March, 2021

• 13 March

  US consumer sentiment surges to one-year high

  Bloomberg US consumer sentiment improved in early March by more than forecast, reaching a one-year high as more vaccinations and fiscal relief boosted optimism in the economic outlook. The University of Michigan’s preliminary sentiment index jumped to 83 from 76.8 in February, data showed. The figure exceeded the median projection of 78.5 in Bloomberg’s survey of economists. “The data indicate ...

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• 13 March

  UK’s Johnson seeks new green homes strategy after policy stalls

  

  Bloomberg UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is working on a major overhaul of one of his government’s most important climate change policies after it failed to deliver. With a budget of 2 billion pounds ($2.8 billion), the Green Homes Grant program launched in September to provide vouchers for homeowners to help pay for insulating their properties and switch to low ...

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• 13 March

  Apple could hit $3trn market valuation

  Bloomberg Apple Inc.’s stock could reach a market capitalisation of $3 trillion, analysts say, citing the development of the Apple Car as well as high expectations for the next iPhone. Citigroup Inc. and Wedbush see potential for the tech giant to hit the milestone, an increase that implies an almost 50% surge from last week’s close. With a market cap ...

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• 13 March

  Telefonica may keep hold of subsea cable unit in overhaul

  

  Bloomberg Telefonica SA may defy expectations for an outright sale of its submarine cables and bring in investors to share ownership of the business instead. The Spanish phone company has been working with advisers to gauge interest from potential buyers. It was hoping to offload the business for about 2 billion euros ($2.4 billion), according to media reports last year. ...

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• 13 March

  Luxury malls are the new car showrooms in China

  

  Bloomberg China’s electric-car makers are paying top-dollar rents to open showrooms in luxury malls, as they seek to gain an edge in the hyper-competitive market. More than half the malls in Shanghai have at least one electric-vehicle showroom and more are planned, according to real-estate service provider Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. They are now part of the “standard configuration” of ...

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• 13 March

  Apple faces French complaint over IPhone advertising tool

  

  Bloomberg Apple Inc.’s advertising tool used to monetise some of its own apps and services is the target of a new complaint in France. France Digitale, a lobby group representing startups and venture capital firms, filed the complaint, saying that Apple’s own advertising system doesn’t seek a user’s consent for receiving targeted ads. The complaint focuses on an Apple feature ...

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• 13 March

  Microsoft warns of new threat against networks

  

  Bloomberg Microsoft Corp. has detected and blocked a “new family of ransomware” that was being used against servers that still hadn’t patched vulnerabilities after last week’s major security breach. The updates are a temporary measure to defend against attacks, which were already occurring in many places, the company said. The company discovered suspected Chinese state-sponsored hackers were exploiting previously unknown ...

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• 13 March

  Instagram to integrate reels into Facebook

  

  Bloomberg Instagram will give a small number of creators in India the option to share their short video clips on Facebook Inc.’s main social network as part of a new test. Facebook is running a trial in India in which users can share Instagram Reels, short video clips with augmented-reality effects, in the news feed of the main blue app. ...

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• 13 March

  Ola plans to make electric cars every two seconds

  

  Bloomberg Bhavish Aggarwal surveys the empty 500-acre expanse encircled by neon-painted homes, tiny shrines and mango groves. The high-profile Ola founder hopes to erect the world’s largest electric scooter plant on this vacant plot on Bangalore’s outskirts within the next 12 weeks, cranking out about 2 million a year — a landmark for one of India’s largest startups. A two-and-a-half ...

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• 11 March

  Expo, UN galvanise global experts to act on the SDGs

  

  Dubai / WAM The need to build a more dignified and just world brought together experts, Expo partners and international participants, alongside renowned humanitarians and a blockbuster filmmaker, at Expo 2020 Dubai’s latest virtual thematic programme, Expo Talks: Global Goals. Held in association with the United Nations on March 9-10, the event explored the innovative solutions and concrete actions needed ...

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