YouTube launches payment subscription channels

Gangnam Style, Youtube most viewed video

Gangnam Style, Youtube most viewed video

The video website YouTube has launched a trial scheme for paid channels on its website.

Under the pilot program, a small number of content makers will offer the channels for subscriptions starting at $0.99 a month.

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Spanish Constitutional Court suspends Catalan declaration of sovereignty

Spanish Constitutional Court in Madrid

Spanish Constitutional Court in Madrid

Today, the Spanish Constitutional Court temporarily suspended Catalonia’s Declaration of Sovereignty.

It admitted an appeal from the Spanish government against the text approved by the Catalan parliament.

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Roberto Azevedo, new WTO head

Roberto Azevedo, Braziliat trade diplomat

Roberto Azevedo, Braziliat trade diplomat

Roberto Azevedo, a Brazilian trade diplomat, has been named as the next head of the World Trade Organization (WTO).

The Government of Brazil has announced that Azevedo will succeed France’s Pascal Lamy in September.

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Catalan political parties decide to involve civil society in the independence process

Catalan meeting for the right to self-determination

Catalan meeting for the right to self-determination

All Catalan political parties supporting the right to self-determination decided to incorporate the civil society.

CiU, ERC, PSC, ICV-EUiA and CUP, representing more than 75% of the Catalan parliament, want to ask citizens over independence.

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Greek economy making progress

Athens street

Athens street

According to the International Monetary Fund, debt-laden Greece has made progress in improving its finances, but the country must do more to fight tax evasion.

In a report, the International Monetary Fund said Greece had made exceptional progress on reducing its budget deficit since 2010.

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India cuts interest rates further

Reserve Bank of India, the central bank of India

Reserve Bank of India, the central bank of India

India has cut interest rates for the third time this year in an attempt to revive growth in its sluggish economy.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) lowered its key rate to 7.25% from 7.5%.

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Weak forecast pushes LinkedIn shares down

LinkedIn headquarters in Mountain View

LinkedIn headquarters in Mountain View

Shares of LinkedIn fell more than 10% in after-hours trading in New York, after it issued a weaker-than-expected forecast for the current quarter.

LinkedIn said it expects revenues of between $342 and $347m in the April to June quarter. Most analysts had expected a figure closer to $359m.

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Portugal to cut 30,000 public jobs

Portugal received an international bailout from the EU and IMF

Portugal received an international bailout from the EU and IMF

Portugal is planning to cut 30,000 civil service jobs and to raise the retirement age by one year to 66 as it tries to meet the terms of the bailout.

Pedro Passos Coelho, Prime Minister of Portugal, said civil servants would also be required to work 40 hours a week instead of 35.

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Catalonia creates an automation cluster

Automation cluster presentation in Barcelona

Automation cluster presentation in Barcelona

On Tuesday, some of the most important companies in Catalonia’s automation sector gave their explicit support to the creation of an automation cluster.

The development of a car and motorbike cluster wants to foster business, innovation, training and sustainability.

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Apple issues bonds for $17bn

Tim Cook, CEO of Apple

Tim Cook, CEO of Apple

Apple has raised $17bn via a bond sale, the biggest ever by a non-banking company, to help fund its plan for extra payouts to shareholders.

Last week, it said it will buy back $60bn in shares, and raise its dividend to shareholders by 15%.

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