By Michelle Hennessy HONG KONG (Reuters) - "Social robots like me can take care of the sick or elderly," Sophia says as she conducts a tour of her lab in Hong Kong. "I can help communicate, give therapy and provide social stimulation, even in difficult situations." Since being unveiled in 2016, Sophia -...
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LONDON (Reuters) - Natural catastrophes resulted in $97 billion in insured losses in 2020, 40% above the average for this century, in a year when insurers also faced hefty bills due to the coronavirus pandemic, insurance broker Aon (NYSE:AON) said in a report on Monday. Hurricane Laura, which hit the United States and...
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By David Milliken LONDON (Reuters) - A group of British members of parliament said on Monday that the Bank of England should stop buying bonds from businesses whose activities accelerate global warming. Britain's central bank doubled its holdings of corporate bonds to 20 billion pounds ($27 billion) last year as part of efforts to support the economy through the coronavirus pandemic. The...
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By Nina Chestney LONDON (Reuters) - Global green bond issuance reached a record high of $269.5 billion by the end of last year and could reach $400-$450 billion this year, a report by the Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI) showed on Monday. Green bonds are a growing category of fixed-income securities that raise capital for projects with environmental benefits, such as renewable energy...
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By Ron Bousso LONDON (Reuters) - Nothing escapes the winds of change now sweeping through BP (LON:BP), not even the exploration team that for more than a century powered its profits by discovering billions of barrels of oil. Its geologists, engineers and scientists have been cut to less than 100 from...
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By Ron Bousso LONDON (Reuters) - Top oil and gas companies sharply slowed their search for new fossil fuel resources last year, data shows, as lower energy prices due to the coronavirus crisis triggered spending cuts. Acquisitions of new onshore and offshore exploration licences for the top five Western energy giants dropped to the lowest in at least five years, data from...
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BENGALURU (Reuters) - Online fashion retailer Boohoo Group Plc is set to acquire collapsed British department store group Debenhams in a cut-price deal that will result in the closure of the group's remaining department stores, the Financial Times reported on Sunday. The purchase price is expected to be about 50 million pounds ($68.39 million) and a deal could be announced in the...
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LONDON (Reuters) - Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon accused British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Sunday of fearing democracy when it comes to letting the Scottish people express their will on independence from the United Kingdom. Scotland voted against independence by 55% to 45% in a 2014 referendum. But a majority of Scots also backed staying in the European Union in the...
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LONDON (Reuters) - British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said on Sunday that 77 cases of the South African variant of COVID-19 had been found in the United Kingdom, all of them connected to travel from South Africa and under close observation. Hancock also said there was a very low number of cases of...
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Argo Blockchain Argo Blockchain PLC (LON:ARB) as UK based cryptocurrency miner, currently hosting its infrastructure in sites in North America. The share price opened the week at £0.95, hit a high of £1.01 on Tuesday before closing the week at £0.7760. Greatland Gold Greatland Gold Plc (LON:GGPL) is a mineral exploration and...
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