TikTok Germany moderators raise alarm over layoff plans
Around 50 people gathered for a protest near the offices of TikTok Germany, among them some of the 150-strong "trust and safety" department in Berlin, who say management are threatening to fire them en masse.
Holding a banner reading "we trained your machines, pay us what we deserve", the protestors said TikTok had already overseen one round of layoffs last year and demanded it reverse plans to fully close the department. The content moderators are tasked with keeping content such as hate speech, misinformation and pornography off the platform, which claimed more than 20 million users in Germany as of late 2023.The row in Germany comes amid a global trend of social media companies reducing their use of human fact-checkers and turning to AI instead. In October, TikTok -- which has 1.5 billion users worldwide and is a division of Chinese tech giant ByteDance -- announced hundreds of job losses worldwide as part of a shift to AI-assisted content moderation.TikTok did not reply to an AFP request for comment.The moderators at TikTok Germany are being supported by the union ver.di, who say that the company has refused to negotiate and that strike action is being prepared if this continues. One of the moderators, 32-year-old Benjamin Karkowski, said that staff had been "shocked" when they learned of TikTok's current plans via a message from management.Another one of the moderators, 36-year-old Sara Tegge, says that the artificial intelligence used by the company "cannot tell whether content discriminates against certain groups and it can't judge the danger of certain content".She cited an example in which the AI flagged innocuous content about Berlin's annual LGBT+ pride as breaking TikTok's guidelines on political protests. If the company moves ahead with its plans she "certainly fears" users may be exposed to greater danger.Showing support at Thursday's demonstration was Werner Graf, leader of the Green party's lawmakers in Berlin's state assembly."These people have been fighting so that the the internet isn't permanently overwhelmed" with "fake news and hate speech", he said."We in the political arena must make clear that checking content... can't simply be left up to AI, we must legislate to make sure it's done by humans," he went on. Elevate your knowledge and leadership skills at a cost cheaper than your daily tea. As deposit ground slips under PSU banks' feet, they chase the wealthy
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Vijay L Bhambwani's Ticker: The reason why bulls aren't stepping out yet
Ticker is a weekly newsletter by Vijay L Bhambwani. Subscribe to Mint's newsletters to get them directly in your email inbox. Dear reader, Last week, I wrote optimism was giving way to desolation. Bulls were showing a lack of conviction not seen for months. Traded volumes shrank sizeably, and take-home profits shrank significantly. It became a self-fulfilling prophecy of sorts. Traded volumes were poor because profits were meagre, and profits were meagre because traded volumes took a hit. This vicious circle will be broken only after traded volumes rise significantly. Where yields on theta decay (collecting premiums) on option writing are concerned, the low-hanging fruit has been picked already. The road ahead seems to be mildly uphill. That means increased capital intensity and lower take-home profits. That means a small portion of present traders may exit the markets, atleast temporarily. US president Trump continued to threaten nations with additional tariffs and kept markets on the edge. Particularly noteworthy was the threat to impose sanctions on Russian oil exports and nations that bought Russian oil and gas. That includes India. Overseas institutional investors continued to press short sales on Indian markets inspite of announcements of a near breakthrough in India-US trade deal. That was an overhang of overhead supply for retail traders who were stuck with purchases at higher levels. This phenomena of overhead supply occurs when a sizeable number of traders are waiting in the wings to offload their open trades as soon as they reach break-even levels. This usually acts like a speed-breaker for a bull market. That means buyers must not only buy in large volumes but they must continue to buy in large volumes till all the overhead supply is absorbed and selling pressure subsides. That is a challenging task. It will show up on your trading terminal's screen on the snap quote window. If the bid/offer spreads (difference between the best buyer and best sellers limit orders) narrow to within 5-6 ticks, you know liquidity is improving. The value of a tick is 5 paise per share for stocks trading above ₹ 250. In the commodity markets, industrial metals may see month-end short-covering lifting prices. That can have a trickle-down effect on stock prices of some metal mining companies' stock prices. Much will depend on the overall market sentiment prevalent this week. If sentiments are cautious or weak, the rally in these stocks may be subdued as well. Public sector undertakings (PSUs) will continue to witness hectic activity in two-way trades as traders are heavily invested in this segment. Banks will attract greater attention among PSU stocks as this segment commands the heaviest weightage in the Nifty. Precious metals witnessed profit-taking at higher levels as the US dollar index gained strength. Safe-haven buying eased mildly. If you are a patient long-term investor, look beyond 2025 and the bullish story is still intact. In the energy space, the markets continue to remain adequately supplied, and rallies are proving to be seasonal and short-lived. Higher levels are running into a wall of selling. While geopolitical and/or natural events (June to October is the hurricane season in the US) can trigger short-covering, it is likely to be short-lived. Fixed income investors should continue to keep the powder dry as market indicators points towards little or no room for actual rates to fall. While headline (policy announcement) rates may fall, borrowers are unlikely to access availability of funds at those rates. Trade light as markets lack depth and bid/offer spreads are too wide for comfort. Maintain tail risk (Hacienda) hedges on your trades to protect your capital from sudden shocks. A tutorial video on tail risk (Hacienda) hedges is here - Rear View Mirror Let us assess what happened last week so we can guesstimate what to expect in the coming week. The fall was led by the Bank Nifty whereas the Nifty brought up the rear. The US dollar index (DXY) firmed up and exerted pressure on emerging markets including India. A strong dollar dragged bullion and oil prices lower too. The rupee fell against a firm dollar and that made banking stocks more volatile. Indian 10-year bond yields eased marginally, which cushioned declines in the Bank Nifty. The NSE's market capitalization rose mildly, which indicates mild optimism present in the markets even as headline indices remain under pressure. Market wide position limits (MWPL) rose routinely, but gains were marginal. US markets rose and provided tail winds to our markets and limited the downsides. Retail Risk Appetite I use a simple yet highly accurate yardstick for measuring the conviction levels of retail traders – where are they deploying money. I measure what percentage of the turnover was contributed by the lower and higher risk instruments. If they trade more of futures which require sizeable capital, their risk appetite is higher. Within the futures space, index futures are less volatile compared to stock futures. A higher footprint in stock futures shows higher aggression levels. Ditto for stock and index options. Last week, this is what their footprint looked like (the numbers are average of all trading days of the week): The high-risk and capital-intensive futures segment saw no change in turnover contribution for the week. In the relatively lower-risk options segment, turnover rose in the lowest-risk segment in the derivatives category – index options. These are also the least capital-intensive to trade. Overall, risk appetite fell off the cliff in the derivatives segment. Matryoshka Analysis Let us peel layer after layer of statistical data to arrive at the core message of the first chart I share is the NSE advance- decline ratio. After the price itself, this indicator is the fastest (leading) indicator of which way winds are blowing. This simple yet accurate indicator computes the ratio of number of the rising stocks compared to falling stocks. As long as gaining stocks outnumber the losers, bulls are dominant. This metric is a gauge of the risk appetite of 'one marshmallow' traders. These are pure intraday traders. The Nifty clocked smaller losses last week and the advance-decline ratio climbed marginally. At 1.11 (prior week 0.75) it shows 111 gainers for every 100 losers. That shows intraday traders shower improved optimism last week. As long as the reading stays above 1.0 sustainably, bulls still have a chance. A tutorial video on the marshmallow theory in trading is here - The second chart I share is the market wide position limits (MWPL). This measures the amount of exposure utilized by traders in the derivatives (F&O space as a component of the total exposure allowed by the regulator. This metric is a gauge of the risk appetite of 'two marshmallow' traders. These are deep-pocketed, high-conviction traders who roll over their trades to the next session/s. The MWPL reading edged higher mildly, but was lower than the reading in the comparable week last month. That tells us optimism, though present in the market, was lower as traders were cautious about enhancing their exposure levels. A dedicated tutorial video on how to interpret MWPL data in more ways than one is available here - The third chart I share is my in-house indicator 'impetus.' It measures the force in any price move. Last week both indices fell with rising impetus readings. That tells us the selling momentum was higher and traders willingly participated in the selling process. Ideally prices and impetus readings must rise together to indicate a sustainable bull market. The final chart I share is my in-house indicator 'LWTD.' It computes lift, weight, thrust and drag encountered by any security. These are four forces that any powered aircraft faces during flight; so, applying it to traded securities helps a trader estimate prevalent sentiments. The Nifty clocked smaller losses last week and the LWTD reading was flat. That tells me fresh buying support is unlikely to change radically this week. Short-covering can cushion declines but it takes aggressive fresh buying to overcome overhead supply and trigger a new high. A tutorial video on interpreting the LWTD indicator is here - Nifty's Verdict The Nifty's weekly candlestick chart shows a third consecutive week of declines. The magnitude of the fall was, however, smaller. The peak made three weeks ago was marginally lower than the previous peak in September 2024. The support I specified last week at the 24,800 mark held, and that tells me bulls still have a fighting chance as long as they can defend this threshold. The price is above the 25-week moving average, which is a proxy for the six-month average of an average investor. The medium-term outlook remains optimistic as long as this level holds. A fresh reliable upthrust is possible only after the 25,750 recent high is overcome forcefully. That will confirm that the overhead supply has been absorbed. Your Call to Action Watch the 24,800 level as a near-term support. Only a break out above the 25,750 level raises the possibility of the bull market resuming. Last week, I estimated ranges between 58,075 – 55,450 and 25,750 – 24,550 on the Bank Nifty and Nifty respectively. Both indices traded within their specified resistance levels. This week, I estimate ranges between 57,500 – 55,050 and 25,525 – 24,400 on the Bank Nifty and Nifty respectively. Trade light with strict stop losses. Avoid trading counters with spreads wider than 8 ticks. Have a profitable week. Vijay L Bhambwani Vijay is the CEO of a proprietary trading firm. He tweets at @vijaybhambwani
Mint
11 minutes ago
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China EV brands Zeekr, Neta inflated car sales using insurance scheme
Neta inflated sales of over 60,000 cars between Jan 2023-March 2024-documents Scheme enabled companies to book sales early to meet aggressive targets China's auto industry has been roiled by cutthroat competition, prompting regulatory concern July 19 - Chinese electric vehicle brands Neta and Zeekr inflated sales in recent years to hit aggressive targets, with Neta doing so for more than 60,000 cars, according to documents reviewed by Reuters and interviews with dealers and buyers. The companies arranged for cars to be insured before they were sold to buyers, the documents show, enabling them under Chinese industry car registration practices to book sales early so they could hit the monthly and quarterly targets, the dealers and buyers said. Neta booked early sales of at least 64,719 cars through this method from January 2023 to March 2024, according to copies of records it sent to dealers, seen by Reuters. That was more than half the sales of 117,000 vehicles it reported over the 15 months. Zeekr, a premium EV brand owned by Geely, used the same method to book early sales in late 2024 in the southern city of Xiamen through its main dealer there, state-owned Xiamen C&D Automobile, according to dealers, buyers and sales receipts seen by Reuters. Vehicles booked as sold before reaching a buyer are called "zero-mileage used cars" in the Chinese auto industry. The practice has emerged out of cutthroat competition for sales in the world's largest auto market, which is reeling from a brutal, years-long price war caused by chronic overcapacity. The industry faces a moment of reckoning, with state media calling out the zero-mileage car practice, China's cabinet pledging to regulate "irrational" competition, and other central government bodies organising meetings with the industry's largest players to express concern about such methods. On Saturday a publication run by the China Association of Auto Manufacturers said the industry ministry was planning to clamp down on the practice by banning cars from being resold within six months of being registered as a sale. Also on Saturday, state media reported that Zeekr had been selling cars with insurance already purchased to inflate sales, the first such naming and shaming of a specific automaker. In a front-page story, the China Securities Journal newspaper interviewed Zeekr car buyers in cities such as Guangzhou and Chongqing, who the newspaper said had found that their cars already had insurance policies before they were sold. They said they were refused refunds, even though they felt they were deceived. The newspaper questioned Zeekr's unusually high sales in the cities of Shenzhen and Xiamen in December. Its reported sales in Xiamen surged to 2,737 that month, more than 14 times its monthly average. Reuters could not determine how much of that volume might have been booked early. The China Securities Journal also raised questions over Neta's sales, saying it showed anomalies. Reuters is reporting for the first time details of how Neta inflated sales. Zhejiang Hozon New Energy Automobile, which owns Neta, and Xiamen C&D did not respond to requests for comment on Saturday. A spokesperson for Geely said, "Geely firmly rejects the report put forward by the China Securities Journal." The spokesperson declined to comment on Reuters findings or provide further details. Zeekr told Reuters in an English-language statement on Sunday that the "vehicles referenced in some recent reports are for showroom display" that were covered by "mandatory car insurance" to ensure their safety while being exhibited. "Before these vehicles are handed to customers there are no retail invoices issued, and they have not been registered or licensed with any vehicle registration authority," the company said. In a separate Chinese-language statement published on its official Weibo account on Sunday, Zeekr said the policies put on these vehicles were "mandatory traffic accident insurance". " firmly opposes practices such as the sale of 'zero-mileage used cars' that disrupt the industry order," the company said, adding that the exhibition vehicles were "in a legal sense, always brand new and unregistered car products." Zeekr did not respond to Reuters queries about using these cars to book sales. Li Yanwei, an analyst with the China Automobile Dealers Association, said he believed the firms carried out such practices to embellish their financial reports and achieve their performance goals. "This way of whitewashing performance is not advisable," he wrote on Chinese social media platform Weibo on Saturday. Analysts and investors tracking China's auto industry gauge performance and estimate inventory levels with two sets of sales data. Wholesale numbers reported by automakers to the industry association show sales from automakers to dealers, while retail data compiled from insurance registration records show the sales to users. Last month the state-owned People's Daily, the mouthpiece of China's ruling Communist Party, published an editorial condemning the sale of zero-mileage used cars domestically and listing a litany of harms the practice brings upon the industry and buyers. This month four dealer associations based in the wealthy Yangtze River Delta urged automakers to set them more reasonable sales targets and incentive policies, saying, without providing details, that dealers were being forced to falsify sales. Neta booked sales early by arranging insurance policies for cars before sending them to dealers, according to records shared with Reuters and a dealer for the brand. The records contain details for each car and the insurance policies purchased on them, with the names of the insurance agents. Dealers were able to refer to these when they found a buyer to transfer the policy to, according to copies seen by Reuters. The company booked early sales of 64,719 cars this way. "In Neta's case, the company made it clear to dealers that the cars were insured ahead of time and therefore counted as sold," said the dealer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, citing fears of retaliation from the company. "We had to explain to buyers that the traffic insurance was complementary and remind them it would expire earlier and should be renewed on time," he said. But three Neta buyers, who asked not to be named, told Reuters the dealerships had not told them the policies had begun well before the purchase date, only finding out when the policies expired. The dealer said Neta started doing this in late 2022 to obtain EV subsidies that were set to end that year. Neta's sales peaked in 2022 when it was ranked as the eighth-largest maker of new EVs in China with sales of 152,000 vehicles. Sales fell last year to 87,948 vehicles, including 23,399 exported, and it sold 1,215 cars in the first quarter of 2025, according to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. The brand has been in financial trouble since late 2024, and its owner, Zhejiang Hozon New Energy Automobile, entered bankruptcy proceedings in China last month, according to state media. The Neta dealer said many of the zero-mileage used cars he received from the company remained in his warehouse, unsold. The company "only had one message: Just do it, everyone else is doing it". Zeekr, which is being privatised by Geely Auto, booked sales with the help of Xiamen C&D, which runs dealerships for Zeekr and other brands. Xiamen C&D insured and registered the vehicles under the names of two subsidiaries in December, allowing Zeekr to count the sales before year-end, according to four dealers and two buyers, as well as a receipt shared with Reuters. Zeekr dealers sold some of the cars in subsequent months to buyers in other cities such as Beijing and Chongqing, the sources said. "The Zeekr salesman said the car would be 3,000 yuan less than a car I would get from the store and I would also get a charging coupon worth 10,000 yuan," said a buyer in another southern city. He declined to be named, citing concerns of retaliation from the automaker. The China Securities Journal reported that most of the owners it spoke to said their cars were insured by Xiamen C&D and its affiliates. China Automobile Dealers Association data showed that 2,508 of the 2,737 sales Zeekr booked in Xiamen in December were sold to companies, while 257 went to individual buyers. But data published by Xiamen's vehicle administration bureau showed just 271 cars registered in December for license plates, which genuine buyers generally obtain once they receive their cars. This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.
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Pakistan board's Mohsin Naqvi accused of trying to 'assert unnecessary pressure' on BCCI over Asia Cup
PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi, who also heads the Asian Cricket Council, has been accused of playing politics by a BCCI source. The Indian board has also reportedly threatened to reject any resolution passed by the Asian body regarding the Asia Cup 2025 at the upcoming AGM in Dhaka. read more The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has accused Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Mohsin Naqvi of trying to 'assert unnecessary pressure' on India and ghosting the board's request as the future of the Asia Cup 2025 hangs in balance. The T20 tournament is expected to take place in September and while India are the designated host, there was a feeling that it was always going to be held in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) after India refused to travel to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy 2025. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD A neutral venue agreement has been reached between the BCCI and PCB regarding India-Pakistan matches in ICC tournaments. According to the agreement, neither India nor Pakistan will travel to the other's country if one is the designated host of an ICC event. As a result, it was felt that the Asia Cup would be held in the UAE to avoid forcing teams to play at a neutral venue later on. Asia Cup future hangs in balance However, the future of the Asia Cup 2025 has been mostly unclear since the Pahalgam terror attack that resulted in the loss of 26 lives and India's retaliatory attacks on Pakistan through Operation Sindoor. There have also been reports in Indian media that the BCCI would boycott the Asia Cup 20925, but that was later refuted by the board secretary. The final resolution on the Asia Cup matter could be taken at the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Annual General Meeting (AGM), which will be held in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on 24 July. The ACC is currently headed by PCB chairman Naqvi and the BCCI is not willing to travel to Dhaka for the AGM. The relationship between India and Bangladesh has also worsened in the last one year and the Indian cricket team's white-ball tour to Bangladesh in August 2025 was also recently postponed to September 2026. The ACC, however, is yet to get back to the BCCI regarding the request for a venue change, with only a few days left for the ACC AGM. PCB's Naqvi playing games with BCCI? Amid the whole drama, a BCCI source has said that Naqvi is trying to put BCCI under pressure by going AWOL and any resolution taken at the meeting will be rejected by the BCCI. 'Asia Cup can happen only if the meeting venue changes from Dhaka. ACC chairman Mohsin Naqvi is trying to assert unnecessary pressure on India for the meeting. We requested him to change the venue, but have received no response. BCCI will boycott any resolution if Mohsin Naqvi goes ahead with the meeting in Dhaka,' a BCCI source told news agency ANI. STORY CONTINUES BELOW THIS AD It will be interesting to see how things unfold from here, but it looks certain that if ACC doesn't change the location of the AGM, then we may see further delay in reaching a resolution over hosting the Asia Cup 2025.
