Alibaba founders pledge company stock to secure bank loans July 2, 2021 Chinese tycoons Jack Ma and Joe Tsai have pledged part of their combined $35bn (£25bn) stake in Alibaba in exchange for large loans from investment banks. The share pledges, which were made to lenders including UBS, Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs, were made by offshore companies that control half of the two billionaire’s stake in [...]
Micro Focus narrows loss as software group slashes costs July 1, 2021 British software firm Micro Focus today reported a narrower loss for the first half of the year as it reaped the rewards of a cost-cutting plan. The London-listed company, which helps customers maintain and update legacy IT systems, posted an operating loss of $154.8m (£112m) for the six months to the end of April. This [...]
Google to crack down on financial scams after City watchdog threat June 30, 2021 Google is set to tighten its advertising rules in the UK in a bid to crack down on financial scams following pressure from the City watchdog. The tech giant said all financial services advertisers will have to prove they are authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The new policy will come into force from [...]
Dixons Carphone posts £4.9bn UK revenue, buoyed by ‘explosion’ of gaming June 30, 2021 Dixons Carphone has posted a £4.9bn revenue from electricals in the UK and Ireland today, as it reaped the benefits of the pandemic-induced tech boom. Its revenue climbed eight per cent in the UK in the year to 1 May, up from £4.5bn the year before, the group said in its audited annual results this [...]
Duolingo files for US IPO as lockdown learners lean into languages June 29, 2021 Duolingo has filed for a US initial public offering after bumper demand for its language-learning app during coronavirus lockdowns translated into higher revenue. The Pittsburgh-based company, which was valued at $2.4bn (£1.7bn) following a funding round in November, last night unveiled plans to list on the Nasdaq exchange. It comes after Duolingo’s revenue soared almost [...]
Facebook’s value tops $1 trillion after judge throws out US lawsuits June 29, 2021 Facebook last night joined an exclusive club of companies worth more than $1 trillion after a US judge dismissed two antitrust lawsuits brought against the social media company. A federal judge ruled that the legal challenges, which were brought by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and a coalition of states, were “legally insufficient” and did [...]
British surgical robot firm CMR valued at $3bn after Softbank-led funding June 28, 2021 British surgical robotics group CMR Surgical has raised $600m (£431m) in a Softbank-led funding round as it looks to expand its technology to hospitals worldwide. The Cambridge-based company said the cash injection was the largest ever medtech private financing round and gave it a valuation of $3bn. The funding was led by Softbank’s Vision Fund [...]
Oneweb and BT ink deal for rural broadband rollout June 28, 2021 Oneweb and BT have inked an agreement to use satellites to help roll out broadband in the most remote rural areas across the UK. The two companies have signed a memorandum of understanding to explore how satellite technology could be used to beam internet services to rural areas that are too difficult or expensive to [...]
Instagram tests desktop feature in professional push June 25, 2021 Instagram is testing a new feature that will allow users to upload posts from their desktops in an effort to woo professional photographers and influencers. The Facebook-owned app, which was founded in 2010, has long resisted developing a web version of its app as the platform is designed for mobile users to post photos on [...]
Google delays cookie ban after UK watchdog pressure June 25, 2021 Google has delayed plans to remove third-party cookies from its Chrome browser by almost two years following pressure from rivals and competition regulators. The search engine giant had planned to ban companies from gathering users’ browsing data from January next year, but has now pushed back the move to the end of 2023. Google said [...]