Keeping up with the news can be tricky. Even the most eagle-eyed observer can miss a vital news story. We think being up-to-date on economic developments is key to the success of your startup.
Every Wednesday we provide the top 10 key bits of business news from the past week.
The real beginning of Brexit
At 8pm tonight, the House of Commons will put a final vote to a bill that will start the formal process of leaving the EU. If passed, Theresa May can trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty and commence the Brexit negations. This could take up to 2 years to conclude.
Twitter tries to minimise harassment and hate speech
Twitter is rolling out updates to minimise abusive tweet which the site is now heavily criticised for. Updates include creating ‘safer’ search results, collapsing potentially abusive replies to tweets and stopping users from permanently suspended accounts making new ones.
Lack of transparency over green energy schemes
The government has been criticised due to their lack of transparency over green energy schemes. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) were promised an annual report of the impact of green energy schemes on energy bills in 2014, but it has not seen one since. MPs have argued that the government should do more to show the value for money in one of three green energy schemes: “Renewables Obligation”, “Feed-in-Tariffs” and “Contracts for Difference”.
Facebook fake news conundrum
Facebook is in court over a selfie that Anas Modamani (Syrian refugee) took with Angela Merkel when she visited the Berlin shelter he was staying at. The selfie went viral but then falsely linked him to terrorist attacks in Europe. People think Facebook should do more to stop fake new stories, especially in the wake of an election. Germany is considering fining Facebook for every fake news story it fails to remove in the build up to their own elections – ruling will be expected in March.
Uber flying high
Uber has hired a former Nasa engineer to help research into flying cars.
Science experiments less likely for poorer students
A study suggest that poorer students are likely to miss out on practical science lessons. In a study across England’s GCSE students, 29% stated that they had practical science lessons less than once a month or never. For a country whose top science pupils are considered “amongst the world’s best” and with the government valuing the subject, it seems that a student’s economic background will define whether or not they have the opportunity to pursue the subject.
NHS still under pressure
The social care fund was implemented to attempt to reduce pressure on hospitals, but the National Audit Office has claimed that it has done the opposite.
Another financial crisis for Greece?
Investors are fearing another Greek debt crisis.
Brexit job loss scare
A thinktank in Brussels says that the UK could lose up to 30,000 jobs in the finance sector. However, EU finance rivals want to avoid bringing in banking risk onto the continent. According to this group, Frankfurt, Paris, Amsterdam and Dublin will make gains.
Shell decommissioning in the North Sea
Shell is decommissioning oil platforms at Brent field in the North Sea. Shell is expecting to leave the legs of some of the platforms for safety reasons which environmentalists are concerned about.
