hours of 4.6% - equivalent to 130 million full-time jobs - was also lower than a prior prediction. Still, the damage in 2020 was even worse than the ILO predicted last spring, when it estimated that four in five people's jobs had been affected by full or partial closure... [Full Article...]
Ruling Communist Party to set Vietnam’s course this week
A series of meetings were held earlier in each of Vietnam's 63 provinces and municipalities to select 1,587 delegates. It is the 13th congress since the Communist Party was established in 1930. "Trong would be too powerful and that would hinder the collective leadership norm that the party has always been following." he said. "He would also set a precedent for others to cling on to power and tha... [Full Article...]
Intellectual property: Tesla sues former employee for allegedly stealing 26000 confidential files
Tesla has its own backend software called WARP Drive and the company claims Khatilov, in his first three days on the job, stole system scripts, or code files in the computer programming language Python. Tesla said its investigators viewed his Dropbox account. He said that he had transferred it into his Dropbox of clod account to use it later on his personal computer. [Full Article...]
Nasdaq rises again ahead of tech earnings, Dow drops
The Nasdaq 100 traded up as much as 1% in early trades, whereas the Dow Jones and S&P 500 were either flat or down. Besides, officials in Biden Administration were reportedly vying to vent out a way to allay Republicans' concerns that a $1.9 trillion in pandemic stimulus had been too expensive, adding further strains to investors' optimism. [Full Article...]
Tax return warning as payment still due despite easing of deadline
But anyone who can not file their return by January 31 will not receive a late filing penalty if they file online by February 28. However, taxpayers were warned they will still need to pay their bill on time or be charged interest. Dawn Register, of audit and tax services firm BDO, said: "HMRC clearly understands that those severely impacted by Covid-19 should not face receiving a 'brown envelop... [Full Article...]
Mastercard hikes interchange fees for United Kingdom online purchases from the EU
Mastercard blamed the move on the UK's decision to leave the EU. It added that "in practice" United Kingdom consumers would not notice the move. Mastercard has imposed a five-fold increase on credit card interchange fees charged for United Kingdom online purchases from the EU, following Britain's withdrawal from the European Union . [Full Article...]
N.Z's first case in months sparks Aus. travel ban
Ardern told media she spoke to Morrison after his decision. The Labour leader had previously outlined her hopes to establish a trans-Tasman bubble - or two-way quarantine-free travel between the two countries - by the end of March. to World Trade OrganizationThis article United States rejects Hong Kong request for WTO panel over "Made in China' labelling row first appeared on South China Morning... [Full Article...]
Merck ends development of two potential COVID-19 vaccines
However, the company still plans to submit results from its clinical trial for publication in a peer-reviewed journal. Another candidate, developed with the nonprofit International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, was based on technology used for Merck's Ebola vaccine. [Full Article...]