EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager signals decision on Google Adsense investigation November 7, 2018 European competition commissioner Margrethe Vestager has said regulators are close to releasing findings against Google, which could see the tech giant hit with another record-breaking fine. The investigation is the third of its kind into Google and its parent firm Alphabet by the antitrust watchdog in recent years, after the firm was fined €4.3bn (£3.8bn) earlier this year over market [...]
EU leaders split on plans for a European digital tax November 6, 2018 EU member states have failed to reach a consensus on imposing an EU-wide digital services tax, which affects firms such as Facebook and Alphabet, over fears of potential US retaliation. The plan, which requires approval from all 28 EU member states, is opposed by many. The levy would see a three per cent tax placed [...]
Hammond spies end of UK’s deficit despite Budget spending increase November 5, 2018 Chancellor Philip Hammond has said he believes the government’s target of eliminating the UK’s deficit is “within touching distance”, despite ramping up public spending and tax cuts in the Budget. Appearing before the Treasury Select Committee this evening, Hammond denied his 2016 plans to reach a budget surplus by the mid-2020s had been abandoned. However, he [...]
FAANGs come out to play in Halloween shares surge October 31, 2018 Technology's biggest players, lumped together as the so-called FAANG stocks, have ended their October losing streak which had left investors spooked with just one day to go. Netflix's share price saw the biggest gains out of the FAANGs grouping, rising almost seven per cent this afternoon off the back of better-than-expected results for Facebook last night. The social [...]
Google parent Alphabet ducks revenue estimates amid sexual harassment furore October 25, 2018 Alphabet edged below consensus estimates on revenue in its third quarter results tonight, despite profits rising higher than analysts anticipated. The Google parent firm’s share price fell more than four per cent in after-hours trading, as revenues hit $33.74bn (£26.3bn) in the third quarter compared with estimates of $34.02bn as collated by S&P Global Market Intelligence. [...]
Technology is set to be this week’s hottest ticket on Wall Street as its biggest leaders go head-to-head October 21, 2018 This Thursday is set to be a battle of the technology heavyweights, as behemoths Amazon, Alphabet, Snap and Twitter all report their quarterly results. Both Amazon and Alphabet, the parent company of Google, trounced consensus estimates last quarter, with Amazon truly shaking up the game on Wall Street with earnings per share rising over 1,157 per cent [...]
Google files appeal against EU’s €4.3bn Android antitrust fine October 10, 2018 Google's parent firm Alphabet has filed an appeal against the EU's record-breaking €4.3bn antitrust fine for its Android operating system. The tech giant was charged by regulators over "serious illegal behaviour" with its Android operating system in July. Brussels ruled that Google had forced smartphone makers to favour its own products such as Search and Chrome [...]
Rest in plus: Google+ is shutting down for consumers after data breach October 9, 2018 Google's failed attempt at a social media network to rival Facebook is now shutting down for good, after a data breach of private user information prompted the search giant to tighten up its privacy policies. While conducting a review of the platform in March, Google discovered and solved a bug exposed to third-party developers that meant [...]
Google partially u-turns on cryptocurrency ad ban September 26, 2018 Tech giant Google has partially u-turned on a decision to ban cryptocurrency related advertising. In an effort to protect consumers from the high risk of fraudulent marketing related to crypto-currencies, Google earlier this year said it would ban all advertising promoting cryptocurrencies and crypto firms. But now it has rowed back on the ban, [...]
Tech stocks hit as Trump mulls fresh $200bn tariffs on China September 18, 2018 The Trump administration late last night ratcheted up its trade war with China by imposing tariffs on $200bn (£152bn) more of the world’s second largest economy’s goods starting next week. The tariffs will start at 10 per cent, rising to 25 per cent on 1 January, allowing US companies some time to adjust their supply [...]