Hungary prepares ‘digital freedom' fight against Facebook and Twitter as PM fears he may be banned

Wednesday, 27 January 2021, 14:24:27
Hungary has launched a ‘digital freedom' fight against US tech giants like Facebook and Twitter who it accuses of censorship and suspects could intervene in next year's parliamentary election.
— Daily Mail Online

Futures Tumble Ahead Of The Fed Amid Growing Hedge Fund Forced Liquidation Fears

Wednesday, 27 January 2021, 14:05:45
Futures Tumble Ahead Of The Fed Amid Growing Hedge Fund Forced Liquidation Fears US equity futures tumbled and European share indexes fell on Wednesday as investors once again turned “cautious” about COVID-19 and bubble valuations, with the Fed meeting and tech giants’ earnings also due later. At the same time, some of the most widely held hedge fund stocks were hammered amid growing concerns that hedge funds short the soaring “most-shorted” will have to dump their longs in forced liquidations to provide interim capital as described earlier . S&P 500 contracts sank 1%, with the deepest losses in the small-cap futures. Nasdaq 100 Index futures outperformed following a strong sales report from Microsoft while other giga- tech companies including Apple, Facebook and Tesla are all due to report after the close today. Meanwhile, GameStop continued its meteoric rise after Elon Musk tweeted about the company, and even following reports that Citron and Melvin had closed their shorts , the stock was still up a whopping 65% from Tuesday's close. “There’s been a bit of a shift of tone in markets in the last few days,” said Catherine Doyle, investment specialist at Newton Investment Management. “Markets are starting to worry about COVID again,” she added, highlighting in particular the Brazilian and South African variants of the virus.
— Zero Hedge

$900 million cloud startup Benchling just launched a new product to help companies ramp up COVID research

Wednesday, 27 January 2021, 14:00:00
Summary List Placement Cloud startup Benchling just launched a new product to help life sciences companies make better decisions in research and development, particularly as firms ramp up coronavirus testing and vaccination strategies. Benchling , which has over 400 customers and has raised $111.8 million from investors like Andreessen Horowitz and Thrive Capital at a $900 million valuation, according to PitchBook, builds a cloud specifically for life sciences companies. Its new product, called Benchling Validated Cloud, helps firms comply with regulations while doing R&D and testing, and includes a suite of applications to track and analyze data, too. Customer New England Biolabs is already using the tool for its research and regulatory compliance requirements. Many of Benchling's customers are working with the cloud for the first time, and Benchling said the transition helps them speed up their work. “The complexity of the work is so great that old school pen and paper really doesn't cut it,” Saji Wickramasekara, CEO and cofounder of Benchling, told Insider. “The work has gotten to a point that needs modern tools.
— Business Insider

No, airline staff did not stop a Capitol rioter from boarding a plane

Wednesday, 27 January 2021, 13:28:59
Facebook and Twitter users have been widely circulating a video they claim shows airline staff stopping a man from boarding a plane because he took part in the insurrection at the United States Capitol on January 6. But the real story behind the video, which first appeared on TikTok on January 10, shows the man was asked to disembark from the Charlotte to Denver flight because he refused to wear a mask.
— The Observers

TCV, Silicon Valley's powerhouse investment firm, just closed a massive $4 billion fund to find the next Airbnb and Peloton

Wednesday, 27 January 2021, 13:00:00
Summary List Placement TCV, Silicon Valley's powerhouse investment firm, just closed a massive $4 billion fund to find the next Airbnb and Peloton TCV, the powerful growth equity firm behind Netflix, Facebook, and other marquees tech companies, just closed a $4 billion fund, its largest fund to date. This is the firm's eleventh fund and follows a $3.2 billion fund that closed in January 2019, according to the firm. Short for Technology Crossover Ventures, TCV has seen several portfolio companies go public recently, including Airbnb, Avalara, and Peloton. While the firm has traditionally been focused on growth equity, TCV partners tell Insider the new fund will open the door to selectively invest at earlier stages of a startup's life. “At the moment, the focus for us has been the traditional growth equity space, but as we sort of think about the next five years, it would be a miss on our part if we didn't consider the other types of strategies,” General Partner Kapil Venkatachalam tells Insider.
— Business Insider