Progress | Common News Update

Nov202020 by adminNo Comments

Ursula von der Leyen: EU, Britain making progress in Brexit talks

Nov. 20 (UPI) -- With a Dec. 31 deadline looming, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said Friday the bloc and Britain are making "better progress" in negotiating final Brexit issues that will lead to a trade deal. Little progress had been made between Britain and the European Union up to the recent round of negotiations that started after Britain agreed to a withdrawal agreement with the bloc. Many details still had to be worked out, from quotas and tariffs to their relationship in various sectors, including energy, transportation and security. Advertisement "After difficult weeks with very, very slow progress, now we've seen in the last days better progress, more movement on important files," von der Leyen said. "This is good. We still have of course the three main diffic...

Oct292020 by adminNo Comments

US tech stocks surge as Apple, Amazon and Facebook update on progress

Technology

US tech stocks have enjoyed a strong rally on Wall Street in advance of earnings reports from some of the biggest names in the business.Just a day after share values endured a global shock over tightening coronavirus restrictions, investors eagerly awaited updates on the progress made by the big earners of 2020 - Facebook, Amazon and Apple, to name a few. They have enjoyed share surges of 36%, 74% and 58% respectively in the year to date, while many traditional stocks have struggled to even tread water given the COVID carnage. The FTSE 100 index in London, by reason of comparison, has lost a quarter of its value. Image: Tech stocks have proved largely immune to the COVID crisis for the global economy to date Facebook and Apple saw lea...

Oct212020 by adminNo Comments

Futures hold steady as investors await progress on stimulus talks

Finance

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) is pictures on May 26, 2020 at Wall Street in New York City.Johannes Eisele | AFP | Getty ImagesFutures contracts tied to the major U.S. stock indexes held steady at the start of the overnight session Wednesday evening and pointed to muted moves when regular trading in New York resumes on Thursday.Dow futures lost 17 points in extended trading, a move of less than 0.1%. S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100 futures were also little changed and pointing to modest moves on Thursday.The after-hours moves came on the heels of losses on Wall Street during Wednesday's regular session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 97.97 points, or 0.4%, reversing a gain of more than 100 points earlier in the day. The S&P 500 dipped 0.2% while the Nasdaq Composite shed 0.3% ...

Jul82020 by adminNo Comments

Facebook civil rights audit: ‘serious setbacks’ mar progress

Technology

A two-year audit of Facebook's civil rights record found “serious setbacks” that have marred the social network's progress on matters such as hate speech, misinformation and biasBy BARBARA ORTUTAY AP Technology WriterJuly 8, 2020, 10:04 AM3 min read A two-year audit of Facebook’s civil rights record found “serious setbacks” that have marred the social network’s progress on matters such as hate speech, misinformation and bias. Facebook hired the audit’s leader, former American Civil Liberties Union executive Laura Murphy, in May 2018 to assess its performance on vital social issues. Its 100-page report released Wednesday outlines a “seesaw of progress and setbacks” at the company on everything from bias in Facebook's algorithms to its content moderation, advertising practices and treatment

Apr272020 by adminNo Comments

Global warming is undoing decades of progress made protecting marine reserves

Science

April 24 (UPI) -- For decades, conservationists have relied on marine reserves, protections that limit human activities like fishing across portions of the ocean, to increase biodiversity and fish biomass. In addition to protecting vulnerable ecosystems, marine reserves have helped scientists study the best strategies for conserving marine species and their habitats. But new research suggests marine preserves and their protective abilities are wilting under the pressure of rising global temperatures and repeated coral bleaching events, erasing decades of progress. "Climate change is so fundamentally changing the structure and composition of coral reef ecosystems, that the way the ecosystem functions and responds to common management and conservation approaches needs to be carefully re-ev...