CMA agrees pause on Microsoft appeal after US court waves through Activision deal July 12, 2023 The UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has said it is willing to work with Microsoft over its planned acquisition of video game company Activision Blizzard, which could help end its legal battle with the firms over the deal. It comes after a US judge yesterday handed Microsoft a victory by saying it would not [...]
Investor Terry Smith ditches Amazon stake over concerns with grocery business July 11, 2023 Top investor Terry Smith has revealed that he ditched his fund’s stake in Amazon due to concerns with the company’s grocery business. In a letter to investors, released yesterday, Smith revealed that the primary catalyst behind Fundsmith’s decision to drop its holding in Amazon last month was due to a “concern over potential capital misallocation”. [...]
BT successor has their work cut out, say analysts July 10, 2023 The successor of outgoing BT boss Philip Jansen faces a tough job ahead as the company battles poor earnings amid the pressure to rollout 5G, analysts have warned. It comes as BT confirmed today Jansen will step down “at an appropriate moment” within the next year. “Whoever takes the hot seat at BT will be [...]
Vodafone’s £11bn 5G rollout at risk if Three merger is blocked July 10, 2023 Vodafone’s UK boss has warned that the company’s £11bn investment in the UK’s 5G network is at risk if its merger with Three is blocked by the country’s competition regulator. Without the deal, Vodafone “won’t be able to invest as much and we won’t be able to deliver the 5G ambition that’s coming in the [...]
BT boss Philip Jansen to step down within a year July 10, 2023 BT confirmed today boss Philip Jansen will step down “at an appropriate moment” within the next year. In a statement this morning, the telecoms giant said its nominations committee has been conducting a formal succession process. Adam Crozier, chair of BT Group, said: “Philip has done an excellent job in his time at BT and [...]
Meta Threads rivalry with Twitter intensifies as lawsuit looms July 10, 2023 Meta and Twitter’s rivalry has escalated with the successful launch of Threads and the threat of a lawsuit, but analysts suggest that Twitter still has fight left. Threads, Meta’s highly anticipated app, amassed over 70m subscribers within days of its recent launch. The app’s availability caused a staggering 455 per cent surge in Meta’s stock, [...]
Musk vs Zuckerberg row rumbles on as Twitter threatens to sue Meta over Threads July 7, 2023 Twitter has threatened to sue Meta over its fast-growing rival Threads app, alleging that it stole trade secrets. The Instagram and Facebook owner, which launched Threads on Wednesday, appeared to deny that former Twitter employees worked on the creation of the app and used insider knowledge. Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said more than 30 [...]
Taylor Swift fans warned Eras tour tickets ‘highly attractive target for criminals’ July 6, 2023 Taylor Swift fans keen to secure tickets for her 2024 Eras Tour have been urged to be alert to fraudsters taking advantage of “phenomenal demand” for the shows. Fans who registered last week were to have learned on July 5 if they had been randomly selected to receive a highly sought-after pre-sale code giving them [...]
Threads: Five million join new Meta app in matter of hours July 6, 2023 A new app billed as a rival to Twitter has seen more than five million people sign up in its first few hours. Threads, created by Facebook and Instagram owners Meta, went live in the UK at midnight on Thursday. Linked to Instagram, it allows users to post up to 500 characters of text and [...]
Government lags on ‘disappointing’ semiconductor strategy already as advisory panel still not announced July 5, 2023 The government’s Semiconductor Advisory Panel (SAP) announcement is almost a month late, leaving chip experts questioning the effectiveness of the national semiconductor strategy. In the national semiconductor strategy, published in May, the government said it will “formally launch the advisory panel at London Tech Week in June 2023 as part of our drive to promote [...]