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Private equity faces existential crisis in US as unsold companies pile up
Private equity, which owns firms employing over 13 million Americans, faces mounting strain as high interest rates and rising buyout prices leave funds unable to sell thousands of portfolio companies at desired prices. The model relies on loading acquired businesses with debt while planning to sell within a few years, but that exit strategy has…
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Health-tracking smart ring maker Oura to list on US stock market
Health-tracking smart ring maker Oura has filed to list on the Nasdaq stock exchange in New York, the San Francisco-headquartered company revealed on Thursday. Founded in Finland in 2013, Oura has built a loyal following among wellness enthusiasts and celebrities, including Jennifer Aniston, Prince Harry, Kim Kardashian and Tom Holland, who use its rings to…
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Norway seizes Russian ship, sparking fury from Kremlin over ‘piracy’
Norwegian authorities have seized a Russian ship in Barentsburg, a coal-mining settlement Russia operates on the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, at the request of Ukrainian energy firm Naftogaz, prompting Moscow to accuse Norway of “piracy” and lodge a formal protest. The move is part of Naftogaz’s long-running effort to enforce compensation owed by Russia for…
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AOC becomes latest to slam Flock cameras as mass surveillance rapidly becomes midterm sleeper issue
Democratic Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has strongly criticised Flock Safety’s license plate-reading cameras, joining a growing bipartisan backlash that has turned the technology into an unexpected issue in America’s midterm elections. Speaking in a Wednesday interview, she said the cameras were “terrible” and warned they risked creating a “surveillance state” in which private companies harvest data…
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Luton’s factory closure reveals appeal of populist politics
The Guardian columnist Aditya Chakrabortty visits Luton to speak with former Vauxhall Motors workers made redundant after their plant closed in March last year, arguing that the collapse of trusted institutions – not stupidity or bigotry – is pushing former Labour voters towards Nigel Farage’s Reform UK. He contends that the decline of industrial towns…
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Mom feels ‘helpless’ after UnitedHealthcare denies coverage for her son’s rehab after motorcycle accident
A South Carolina mother says she feels “helpless” after UnitedHealthcare allegedly denied coverage for specialist brain injury rehabilitation for her son, who was seriously hurt in a motorcycle crash. Trina Alvarez says the insurer’s refusal, on the grounds that the treatment was “medically unnecessary,” is delaying her son’s transfer to a leading rehabilitation centre and…
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The search company that plants trees just launched a Linux browser to help Europe battle big tech
Ecosia, the Berlin-based, tree-planting search engine, has released a Linux version of its Chromium-based web browser, aiming to give European open-source users an alternative to browsers made by major American tech firms. The company frames the launch as part of a wider push for European “digital sovereignty,” pointing to growing scepticism among privacy-conscious users and…
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Steve Ballmer got suspended by the NBA because of a podcast and a jumbotron corruption scandal
Steve Ballmer, the Los Angeles Clippers owner and former Microsoft chief executive, has been suspended by the NBA for a year after an investigation found he misled the public about the team’s role in an illegitimate $28 million endorsement deal for star player Kawhi Leonard. The 35-page report, commissioned by the league and produced by…
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Sadiq Khan agrees to have his texts and emails searched in Palantir legal battle
Sadiq Khan has agreed to have his text messages and emails searched as part of a High Court legal battle with the US tech firm Palantir, after he blocked the company from working with the Metropolitan Police. The London mayor stepped in to halt a proposed £50m deal in May, prompting Palantir to sue his…