Boots owner Walgreens exploring taking pharmacy chain private November 5, 2019 Walgreens Boots Alliance has been exploring whether to go private following private equity interest in the US pharmacy chain, which has a market value of more than $55bn, according to people familiar with the matter. In recent months, Walgreens has held preliminary discussions with some of the world’s largest private equity firms about putting together [...]
France passes digital services tax despite US investigation July 11, 2019 France has given final approval to a new digital services tax on tech giants, despite protests from the US that the move unfairly targets American companies. The three per cent levy will apply to digital revenue earned in France by multinational tech giants such as Facebook, Google and Amazon. Read more: France will tax Amazon [...]
Facebook suffers drop in brand value as consumer trust slides October 17, 2019 Facebook has suffered a second successive annual decline in its brand value as the social media firm faces a backlash over data use and its faltering move into digital currency. The Silicon Valley giant has dropped out of the top 10 rankings of the world’s most valuable brands, suffering a decline of almost 12 per [...]
What are “accidental savers” doing with their surprise savings? July 14, 2020 Lockdown restrictions have curbed spending, resulting in higher savings in the UK. Some of this has found its way into the financial markets; actively managed responsible investment funds have been the biggest beneficiaries. The words “accidental” and “saver” don’t often appear in the same sentence together. Saving usually takes some effort and requires sacrifices and [...]
Black Friday 2019: Everything you need to know to find the best bargains November 15, 2019 Black Friday only launched in the UK in the last five years and has quickly become one of the biggest annual shopping events, kicking off the key Christmas trading period. Savvy shoppers can snap up bargains as stores offer huge discounts in the run up to the festive season. Here is everything you need to [...]
Ranked: The most popular employers for UK tech talent September 17, 2019 Monzo, Skyscanner and the BBC are the most desirable companies to work for among UK tech talent, according to a survey published today. The survey, compiled by recruitment firm Hired, revealed fintech firms remain among the most attractive employers for techies, with Transferwise, Starling Bank and Revolut all making it into the top 10. Read [...]
Amazon smashes expectations with sales of $51bn for the first quarter April 26, 2018 Amazon smashed analyst expectations tonight with stellar revenue and profit figures for the first quarter. The online retailer’s shares jumped more than seven per cent in after hours trading following the announcement. Amazon’s sales increased by 43 per cent to $51bn (£36.7bn), from $35.7bn last year. Read more: Top retailers pull ahead of other business [...]
BEQUANT talks to Ripple July 6, 2020 Marcus Treacher, SVP Customer Success, Ripple talks to BEQUANT about how the organisation copied with the challenges presented by Covid-19, what it will take to install mass adoption of digital assets and what the future holds for Ripple. How has Ripple adapted to the challenges of COVID-19, and how are you currently supporting your customers [...]
Walmart takes on Amazon in battle for Indian Flipkart with $15bn bid May 7, 2018 Walmart is set to take on Amazon to buy a stake in India’s biggest online retailer Flipkart, in a deal worth $15bn (£11.06bn). Reports today say that the American retailer will buy three-quarters of Flipkart’s shares at a valuation of just under $20bn. Sources close to the deal told the Financial Times that Walmart boss [...]
Amazon eyed buying Waitrose but was held off by John Lewis Partnership May 6, 2018 Amazon considered an acquisition of Waitrose last year, but was blocked from entering formal talks, reports suggest. A senior executive at the online shopping giant’s UK arm pushed for a meeting with the John Lewis Partnership but was “shut down” by the board, the Sunday Times reported today. The tech company’s acquisition of Whole Foods [...]