Twitter has faced a new challenge after portions of its PC code were leaked online, according to court filings. The leak occurred after Elon Musk’s $44bn takeover of the social media site late last year. Twitter issued a subpoena on 24 March to software collaboration platform GitHub, where an individual identified as “FreeSpeechEnthusiast” shared excerpts of Twitter’s source code without permission. The purpose of the subpoena is to identify the person responsible for sharing the code. GitHub complied with Twitter’s request and removed the code on the same day.
Twitter has not commented on the matter. Musk has previously stated that Twitter will open source the code used to suggest tweets on 31 March. He has said that he expects people to find “silly” things and that offering code transparency could be “incredibly embarrassing” at first. It is unclear whether the source code used to suggest tweets is part of the leaked material.
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced that it will allow companies to raise money through crowdfunding. The move comes after the SEC voted to approve rules that will permit start-ups and small businesses to sell shares via crowdfunding platforms. The rules, which were mandated by the 2012 Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, will come into effect in 2016. Companies will be able to raise up to $1m per year through crowdfunding, while investors with an annual income or net worth of less than $100,000 will be limited to investing $2,000 or 5% of their annual income or net worth.
The SEC has also proposed new rules that would require companies to disclose more information about executive pay. The regulations would require firms to provide more detail about how executive pay relates to company performance, including comparisons with peer groups. The rules would also require companies to disclose the ratio between CEO pay and median employee pay. Companies have argued that such disclosures would be expensive and time-consuming.
The US Federal Reserve has announced that it will not raise interest rates in April. The decision follows a two-day policy meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee. The Fed has said that it will wait for more data on the US economy before making a decision on rates. The central bank has not raised rates since 2006. The decision is expected to have an impact on other central banks, including the Bank of Japan, which is also considering whether to raise rates.
The Bank of Japan has said that it will maintain its current monetary policy. The decision comes after the bank’s policy board met to discuss interest rates. The bank has said that it will continue to increase the monetary base at an annual pace of ¥80tn ($670bn). The bank has also said that it will continue to purchase Japanese government bonds at an annual rate of ¥80tn. The decision is expected to have an impact on the yen, which has weakened against the dollar in recent months.
The European Central Bank (ECB) has announced that it will start buying corporate bonds in June. The move is part of the ECB’s €1.1tn quantitative easing programme. The ECB will buy bonds issued by non-bank companies with a credit rating of at least BBB-. The purchases will be made in both the primary and secondary markets. The ECB has said that the move is intended to stimulate lending to businesses and boost economic growth. The ECB has also left interest rates unchanged at 0.05%.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned that the global economy is facing a “new mediocre”. In its latest World Economic Outlook, the IMF has cut its global growth forecast for 2015 from 3.8% to 3.5%. The IMF has cited a range of factors, including lower oil prices, slower growth in China and geopolitical risks. The IMF has also warned that the eurozone is at risk of deflation and has called on the ECB to take further action to stimulate growth. The IMF has said that it expects the US economy to grow by 3.1% this year, while the Chinese economy is expected to grow by 6.8%.