Andy Jassy said employees in a union would ‘find it harder to get things done quickly and would be better off’ without one

A federal administrative law judge ruled that the the Amazon CEO, Andy Jassy, violated labor law by making certain anti-union comments during media interviews two years ago.

Jassy said in 2022 that unions make workplaces “much slower” and “more bureaucratic”.

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Revenue at Amazon Web Services increases to $25bn as retail giant releases earnings report surpassing Wall Street expectations

Amazon sales surged once again in the first quarter of 2024, the company announced on Tuesday – the latest in a series of robust earnings reports for the retail giant. The company attributed the boost to artificial intelligence.

In a statement accompanying the report, the chief executive, Andy Jassy, said Amazon’s continuing focus on AI has “reaccelerat[ed]” the growth rate of Amazon Web Services (AWS), the company’s cloud computing sector. Revenue at AWS increased 17% year-over-year to $25bn.

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In this week’s newsletter: Navigating the ever-changing world of streaming services is head-spinning, so here are our favourite shows on every one right now

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This week it’s a return to our “a show for every streamer” format, where – yep – we recommend a show to watch for every streaming service. We last did one of these two years ago , and since then the landscape has dramatically shifted. Some streamers have been folded into others (BritBox is now part of ITVX in the UK), some have rebranded (goodbye IMDb TV, hello Amazon Freevee), some have shuttered (RIP Sundance Now), and some, confusingly, have rebranded then shuttered (so long Lionsgate+, formerly Starzplay, we hardly knew thee). And tellingly very few new streaming services have emerged, suggesting that an industry that has had to reckon with the unsustainable levels of growth it had previously encouraged.

Still, even if streaming is in a period of contraction, there’s still an awful lot of services around. Here are our picks for the must watch shows on each of the major streamers, from Apple to ITVX (note to our international readers: this is a guide for UK streaming sites, but hopefully most of the below is available in some form to you too):

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The surveillance specialist was invited to dine with the home secretary after the company he ran gave the party thousands

Christen Ager-Hanssen was in Mallorca conducting an espionage operation when the email from Conservative party headquarters arrived.

“Thank you for indicating you would like to attend our private dinner with Suella Braverman,” a party official wrote to the Norwegian businessman last September. “It promises to be a great evening.”

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The fast fashion firm’s dubious ethical record doesn’t get in the way of a ‘haul’ or an IPO

At a time when more responsible politicians are finally pushing back against expansion by the fast fashion monster, Shein, it feels inevitable that the chancellor, Jeremy Hunt, has begged the company to make itself comfortable in the UK .

Hunt recently, Sky News discovered, met the Shein executive, Donald Tang, in the hope that the e-commerce company, which has faced resistance to a flotation in New York, will decide to list instead on the London stock market. A Treasury spokesman said, enticingly: “We have developed reforms to boost the UK as a destination for IPOs, including making it easier for companies to list more quickly.” After recent snubs to London, an entry from Shein, valued at up to £70bn , would be, as well as one of the biggest flotations in its history, a complete answer to ethical FAQs, a giant sign that translates, for any reputationally afflicted clients, as We’ll List Anyone!

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It’s no longer just familiar designer goods that are faked. Counterfeiters now spread their net much wider

After years of dealing with mental health issues, Kelly Robinson-Key found writing poetry helped her through the dark times. From there has emerged a cottage industry based around her inspirational “pocket poems”.

But now the Wales-based poet has found herself “mentally drained” from fighting waves of counterfeit products that have copied her work, and are frequently for sale on some of the biggest online marketplaces.

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Judge says evidence for his conclusion that Craig Wright did not create bitcoin is ‘overwhelming’

Satoshi Nakamoto, the pseudonymous creator of bitcoin, is not the Australian computer scientist Craig Wright, a high court judge has ruled, ending a fractious two-month trial in London.

In a highly unusual decision, the presiding judge, Mr Justice Mellor, issued the verdict within seconds of the case concluding, promising to issue a “fairly lengthy written judgment” in due course.

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Live, rolling coverage of business, economics and financial markets as exchange-traded funds help biggest cryptocurrency rally

Good morning, and welcome to our live coverage of business, economics and financial markets.

Bitcoin went through a deep “crypto winter” after hitting its previous heights, but after a remarkable rally it is now hitting new heights above $71,000.

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Analysis shows link between Copper Technologies and Jonatan Zimenkov, who was later hit with US sanctions over Ukraine invasion

A cryptocurrency firm transferred digital assets worth more than $4.2m to a crypto wallet belonging to a member of an alleged Russian arms-dealing network who was later hit with US sanctions, it can be revealed.

Details of the transactions involving Copper Technologies raise questions about whether UK laws governing crypto have adapted quickly enough to keep pace with a rapidly evolving sector that has come under increasing scrutiny over the level of anonymity it can provide.

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