Amazon’s facing another EU investigation – this time its ebooks business is under the microscope June 11, 2015 Amazon is the latest US tech firm to face the scrutiny of regulators in Europe. The European Commission has opened a new investigation into the retail giant, this time putting its ebook business under the microscope. Brussels will be taking a closer look at Amazon's contracts with publishers and whether the deals are anticompetitive and [...]
Why Avant’s Al Goldstein is excited about partnering with big banks June 16, 2016 Despite being just four years’ old, Avant Credit is one of the largest marketplace lenders in the alternative finance industry. The US firm has been operating in the UK since 2013, and has issued over half a million loans to consumers, totalling more than $3bn in originations. Avant isn’t a P2P lender – it uses [...]
Selfie sticks and adult colouring books: Here’s what Londoners buy the most, and where, according to Amazon August 26, 2015 True to form, west Londoners are knocking back the Bolly – while south of the river, residents are sitting back and relaxing with an on-trend adult colouring-in book. These are just some of the most popular items people pop in their shopping baskets across the four corners of the capital – and if you've always [...]
What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger? Housebuilder shares stage partial recovery June 28, 2016 Housebuilders showed that any reaction is a good reaction this morning, after almost all their share prices staged partial recoveries following yesterday's carnage. FTSE 100-listed Barratt, Berkeley Group, Taylor Wimpey and Persimmon all triggered the London Stock Exchange's circuit breaker yesterday, meaning their shares were suspended from trading for five minutes after they fell more than [...]
More proof Apple’s iPhone sales are stalling April 19, 2016 Have we reached peak Apple? The tech firm warned at the start of the year that its sales would slow, and now new research is out showing that has indeed come to pass. Shipments fell more than 43 per cent to 42m at the start of the year from 75m at the end of 2015, according to research [...]
Italian job: Law firm Fieldfisher agrees merger with Italy’s SASPI June 21, 2016 Fieldfisher has today agreed a merger with Italian law firm Studio Associato Servizi Professionali Integrati (SASPI). The merger, which will take the form of a Swiss verein style association, will take effect at the start of next month and SASPI will be adopting the Fieldfisher brand name. The two firms combined will have around 970 professionals and [...]
Vodafone NZ and Sky Network in telecoms and TV tie-up to compete with the likes of Netflix June 9, 2016 Global telecoms group Vodafone is merging its New Zealand unit with the country's largest provider of pay TV, Sky Network Television. The deal, worth £1.7bn, is in response to growing competition in the country from the likes of Netflix and other internet streaming services and will create one of the biggest companies on the New Zealand Stock [...]
Before the bell: What you need to know before the US market open August 23, 2016 The sun is shining in London, the FTSE 100 is higher, and across the pond markets look set for a rise on the opening bell. Here's what you need to know before the US market open at 2:30pm London time. US futures are pointing higher ahead of the open. The S&P is up by 0.24 per cent, [...]
Coca-Cola chief executive tops international black, Asian, and minority ethnic executive power list May 26, 2016 The boss of The Coca-Cola Company, Muhtar Kent, has topped a list of Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) bosses from around the US, UK and Ireland. The ranking, put together by executive search firm Audeliss, placed Manjit Wolstenholme, chair of Provident Financial second and Albert Cheng, chief operations officer at Amazon Studios in third. Its release follows a similar one from the House of Lords [...]
Go Tell A Watchman: Harper Lee’s new novel becomes Amazon’s most pre-ordered book since Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows July 10, 2015 Harper Lee's hugely anticipated novel Go Set A Watchman has become Amazon's most pre-ordered title since the final Harry Potter book, The Deathly Hallows. The novel is due to be published on 14 July – almost 55 years to the day Lee's debut came out to much acclaim. It went on to win the [...]