Supreme Court Tosses Out Microsoft Case on Digital Data Abroad

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Supreme Court Tosses Out Microsoft Case on Digital Data Abroad Photo The dispute arose from a federal drug investigation in which prosecutors sought the emails of a suspect stored in a Microsoft data center in Dublin. Credit Niall Carson/PA, via Associated Press WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court announced on Tuesday that it would not decide whether federal prosecutors can force Microsoft to turn over digital data stored outside the United States. The move followed arguments in the case in February and the enactment of a new federal law that both sides said made the case moot.
“No live dispute remains between the parties,” the court said in a brief, unsigned opinion.
The case, United States v. Microsoft, No. 17-2, had seemed poised to be one of the most important of the current term. It posed the question of whether a 1986 law, enacted before the dawn of the big-data era, applied to digital information stored outside the nation’s borders.
When the case was argued, several justices said Con..

Entrepreneurs find dating and maintaining social lives hardest things to keep up

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Research shows start-ups need an average of £16,309 in order to begin
Maintaining a social life, taking time off for holidays and dating are among the hardest things about starting your own business, a poll has found.
Establishing your business in the marketplace, working weekends and believing in yourself also appeared among the challenges when finally making the decision to “go out on your own”.
The fear of failing, not having as much disposable income, managing finances and being able to drive the recruitment for their business also proved difficult for many of the 500 entrepreneurs surveyed.
Read more The gender pay gap can be even worse for women who are self-employed This is the happiest job to work in, study claims Most older workers will end their careers self-employed “From start-up, to scaling up and then staying ahead, there’s nothing easy about running your own business,” said Hugh Chater, chief commercial officer at Virgin Money which commissioned the study.
“Balan..

Marks & Spencer to close distribution centre, putting 450 jobs at risk

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Company already announced in January that it would close up to 14 stores with potential loss of 468 jobs
Marks & Spencer is closing one of its distribution centres in September, putting 450 jobs at risk, the retailer announced on Tuesday.
The facility at Hardwick Grange, near Warrington in Lancashire, will shut as part of a five-year transformation of M&S’ business.
M&S is opening a new distribution centre in Hertfordshire which will be run by DHL. It is also in the process of automating its distribution centre in Bradford which can now handle more capacity, meaning the Lancashire site is no longer needed.
Read more Marks and Spencer appoints former Asda boss Archie Norman as chairman It comes after M&S announced in January that it would close up to 14 stores with the potential loss of 468 jobs. The department store has struggled in recent years, particularly in its clothing division which has faced fierce competition from fast fashion rivals.
Gordon Mowat, a director at M&S sa..

Economic Scene: Facebook Is Creepy. And Valuable.

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Facebook Is Creepy. And Valuable. One of the most telling moments in the spectacle of Mark Zuckerberg’s congressional testimony last week was when Representative Billy Long, a Missouri Republican, warned the co-founder of Facebook of what Congress was likely to do about its multiple concerns surrounding the social network. “Congress is good at two things: doing nothing, and overreacting,” he said. After years of the former, he said, “we’re getting ready to overreact.”
That sounds worrisome. But I sympathize. Doing nothing and overreacting make sense when you have no clue of what is going on. And we don’t. The cloud of questions aimed at Mr. Zuckerberg — Is Facebook too dominant? Does it censor information? Whom does it share our data with? Does it help sell OxyContin? — suggests that we don’t really know what the problem with Facebook is. It also suggests we don’t understand what Facebook does.
That goes for the entire data-driven ecosystem, from Google to the auto companies riddling y..

Kim Jong-un Plans Formal Nod to Denuclearization, South Korea Says

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Kim Jong-un Plans Formal Nod to Denuclearization, South Korea Says Photo President Moon Jae-in of South Korea sees his April 27 meeting with Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader, as laying the groundwork for Mr. Kim’s planned talks with President Trump. Credit Ahn Young-Joon/Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea — Kim Jong-un, North Korea’s leader, plans to formally announce his willingness to denuclearize his country when he meets with President Moon Jae-in of South Korea this month, an official from the South said on Tuesday.
The statement is expected to be part of a joint declaration that the two leaders will adopt when they meet on April 27, said Mr. Moon’s chief of staff, Im Jong-seok. Negotiators from both Koreas have agreed on a rough framework for the joint declaration, he said.
They are still discussing other aspects of the joint statement, such as whether the two Koreas would commit to holding further summit meetings on a regular basis, Mr. Im said. South Korea is also trying t..