Amazon’s $1.7bn bid for iRobot faces questions from UK’s competition agency April 6, 2023 The UK’s competition regulator has launched an investigation into Amazon’s proposed $1.7bn acquisition of the Roomba manufacturer, iRobot. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) announced today that it will investigate whether the merger will result in “substantial lessening of competition” in the UK market. Amazon and iRobot announced the merger back in August 2022. The [...]
Crypto markets pull back as Bitcoin slips under $28,000 April 6, 2023 Bitcoin has dipped below $28k, with Ethereum also down on the day, trading just below $1.9k as the wider crypto market falls.
Is HS2 holding up the UK’s construction industry? Output up but housebuilding continues to fall April 6, 2023 Civil engineering rose at its highest level since 2009 in March, according to a leading global index which measures the monthly construction output of the UK economy. At 50.7 in March, the headline seasonally adjusted S&P Global /CIPS UK Construction Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) – which measures month-on-month changes in total industry activity – was [...]
Octopus Energy wades into Asian markets with seven-figure solar farm investment April 5, 2023 Sustainable energy supplier Octopus Energy has announced its first ever investment into Asian renewables generation.
Stuck in a meeting? The one thing about hybrid work and working from home that is driving some employees crazy April 5, 2023 Only half of workers believe employers are doing enough to make hybrid working or working from home seamless, research shared by Slack reveals. Even though 87 per cent of IT managers said they were investing to reduce the friction involved in employees working from home (wf) and in the office, large numbers of workers report [...]
Under a cloud: Dominance of Amazon AWS and Microsoft Azure questioned as Ofcom considers CMA referral April 5, 2023 Ofcom has proposed referring UK cloud services to the competition regulator, citing concerns that key players Amazon and Microsoft could stifle competition. The communications regulator said it has proposed referring the sector to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) after it identified features which make it harder for customers to switch or use multiple providers. [...]
Ethereum posts nine-month high as Shanghai upgrade approaches April 5, 2023 Ethereum is trading for $1,910 this morning, up 5% in the last 24 hours as next week's proposed Shanghai upgrade nears.
FTSE 100 close: Markets close in the green despite US jobs data pointing to possible recession April 5, 2023 London’s blue chip index ended in the green on Wednesday despite weak data from the US raising the risk of a recession. The capital’s premier index closed 0.37 per cent higher at 7,662.94 points, while the domestically-focused mid-cap FTSE 250 index, which is more aligned with the health of the UK economy, ended 1.14 per [...]
9 wines to try this Easter weekend April 5, 2023 Whether celebrating with friends, hosting family, or hiding eggs from chocolate smeared children, there has always been a lot of food associated with the celebration of Easter (see page opposite). Lamb is probably the best-known meat at this time of year, pre-dating Christianity as the main meal of Jewish Passover, a tradition continued by the [...]
The host with the most: Airbnb’s Catherine Powell on surviving the pandemic, disciplined decision making and playing by the rules April 5, 2023 When Catherine Powell made the jump from the magic of Disney to Airbnb in January 2020, she couldn’t have predicted the nightmare of a global pandemic for the travel and tourism industry. But just three months after she joined as head of experiences she was thrown in at the deep end. “The pandemic hit and [...]