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WHO reports record one-day rise in global coronavirus cases amid European outbreak

As a region, Europe is now reporting more cases than India, Brazil or the United States.
According to a Reuters analysis of more recent country data, COVID-19 infections are rising in 54 countries, including surges in Argentina, Canada and much of Europe. 

Infections in the United Kingdom have reached record levels with over 17,000 new cases reported on Thursday.

“We are seeing a definite and sustained increase in cases and admissions to hospital. The trend is clear, and it is very concerning,” said Dr Yvonne Doyle, medical director for Public Health England.

Paytm targets a million apps on its mini app store to take on Google

For Google, the face-off against Paytm and other Indian app startups creates a new problem in one of its top growth markets, where it has committed to spend around $10 billion over the next five to seven years through equity investments and tie-ups.

Google also faces four antitrust cases in India, the latest of which alleges the Mountain View, California-based tech giant abused its Android operating system’s dominant position to garner an unfair advantage in the smart TV market.

Google has denied any wrongdoing.

Hedge funds make pandemic bet on insurance

Investors reckon that in a world where virus outbreaks and climate disasters may be the new normal, innovative new insurance products such as those providing relief during future lockdowns or when staff sickness hinders business, will prove lucrative.

Even while share prices remain subdued, insurers’ debt sales for the most part have been oversubscribed this year, thanks to strong credit quality, typically in the single-A category.

Ant Group’s $35 bln IPO unlikely to be hurt by possible U.S. curbs

Ant is working towards a dual-listing in Shanghai and Hong Kong possibly as soon as this month in what sources have said could be the world’s largest IPO, surpassing oil giant Saudi Aramco’s 2222.SE $29.4 billion float in December.
U.S. President Donald Trump is considering curbs on Ant, an affiliate of Chinese e-commerce firm Alibaba and Tencent over concerns their payment platforms threaten national security, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday.

If implemented, the restrictions would illustrate how Trump’s administration is seeking to prevent Chinese companies from embedding themselves in the U.S. financial system before they become a significant competitive threat.

Who pays for the toilet paper? The big questions of the work-from-home era

Of course, the 2 euros a day is for an average worker with average costs, but can be tweaked depending on measures such as home heating and water costs, or the quality of insulation.

It does not cover new furniture, computers, phones, or other equipment which NIBUD says employees should receive from their employers if necessary for their work.

Google faces antitrust case in India over abuse in smart TVs market: Report

The case has been filed by two Indian antitrust lawyers, Kshitiz Arya and Purushottam Anand. They both confirmed the case filing against Google for alleged abuse in the smart television market, but declined to comment further.

The case is Google’s fourth major antitrust challenge in India, one of its key markets where it is currently facing public criticism from local startups for enforcing certain policies and company charges they contend hurt their growth.

September was world’s hottest on record, EU climate change service says

Extending a long-term warming trend caused by emissions of heat-trapping gases, high temperatures this year have played a major role in disasters from fires in California and the Arctic to floods in Asia, scientists say.

“As we go into an even warmer world, certain extremes are likely to happen more often and be more intense,” Copernicus senior scientist Freja Vamborg told Reuters, pointing to heat waves and periods of intense rain as examples of this.