Tuesday newspaper round-up: Facebook, Revolut, IAG

The gathering storm of human-caused threats to climate, nature and economy pose a danger of systemic collapse comparable to the 2008 financial crisis, according to a new report that calls for urgent and radical reform to protect political and social systems. The study says the combination of global warming, soil infertility, pollinator loss, chemical leaching and ocean acidification is creating a “new domain of risk”, which is hugely underestimated by policymakers even though it may pose the greatest threat in human history. – Guardian

Facebook is under pressure to stem the rise of anti-vaccination groups spreading false information about the dangers of life-saving vaccines while peddling unfounded alternative treatments such as high doses of vitamin C. So-called “anti-vaxxers” are operating on Facebook in closed groups, where members have to be approved in advance. By barring access to others, they are able to serve undiluted misinformation without challenge. – Guardian

The chief executive of fintech start-up Revolut has denied that his company has links to the Kremlin following a political dispute over its operations in Lithuania. Revolut, which launched four years ago and now has 3 million customers, offers app-based bank accounts and cards with fee-free foreign transactions. It was granted a European banking licence by the Bank of Lithuania in December, which allows the company to offer its services across the EU. – Telegraph

InReach Ventures, a venture capital firm using artificial intelligence to spot the most promising early stage startups in Europe, has closed a new €53m (£46m) fund, as it said the Brexit process would be unlikely to decrease entrepreneurship in the EU. InReach Ventures said it had initially been targeting a fund of €50m, to help European entrepreneurs "get discovered", but had raised more in what it called "the next level of validation for us". – Telegraph

UK shareholders in the company that owns British Airways will not face new restrictions on their holdings after Brexit, the group said last night, but other non-EU shareholders will. International Airlines Group said that non-EU ownership of its shares had reached 47.5 per cent and tht it was placing a ceiling on non-EU ownership of that amount in future. Any non-EU buyer making purchases that breached the ceiling would lose their voting rights on the shares and would be forced to sell them within ten days. – The Times

Well-heeled customers of Smallbone of Devizes, the designer kitchen company, have been hit by the company’s collapse, with the potential loss of almost £10 million of deposits. An administrator’s report for Canburg, the parent company that also owns the Mark Wilkinson and Brookmans furniture brands, shows that unsecured creditors are owed £18.9 million, of which £9.7 million “relates to deposits in respect of unfulfilled customer orders”. – The Times