Before coronavirus arrived in the UK, only 3.8 per cent of the country’s 812,000 call centre workers were based at home, according to research group ContactBabel. By November 2020, homeworking was almost twice as common among call centre staff as in the general workforce. This looks set to remain. Ireland has refused to pay a…
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Ride-hailing giant Gojek and marketplace Tokopedia said on Monday they have combined their businesses to form GoTo Group, the largest technology group in Indonesia, the fourth most populous nation that is currently navigating to contain the economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. Gojek’s Andre Soelistyo will lead the combined business as GoTo Group CEO, with…
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In a single tweet, Elon Musk made bitcoin go into a free fall. The announcement caused the price of bitcoin drop by more than 10% and the cryptocurrency market to lose $365 billion. Apparently, bitcoin is not green enough. According to Elon, mining Bitcoin uses up too much electricity and that’s bad for our planet.…
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Top executives are saying the word “carbon” on corporate earnings calls at a rapidly rising rate, in the latest sign of the increased importance investors place on environmental credentials. Mentions of carbon and associated keywords have tripled over the past three years to about 1,600 per quarter, according to a UBS analysis of earnings call…
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Foxconn does not normally care too much about style. Even its investor conferences are held at the drab concrete-block building that houses the Apple supplier’s headquarters in an industrial suburb of Taipei. But in March, the world’s largest contract electronics manufacturer put on a real show: hosting 500 executives at a chic event space in…
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The EU plans to throw its weight behind a push to expand vaccine manufacturing in Africa after the coronavirus pandemic has underscored a need to broaden the production of life saving jabs. Ursula von der Leyen, European Commission president, is expected to back proposals to establish strategic manufacturing hubs in African countries at a global…
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Russian companies stand to be among the biggest losers from the EU’s proposed carbon tax on imports, prompting accusations of protectionism from Moscow. The levy, known as the carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM) and designed to hit countries making insufficient efforts to combat climate change, would result in huge surcharges for Russian groups seeking to…
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The UK’s effort to put a price on carbon pollution through a new trading system that launches this week is likely to lead to government intervention to reduce the cost to companies within months, traders have warned. Pent-up demand and the UK’s strict emission targets are expected to lead to a sustained rally in the…
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The immunologist who leads the COVID-19 response in the United States said Sunday that “the undeniable effects of racism” have led to unacceptable health disparities that especially hurt African Americans, Hispanics and Native Americans during the pandemic. “COVID-19 has shone a bright light on our own society’s failings,” Dr. Anthony Fauci said during a graduation…
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Talk of temporarily lifting intellectual property rights for COVID-19 vaccines raises questions about the future of patent protections for lifesaving drugs, devices and medical supplies. To help increase access to vaccines in poor countries, the Biden administration recently said the U.S. would participate in World Trade Organization negotiations over waiving intellectual property rights of pharmaceutical…
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