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Optimism despite disruptive forces in retail sector: WTW’s Global Retail Survey
It is fascinating that despite so much commentary regarding the...
Life protection plan for Indian blue-collar workers unveiled in the UAE
Around 3.5 million Indians reside in the UAE, of which about 65 per...
China launches antitrust probe into tech giant Alibaba
It follows China’s dramatic suspension last month of Ant’s planned $37 billion initial public offering, which had been on track to be the world’s largest, just two days before shares were due to begin trading in Shanghai and Hong Kong.
In a strongly worded editorial, the ruling Communist Party’s People’s Daily said that if “monopoly is tolerated, and companies are allowed to expand in a disorderly and barbarian manner, the industry won’t develop in a healthy, and sustainable way”.
1 in 10 gamers have had their ID stolen, $347bn at risk
According to global research by cyber-security firm Kaspersky, a third (33 per cent) of gamers have suffered at the hands of cheats.
According to the 5,031 gamers surveyed across 17 countries, nearly a fifth (19 per cent) have also been bullied while playing.
All of these combined cause stress and anxiety in 31 per cent of the games surveyed.
For companies like Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft, 2020 has been a record-breaking sales year as millions stayed home during the pandemic.
Massive cyberattacks that shook the world in 2020
The biggest of them perhaps came to light towards the end of the year when cybersecurity company FireEye earlier this month revealing that it became a target of hackers who accessed tools that the company uses to test its customers’ security.
According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, suspected Russian hackers installed a malware in the Orion software sold by the IT management company SolarWinds, and accessed sensitive data belonging to several US government agencies, at least one hospital and a university.
“The deal is done”: EU and UK clinch narrow Brexit accord
The details of the accord have yet to be made public, but if the sides have struck a zero-tariff and zero-quota deal, it will help to smooth trade in goods that makes up half their $900 billion in annual commerce.
Laptops, desktop sales see ‘renaissance;’ shortages won’t ease until 2022
Some computers coming to market in the next few months address new needs. They feature better cameras and speakers for video conferencing, analysts said. More models will have a cellular chip, aiding users who can access 4G or 5G mobile signals but not traditional Wi-Fi.
Sam Burd, president at PC maker Dell Technologies Inc, this month said the industry “renaissance” would soon bring devices with artificial intelligence software to simplify tasks like logging on and switching off cameras.
Annual global shipments of PCs, the industry’s collective term for laptops and desktops, topped out at about 300 million in 2008 and recently were sinking toward 250 million. Few expected a resurgence.
But some analysts now expect 2020 will close at about 300 million shipments, up roughly 15% from a year ago. Tablets are experiencing even faster growth.
Insolvencies, cyber threats and ESG scrutiny are top risks for directors and officers in 2021:Allianz
Forthcoming insolvency warnings are among the top concerns for the D&O insurance sector as insolvency is a key cause of D&O claims – insolvency administrators usually look to recoup losses from directors.
According to Euler Hermes, the bulk of insolvencies is still to come through the first half of 2021, with its global insolvency index likely to hit a record high for bankruptcies, up 35% by end of 2021, and with top increases expected in the US, Brazil, China and core European countries such as UK, Italy, Belgium and France.
Launch of the first parametric tropical cyclone insurance product in Africa
The African Risk Capacity (ARC) Group(ARC) has developed a model capable of correctly estimating the risk and economic losses resulting from tropical cyclones, which is suitable for SOOI countries, such as Mozambique, Madagascar, Comoros, Mauritius, Seychelles and Tanzania.
“Our goal is to continue to diversify our insurance product offering in order to effectively meet the needs of our Member States. This new offer will allow our Member States to better anticipate and manage extreme weather events while ensuring that the impact of such events on the population is mitigated, ” said Ibrahima Cheikh Diong, Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations. and Chief Executive Officer of the Panafrican Mutual of Risk Management Group ( ARC Risk Capacity Group ).
AstraZeneca says its vaccine should be effective against new coronavirus variant
“AZD1222 (AstraZeneca’s vaccine candidate) contains the genetic material of the SARS-CoV-2 virus spike protein, and the changes to the genetic code seen in this new viral strain do not appear to change the structure of the spike protein,” an AstraZeneca representative said in an email.
India is likely to approve Oxford/AstraZeneca’s coronavirus vaccine for emergency use by next week after its local manufacturer submitted additional data sought by authorities, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters on Tuesday.
UK identifies new South African coronavirus variant tightens lockdown
Like the UK variant identified earlier, the new variant of the novel coronavirus is also driving a massive resurgence of the disease in South Africa, with experts warning the country is probably facing a much larger second wave.
“Both cases of the new variant are contacts of cases who have travelled from South Africa over the past few weeks,” Hancock said, addressing a briefing from 10 Downing Street.
“This new variant is highly concerning because it is yet more transmissible and it appears to have mutated further than the new variant that has been discovered in the UK,” he said.
Google told its scientists to ‘strike a positive tone’ in AI research: report
Studying Google services for biases is among the “sensitive topics” under the company’s new policy, according to an internal webpage. Among dozens of other “sensitive topics” listed were the oil industry, China, Iran, Israel, COVID-19, home security, insurance, location data, religion, self-driving vehicles, telecoms and systems that recommend or personalize web content.
Advances in technology and the growing complexity of our external environment are increasingly leading to situations where seemingly inoffensive projects raise ethical, reputational, regulatory or legal issues,” one of the pages for research staff stated.