Wednesday newspaper round-up: Amazon, UK broadcasters, Bitcoin
Amazon won praise when it raised its minimum wage to $15 an hour in October 2018. Since then, the company has responded to criticism over its working conditions by claiming it is an industry leader in compensation, but a Guardian investigation has revealed many workers take issue with this messaging, as serious workplace issues remain that they say are still not being addressed. They include claims workers are being punished for injuries; the elimination of bonuses and stock options, which has lessened the impact of the wage rise; poor working conditions; higher productivity demands and the hiring of temporary workers who do not have the same benefits as Amazon staff. – Guardian
The scale of the challenge UK broadcasters face in the streaming era has been thrown into stark relief by a new report, which estimates that 34 extra series of the BBC hit Bodyguard – or 14 more Love Islands – would have needed to air last year to make up for the drop in traditional TV viewing as audiences flock to rivals including Netflix, Amazon and YouTube. The report, by the media regulator Ofcom, highlights the huge growth in popularity of streaming services in the UK. The number of subscribers to the three most popular - Netflix, Amazon and Sky’s Now TV - leapt by almost a quarter last year to 19.1m. – Guardian
Bitcoin investors could soon receive tax bills on their holdings of digital coins as HM Revenue & Customs has written to some of the biggest cryptocurrency exchanges in pursuit of information. In the past week, exchanges such a Coinbase and Etoro, which are websites where investors can buy crpyto coins, received requests from the taxman for details about their customers, according to specialist publication Coindesk. – Telegraph
Smaller listed companies are considering going private because the collapse of Neil Woodford’s Equity Income Fund has damaged investors’ demand for less liquid stocks. Edison, an independent investment research firm, said that the fallout after the star stockpicker suspended redemptions on his main fund had led to increased scrutiny around the liquidity of companies worth up to £500 million. – The Times
Labour has asked Boris Johnson to investigate claims that Sajid Javid watered down a compensation scheme in order to save banks billions of pounds at the expense of thousands of small and medium-sized companies. John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor, said that he would ask the prime minister to clarify the Treasury’s role in altering the criteria for a redress process for widespread mis-selling of interest rate hedging products. – The Times