<gu-island name="KeyEventsCarousel" priority="feature" deferuntil="visible" props="{"keyEvents":[{"id":"653611bc8f088809c450b097","elements":[{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":" Good morning, and welcome to our live coverage of business, economics and financial markets around the world. ","elementId":"6b5b4570-c413-4804-8882-bbf504c1a440"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":" Oil prices dropped back on Monday after diplomatic efforts over the weekend to try to prevent the conflict between Israel and Hamas from spreading, including aid convoys being allowed into Gaza. ","elementId":"4aa18c91-1793-4c4f-86b9-21db9fbbbb1b"},{"_type":"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.TextBlockElement","html":" The price of a barrel of Brent crude oil, the North Sea benchmark, for December delivery fell as low as $91.08 on Monday morning, down by more than a dollar, or about 1%, following the…
Tag: Apple
China reportedly extends iPhone ban to more workers as tensions with US rise
China’s government has reportedly expanded its ban of iPhones to local government workers and state-owned companies, a day after it emerged central government employees were forbidden from bringing the devices to work. Several agencies had begun instructing employees not to bring iPhones to work and the ban was expected to be further extended, Bloomberg reported. Nikkei reported at least one state-owned company had told its employees that anyone working with trade secrets could not bring their iPhones, Apple Watches or AirPods into work from next month. The ban on the…
Apple shares fall after China reportedly bans iPhone use by government officials
Apple stocks fell after China reportedly banned officials at central government agencies from using or bringing iPhones and other foreign-branded devices into the office. In recent weeks, Chinese officials were given the instructions by their superiors in workplace chat groups or meetings, the Wall Street Journal reported, adding that it wasn’t clear how widely the orders were being distributed. The report weighed heavily on Wall Street stock indexes, with Apple shares falling 3.6%. China is one of Apple’s biggest markets and generates nearly a fifth of its revenue. Several analysts…
US charges ex-Apple engineer with stealing trade secrets to benefit China
The US has charged a former Apple engineer accused of stealing the company’s technology on autonomous systems, including self-driving cars, and then fleeing to China. The department of justice on Tuesday announced charges in that case and several others involving the alleged theft of trade secrets and efforts to steal technology to benefit China, Russia and Iran. Two of the cases involved what US officials called procurement networks created to help Russia’s military and intelligence services obtain sensitive technology. “We stand vigilant in enforcing US laws to stop the flow…
Cold war 2.0 will be a race for semiconductors, not arms | John Naughton
Our digital civilisation, if you can call it that, runs on just two numbers – 0 and 1. The devices we call computers run on vast strings of ones and zeros. How? By having electrical currents that are either flowing or not. The tiny electronic switches that decide whether they’re on (1) or off (0) are called transistors. Once upon a time, these were tangible objects: I remember buying one with my pocket money in the 1950s for a radio receiver I was building. But rapidly they were reduced in…
Job cuts and falling shares: how did it all go so wrong for the US tech sector?
Amazon announced 18,000 job cuts, Apple’s share price fell below $2tn (£1.7tn) and there was more bad news from Tesla: it has been another tough week for big US tech firms. But this has not been a one-off. The ongoing drama at Twitter since its takeover by Elon Musk in October has taken place against a backdrop of global economic uncertainty, retrenchment from aggressive expansion plans and China’s disruptive transition from Covid lockdowns to rocketing case numbers as restrictions ease. In fact this week’s events have been a continuation of…
Zero-Covid policy is costing China its role as the world’s workshop
The anti-lockdown unrest gripping China has forced the authorities in Beijing to respond by easing some restrictions in big manufacturing centres, as they map out a “new stage and mission” in the country’s deeply unpopular zero-Covid policy. There are concerns that more freedom of movement could allow the virus to rip through a population where immunity is lower than in the west. Those health risks mean the “world’s workshop” is heading for a difficult winter, casting a shadow over the prospects for international trade. Western companies have learned lessons from…
Workers in running battles with police in protests at largest iPhone factory in China
Police in China have dealt out beatings to workers protesting over working conditions and pay at the biggest factory for iPhones, as the country tries to contain a surge in Covid-19 cases. Videos online showed thousands of people in masks facing rows of police in white protective suits with plastic riot shields. Police kicked and hit a protester with clubs after he grabbed a metal pole that had been used to strike him. People who made the footage said it was filmed at the site. The protest in Zhengzhou lasted…
Protests break out at Covid-hit iPhone factory in China
Large-scale protests broke out at Foxconn’s vast iPhone factory in Zhengzhou, central China, images circulating on Weibo and Twitter appeared to show. Videos on Wednesday showed hundreds of workers marching on a road in daylight, with some being confronted by a row of riot police and people in hazmat suits. Some videos showed workers complaining about the food they had been provided while others said they had not been paid bonuses as promised. One clip take from a livestream showed dozens of workers at night shouting, “Defend our rights! Defend…
Supply fears as China lockdown hits world’s largest iPhone factory
Chinese authorities have announced a seven-day coronavirus lockdown in the area around the world’s largest iPhone factory, stoking concern that production will be severely curtailed ahead of the Christmas period. Foxconn’s plant in Zhengzhou, which employs about 200,000 people, produces the majority of Apple’s new phones, including the new iPhone 14. It has been rocked by discontent over stringent measures to curb the spread of Covid-19, with workers fleeing the site over the weekend after complaining about their treatment and provisions via social media. Nearby cities have drawn up plans…