UK plans 11 billion sterling business tax break in budget - Bloomberg News

Sat, Mar 11, 2023, 

FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: British Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt talks to a television crew outside the BBC headquarters in London

(Reuters) - British finance minister Jeremy Hunt will hand businesses a three-year tax break worth 11 billion pounds ($13.23 billion) by replacing the UK's investment allowance with a temporary measure in next week's budget, Bloomberg News reported on Saturday, citing a government official with knowledge of the matter.

Hunt will limit the relief to three years and propose a permanent replacement in the ruling Conservative Party's manifesto before the next election, the report said.

Under this replacement full-expensing regime, companies will continue to save 25 pence on their tax bill for every 1 pound invested, the report said. A previously announced increase in the headline rate of corporation tax, to 25% from 19%, is due to come into force in April.

"For the manufacturing industry... those capital allowances work, so I would say, we do want to bring down our effective corporation tax, the total amount people pay," Hunt said earlier today in a GB News interview, referring to measures which allow companies to offset capital expenditure against their tax bill.

Hunt is due to present his budget on Wednesday.

($1 = 0.8314 pounds)

(Reporting by Lavanya Ahire in Bengaluru; Editing by Tomasz Janowski and Mike Harrison)

The palaeontologist who fell in love with an ancient Homo heidelbergensis jawbone fossil

ABC Science / By Carl Smith for Strange Frontiers on the Science Show

Dr Eck with the jawbone so precious it's normally stored in a locked vault.

(ABC Science: Carl Smith

"The first time I met him, I was like, 'Oh, wow, yeah!'"

It was a "meet cute" in the basement of a nondescript university building, and palaeontologist Kristina Eck was instantly head over heels.

"I fell in love, I have to admit," Dr Eck says with a wistful smile.

But the object of her affection wasn't really "human" as we know it today.

In fact, "he's" not even alive.

"He" is a roughly 610,000-year-old mandible — a lower jawbone — from one of our ancient human cousins.

A year after its discovery, the jawbone was formally classified as belonging to a new human species.(ABC Science: Carl Smith)

Their relationship is not a traditional love story, but it profoundly affected Dr Eck.

"He's a friend of mine."

Which is why she began calling "him" a "he" instead of "it" — even though Dr Eck admits this mandible could have come from a man or a woman.

Why 'he' is kept in a hidden vault

Dr Eck first met the mandible when she took over as curator of the University of Heidelberg's Institute of Geosciences Museum in 2008.

"My first love was dinosaurs," she says.

"And then I got to this institute. And yeah, this bone!"

The mandible was found in 1907 near Heidelberg, a city in the west of Germany, near the French border and just north of the Black Forest.

Sandpit Grafenrain where the mandible was found in the early 1900s. The small white cross (lower centre) indicates its location.

(Supplied: Homo heidelbergensis von Mauer e.V.)

At the time, the discovery of the mandible shook the branches of the early human evolutionary tree, and it still causes much scientific debate today.

After Homo neanderthalensis (Neanderthals) and Homo erectus, the jawbone marked only the third ancient human species discovered.


"So it's a very important thing for palaeontology," Dr Eck says.

As museum curator, she looked after the collection and its prized specimen.

And only curators are allowed to see where the mandible is stored.

She recently stepped down from the job but she's back to visit the new curator — and to check on her old friend, the jawbone.

The mandible's kept behind several security doors in the collections room, where there are rows of sealed floor-to-ceiling storage cupboards and not much natural light.

It even has its own specially constructed vault.

There's a good reason for the extra precautions.

"Unfortunately, we know from the past that there are people trying to get these," says Martina Schmalholz, who recently took over from Dr Eck as museum curator.

But Dr Eck can describe where it's kept.

"He has his own room because he's so famous and so unique," she says.

"And it's a really dark room because it should be safe from UV light."

The mandible sits in the centre of this room in an old safe with "really thick walls and there's only one key".

Dr Eck heads inside to unlock the vault and retrieve the mandible.

She reappears holding a special metal transportation case, and heads off towards a clean room.

The mandible also has its own portable metal case, secured with a code. You can glimpse part of the museum’s collections room beyond.

(ABC Science: Carl Smith)

The Heidelberg holotype

Storing an old jawbone under such tight security might seem like overkill, but the mandible is essentially priceless to scientists.

"They are really, really rare," Dr Eck says.

"I could put all [of the early] human fossils, which were found all over the world. in my car.

"[So] every human fossil is stored like [this one]."

And this mandible is even more prized than many other early human fossils.

It comes from a mysterious ancient human species called Homo heidelbergensis.

Homo heidelbergensis is believed to be a vital and recent link between the hominin species that left Africa, and both modern humans and Neanderthals.

And this mandible is the so-called "holotype" or "type specimen" — the first evidence of this species found, and the example used to describe Homo heidelbergensis.

The fossilised mandible is thicker than that of a modern human's.(ABC Science: Carl Smith)

One chunk of jawbone might not seem like enough to describe a species, but Dr Eck says a complete mandible is plenty.

"We rarely find more than one bone.

"A whole skeleton? That's a dream.

"There are ancient humans which are only based on a tooth, for example."

She gingerly lifts the mandible out of the metal case, removing sections of cushioning and plastic wrapping.

"It would be a nightmare if anything happens to this fossil."

Dr Eck uses gloves to carefully remove the mandible from its travel case.

(ABC Science: Carl Smith)

What do we know about this species?

Based on its current classification, sometime around 600,000 years ago, Homo heidelbergensis diverged from its ancestor Homo erectus.

Although much of early human history is murky and contentious, many anthropologists believe populations of Homo heidelbergensis established in Africa and Europe.

These populations appear to have spawned modern humans and Neanderthals respectively.

But there are several other theories and counter-theories, including those that argue Homo heidelbergensis shouldn't be classified as its own species at all.

In fact, in 2019, the American Association of Biological Anthropology dedicated an entire conference session to Homo heidelbergensis, concluding that "no-one was happy" with how it's currently defined.

The mandible has given scientists plenty of clues about what Homo heidelbergensis looked like — and how it might have lived.


"It's [lower jaw is] much more robust than our lower jaw," Dr Eck says.

She says it's thicker and bigger all round — and that the teeth are almost twice the size of modern human teeth.

Since the mandible's discovery, other Homo heidelbergensis remains have been found across Europe and Africa.

By analysing these and the sites they were found, researchers concluded Homo heidelbergensis were strong and tall — reaching up to 180cm in height.

The teeth are about twice the size of a modern human’s teeth.

(ABC Science: Carl Smith)

They had a large brain capacity, appear to have used tools, may have used fire, and it seems they lived in small groups.

Dr Eck points out that the owner of the jawbone, which had a fracture, may have also received some care from members of its community.

It's not known how the individual died, but she says it appears the injury healed — potentially suggesting some assistance during recovery.

"He was between 20 and 30 years old when he died. That sounds very young, but for an ancient human, that is OK."

Dr Eck says the fossil likely has many more secrets to tell, which is why she handles it carefully.

"People are still working on this. New methods make it possible to get new results."

A stained glass window at a pub in Mauer, where the mandible was found over 100 years ago.(ABC Science: Carl Smith)

The dream, Dr Eck says, is to analyse his DNA. This may help definitively find the right spot for this species on the evolutionary tree.

"But he's maybe too old at the moment for our methods," she says.

She packs the fossil back into its case, says her farewells, and puts it back into storage.
Connection to deep history

For Dr Eck, spending time with this fossil has been more than just a job.

It helped connect her to the deep history of humanity in her part of the world.

And that's also why she likes to return to exactly where "he" was discovered — the small German town of Mauer, which still celebrates the fossil's discovery.

"You can catch the mood here," she says, gesturing to the tall trees and thickets filled with birds.

Dr Eck still regularly visits the forest around the disused sand mine where the mandible was found.(ABC Science: Carl Smith)

"You don't see any buildings, you normally don't see any cars.

"He had the same four seasons we have today."

Standing near the sand pit where he was found and thinking about how "he" might have lived makes her reflect on what's universally important for all humans.

"Maybe he lived in a little family. Maybe wandering around following animals to get some food," she muses.

"I think it's a nice life."

Dr Eck has travelled the world displaying this mandible at exhibitions and museums.(ABC Science: Carl Smith)

She says her connection with this old fossilised jawbone makes her think about what's changed over the past 600,000 years.

"It's also important if we think about our future and what we are doing right now on this planet," Dr Eck says.

"For example, if the Homo heidelbergensis had nuclear power plants, we would still have the [radioactive] garbage today.

"This is something we have to think about."

Asteroid headed toward Earth may arrive on Valentine's Day 2046 - Nasa

PublishedShare

IMAGE SOURCE,NASA

Image caption,

Asteroid 2023 DW has a better chance of hitting a date of 14 February than our planet, NASA says.

By Brandon Drenon

BBC News, Washington

A newly detected asteroid has a very small chance of impacting the Earth in 2046, Nasa tweeted on Tuesday.

If it does hit, the asteroid, roughly the size of an Olympic swimming pool, may arrive on Valentine's Day 2046 according to Nasa calculations.

The closest the asteroid is expected to get to Earth is about 1.1 million miles (1.8m km), Nasa says.

But researchers are still collecting data, which they say may change predictions.

The asteroid, dubbed 2023 DW, has about a 1 in 560 chance of hitting Earth, according to Nasa. It's the only space rock on Nasa's risk list that ranks a 1 on the Torino Impact Hazard Scale.

The scale, which goes from 0-10, measures the risk of space objects colliding with Earth. All other objects on the scale rank 0, indicating no risk for impact.

A ranking of 1 means that an actual collision is extremely unlikely and no cause for public concern, Nasa's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) says.

"This object is not particularly concerning," JPL navigation engineer Davide Farnocchia told CNN.

If it does collide with us, 2023 DW would not have the same doomsday effect as the asteroid that decimated the Earth's dinosaurs 66 million years ago. That asteroid was far bigger at 7.5 miles (12km) wide, Scientific American says.

But an impact from 2023 DW could still cause significant damage if it were to land atop a major city or densely populated area. A meteor less than half the size of 2023 DW exploded over Chelyabinsk, Russia, 10 years ago, causing a shock wave that blew out windows across 200 square miles and injured roughly 1,500 people.

While contact with an asteroid seems unlikely, scientists have been preparing for such an encounter for years. Last October, Nasa confirmed the agency's Double Asteroid Redirection Test (Dart) mission had successfully changed the travel path of a small asteroid by slamming a spacecraft into it.

"That's the very reason why we flew that mission," Mr Farnocchia said, "and that mission was a spectacular success."

Fukushima disaster: Japan marks 12 years since deadly tsunami as support grows for nuclear power

Issued on: 11/03/2023 

A minute of silence is observed in memory of the victims of the 2011 tsunami in Rikuzentakata, Iwate prefecture, on March 11, 2023. AP

Text by: NEWS WIRES

Japanese offered tearful prayers Saturday on the anniversary of the deadly tsunami that triggered the Fukushima disaster, but public support for nuclear power is growing as memories of the 2011 meltdown fade.

A minute's silence was observed nationwide at 2:46 pm (0546 GMT), the precise moment when a 9.0-magnitude quake – the fourth strongest in Earth's recorded history – devastated northeastern Japan 12 years ago.

The undersea quake unleashed a tsunami that left around 18,500 people dead or missing and overwhelmed cooling systems at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, leading to the worst nuclear catastrophe since Chernobyl.

All of Japan's nuclear reactors were taken offline after the disaster and the majority remain out of action today.

But the global energy crisis sparked by the war in Ukraine has caused electricity bills to soar in Japan, inspiring a government push to reboot reactors as polls show that public views on nuclear power are softening.

On Saturday, TV footage showed people who lost loved ones to the tsunami laying flowers, offering prayers and bowing in front of graves.

"Hi guys, it's been 12 years," public broadcaster NHK showed Fumiko Sugawara, 73, telling the grave of her family members, including her husband.

"We're surviving, so please watch over us," said the resident of Kesennuma, a city flattened when huge waves rushed ashore.

No deaths have been directly ascribed to the nuclear accident, after which around 165,000 people fled their homes in the area either voluntarily or under evacuation orders.

Most areas around the plant have since been declared safe after extensive decontamination work, but many former residents have chosen not to return.

With Japan now facing its most severe energy crunch in decades, the government wants to speed up the revival of its nuclear industry.
Opinion shifting

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has called for seven reactors approved by Japan's nuclear safety watchdog to resume operations, and for the nation to consider building "next-generation" reactors with new safety mechanisms.

Recent opinion polls by major newspapers the Asahi Shimbun and Yomiuri Shimbun show that a majority of people support restarting the reactors for the first time since 2011.

"The government will continue to spearhead efforts toward the safe and steadfast decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi plant – a process crucial to recovery," Kishida said at the Fukushima memorial service.

"It is our responsibility to promote efforts to build a disaster-resistant country."

Mistrust of nuclear power still runs deep among campaigners who accuse TEPCO, the operator of the Fukushima plant, of safety lapses that upended local communities.

05:15

In January, Tokyo's High Court upheld the acquittal of three former TEPCO executives, again clearing them of professional negligence over the disaster.

But in a separate civil verdict last year, the trio – plus one other ex-official – were ordered to pay a whopping 13.3 trillion yen ($97 billion) for failing to prevent the accident

The enormous compensation sum is believed to be the largest ever for a Japanese civil case, although lawyers acknowledge it is well beyond the defendants' capacity to pay.

The government also plans to start releasing more than a million tonnes of treated water from the stricken Fukushima plant into the sea this year.

A combination of groundwater, rainwater that seeps into the area, and water used for cooling, it has been filtered to remove various radionuclides and kept in storage tanks on site, but space is running out.

05:56

The water release plan has been endorsed by the International Atomic Energy Agency but faces staunch resistance from local fishing communities and neighbouring countries.

(AFP)

Indonesia on alert after Mount Merapi volcano erupts

Clouds of hot ash and a mixture of rock, lava and gas travelled up to 7 kilometres

Mount Merapi, Indonesia’s most active volcano, spews gas and ash. AFP
Associated Press

Mar 11, 2023

Indonesia’s Mount Merapi erupted on Saturday, spilling gas clouds and lava, forcing a halt to tourism and mining on the slopes of the country’s most active volcano.

Merapi, on the densely populated island of Java, unleashed clouds of hot ash and a mixture of rock, lava and gas that travelled up to seven kilometres down its slopes. A column of hot gas rose 100 metres into the air, National Disaster Management Agency spokesman Abdul Muhari said.








Indonesia has more volcanoes than any other country. AFP


The eruption throughout the day blocked out the sun and blanketed villages with ash. No casualties were reported.

It was Merapi’s biggest lava flow since authorities raised the alert level to the second-highest in November 2020, said Hanik Humaida, the head of Yogyakarta’s Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation Centre.

She said residents living on Merapi’s slopes were advised to stay at least 7km from the crater’s mouth and to be aware of the danger posed by lava.

Tourism and mining activities were halted.

The 2,968-metre mountain is about 30km from Yogyakarta, an ancient centre of Javanese culture and the seat of royal dynasties. About a quarter of a million people live within 10km of the volcano.

Merapi is the most active of more than 120 active volcanoes in Indonesia and has repeatedly erupted recently. Its last major eruption, in 2010, killed 347 people and displaced 20,000 villagers.

Indonesia, an archipelago of 270 million people, is prone to earthquakes and volcanic activity because it sits along the Ring of Fire, a horseshoe-shaped series of seismic fault lines around the Pacific Ocean.

An eruption in December 2021 of Mount Semeru, the highest volcano on Java island, killed 48 people and left 36 unaccounted for.

Stablecoin USDC breaks dollar peg after revealing $3.3 billion Silicon Valley Bank exposure

Reuters Sat March 11, 2023

Stablecoin USD Coin (USDC) lost its dollar peg and slumped to an all-time low on Saturday after Circle, the US firm behind the coin, revealed some of the reserves backing it were held at Silicon Valley Bank.

Circle has $3.3 billion of its $40 billion of USDC reserves at collapsed lender Silicon Valley Bank, the company said in a tweet Friday.

The coin broke its 1:1 dollar peg and fell as low as $0.88 early Saturday, according to market tracker CoinGecko. It recovered slightly to trade around $0.90.

Silicon Valley Bank collapsed on Friday in the largest US bank failure since the 2008 financial crisis, roiling global markets and stranding billions of dollars belonging to companies and investors.

These companies held money at Silicon Valley Bank and aren't sure if they'll recover the funds

Circle said in a tweet Friday it and USDC “continue to operate normally” while the firm waits for clarity on what will happen to Silicon Valley Bank depositors.

Circle did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the dollar peg, sent outside of US working hours.

Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies designed to maintain a constant exchange rate with “fiat” currencies – those backed by a central government rather than a physical commodity such as gold – for example through a 1:1 US dollar peg.

Used in cryptocurrency trading, they have surged in value in recent years. USDC is the second-biggest stablecoin with a market cap of $37 billion. The largest, Tether, has a market cap of $72 billion, according to CoinGecko.

USDC’s price usually holds close to $1, making Saturday’s drop unprecedented. According to CoinGecko data, its previous all-time low was around $0.97 in 2018, though in 2022 it fell just below $0.99 when cryptocurrency markets were roiled by the collapse of crypto hedge fund Three Arrows Capital.

How does a bank collapse in 48 hours? A timeline of the SVB fall

Traders have been on guard this week for signs of contagion in the financial sector and beyond from troubles for Silicon Valley Bank and crypto-focused Silvergate (SI), which this week disclosed plans to wind down operations and voluntarily liquidate.

Boston-based Circle said last week it had moved a “small percentage” of USDC reserve deposits held at Silvergate to its other banking partners.

The chief executive of cryptocurrency exchange Binance said in a tweet on Friday it had no exposure to Silicon Valley Bank, as did Tether Chief Executive Paolo Ardoino.

Stablecoin issuer Paxos and crypto exchange Gemini also tweeted they do not have relationships with the bank.

Silicon Valley Bank collapse: Tech firm job and pay fears as Bank of England moves to shut down US lender

Hundreds of UK and European customers, many of them small technology start-ups, have rushed to take their money out of the UK bank, according to emails seen by i

The UK arm of Silicon Valley Bank is set to be declared insolvent in one of the biggest modern banking collapses (Photo: Michaela Vatcheva/Reuters)

By David Connett

March 11, 2023 

The UK arm of Silicon Valley Bank is set to be declared insolvent by the Bank of England after its US parent company failed in one of the biggest modern banking collapses.

Bank of England (BoE) regulators said the UK-based subsidary of the California-headquartered Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) will be put into insolvency on Sunday.

The move follows a decision by US regulators to step in and control its parent company.

The US bank, the 16th largest in the country with more than $208bn in assets at the start of the year, serves many of the world’s most powerful technology investors and thousands of tech companies around the world.

It collapsed on Friday becoming one of the largest lenders to fail since the 2008 global financial crisis.

US officials moved in to take over after what was effectively a run on the bank. Depositors rushed to withdraw their money amid fears SVB would not have sufficient funds to meet demands.

Its collapse has sent shockwaves across the banking and technology industries, hitting the shares of hundreds of thousands of banks and technology companies.

SVB UK attempted to reassure its customers not to panic as it had a separate balance sheet and was operating normally. In a statement, its chief executive Erin Platts, said: “Silicon Valley Bank UK has been an independent subsidiary since August 2022 with a separate balance sheet to the SVB Financial Group and an independent UK Board of directors.”

But hundreds of UK and European customers, many of them small technology start-ups, sought to get their money out of the UK bank regardless, according to emails seen by i.

Some requested customers not deposit money in their SVB accounts as they scrambled to set up accounts with alternative lenders. Other technology start-ups have sought help and advice on how to meet bills and pay staff.

In the US, a payroll service provider Rippling notified customers that some wage processes had stalled because SVB helped handle its payments. It said it had switched to another bank but many pay cheques drawing on SVB accounts had already been sent out.

It later emerged that SVB UK had applied for £1.8bn in short-term emergency funding from the Bank of England through the Bank’s discount window facility which offers help to banks if they have adequate collateral, the Financial Times reported.

Late on Friday, after discussions with SVB, the Bank of England announced it would be placing SVB UK into insolvency proceedings.

The Bank of England said Silicon Valley Bank UK would stop making payments or accepting deposits in the interim and the move would allow individual depositors to be paid up to £85,000 or £170,000 for joint account holders, from the UK’s deposit insurance scheme.

It stressed there was no wider, systemic risk to other banks. “SVBUK has a limited presence in the UK and no critical functions supporting the financial system,” the Bank said. “In the interim, the firm will stop making payments or accepting deposits,” its statement said.

Caption: U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen reassured other banks were not under threat. Photo: Evelyn Hockstein / Reuters

US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen also tried to reassure investors there was not a wider threat to the banking and technology sectors.

After meeting with Treasury officials and regulators to discuss the fallout from SVB’s collapse, a Treasury Department statement said: “Secretary Yellen expressed full confidence in banking regulators to take appropriate actions in response and noted that the banking system remains resilient and regulators have effective tools to address this type of event,” the statement said.

SVB, which had until recently more than $174bn in deposits and an A1 credit rating, began to struggle when lots of its clients began withdrawing money at a time when the wider tech sector began suffering as part of the wider economic downturn. Tens of thousands of tech workers have been laid off.

SVB said earlier this week, in order to meet its liabilities, it had to sell part of its bond deposits at a loss of $1.8bn. Its announcement startled clients and started to withdraw even more money from the bank. On Thursday customers tried to withdraw $42bn-almost a quarter of the bank’s total deposits. Queues of anxious customers were seen outside branches in California.

The bank’s share price fell by 60 per cent as a result. Trading in its shares were stopped altogether on Friday ahead of US regulators stepping in. Its directors said it was dropping a plan to sell $2.25bn new shares and instead find a buyer for the entire bank before regulators stepped in.

It was revealed that SVB’s chief executive Greg Becker legally sold $3.6m worth of bank shares less than two weeks before the firm disclosed extensive losses that led to its failure.

Neither SVB, nor Mr Becker, responded to requests as to whether he was aware of the bank’s plans to raise additional capital ahead of the sale. 

Silicon Valley Bank’s UK arm faces insolvency in blow to British tech sector

Bank of England seeks to launch insolvency procedure

By Rachel Mortimer

11 March 2023 

The Bank of England plans to place the UK arm of beleaguered Silicon Valley Bank into insolvency tomorrow, plunging British tech startups into a funding crisis.

It comes as regulators in the US intervened to shut down SVB after its customers, largely tech companies, scrambled to withdraw deposits from the lender. The bank had attempted to plug its balance sheet and raise $2.25bn (£1.87bn) following losses on investments triggered by higher interest rates.

On Friday night the Bank of England said it intended to begin insolvency procedures for Silicon Valley Bank UK (SVB UK). A statement on the lender’s website said this would begin on Sunday evening, in the absence of an “intervening event”.

Placing the bank in insolvency would allow eligible customers to claim up to £85,000 from the UK’s financial lifeboat body, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, or up to £170,000 for joint accounts.

SVB UK’s other assets and liabilities will be managed by liquidators and assets distributed to its creditors.

The Bank of England said: “SVB UK has a limited presence in the UK and no critical functions supporting the financial system. In the interim, the firm will stop making payments or accepting deposits.”

This morning the Coalition for a Digital Economy (Coadec) said the collapse could have a “significant impact on the UK’s tech startup ecosystem” with a large number of investors having “significant exposure” to the lender.

SVB was forced to raise funds this week due to losses on investments it made when interest rates were at rock bottom. On Friday multiple venture capital firms advised start-ups they have invested in to withdraw cash.

A statement from SVB UK said: "We are determined to work on the behalf of our clients and are proud of our employees in their engagement with you. If clients have any questions please get in touch with us and we will try our best to answer any and all of your queries."

British tech firms warn of insolvency as UK arm of SVB heads for bankruptcy

Letter from companies to Chancellor Jeremy Hunt says some risk insolvency within days unless a rescue is formulated

Silicon Valley Bank headquarters in Santa Clara, California, US. Its troubles are being felt across the Atlantic. Bloomberg
Matthew Davies
London
Mar 11, 2023

About 210 start-up company founders and leaders in the UK have signed a letter to Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, warning that they could face insolvency after the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank in the United States and the subsequent bankruptcy of its UK operation.

“The majority of us as tech founders are running numbers to see if we are potentially technically insolvent”, the letter said, according to sources.

The signatories said they employ more than 10,000 people and have raised venture funding totalling £3.5 billon.

“The majority of the most exciting and dynamic tech businesses bank with SVB and have no or limited diversity in where their deposits are held,” the letter said, according to the FT.

Calling on Mr Hunt to intervene, the letter also said: “The loss of deposits has the potential to cripple the sector and set the ecosystem back 20 years,” according to Bloomberg.

“Many businesses will be sent into involuntary liquidation overnight.”

Cashflow concerns

Mr Hunt has spoken to the governor of the Bank of England about the collapse of SVB and there are talks with some British high-tech companies that might be affected, according to the UK Treasury.

Treasury officials and those from the Bank of England are working together, a statement from the Treasury said, adding that a junior finance minister will discuss the concerns of some UK tech firms with industry representatives on Saturday.

“The government recognises that tech sector companies are often not cashflow positive as they grow, and that they rely on cash on deposits to cover their day-to-day costs,” the statement said.

Silicon Valley Bank became the biggest US lender to fail in more than a decade on Friday, following an unsuccessful attempt to raise capital and a run on the bank as depositors tried to withdraw funds.

The Bank of England in London said that eligible depositors in the British arm of SVB would be paid by the UK’s deposit-insurance fund. EPA

Meanwhile, eligible depositors in the British arm of SVB would be paid by the UK’s deposit-insurance fund, the Bank of England said on Friday.

Deposits are insured up to £85,000 ($102,000) or £170,000 for joint accounts, the Bank of England said.

“SVB UK has a limited presence in the UK and no critical functions supporting the financial system,” the Bank said.

“In the interim, the firm will stop making payments or accepting deposits.”

Sky News reported on Saturday that the Bank of London, which describes itself as “a leading-edge technology company and the world's first purpose-built global clearing, agency and transaction bank”, is considering a rescue bid for the UK arm of SVB.

The Bank of London did not comment on the rumour.

NASA's Ingenuity helicopter captures breathtaking shot of Martian sunset (photo)

By Josh Dinner published about 22 hours ago

Ingenuity snapped the shot on Feb. 22, during its 45th Red Planet flight.

NASA's Ingenuity helicopter captured this photo of the sun setting on Mars on Feb. 22, 2023, during its 45th Red Planet flight. 

(Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

NASA's Ingenuity Mars helicopter recently took to the skies for its 45th flight, traveling nearly one-third of a mile (0.5 kilometers) — and snapping a gorgeous shot of a Red Planet sunset in the process.

Ingenuity is still making short flights around Mars' Jezero Crater, continuing to gather data well beyond its operational life expectancy. Ingenuity arrived on the Red Planet aboard NASA's Perseverance rover, which landed on Jezero's floor in February 2021.

Ingenuity flew for the first time two months later, in April 2021, and was originally tasked with only a few test flights to prove its pioneering technology. However, having exceeded NASA's expectations, Ingenuity's mission expanded to serve as a scout for Perseverance, which is searching for signs of ancient Mars life and collecting samples for future return to Earth. Ingenuity has now flown a total of 46 times, with an accumulated distance of 6.3 miles (10.1 km).

Flights 45 and 46 occurred just three days apart, on Feb. 22 and Feb. 25, with a 47th flight expected any day now. Depending on the relative positions of Earth and Mars, a transmission between the two planets can take anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes to reach its destination. Because of this, Ingenuity is designed to take off, fly and land on its own. Mission controllers program each flight, then must wait for data confirmation that Ingenuity has safely landed. Onboard cameras capture images used to help determine both Ingenuity and Perserverance's next steps.

Ingenuity's high-resolution color camera is angled 22 degrees below the horizon. Images relayed back to NASA from the 4-pound (1.8 kilograms) chopper are therefore primarily focused at the ground, searching for interesting geological features and potential obstacles ahead.

Occasionally, however, a sliver of Martian sky will make an appearance in one of Ingenuity's photographs, serving as a reminder that the rotorcraft is giving us a whole new perspective on the Red Planet. The helicopter captured such an image on its 45th flight, but with an even rarer subject in frame — the sun.

The photo shows the sun hanging slightly above the horizon of hilltops in the distance, caught in the process of setting on Ingenuity's 714th Martian day, or sol. The rays shining across the photograph help illuminate the rolling alien landscape of sand and rocks inside Jezero Crater, and it almost feels like a photo you could capture from a desert here on Earth. And therein lies its beauty.

These perceived similarities shape the foundation of why we explore space in the first place. That a sunset photo from a different planet can remind us so much of our own highlights the thin margin between our life-sustaining Earth and other lifeless worlds orbiting our sun and beyond. It symbolizes the very nature of Perserverance's search for ancient Martian life, and begs the question of what sunsets on what other worlds might look like — and if humanity will get to witness those someday, too.

Our first look at a Martian sunset can tell us a lot about the Red Planet’s atmosphere

NASA’s Curiosity rover captured the first hint of the Sun’s rays on Mars. This can help scientists understand more about the Martian atmosphere and its temperatures as part of a longer-term research project into clouds on the planet.

By GEORGINA TORBET
Mar 10, 2023

Image: NASA

As part of its ongoing study of Mars’ clouds, NASA’s Curiosity rover recently captured a stunning image of a Martian sunset. As the Sun sinks over the horizon, its light forms into sun rays that can be seen banding across the sky.

Technically known as crepuscular rays, this is the first time the phenomena has been imaged in such detail on Mars. And by studying the way the rays shine through the clouds, scientists can learn more about the Martian atmosphere and weather system.

Although Mars’ atmosphere is extremely thin, at just 1 percent the density of Earth’s atmosphere, it is still active and changeable. The planet experiences high winds of up to 60 miles per hour, which can pick up the fine dust particles coating much of the planet’s surface and whip them up into global dust storms. With low atmospheric pressure and considerable variation in temperatures between day and night, dynamic events like dust devils are seen regularly.

Technically known as crepuscular rays

Also due to the thin atmosphere, there are only occasional clouds in the Martian sky. With just small amounts of water vapor present in the atmosphere, the presence of clouds varies throughout the seasons. The clouds that are visible there aren’t like clouds on Earth, however, as these are composed of liquid water. On Mars, the low pressure means that clouds form from water ice or carbon dioxide (dry ice) instead.

The new images from Curiosity show clouds at a high altitude, which suggests that they are composed of carbon dioxide rather than water ice. Another image captured recently by Curiosity shows another important cloud phenomenon called iridescence. The different colors seen within the cloud can reveal information about the particles which make it up.

“Where we see iridescence, it means a cloud’s particle sizes are identical to their neighbors in each part of the cloud”

“Where we see iridescence, it means a cloud’s particle sizes are identical to their neighbors in each part of the cloud,” said Mark Lemmon, an atmospheric scientist with the Space Science Institute in Boulder, Colorado, in a statement. “By looking at color transitions, we’re seeing particle size changing across the cloud. That tells us about the way the cloud is evolving and how its particles are changing size over time.”

The two images were stitched together from 28 individual images each. They were taken by Curiosity’s Mastcam instrument, which, unlike many previous cloud observations made using the rover’s black and white navigation cameras, can capture images in color. Curiosity has been performing its survey of the clouds since January and will continue for a few more weeks.

Curiosity has previously captured other striking views of Martian weather phenomena, like the blue sunset it imaged in 2015. The color seen there is also due to the dust in the atmosphere, following a dust storm that had left dust suspended in the atmosphere. This suspended dust scatters different colors of light by different amounts, and it scatters the light in a particular direction. That results in red light being filtered out more, so what remains is the blue color seen in the Martian sky.

House votes 419-0 to declassify intelligence on COVID-19 origins, sending bill to Biden's desk


BY REBECCA KAPLAN, KATHRYN WATSON
MARCH 10, 2023 / CBS NEWS

Washington — The House voted unanimously Friday on a bill ordering the declassification of intelligence about the origins of COVID-19 in China, sending the bill to President Biden's desk.

The bill, which already passed the Senate, would require Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines to declassify any information about links between the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Wuhan Institute of Virology, the controversial viral research laboratory in the city where the SARS-CoV-2 virus first emerged. The vote in the House was 419 to 0.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre did not directly answer whether the president would sign the legislation, saying, "We're taking a look at the bill."

The intelligence community has not definitively agreed on the origins of the pandemic. A report in 2021 reflecting the findings of intelligence community was inconclusive, and determined two theories were "plausible" to explain how the virus emerged: "natural exposure to an infected animal and a laboratory-associated incident." The Department of Energy recently concluded, with "low confidence," that it was plausible that the virus originated from a lab, a theory supported by the FBI.

The Senate passed the GOP-crafted bill by unanimous consent last week. The bill was introduced by GOP Sens. Josh Hawley and Mike Braun.

The issue of the origin of the coronavirus has become fiercely politicized on Capitol Hill, with many Republicans using the increased consideration of the lab leak theory to criticize Dr. Anthony Fauci, the former director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, for his support of the theory that the virus emerged in a Wuhan market where live animals were sold.

Members of the World Health Organization team investigating the origins of the coronavirus arrive by car at the Wuhan Institute of Virology on Feb. 3, 2021.

HECTOR RETAMAL/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES

"Now the American people will be able to see what their government knows about COVID origins — and those who lied about it can be held accountable," Hawley tweeted after the bill passed Friday. "Next stop for my COVID origins bill, Joe Biden's desk. Sign it."

Democrats also expressed support for releasing information related to origins of the leak, as evidenced by their lack of objections in the House and Senate.

"Understanding the root causes of the COVID-19 pandemic is important to help prevent a future pandemic," Democratic Rep. Raul Ruiz, a doctor and ranking member of the Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, said in a statement after the bill's passage. "Under President Biden's direction and leadership, the intelligence community has been hard at work gathering information to answer the question of whether COVID-19 started as a lab leak or animal transmission. The evidence, as of today, is inconclusive. It is important that the American people have as much objective information as possible without extreme partisan rhetoric."

Rebecca Kaplan covers Congress for CBS News.

Biden denies reports that Alaska oil drilling project has been approved


Signing off on the Willow plan would place the president’s political career in conflict with climate-minded Democrats

Demonstrators gather near the White House on 3 March to protest the Willow oil drilling project planned to begin in Alaska. 

Photograph: Bryan Olin Dozier/NurPhoto/REX/Shutterstock

Edward Helmore

THE GUARDIAN

Sat 11 Mar 2023

The Biden administration has denied reports that it has authorized a key oil drilling project on Alaska’s north slope, a highly contentious project that environmentalists argue would damage a pristine wilderness and gut White House commitments to combat climate crisis.

Late Friday, Bloomberg was first to report citing anonymous sources that senior Biden advisers had signed off on the project and formal approval would be made public by the Interior Department next week.

The decision to authorize drilling on the north slope, if correct, would amount to one of the most symbolically important climate decisions of Biden’s political career and place his administration in conflict with the climate-alert left wing of the Democratic party.

But that pressure is countered by unions and some Indigenous communities in Alaska who say approval of the project would provide economic security in the state beyond the borders of the 9.3m-hectare (23m acres) area of the north slope that is considered the largest tract of undisturbed public land in the US.

But after reports were published, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said “no final decisions have been made” on the project and “anyone who says there has been a final decision is wrong”.

Earlier on Friday, former vice-president Al Gore said it would be “recklessly irresponsible” to allow the project to proceed. “The pollution it would generate will not only put Alaska native and other local communities at risk, it is incompatible with the ambition we need to achieve a net zero future,” he said.

Alaska senator Lisa Murkowski said on Friday that a decision was “imminent”. The Republican senator previously called the size of the project “minuscule” and that it has been “meticulously planned” to avoid harm to the environment.

Biden has come under intense pressure from lawmakers and the courts, and high energy prices that have dogged his first term as president after he vowed “no more drilling on federal lands, period” during his campaign.

But White House policy to oppose new oil leases and discourage domestic shale-oil drilling, has also forced its hand in other areas. Biden’s visit to Saudi Arabia last year to urge increases in Saudi production came at a high political cost and was broadly fruitless.

White House approval of “the Willow Master Development Plan”, a multi-billion ConocoPhillips project to drill oil inside the National Petroleum Reserve in Alaska would serve as a substantial win for the oil-and-gas industries.

ConocoPhillips has said the Willow plan could provide more than $17bn in revenue for federal, state and local governments and create over 2,800 jobs. It could suck an estimated 600m barrels of oil from beneath the permafrost and, at a projected 180,000 daily barrels of oil, would produce approximately 1.6% of current US production.

Under those figures, the project would also contribute 280m tons of carbon dioxide emissions to the atmosphere when the oil was processed and used across fossil-fuel dependent economy.

Unlike other, small oil and gas leases approved by the White House it would also be one that Biden approves without the force of court or congressional orders.


The oil giant, which reported profits of $18.7bn in 2022, double the previous year, originally requested permits to drill on five locations but later scaled back to three.

ConocoPhillips has said it cannot comment on the decision until it has a formal record.

The Interior Department has previously said it has “substantial concerns” about the Willow project’s impact upon the climate and the subsistence lifestyle of native Alaskan communities – but has completed an environmental review of the development that it said would improve it.

A wave of opposition to the Willow project has included rallies in Washington DC and an online #StopWillow campaign that has garnered more than 3m signatures.

Siqiniq Maupin with the Sovereign Iñupiat for a Living Arctic has warned that the project would threaten subsistence lifestyle of native communities that rely upon the migration of caribou.

“President Biden continues to address climate change during high-profile speeches and events but his actions are contradictory,” Maupin said.

Over-50s who retire early will need to return to work to top up their pension pots, Bank of England policymaker warns

Retiring at 55 means retirement savings would need to ‘match your longevity’

Early retirees would find it ‘more difficult’ to return to work after several years

By CALUM MUIRHEAD CITY REPORTER FOR THE DAILY MAIL
 7 March 2023

Over-50s who retire early will need to return to work to top up their pensions pots, a senior Bank of England policymaker has warned.

Catherine Mann, a member of the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee, which is responsible for setting interest rates, said those retiring at the age of 55 would need to make sure their retirement savings would ‘match your longevity’.

She added that early retirees would also find it ‘more difficult’ to return to the jobs market after several years.

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‘There’s a challenge to making sure that your retirement savings are going to match your longevity,’ she told Bloomberg TV.

She expressed fears that a ‘couple of years down the line’ people would try and return to the workforce and would find it much harder to do so, noting that there was already ‘a little bit of an indication’ people who took early retirement were returning to take up part-time work.


Catherine Mann, a member of the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee, said those retiring at the age of 55 would need to make sure their retirement savings would ‘match your longevity’

‘I worry that people are going to find that their pensions are not sufficient for their preferred lifestyle and are going to want to come back,’ Dr Mann said, adding that there may not be enough people returning to provide a boost to the economy.

The warning followed a report earlier this week from think-tank Phoenix Insights, part of retirement savings firm Phoenix Group, which predicted nearly 2 million people over the age of 50 who have left the workforce face a savings shortfall in retirement.

It called on the Government to find ways to make it easier for older people to return to employment such as introducing measures for flexible working.

Getting the estimated 3.6 million inactive people aged between 50 and 64 back into work is a key goal for Chancellor Jeremy Hunt as he looks to reverse the shrinkage in Britain’s workforce in order to boost economic growth.

Mr Hunt is widely expected to unveil measures in next week’s Budget to help coax people back into employment, which some analysts say could include help with expenses incurred while travelling to work.

Pressure on the government to act has ratcheted up after data last month from the Office for National Statistics showed 21.4 per cent of people were ‘economically inactive’ in the final three months of last year.

‘Economically inactive’ is classed as people who are not in work and have not been seeking or not been available for work.

It covers those who have left the workforce because they are students, retired, have illness or injury, or are looking after family members.

Nearly 2 million people over the age of 50 who have left the workforce face a savings shortfall in retirement. according to think-tank Phoenix Insights

Between November 2019 and January 2020, before Covid struck, inactivity was at a record low of 20.4 per cent.

The rate had been falling steadily since records began in 1971 but increased during the pandemic as people lost their jobs or became ill.

Some older Britons also decided to retire early and rely on their savings and the value of assets such as housing.

But the growing cost of living squeeze has already pushed some early retirees to return to work, with research from the Institute for Fiscal Studies showing the number of economically inactive over-50s seeking employment had notably risen as pressure on their incomes increased.