January 12, 2021 - Biz in 60

WeChat users sue Tencent for alleged chat surveillance A group of WeChat users in California has sued the messaging app's Chinese owner, Tencent, for allegedly surveilling their communications. The users said comments made using WeChat that can be perceived as critical of the Chinese government have led to their accounts being frozen. WeChat is the most used social media app in China with more than one billion monthly active users. Renault says global sales fell 21.3% in 2020 Renault says its global sales fell by 21-point-3 percent in 2020 to 2-point-9 million vehicles, as it struggled with a coronavirus-related market downturn. The drop outstripped the 14-percent fall in sales for all producers globally last year. Meanwhile, US rival Ford says it will shut down its last three factories in Brazil, which would lead to around 5-thousand job cuts. Cruise operator Carnival posts $2.2B net loss in Q4 Carnival has reported a bigger-than- expected quarterly loss as the resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic hit travel industry. The world's largest cruise operator lost 2-point-2 billion dollars in the fourth quarter, compared with a net profit of 427-million- dollars in the same period in 2019. But the company says it has enough liquidity to get through 2021.