Twitter, Uber and Disney: What to expect in the latest round of tech earnings February 9, 2021 Twitter, Uber and Disney will all be under the spotlight as they report fourth-quarter earnings this week. Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google (known as the FAANGs) all closed the year with bumper results as the tech titans continued to cash in on the pandemic. But it will be a more complicated picture for Twitter, [...]
Rishi Sunak: Wealthy will be spared from post-pandemic tax raid May 5, 2021 Wealthy families will escape a post-pandemic tax raid earmarked to boost the economy, Rishi Sunak has suggested, as the chancellor praised Britain’s already “very progressive tax system”. Sunak said yesterday that he is “cautiously optimistic” about an upswing in economic growth, as Brits prepare to spare pent-up cash alongside the relaxing of lockdown restrictions. Speaking [...]
CMA’s review of market concentration in the pandemic January 18, 2021 In April 2020, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) cleared Amazon’s £450million investment into Deliveroo, heeding (and ultimately accepting) warnings from the parties that, absent the investment, Deliveroo would ultimately have to exit the market. Particularly so in the light of the impact of the government imposed lockdown and shuttering of restaurants. It is tempting [...]
Apple acquisitions: Tech giant buys a company every three to four weeks February 24, 2021 As the giants of Silicon Valley jostle for pole position in the escalating technology arms race, mergers and acquisitions are often the name of the game. But the scale of Big Tech acquisitiveness has been laid bare after Apple boss Tim Cook revealed his company has snapped up roughly 100 companies over the last six [...]
Hollywood real estate firm expands £350m east London film studio project March 19, 2021 Plans for a major new film studio complex in east London have been given a further boost after the scheme’s Hollywood backer announced it was pumping a further £50m into the project. Hackman Capital Partners (HCP), which owns studios where classics such as Citizen Kane and Gone With the Wind were filmed, last year took [...]
Palm Springs is a dark twist on the Groundhog Day formula April 8, 2021 Before the dark times, it’s likely most of us will have been stuck at the wedding of some vague acquaintance or relative we don’t care for. We’ve stared into space through prolonged speeches, and tried to sneak out before the DJ played The Macarena. Well, what if you could never leave? That’s the nightmarish prospect [...]
Grocery delivery app Weezy raises $20m for London expansion January 14, 2021 Grocery delivery platform Weezy has raised $20m (£14.6m) to fund its expansion in London and across the UK as it cashes in on bumper demand during the pandemic. Weezy, which offers local grocery deliveries in 15 minutes, said it will use the funding to add 50 employees to its London-based team over the next four [...]
Deliveroo picks banks as it gears up for blockbuster float January 13, 2021 Deliveroo is said to have tapped four investment banks as it prepares for a blockbuster float on the London Stock Exchange this year. The food delivery app has hired Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Citi, Jefferies and Numis to work on an initial public offering that could value it at more than £5bn, Sky News [...]
Liverpool v Spurs and Call of Duty drive highest internet data record December 18, 2020 Average household internet usage has increased by 50 per cent this year according to data by internet provider TalkTalk. And December 16 saw the highest ever data usage peak of 7.63Tb/s on the network, with traffic largely driven by a combination of football including Liverpool vs Spurs on Amazon Prime and the release of Call of Duty. [...]
Google hits back at ‘deeply flawed’ US Justice Department lawsuit October 20, 2020 Google has hit back at a major antitrust lawsuit filed by the US Justice Department, branding it “deeply flawed” and warning that consumers would be negatively affected if the government wins its case. US officials today filed a lawsuit against the tech giant accusing it of breaking the law by using its market power to [...]