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5 Things You Need To Know, Today, on Tuesday 18th January 2022
5. British self-driving technology startup Wayve has raised $200 million from investors to scale up its autonomous driving technology globally and launch more pilot projects with commercial fleet partners.
The Series B funding round brings the startup's total fundraising to $258 million and includes new investments from venture capital firms D1 Capital Partners plus fresh capital from existing investors including Microsoft.
4. Amazon has dropped plans to block UK Visa credit card payments this week, as the two sides continue to try to resolve a dispute over payment fees.
Amazon said last year that Visa payment costs were "an obstacle" to providing the best prices for customers.
3. Morrisons has confirmed it has cut sick pay for unvaccinated workers who are forced to isolate after being exposed to Covid.
It follows similar moves from big retailers including Ikea, Next and Ocado as staff absences rise.
2. Boris Johnson was warned about No 10 holding a drinks party in the garden during lockdown, the prime minister's former top aide Dominic Cummings says.
Mr Cummings - who has been strongly critical of Mr Johnson since he left No 10 - says the PM "waved aside" concerns about the gathering.
1. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index gained 0.9% to record its highest closing in nearly two years, with miner Glencore and energy majors BP and Royal Dutch Shell among the biggest boosts to the index.
The index was also aided by GlaxoSmithKline which rose after rejecting a 50-billion-pound buyout offer for its consumer arm from Unilever.