Page Group swings to half-year loss as coronavirus weighs on hiring August 5, 2020 Recruitment firm Page Group posted an £800,000 half-year loss this morning, as the coronavirus crisis severely impacted global hiring activity. Its profit for the same period last year was £74m, representing a decline of 101 per cent. Revenue fell 20 per cent to £655m, as the firm let go more than 700 employees — or [...]
Bytedance founder says Trump’s goal is to ban Tiktok, not secure a sale August 4, 2020 The founder of Tiktok parent firm Bytedance has told employees he believes the US is ultimately seeking a total ban on the app, despite allowing negotiations of a sale to Microsoft to continue. Zhang Limin also said there were misunderstandings on Chinese social media about Tiktok’s situation in the US, but that Bytedance could face more [...]
EU launches full-scale probe of Google-Fitbit merger August 4, 2020 The EU has decided to launch a full-scale investigation of Google’s proposed $2.1bn takeover of Fitbit, after an initial probe prompted concerns. The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, closed a preliminary review today that determined further investigation of the deal was needed to ensure Google would not use Fitbit’s data to benefit its online [...]
CMA gives Amazon’s Deliveroo investment the all-clear August 4, 2020 The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has officially cleared Amazon’s 16 per cent stake in food delivery startup Deliveroo, after a lengthy investigation process. The watchdog awarded the deal initial clearance in April on the basis that Deliveroo could go out of business without the Amazon investment, but later changed its methodology to just focus [...]
Amazon almost doubles size of UK Prime Air drone delivery arm August 4, 2020 Amazon has ramped up expansion of its ambitious drone delivery project, almost doubling the number of staff in its Cambridge-based Prime Air team. Prime Air now has close to 60 staff working on making Amazon deliveries by drone a reality, its largest since the project began in 2016, data on Linkedin showed. Its most recent [...]
Google parent Alphabet reveals record $10bn bond at lowest-ever price August 4, 2020 Alphabet borrowed $10bn (£7.66bn) in the investment-grade corporate debt market yesterday, marking its largest ever bond issue at its lowest price to date. Within the $10bn on offer, a $1bn five-year tranche was issued at a discount of 0.45 per cent — the lowest discount seen at that maturity since Apple issued a $1.5bn five-year [...]
Twitter faces $250m fine after US data probe August 4, 2020 Twitter said it is being investigated by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for alleged violations of a law that prevents it from using personal data to target ads. In a regulatory filing, Twitter said it received a draft FTC complaint alleging data violations, which is provided by users for security purposes, between 2013 and [...]
Trump demands US Treasury cut of Tiktok sale August 4, 2020 US President Donald Trump has said the US Treasury should be brought in on Microsoft’s potential acquisition of Tiktok’s American arm, arguing the deal wouldn’t happen without its approval. Trump said he told Microsoft the government should receive a “substantial portion” of the deal if an American firm buys the operation. Tiktok’s Chinese owner Bytedance [...]
Centamin first-half profit jumps on strong gold prices August 4, 2020 Gold miner Centamin posted a jump in first-half profit before tax today, powered by rising gold prices as investors sought safe havens during the pandemic. It also benefited from increased output from its Sukari mine in Egypt, the only active site in its portfolio. The company, which declared a second interim dividend of six cents per [...]
Chinese AI firm slaps Apple with $1.4bn patent lawsuit August 3, 2020 Chinese artificial intelligence firm Shanghai Zhizhen Network Technology has filed a $1.4bn lawsuit against Apple, claiming the iPhone giant has infringed on a patent for its voice assistant technology. Shanghai Zhizhen, also known as Xiao-i, is calling for 10bn yuan ($1.4bn) in damages and demands that Apple cease “manufacturing, using, promising to sell, selling, and [...]
