Qualcomm boss Steve Mollenkopf steps down after seven tumultuous years January 5, 2021 Qualcomm chief executive Steve Mollenkopf will step down after seven tumultuous years at the helm of the company. He will be replaced by his deputy Cristiano Amon who was “unanimously selected” by the board following Mollenkopf’s decision to retire. The end of Mollenkopf’s reign will allow Qualcomm to put its period of legal battles behind [...]
Google CEO criticises antitrust regulation December 23, 2020 Google's chief executive officer, Sundar Pichai warns that "regulation can get it wrong" in an interview with the Financial Times.
Ryanair to appeal court decision to allow state aid for Air France and SAS February 17, 2021 Ryanair this morning said that it would appeal after an EU court dismissed its challenge over state aid given to rivals Air France and SAS. Luxembourg’s General Court, the EU’s second highest legal body, backed the European Commission’s decision to grant discriminatory aid to the virus-hit carriers. In its judgement, which was laid out earlier [...]
Epic Games files EU competition complaint against Apple February 17, 2021 Fortnite maker Epic Games has filed an EU antitrust complaint against Apple, ratcheting up its battle with the tech giant over app store payments. The two companies have been locked in a dispute since August, when Epic launched its own in-app payment system in a bid to sidestep Apple’s 30 per cent commission on some [...]
Spotlight on SPACs: more risk than opportunity? March 1, 2022 It is never a good idea to invest in a SPAC just because someone famous sponsors or invests in it or says it is a good investment. While special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) have been around for decades, they have attracted unprecedented interest and investment since the first wave of Covid-19. Amid this recent boom, entrepreneur Richard [...]
Biden mulls creation of competition tsar amid tech probes January 20, 2021 The administration of incoming US President Joe Biden is said to be mulling the creation of a new White House role focused on competition issues amid a string of probes into tech giants. The Biden administration is still weighing up the role, which could be based in the White House or focus on coordinating actions [...]
Santander and Barclays face lawsuits over film financing schemes April 8, 2019 Santander and Barclays are facing lawsuits from investors in failed film financing schemes. Santander could be sued for the role of legacy bank Alliance & Leicester’s role in part-funding the Imagine film financing scheme while Barclays is beng targeted over a similar scheme known as Timeless Releasing. Read more: HSBC sued for £150m in relation [...]
Ouch: Bayer takes €9bn impairment charge hit November 3, 2020 German life sciences giant Bayer this morning said that it would take a €9bn (£8.4bn) impairment charge in the third quarter. It also said that it would have to make additional payments as part of its settlement against claims that its weedkiller Roundup causes cancer. As a result, the pharma firm reported a €9.4bn loss [...]
Bitcoin price through the roof as celebrities jump on the crypto bandwagon February 17, 2021 Bitcoin hit a new record high of $51,300 on Wednesday, up 4.7 per cent in a day. The rise tops off a week of enthusiasm for the cryptocurrency, which saw its price surge above $50k for the first time on Tuesday. Bitcoin has risen 900 per cent since March of last year and many famous [...]
Facebook UK notched up £1.1bn in sales last year December 18, 2020 Facebook UK reported a staggering £1.1bn in sales last year and boasted of further growth as it increased its headcount. Revenues rose 28 per cent in 2019 from £797m to £1.1bn, of which the vast majority came from sales support, marketing services and engineering support services. The social media platform also said its advertiser reseller [...]