Hong Kong: All the tech firms pausing activity after China’s security law July 7, 2020 A host of tech giants have said they will be pausing the processing of requests by authorities in Hong Kong to review user data, following a strict new security law passed by China last week. China’s parliament has approved the national security law in Hong Kong, which pushes the city state towards a more authoritarian [...]
Zoom and Linkedin join tech giants in pausing requests from Hong Kong July 7, 2020 Microsoft’s Linkedin and Zoom are the latest tech companies to reveal they will be pausing all requests to review user data from authorities in Hong Kong, in light of new laws in the region. Zoom said it has paused processing of all data requests from and related to Hong Kong, while Linkedin said it has [...]
Peter Thiel’s Palantir confidentially files to go public July 7, 2020 Data analytics firm Palantir said it has confidentially filed paperwork with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to go public. Palantir is planning public listing of the Class A common stock, but has not disclosed the size of the listing. It is not known whether Palantir will pursue a traditional initial public offering or [...]
Deutsche Bank signs multi-year strategic deal with Google July 7, 2020 Deutsche Bank has today agreed a 10-year strategic partnership with Google that will see the tech giant overhaul the bank’s outdated back-end technology. Google beat out bids from Microsoft and Amazon among others for the deal, which will give Deutsche access to cloud services and drive fintech innovation between the two companies. The deal is [...]
Micro Focus shares drop as it swings to $1bn loss July 7, 2020 The coronavirus pandemic has pushed Micro Focus to a $1.03bn loss, causing concerns for investors as tech businesses struggle through the crisis. Micro Focus reported a pre-tax loss of $1.03bn for the six months to the end of April, compared to a profit of $1.4bn for the same period last year. Shares in the London-listed [...]
Tiktok exits Hong Kong as US ponders banning the app July 7, 2020 Tiktok is to remove its app from Hong Kong, as other technology firms say they will stop processing data requests from authorities in the city state. Tiktok, which is owned by Chinese giant Bytedance, said it had made the decision to exit the region after China approved fresh national security law for the region last [...]
Whatsapp and Telegram suspend user data review requests from Hong Kong authorities July 6, 2020 Encrypted messaging services Telegram and Facebook’s Whatsapp said today they had “paused” accepting requests from Hong Kong authorities to review user data. China’s parliament last week passed the national security law in Hong Kong, pushing the city state towards a more authoritarian approach to monitoring its citizens and internet censorship. Previously Hong Kong enjoyed relatively [...]
Transferwise to hit $5bn valuation in secondary share sale July 6, 2020 British fintech stalwart Transferwise is to secure a $5bn valuation on the close of a secondary share sale this week, cementing its place in the sector’s upper echelon of tech companies. Transferwise is close to finalising the $300m sale, which will allow staff and early investors to offload part of their stakes, people close to [...]
Nearly half of European banks hold a negative profit outlook July 6, 2020 The number of European banks reporting a negative outlook for 2020 has risen significantly as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, as the global economy struggles to survive its impact. Data from ratings giant S&P Global revealed 46 per cent of Europe’s banks in its portfolio now hold a negative outlook, up from just 14 [...]
Uber confirms acquisition of Postmates in $2.65bn food delivery tie-up July 6, 2020 Uber has bought up rival delivery app Postmates in a $2.65bn deal, the companies announced today, ending speculation of a tie-up between the pair. The all-stock deal represents only a slight increase on Postmate’s last private valuation of $2.4bn in September. Postmates will be kept as a separate app to Uber Eats, but some parts [...]