Pearson shares slump after ChatGPT hits rival US online education firm May 2, 2023 Shares in London-listed educational publisher Pearson fell today after US rival Chegg warned that ChatGPT was having a negative impact on its business. The California-based online learning platform said today that ChatGPT was starting to have a negative impact on the number of students using the platform, as it reported a seven per cent slump [...]
Thomson Reuters reports higher sales as it sells stakes in businesses May 2, 2023 Thomson Reuters reported higher revenue growth than expected today as the company sold off stakes in other businesses. The news and information conglomerate reported revenue growth of four per cent, jumping to $1.7bn (£1.4bn), beating analyst estimates, the firm said in a quarterly update. The company also earned $2.3bn (£1.8bn) from the sell-off of 24.5 [...]
Alibaba founder Jack Ma ditches tech for teaching May 2, 2023 Alibaba founder Jack Ma has taken up a university teaching position, in a shift away from his sprawling tech businesses and one of the first public roles he has assumed after almost three years of keeping a low profile. Ma joined Tokyo college, run by the University of Tokyo, as a visiting professor on Monday, [...]
Mastercard seeks to expand crypto card tie-ups April 28, 2023 Mastercard will expand its cryptocurrency payment card programme by seeking more partnerships with crypto firms, the company’s head of crypto and blockchain said, even as the sector comes under closer scrutiny from regulators and banks grow wary. Mastercard has already partnered with crypto exchanges including Binance, Nexo and Gemini to offer crypto-linked payment cards in some countries. The Binance cards allow users to make payments in traditional currencies, funded by their cryptocurrency holdings on the [...]
Flutter inches closer to primary US listing as more firms fall out of love with London April 28, 2023 London-listed gambling company Flutter yesterday won shareholder approval to launch a secondary listing in the US, paving the way for it to switch its primary listing in the future. 99 per cent of shareholders approved the secondary listing at Flutter’s annual general meeting on Thursday. The listing is expected to take place later this year, [...]
WANdisco confirms falsified orders linked to one employee April 28, 2023 An investigation into the beleaguered tech firm WANdisco has found that falsified accounts can be traced back to one senior sales employee, the company said on Friday. The Sheffield-based data company said the investigation — carried out by advisory firm, FRP Advisory — found that falsified purchase orders associated with the senior employee in question [...]
Natwest profits soar but customers withdraw £1bn as cost of living and tax bills bite April 28, 2023 Natwest has beaten profit expectations during the first three months of this year. Natwest Group, which includes Royal Bank of Scotland and Ulster Bank, recorded a pretax profit of £1.8bn in the three months ending 31 March. The total comes in ahead of analysts’ expectations of £1.6bn for the quarter and ahead of the £1.2bn during [...]
Gambling white paper: Betting firms forced to ‘step up’ checks in biggest industry overhaul since 2005 April 27, 2023 Gambling companies will be subject to tighter regulations including a statutory levy and stricter checks on losses, the government announced today in its long-awaited gambling white paper. The secretary of state for culture, media and sport Lucy Frazer announced on Thursday that the industry would be subject to “six key areas” of reform. Operators will [...]
AstraZeneca: Cancer medicine sales offset a post-pandemic slump in Covid drugs April 27, 2023 AstraZeneca reported a slight dip in sales but beat forecasts on the back of a boost in sales of oncology medicines. The pharmaceutical company reported a 4 per cent fall in revenue to $10.9bn (£8.7bn) on Thursday morning. Sales of oncology drugs helped compensate for a $1.5bn (£1.2bhn) fall in Covid-19 medicines, the company said. [...]
GSK brings in zosta lot more cash as drugs giant’s turnover boosted by shingles vaccine and HIV medicines April 26, 2023 Drugs giant GSK has posted better-than-forecast revenues for the first quarter thanks to strong sales of its shingles vaccine and HIV medicines. The FTSE 100 group saw earnings fall 15 per cent on a constant currency basis to £2.1bn in the first quarter as revenues dropped eight per cent to £7bn after sales of its Covid-19 treatment [...]