Almost half of British companies have scrapped payouts in response to coronavirus

As corporate insolvencies soar and firms try to hang on to their cash as long as possible, expect to hear a lot more about trade credit insurance.

Government must prioritise getting the young back to work

What is it that makes an online performance really sing?

Those in pensions drawdown are at risk of  pound cost ravaging

Judicial review sought over alleged breach of 2015 law, claiming cost benefits should go to scheme members

Court rules government guidance that bans boycotts against foreign countries is unlawful

Master of disguise who plotted the ‘Argo’ escape from Iran

Global Witness highlights UK hedge fund’s stake in company accused of environmental violations

Organisers expected to delay flagship event in order to let European domestic leagues finish

Dow wipes out gains of the Trump presidency amid fears antivirus measures are inadequate

Experts fear country is embarking on more white elephant projects

Targets to include more women mean little without cultural change in the industry

Move comes amid escalating political row with London’s mayor over coronavirus risks

The ECB’s asset purchases are vital to the stability of the eurozone

German regulator looks at group’s statements ahead of KPMG special audit report

Turmoil in commodity market slashes state colleges’ revenues

Promises of huge growth are yet to materialise — but there’s huge potential

New Sipp dealing account has no annual management fee

Move means hard-hit industries face another year of high bills

More than £1bn ploughed into equity vehicles after decisive Conservative victory

UK-based education company is still more value trap than takeover candidate

Tickets website has to navigate an overhaul of UK rail’s supporting infrastructure

Production costs to rise by 61% when industry invests in carbon capture

Shares in security software maker dropped sharply after revelations of data harvesting

Ambitious plans for renewable energy rarely feature in government strategy

The former Fox CEO commits millions to battle against disinformation

Current rates from the state-owned savings bank

Cheap shale gas has fed an investment boom in products that often end up as waste. Has the petrochemicals industry miscalculated?

Banked, a London-based fintech using open banking to enable account-to-account payments at checkout (and beyond), has raised £2.35 million in further seed funding. The round was led by Force Over Mass, with participation from previous investors Backed and Acrew Capital, along with a number of high-net-worth individuals, such as Paul Forster (co-founder of Indeed.com). It […]

The last time America sold war bonds they were essentially a tax on savers

Researchers at NYU have identified hundreds of groups of Instagram users, some with thousands of members, that systematically exchange likes and comments in order to game the service’s algorithms and boost visibility. In the process, they also trained machine learning agents to identify whether a post has been juiced in this way. “Pods,” as they’ve […]

With unemployment growing at a worrying rate, we’re seeing a lot more people finding themselves in hot water when it comes to their finances. Today a startup that’s built a platform to help identify and help those users when they find themselves unable to make payments is announcing a very large growth round of funding […]

Mike Mackenzie’s daily analysis of what’s moving global markets

Mike Mackenzie’s daily analysis of what’s moving global markets

Mike Mackenzie’s daily analysis of what’s moving global markets

I am approaching retirement age with very little pension to live on

Despite the worldwide impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, global smartwatch shipments continued to grow during the first three months of the year, driven by online sales, says a new report by research firm Strategy Analytics. Shipments grew 20% annually to reach 13.7 million units in the first quarter of 2020, up from 11.4 million units […]

Democratic politics functions on the premise that accountability improves outcomes

Whether on pocket money or holidays, I see the wisdom in refusing to discuss important decisions

Costs are falling — but it still looks far more expensive than it should

Investment trusts pass the longevity test and could provide the answer 

From social mobility to how tax policy has shaped our history — and future

Favourable trends in employment relative to population are not going to be repeated

It is simply another policy tool, neither the royal road to hyperinflation nor a cure-all

In an unprecedented move to reassure customers and flag the potential for misinformation about COVID-19 on their platforms, all of the major social media companies and their parent corporations issued a joint statement on their efforts. “We invite other companies to join us as we work to keep our communities healthy and safe,” the statement […]

Like many other websites at the moment, the career-oriented networking platform LinkedIn has seen a big boost in traffic as a result of people being asked to work from home and stay indoors overall to slow the spread of the coronavirus, with a bump of 55% more conversational activity between existing connections in recent weeks. […]

The Mendel Air Sensor app is the first app I open every morning. Before Reddit, before Gmail, before NYT. I roll over, grab my phone and check my plants. I don’t know if there’s a higher honor I can bestow on an app. The Mendel Air Sensor is a game-changer for indoor growers. It offers […]

Despite the worldwide impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, global smartwatch shipments continued to grow during the first three months of the year, driven by online sales, says a new report by research firm Strategy Analytics. Shipments grew 20% annually to reach 13.7 million units in the first quarter of 2020, up from 11.4 million units […]

Amazon is in hot water with a powerful congressional committee interested in the company’s potentially anticompetitive business practices. In a bipartisan letter sent Friday to Jeff Bezos, the House Judiciary committee demanded that the Amazon CEO explain discrepancies between his own prior statements and recent reporting from The Wall Street Journal. Specifically, the letter addressed […]