Lloyds Banking Group announced plans to close another 95 branches across the UK between May 2024 and March 2027, according to BBC Business, as part of an ongoing effort to reduce its physical presence. This latest announcement, which includes 53 Lloyds, 31 Halifax, and 11 Bank of Scotland sites, comes in addition to a previous closure program that will see 49 sites shut down by October. Once all announced closures are complete, Lloyds will have 610 branches remaining, the BBC reported.
The closures reflect a broader trend in the banking industry, with many institutions reducing their physical footprint. A Lloyds spokesperson stated that the group is adapting to evolving customer preferences, noting that "Customers want the freedom to bank in the way that works for them." The bank offers various options for customers to manage their money.
In other news, thousands of protesters took to the streets in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on February 11, 2026, to oppose labor reforms that would restrict the right to strike and roll back employment benefits, Al Jazeera reported. Riot police deployed water cannons against union members protesting outside the National Congress. The demonstrations occurred as the country's Senate debated the legislation, championed by libertarian President Javier Milei. The reforms are seen as an attempt to curb the power of organized labor. Milei has argued that the reforms are essential to realizing his vision for the country.
Also on February 11, Chevron announced its return to Libya after 15 years away, according to Fortune. This move signifies a broader shift as Big Oil increases global exploration outside of the Americas, following two decades of depressed global searching for oil and gas. The industry's biggest producers had previously focused on the U.S. shale boom and proven offshore basins.
In other developments, Robert Tinney, the illustrator whose airbrushed cover paintings defined the look and feel of Byte magazine for over a decade, died at age 78 on February 1, according to a memorial posted on his official website, Ars Technica reported. Tinney's work, which spanned from 1975 to the late 1980s, translated complex topics like artificial intelligence and programming into vivid, surrealist-influenced paintings.
Finally, a "QuitGPT" campaign is urging people to cancel their ChatGPT subscriptions, MIT Technology Review reported. The campaign, which was highlighted on Reddit, flagged a substantial contribution by OpenAI president Greg Brockman to President Donald Trump's super PAC MAGA Inc. It also pointed out that the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) uses a résumé screening tool powered by ChatGPT-4.
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