An executive with responsibility for Apple’s secretive car project has left for Ford in a stinging departure that potentially spells the end of the iPhone maker’s automotive ambitions. Doug Field, who joined Apple in 2018 as vice-president for special projects from Tesla, will become Ford’s chief advanced technology and embedded systems officer with immediate effect, the
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Germany has accused Russia of launching a spate of cyber attacks on politicians amid suspicions that Moscow is interfering in this month’s election to decide who succeeds Angela Merkel as chancellor. Germany’s foreign ministry said it held Russia responsible for illegally targeting a number of national and regional politicians with “phishing” emails to gain access
A frantic summer of dealmaking has put 2021 on track to break records, with almost $4tn of deals already agreed since the start of the year, as companies rush to exploit cheap financing and bumper profits. There were $500bn of transactions globally in the usually quiet month of August, up from $289bn in the same
A sharp slowdown in US jobs growth precludes the possibility that the Federal Reserve will announce plans this month to begin scaling back its pandemic-era stimulus, economists say, as the spread of the Delta coronavirus variant muddies the economic outlook. Following very strong payrolls reports in June and July, the US central bank readied for
The US economy created just 235,000 jobs in August, in a sign that the more contagious Delta coronavirus variant is having an effect on hiring plans and worker shortages are still rampant nationwide. Non-farm payrolls data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics on Friday marked a sharp deceleration from the upwardly revised 1.1m jobs
WhatsApp has been fined €225m for breaking the EU’s data privacy law by not telling its users how it was sharing their data with its parent company Facebook. In one of the biggest fines relating to the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the Irish data regulator applied a penalty more than four times the level
The chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission is warning that cryptocurrency trading platforms are putting their own survival at risk unless they heed his call to work within the nation’s regulatory framework. Gary Gensler told the Financial Times that while he remained “technology neutral”, crypto assets were no different than any others when
Joe Biden is poised to launch his most forceful defence yet of America’s chaotic pullout from Afghanistan, a day after the last US troops flew out of Kabul airport ending their 20-year military presence in the country. In remarks scheduled for 2.45pm local time at the White House, the US president will attempt to put
The US dramatically scaled back its evacuation mission in Afghanistan on Monday with the number of civilians being airlifted out of Kabul falling sharply as its forces scramble to withdraw ahead of Tuesday’s deadline to end the 20-year war. Pentagon spokesperson John Kirby said military commanders were sharing some drawdown logistics with Taliban commanders to
The US launched a drone strike to protect the Kabul evacuation effort on Sunday, as the Biden administration and its European allies promised to help people leave Afghanistan after Tuesday’s deadline for withdrawal. The US military said it had carried out a “self-defence” air strike on a vehicle in the Afghan capital, which posed an “imminent
The US has carried out a drone strike in eastern Afghanistan against an Isis-K “planner” behind the deadly attack on Kabul airport on Thursday, as countries wrap up desperate efforts to evacuate thousands of Afghans trying to flee. According to US Central Command on Friday night, American forces conducted an “over-the-horizon counter-terrorism operation” in Nangarhar
Jay Powell has sent his strongest signal yet that the Federal Reserve could start dialling back its massive pandemic-era stimulus programme this year, declaring “clear progress” in the recovery of the US labour market. In a closely watched virtual speech at the Jackson Hole gathering of central bankers on Friday, Powell said the US central
Investors in the US have started to dial back their use of leverage for the first time since financial markets were rattled by the coronavirus crisis last year, removing some of the borrowed money that has since fuelled a rally in stocks. Investors had borrowed $844bn against their portfolios in July, down from a record
Joe Biden is sticking by his plan to withdraw US troops from Afghanistan by the end of the month, defying international pressure, including from key European allies, to allow more time for evacuations. The US president’s decision caps days of uncertainty about the fate of the August 31 deadline for the final pullout of American
Joe Biden will come under pressure on Tuesday from western allies who want the US-led evacuation from Afghanistan extended beyond August 31, while facing the humiliating prospect that the Taliban may veto any delay. At an emergency G7 meeting, the US president will hear calls from allies including Boris Johnson, UK prime minister, and Emmanuel
Seven Afghan civilians have been killed around Kabul international airport as chaos continued to hamper western efforts to evacuate people from the country, one week after the Taliban retook control. Confirming the civilian deaths, the UK defence ministry acknowledged on Sunday that “conditions on the ground remain extremely challenging”, as the US warned its citizens
The brother of slain Afghan warlord Ahmad Shah Massoud has called on the Taliban to form an inclusive government following their recapture of the country, and warned of resistance if they refused. Ahmad Wali Massoud, one of a band of leaders holding out against the Taliban from their base in the Panjshir valley, raised the
Joe Biden pledged to evacuate every American trying to leave Afghanistan and insisted the botched US airlift was making “significant progress”, dismissing suggestions his administration had ignored warnings the Taliban would conquer Kabul at lightning speed. “This is one of the largest, most difficult airlifts in history,” said Biden in a televised address to the
China’s biggest tech stocks are on track for their worst week in four months as groups including Alibaba came under renewed selling pressure on the latest signs that Beijing’s regulatory crackdown was tightening. The Nasdaq Golden Dragon index of large US-listed Chinese stocks closed more than 5 per cent lower on Thursday in New York,
The US struggled to step up its efforts to evacuate American citizens and their Afghan allies from Kabul amid reports that the Taliban was preventing eligible travellers from reaching the capital’s international airport. Pentagon officials said that the US Air Force was flying about 20 C-17 cargo aircraft into and out of Kabul every 24