6 h. ago With their government contracts in limbo, small businesses await a historic shutdown's end

The end of the longest U.S. government shutdown in history would be a relief for small businesses that depend on federal contracts or funding

Politics

3 d. ago Contractors tap emergency cash and trim pay as US government shutdown pain mounts

The longest budget impasse in American history is compounding the impact of federal cutbacks for consultants

Politics

3 d. ago Contractors tap emergency cash as US government shutdown pain mounts

The longest budget impasse in American history is compounding the impact of federal cutbacks for consultants

Politics

5 d. ago ICE scrambles to find three square meals a day for Chicago detainees after judge trashes ‘take it or leave it’ policy

The contract opportunity posted to a government website indicates a need for up to 210 ‘nutritionally balanced’ meals per day

Events

7 d. ago Company linked to Michelle Mone owes £39m in tax, new documents reveal

The company has already been ordered to pay the government £148 million for breaching a PPE contract

Economics

2 w. ago Landry says LSU athletics director won’t pick next football coach after $95m fiasco

Landry bars AD Woodward from LSU coach searchGovernor rips $95m Brian Kelly deal, $54m buyoutCalls for accountability and ‘no more blank checks’Louisiana governor Jeff Landry has said he will not allow LSU athletics director Scott Woodward to choose the university’s next football coach, saying he would “let President Trump pick it before I let him do it” after what he called a series of reckless contracts that have cost taxpayers tens of millions of dollars.The governor’s remarks came days after LSU fired head coach Brian Kelly, who was lured from Notre Dame less than four years ago on a 10-year, $95m deal that has now imploded. Kelly’s dismissal followed a 49-25 home loss to Texas A&M that dropped the Tigers to 5-3 and capped a collapse from early-season title hopes to frustration. Continue reading...

Sport

2 w. ago Revealed: Israel demanded Google and Amazon use secret ‘wink’ to sidestep legal orders

The tech giants agreed to extraordinary terms to clinch a lucrative contract with the Israeli government, documents showWhen Google and Amazon negotiated a major $1.2bn cloud-computing deal in 2021, their customer – the Israeli government – had an unusual demand: agree to use a secret code as part of an arrangement that would become known as the “winking mechanism”.The demand, which would require Google and Amazon to effectively sidestep legal obligations in countries around the world, was born out of Israel’s concerns that data it moves into the global corporations’ cloud platforms could end up in the hands of foreign law enforcement authorities. Continue reading...

Politics

3 w. ago ‘Significant exposure’: Amazon Web Services outage exposed UK state’s £1.7bn reliance on tech giant

Cloud computing disruption highlights risk of deepening ties despite warnings from UK’s own regulators, including the TreasuryAmazon chief executive Andy Jassy beamed as he met Keir Starmer in Downing Street’s garden to announce £40bn of UK investments in June. Starmer was equally effusive, gushing: “This deal shows that our plan for change is working –bringing in investment, driving growth, and putting more money in people’s pockets.”Four months later, and the tech company was left scrambling to fix a devastating global outage on Monday that left thousands of businesses in limbo – and shed light on the UK government’s reliance on its cloud computing business, Amazon Web Services (AWS). Continue reading...

Economics