Monthly Archives: September 2021

Angela Merkels party comes up short in Germany. In yesterdays election, the center-left Social Democratic Party led by Olaf Scholz won 1.6 percentage points more of the vote than Merkels Christian Democratic Party. But with only around 26 percent of the vote, the Social Democrats will have to form a coalition to govern, which could get messy.

The Transition to Electric Cars

Britain struggles with fuel shortages and other supply disruptions. Panic buying led to long lines at gas stations over the weekend, with many saying that they are now out of fuel. An acute shortage of truck drivers is behind fuel and food shortages, leading Prime Minister Boris Johnson to issue thousands of special visas for foreign drivers and to suspend some competition rules.

Google takes on the E.U. in court. A five-day hearing starts today in which the tech giant is challenging a 2018 antitrust fine of more than $5 billion. The European Union said that Google had abused its power in the smartphone market; the penalty was the first in a number of rulings targeting U.S. tech giants in Europe.

Huaweis long-running sanctions case is resolved. Meng Wanzhou, the Chinese companys finance chief who had been detained in Canada since 2018, reached a deal with the U.S. Justice Department, allowing her to return to China in exchange for admitting wrongdoing in a fraud case that became symbolic of China and Americas fraying relationship. In return, two Canadians who had been imprisoned in China since Mengs detention were freed.

Polestar, the Swedish high-end electric vehicle company, has signed a deal to go public at a $20 billion valuation, via a merger with a SPAC backed by the Gores Group and Guggenheim Capital. Polestar is owned by Volvo Cars and Volvos Chinese parent, Geely, with other investors including Leonardo DiCaprio. Polestars equity owners will roll over all of their interest in the deal and ultimately retain a 94 percent stake in the company.

Polestar has two models on the road, and it wants to launch three more by 2024. It delivered approximately 10,000 vehicles in 2020, but lags far behind the market leader, Tesla. Compared to us, Tesla is a very old company, said Thomas Ingenlath, Polestars C.E.O. Rather than spend capital building out electric-charging infrastructure, as Tesla did, Polestar can take advantage of existing infrastructure, he said. (In the U.S., that may still not be enough.)

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A Strange Voice on the Phone - The New York Times

Democratic and Republican voters are also urging the federal government to crack down on big tech companies by issuing stronger regulations.

A new poll reveals that 80% of registered voters believe in the impact of overgrown big tech companies and use our data to go too far into our lives. became.

Voters want policy makers to enhance user privacy and make big tech giants accountable.

They also show that they are very nervous about the impact of social media on their children.

According to the Washington Post, poll results are the result of the continued reassessment of the role of tech giants around the world.

Democratic and Republican voters are also urging the federal government to crack down on big tech companies by issuing stronger regulations.

The Benenson Strategy Group, in collaboration with the Public Opinion Strategies, surveyed 2,016 registered voters in late July on behalf of the Future of Tech Commission.

The results showed that 83% of Democrats and 78% of Republicans believe that federal policy makers need to take steps to limit the impact of big tech companies.

[The poll shows that] The technology industry must operate within boundaries, and the only organization that can bind it is the federal government, said former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick, who is also one of the three Co-Chairs committees. I told the newspaper.

Polls argue that strengthening user privacy and making big tech giants accountable are two of the top priorities for Americans in terms of technology policy.

However, despite strong support for antitrust legislation, 54% to 45% of voters agree that the dissolution of big tech companies threatens our countrys greatest impetus for innovation and growth. bottom.

Polls also found that 84% of Democrats and 85% of Republicans have expressed concern about how social media is affecting their children.

Polls argue that strengthening user privacy and making big tech giants accountable are two of the top priorities for Americans in terms of technology policy.

Polls also showed that most voters usually looked at big tech companies in a positive light, but their executives, including Mark Zuckerberg (pictured), werent very positive.

In addition, the Commission holds technical policy city halls nationwide.

What we consistently hear is that people want and expect federal leadership, said the Commission, who was Secretary of Education under former President George W. Bush. Co-Chair Margaret Spellings said.

Second, they want America, the United States to become a world leader in these issues.

Polls also showed that most voters are looking at big tech companies with the following favors: Google at 81 percent, Amazon at 74 percent, Apple at 67 percent, and Facebook at 53 percent.

Big Tech executives such as Mark Zuckerberg and Jeff Bezos were less favored.

Poll results say there is a 2.07% margin of error, as organizations have begun to assess the role of technology companies around the world.

Opinion polls revealed the following favors: Google is 81%, Amazon is 74% (photo by founder Jeff Bezos), Apple is 67%, Facebook is 53%.

Several major tech companies, including Facebook, Amazon, Apple (pictured by CEO Tim Cook), and Google, are exercising their power because of the fact that they operate in a dynamic and competitive market. It generally rejects the claim that it is too much.

Several major tech companies, including Facebook, Amazon, Apple, and Google, have argued that they are overpowering because of the fact that they operate in dynamic and competitive markets. Generally rejected.

However, at the same time, some companies have stated that they are open to privacy changes.

Steve Satterfield, Facebooks Vice President of Privacy and Public Policy, said: ..

Facebook also said the company had been advocating updated Internet regulations for some time. We will continue to work with Congress and government to set clear and fair rules that support a safe and secure open Internet.

Google, Apple and Amazon did not respond to newspaper responses to comments. The DailyMail.com has also contacted.

During his presidency, Donald Trump (photos (photos) protect so-called Big Tech like Facebook and Twitter from being held liable for anything posted on their site. Attempted to have lawmakers change section 230 of the law

Meanwhile, during his presidency, Donald Trump changed section 230 of the Common Sense Act to protect so-called Big Tech such as Facebook and Twitter from being held liable for anything posted on their site. I tried to make it.

Mr. Trump said keeping Section 230 intact is a win for foreign villains.

The law cant even make meaningful changes to Article 230 of the Correspondence Code, even though bipartisan demands that the provision be abolished, he said in December 2020. ..

Section 230 facilitates the spread of foreign disinformation online. This is a serious threat to our national security and election integrity. It must be abolished.

Trump also filed three class action proceedings against big tech giants YouTube, Facebook and Twitter this summer. He sought damages that could reach trillions for violating the rights of the First Amendment.

The proceedings allege a violation of the First Amendment by YouTube because the video platform alleges that it banned the former president at the request of Democrats.

He filed a proceeding in collaboration with the America First Policy Institute, which was established by a former member of his administration.

All three proceedings filed in Miami and Fort. Lauderdale, Florida also requires federal judges to declare Article 230 of the Communications Decency Act unconstitutional.

Democratic and Republican voters want the federal government to crack down on big tech giants

Source link Democratic and Republican voters want the federal government to crack down on big tech giants

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Democratic and Republican voters want the federal government to crack down on big tech giants - Texasnewstoday.com

European Commission executive vice president Margrethe Vestager talks to media in Brussels, Belgium.

Thierry Monasse | Getty Images News | Getty Images

LONDON China and the U.S. are taking more aggressive steps in regulating large tech firms, challenging the European Union's dominance in the space.

For some time, the EU has led the way in regulating tech. This is partly because the region has no large technology firms of its own; as such, regulation was the one area where Europe could dominate. High-profile policies such as GDPR or the General Data Protection Regulation, which give users a stronger say over how their data is used made headlines around the world and forced technology giants to make changes.

But the United States is catching up and China is also taking it to a new level which has not only increased the pressure on Big Tech, but also questioned the role of the EU in this space.

"China, the U.S. they have started to figure out that they need rules," Dexter Thielen, lead analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit, told CNBC over the phone. As such, he said, "there is a competition in regulation."

Chinese authorities have introduced a slew of legislation in recent months targeting the tech sector. Anti-monopoly laws, stronger data protection rules and more have sparked new investigations and fines for a number of companies.

It has led to billions of dollars being wiped off the value of Chinese tech giants, with companies such as Tencent, Alibaba and Didi under pressure.

In the U.S. meanwhile, President Joe Biden in July signed a new executive order that impacts corporate consolidation and antitrust laws. It gives the Federal Trade Commission the ability to challenge prior "bad mergers" and limits noncompete agreements.

"If Europe does not catch up, it could perhaps do it by cooperating with the U.S. and other countries, it will lose its 'Brussels effect' not because of a decline in its soft power, but rather due to China's technological dominance, which will come with protocols, standards, specifications, and ultimately rules," Andrea Renda, senior research fellow at the think tank CEPS, told CNBC via email.

This means that the EU might have to diversify its approach beyond regulation if it wants to continue playing a key role in tech.

"There is a realization in Europe that regulation is not enough," the EIU's Thielen said.

In fact, there are plenty of initiatives that the European Commission the executive arm of the EU is working on that show an attempt to influence other areas in the sector.

Thierry Breton, Europe's single market chief, is working on an artificial intelligence strategy, on space traffic management standards which promote safe access to outer space, and others. More recently, the commission also announced plans to boost the production of semiconductors in the region.

All of these steps come under what some EU policymakers describe as digital sovereignty: the idea that the bloc needs to foster its own innovation and become less reliant on foreign technology and companies.

But the question is whether it will succeed and how quickly. One of the biggest criticisms of the EU is how long it takes to implement new laws.

A recent example is the Digital Services Act and the Digital Markets Act two major pieces of legislation aimed at ensuring fairer competition, which were presented in December but are unlikely to be put into action before mid-2022 at the earliest.

"For the DSA as well as the DMA, which are both far-reaching and extremely difficult to assess with regard to their economic consequences, Member States' views are as different as chalk and cheese, making it very unlikely to see any material progress at any time soon," Matthias Bauer, senior economist at the think tank ECIPE, said.

He recognized that there is an overall aim between the U.S., the EU and China: to grant users more control over certain data and limit the potential market power of digital giants. However, he stressed that each region has a different approach and "significant regulatory divergence will be the likely outcome."

In the end, Emre Peker, director at the consultancy firm Eurasia, said it was too soon to say that the EU is losing its crown as the world's top tech regulator.

"While the EU cannot control the commercial and regulatory trends in Beijing and Washington, it will steadfastly work to maintain its pole position in rulemaking, with some success," he said, however, "regulations alone will not help the EU's industrial push to decrease interdependencies."

"That's a reality most European policymakers are aware of, but don't have a remedy for at this time," he added.

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China and the U.S. are challenging Europes role as top tech regulator - CNBC

Despite the common belief in Silicon Valley that leaking is a bad thing, in some cases it is the only thing. Horwitz, the Wall Street Journal reporter behind the series, and Kang both told me that they get tips and documents only when insiders lose hope that they can make change happen internally. And, in my experience, those who leak are not typically disgruntled but frustrated that their best work is being sullied by careless or even malfeasant leaders.

Many years ago, a top Yahoo executive who was exasperated by all the internal information I was able to access at her company called me to ask why people leaked to me.

My answer: Because she wasnt listening to them but she sure as heck listened to me.

And theyd all better listen when lawmakers start talking next week.

As I wrote recently, China is cracking down on tech, and today it made another big move by hitting hard at the fast-growing (yet still nascent) cryptocurrency sector. The Peoples Bank of China put a Q&A on its website that essentially declared the use of digital currency illegal.

You read that right: illegal.

Financial institutions and nonbank payment institutions cannot offer services to activities and operations related to virtual currencies, the central bank said. China already moved earlier this year to crack down on cryptomining.

Its a big blow to the freewheeling sector and a sign that the Chinese government will not tolerate any other entity grabbing a critical means of social control. No surprise, the value of Bitcoin, Ether, Litecoin and even Dogecoin dropped. Companies that service the crypto sector, including Coinbase, were also down.

It makes noises from the U.S. government seem minuscule in comparison. This week, in a Washington Post virtual forum, Gary Gensler, the Securities and Exchange Commission chair, said, I dont think theres long-term viability for five or six thousand private forms of money. So in the meantime, I think its worthwhile to have an investor-protection regime placed around this.

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Opinion | Will Lawmakers Finally Act Against Big Tech? - The New York Times

This most recent Russian election provides clear evidence that the Russian Government is meddling as much in their own elections, to achieve the Kremlin-designed outcome, as they have in recent American elections with one RFE/RL headline proclaiming: Hacking Servers. Online Blocking. Police Raids. Information Attacks. What Wont The Kremlin Do To Stop Smart Voting?

This election is also seen by many Russians as a precursor to the 2024 Presidential election. In 2020, Russian President Vladimir Putins super-majority United Russia ruling party amended the Russian Constitution, allowing Putin to seek two more terms as president and potentially remain in office until 2036.

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Smart Voting App, Removed by U.S. Tech Giants, Threatens Putin's United Russia Party in Recent Duma Election - OODA Loop

By Sheila Dang

(Reuters) -Facebook Inc will invest $50 million to partner with organizations to responsibly build the so-called metaverse https://www.reuters.com/technology/facebook-sets-up-new-team-work-metaverse-2021-07-26 - a digital world where people can use different devices to move and communicate in a virtual environment, it said on Monday.

Facebook, the world's largest social network, has invested heavily in virtual reality and augmented reality, developing hardware such as its Oculus VR headsets and working on AR glasses and wristband technologies. The company has been criticized over its impact on online safety.

The new XR Programs and Research Fund will invest the money globally over two years to ensure metaverse technologies are "built in a way that's inclusive and empowering," Facebook said.

The company said it plans to work with researchers across four areas including data privacy and safety, to allow users to get help if something they see in the metaverse makes them uncomfortable.

It will also research how to design technologies that are inclusive and accessible to all users, and also "encourage competition" in the nascent industry, Facebook added in a blog post.

Facebook has faced scrutiny on a wide range of internet issues, such as the spread of disinformation and social media's negative impact on teens.

Also on Monday, Facebook said it paused development on Instagram Kids, an app that would have provided age-appropriate content for kids under 13. U.S. lawmakers and advocacy groups have cited safety concerns and urged Facebook to drop the launch plans.

A Facebook executive will testify on Thursday at a U.S. Senate committee hearing on the impact of its Instagram app on young users' mental health.

Initial partners for Facebook's new metaverse fund include Howard University in Washington D.C., which will research the history of diversity in the information technology industry and how it could shape opportunity in the metaverse.

Seoul National University and the University of Hong Kong will research safety, ethics and responsible design, Facebook said.

(Reporting by Sheila Dang in DallasEditing by Matthew Lewis and David Gregorio)

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Facebook invests $50 million to build the 'metaverse' in responsible manner - Yahoo News

Former Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, who was instrumental in putting together the Sept. 15 warning, is a senior adviser with the law firm King & Spalding, which represents Google before the House Judiciary Committee in the panels antitrust investigation into the tech giants. King & Spalding wrote a white paper released last week by Googles major trade group, the Computer & Communications Industry Association, making similar arguments that the antitrust bills could harm national security.

Those tech ties were not immediately apparent when the dozen former officials sent their letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, urging lawmakers to pause action on a bipartisan package of antitrust bills aimed at Google, Facebook, Apple and Amazon. But their revelation could deepen skepticism in Congress about the beware-of-China message.

It is not surprising that individuals who receive money from Big Tech are defending Big Tech, said Colorado Rep. Ken Buck, the antitrust panels top Republican, in a statement to POLITICO. At the end of the day, Big Tech is harming U.S. competition and innovation through anticompetitive practices.

None of the former officials who signed onto the letter responded to requests for comment. Axios first reported on the letters existence last week, while noting that several of the signers had tech industry ties.

The former officials allies say their argument remains valid.

It shouldn't be surprising that national security officials would have concerns about legislation that would hamstring U.S. tech companies while not applying to their foreign competitors, said Heather Greenfield, a CCIA spokesperson. She said the tech trade group had not participated in drafting or disseminating the letter to Pelosi or McCarthy.

Tech trade groups have promoted the anti-China message for years as they have sought to avoid antitrust action. Similarly embattled industries have also argued that regulations from Washington could harm U.S. competitiveness whether it was the financial industry pointing to Japan while pressing for deregulation in the 1990s, or Qualcomm arguing during the Trump era that the U.S. was ceding the future of 5G to China by pursuing a case against the company.

This time, the warnings are falling flat among the critics of the big tech companies.

Its a really smart way to go after Republicans, to go after the national security angle, said Jon Schweppe, the director of policy and government affairs at the right-wing American Principles Project, which supports the antitrust crackdown. But the thing weve found, and we see it with this letter ... is that whenever people are making these arguments, they are funded by big tech and these are arguments coming directly from strategy meetings being held between Google, Facebook, Apple and all their public policy teams.

Its hard to lend that any sort of credibility once you know thats the case, Schweppe said.

Among the letter-signers tech ties:

Seven of the 12, including Panetta, hold roles at Beacon Global Strategies, a public relations firm that according to a person familiar with the matter counts Google as a client. (The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because the firm does not publicize its clientele.)

Google and Beacon Global Strategies did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Five of the former officials, including former director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency Robert Cardillo and former National Security Agency deputy director Richard Ledgett, serve as advisory board members at Beacon. Panetta and Michael Morell, a former acting CIA director under President Barack Obama, are senior counselors for the firm.

Cardillo, the former NGA director, earlier this year became chair of the board of the Earth imaging company Planet Federal. Planet Federal is a division of Planet Labs, a company in which Google has a significant equity stake.

All the signatories have connections to organizations that either receive money from the tech giants or defense companies that partner closely with Amazon and Google a sign of just how ubiquitous big tech funding has become in Washingtons policy world.

Sue Gordon, a former principal deputy director of national intelligence, is an advisory board member of the Antonin Scalia Law Schools National Security Institute, which counts Amazon as a major funder. James Foggo III, a retired Navy admiral, is a fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis, which Google lists as one of the organizations it funds.

Frances Townsend, who was a counterterrorism and homeland security adviser to President George W. Bush, is on the national security advisory board for American Edge, a Facebook-funded group that opposes changes to strengthen antitrust laws.

Townsend is also on the board of directors of the Atlantic Council, which counts Facebook and Google as funders; the board of trustees for Center for Strategic and International Studies, which counts Apple and Google as funders; and the board of directors of the Council on Foreign Relations, which receives money from Microsoft and counts Facebook and Google in its highest membership category.

Whatever other impact letter has, it appears to have inspired at least one other former national security official to speak out on behalf of stronger antitrust laws Wes Clark, a former Democratic presidential candidate who was NATOs supreme allied commander in Europe, last week tweeted, We cannot let anxiety around competitiveness with China become an excuse to look the other way on anticompetitive behavior by large U.S. technology firms.

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12 former security officials who warned against antitrust crackdown have tech ties - POLITICO

Authorities in at least 24 different countries, including the US, created new laws or rules determining how online platforms can treat content, a study finds.

Freedom House, a Washington DC-based democracy advocacy group, reported that global internet freedom has been on the decline for 11 consecutive years.

Freedom House, which publishes its Freedom on the Net report annually, found that at least 48 countries pursued new rules for tech companies on content, data, and competition in 2020, and 24 countries created new rulings specifically on how content is treated on the internet. Some of the rulings include requirements to take down illegal content, stronger transparency, and extremes like political and journalistic censorship, according to the study.

Freedom House says the trend can be attributed to problems within society like extremism, exploitative business practices, and criminal activity.

The report said there were "few positive exceptions" to the worldwide push to regulate the big tech companies, such as dismantling harmful online harassment and manipulative market practices.

"While a few measures introduced this year have the potential to hold tech giants more accountable for their performance, most simply impose state and even political responsibilities on private firms without securing greater rights for users," the report said.

This past year,officials in India pressured Twitter to remove protest-related commentary and to stop flagging manipulated content shared by the ruling party. In Nigeria, authorities blocked access to Twitter across the country after the social media platform removed incendiary posts by the country's president.

In Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott signed a bill to stop social media companies like Facebook and Twitter from censoring users based on their politics and allows private citizens and the Texas attorney general to sue tech companies who they believe have unfairly kicked someone off a platform, Insider reported.

Two major trade groups have sued Abbott and Texas over the bill, saying in the lawsuit it will "unconstitutionally require platforms like YouTube and Facebook to disseminate, for example, pro-Nazi speech, terrorist propaganda, foreign government disinformation, and medical misinformation."

Currently, Twitter does not screen content or remove potentially offensive content, according to the company's policy. But targeted abuse or harassment can violate Twitter rules.

Facebook, in a white paper released by the company last year, said it wants regulators to create legal standards for content moderation. Earlier this month, a meeting of Facebook leaders focused on "whether Facebook has gotten too big," Insider reported. Facebook, the world's largest social network, with nearly 3 billion users, disagreed with the report.

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Countries are trying to control the internet and fight big tech, study finds - Business Insider

Remote workers consistently report feeling isolated and lonely.

(originally published in 2019)

In the first part of our deep dive into remote working we examined its rapidly increasing popularity and the various associated benefits .

As yet another Christmas comes to a wrap, one starts thinking of heading back to work. Going back to work in the office is a dreadful thought for most, yet it might be far better than staying or working from home for some. The reluctance to embrace the movement by tech giants like Facebook, and the retraction of remote working policies from its trend setters like Yahoo, should give anyone considering remote work some pause.

Why would IBM, who gained nearly $2 billion selling off their office real estate after implementing remote working, bring their workers back to the office? Why would Google, who boasts one of the worlds most progressive work cultures, adamantly reject telecommuting?

We did a deep dive into the worlds best workplaces to identify the pitfalls and serious drawbacks of remote working and why at times, its best to avoid it. Flexible and remote working have taken center stage in the debate for the future of work. While there is plenty to gain, remote work does not come without some serious side effects. Beware!

Isolation comes at a concerning cost

Stress at work comes home when one works remotely.

In the previous piece I discussed the success of Nicholas Blooms 2-year remote working study. However, a significant number of subjects in the remote working control group asked to return to the office. The main reason? Loneliness.

Loneliness and isolation are the largest reported concern amongst remote workers and its effects can go further than affecting just the individual. Some symptoms of isolation include increased stress levels and bad decision making. For an employer, these are concerning characteristics for someone who has crucial responsibility. Unfortunately, being isolated also means these symptoms are difficult for employers to detect.

Rapid changes require rapid responses

Impromptu responses to rapid actions still require physical collaboration in most companies

Both Best Buy and Yahoo called their workers back to the office over claims of better impromptu collaboration increasing productivity. Each faced criticism, internally and externally for their decision, and were subsequently perceived as traitors to the movement and mutineers of progression.

Bottom line, its all hands-on deck at Best Buy and that means having employees in the office as much as possible to collaborate and connect on ways to improve our business

However, when a company makes rapid changes, it is beneficial to have its employees physically close to accommodate snap meetings and communication that would require a rapid response. Even with instant messaging services like Slack, communication issues are likely to occur that wouldnt exist if a team member was sitting close by.

Unknown working environments increase vulnerability

Unprepared remote work can often increase vulnerability

As companies grow and expand their client base, the data which employees possess becomes more sensitive in nature. As a result, they become increasingly vulnerable to cyber-crime. This is a threat that is significantly harder to defend with a workforce located in networks and spaces they cannot control.

Google believes that situating employees under its own roof restricts the avenues for conspiracy, and they may have a point. Facebook and Google are among some of the largest data collectors in the world, and while the risk of an employee navigating through highly confidential data amid a busy caf would worry most employers, for Google and Facebook its catastrophic.

Lack of face time creates lack of opportunity

An employee, in the run up for a promotion, is not judged solely on their quality of work, but also their leadership skills, positive attitude and ability to collaborate with the team.

Out of sight, out of mind is still a concerning problem with career progression

Without the right digital tools, employers could struggle to make this judge of character with remote workers, reducing the speed and likeliness of employees being awarded growth opportunities.

In the long run this can cause significant damage to the hierarchical structure of a company. While the prolonged period of time taken to replace senior employees will lead to delayed projects, the lack of supervision in the interim could also result in a managerial crisis. For an individual in the early stages of their career, this could slow down their growth by years.

There are a few pre-requisites to facilitate remote working, like having the right tools in place for collaboration and workload management, but successful adoption of these tools within the company is crucial. People who are used to working in office settings can find it difficult to adapt, hence making it harder to collaborate and work productively in remote settings.

While the points listed above should promote caution, they should not discourage you completely. All the drawbacks mentioned could be countered with the argument of its relevance to your workforce, company and technological capabilities.

If employers are hesitant to award progression to an employee due to lack of physical presence, then perhaps their criteria for a promotion is slightly superficial. In todays world, AI and people analytics tools can now detect how people collaborate without the need for them to be physically present in the office.

Best Buy maybe on to something when speaking about the benefits of spontaneous collaboration with people in the office, as since the recall of their remote workers in 2013, they subsequently recovered from a reduction in sales to significant growth. However, other tech giants like Cisco and Salesforce who have embraced remote working not only boast record breaking fiscal years but also rank high in the Worlds Best Workplaces 2019.

Remote working may be the future, but it is certainly not a conclusive part of our present.

Failures due to lack of awareness or preparation are abundant, while successful implementations tend to be short lived. In the end, the future of work is distributed, flexible and remote. But that future isnt coming until we solve these problems that stop us from moving forward.

(Shout out to Dylan Fernando for assisting with the content and research for this article)

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The Untold Side Of Remote Working: Isolation And Lack Of Career Progression - Forbes

(Bloomberg) -- Beaten-down Chinese shares from property developers to tech giants and casinos advanced on Thursday as worries that a spread of China Evergrande Groups debt woes to the broader market ebbed.

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The Hang Seng Property Index gained 4.6%, the most since Nov. 10, while gauges of technology company stocks and Macau casino operators both climbed at least 0.9%. China Evergrande surged 18%, the most in a year.

Investors are closely watching an Evergrande bond interest payment due Thursday after the company said a day earlier it had resolved a payment for an onshore note. Meanwhile, Chinese authorities have begun laying the groundwork for a debt restructuring, which would greatly reduce the risk of contagion from an uncontrolled collapse of the developer.

The markets are now pricing in Evergrandes debt crisis is likely to be ring-fenced within the property sector and not spill over to the wider financial system, said Kelvin Wong, an analyst at CMC Markets (Singapore) Pte.

Liquidity injections by Chinas central bank coupled with the resumption of the stock connect program have allowed mainland investors to buy Hong Kong shares in search of deep discounts, which is also lifting markets, said Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Marvin Chen.

Adding to relief in markets, U.S. shares took in their stride the prospect of a reduction in Federal Reserve stimulus as early as November, which flowed through into Asian equities.

The jump in gaming shares was led by SJM Holdings Ltd. and Wynn Macau Ltd. A record rout last week that followed proposed revisions to local laws wiped out nearly $20 billion in market value.

Story continues

The Hang Seng Tech Indexs advance came as Meituan gained 5.2% while Tencent Holdings rallied 2.9%.

Holidays this week across much of Asia have contributed to volatility. Mainland Chinas equities markets were closed Monday and Tuesday while Hong Kong was closed Wednesday.

(Updates throughout)

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2021 Bloomberg L.P.

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China Stocks From Property to Tech Jump on Evergrande Respite - Yahoo Finance