6th November 2022
Bite-sized business news from the UK and beyond
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Today's stories
Global climate conference kicks off
Musk’s eventful Twitter reign continues with mass layoffs
ENVIRONMENTGlobal climate conference kicks off
What happened?The UN’s annual climate summit, COP27, began yesterday in the Egyptian resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh with 200 nations gathering to negotiate on climate actions over two weeks.The concept of ‘loss and damage’ is set to be a major talking pointThis year, thousands of people died and millions lost their homes in devastating floods in Nigeria, Bangladesh, Sudan and Pakistan, examples of how climate change is impacting people’s lives known as loss and damage — costs already being incurred from climate-fuelled weather extremes that cannot be mitigated or adapted to.It can often be an emotive topic at climate talks because there is no agreement yet over what should count and who should pay.Many developing countries have come to COP27 asking for a loss and damage compensation fund. The world’s wealthier nations are uncomfortable with this agenda. One of the concerns is that accepting it opens the doors to billions of pounds in what many call “reparations.”The year since the last conference has been tumultuous While last year’s COP26 in Glasgow was generally considered a success, governments have since been preoccupied with the war in Ukraine and inflation, and haven’t been following through on their climate pledges. So the mood entering the summit is pretty sour. Ultimately, though, the energy shock caused by the war in Ukraine could speed up the transition to renewables.
Other stories to keep you in the loop
National Insurance rise reversed from today
Travellers still face rail disruption despite strikes being called off
US job growth strong in October, but cracks emerging
Made.com expected to go into administration this week
HSBC customers unable to pay for meals and shopping during online banking outage
TECHMusk’s eventful Twitter reign continues with mass layoffs
What happened?Barely a week since Elon Musk closed his $44bn acquisition of Twitter, he began sweeping job cuts laying off roughly half of the company’s 7,500 workforce on Friday. The new owner and CEO called the cuts necessary to improve financial position.The process was chaoticOn Thursday night, Twitter sent out a company-wide email that told employees they would be informed of their job status via email. Ahead of the cuts, Twitter temporarily closed its offices and blocked workers from accessing internal tools. A number of laid-off staff responded with a class-action lawsuit, alleging it violated both federal and California (where Twitter is based) state laws by failing to provide adequate warning ahead of a mass firing. All the turbulence is scaring advertisersMajor advertising partners including Pfizer and Volkswagen have paused spending on the platform. Musk acknowledged the advertiser exodus, tweeting that the platform has seen a huge drop in revenue due to “activist groups pressuring advertisers.”Looking ahead…with advertisers jumping ship, Musk is in a race against time to secure new revenue sources. To make up the gap, Twitter has launched a $8/month subscription plan to verify accounts. The new boss has also called on the remaining staff to develop plans to cut up to $1bn in costs, including potential reductions in server and cloud services.
Stat of the day
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Should you brush your teeth before or after breakfast?
The rise of millionaire LinkedIn influencers
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