Australia passes online news law after row with Facebook February 25, 2021 Australia has passed a landmark law that will force tech giants Facebook and Google to pay publishers for news content. The world-first legislation follows a bitter row with Facebook, which blocked access to news in the country in protest to the changes. Following tense negotiations the law today passed with amendments that will allow the [...]
Digital health firm Babylon mulls $4bn US stock market float February 24, 2021 Babylon is said to be weighing up a US initial public offering that could value the health app at $4bn (£2.8bn). The digital health firm, which offers remote consultations with doctors, has been approached by several bank cheque firms about going public via a Spac deal, Bloomberg reported. The London-based company is also thought to [...]
Inmarsat appoints former Nokia boss as its new chief executive February 24, 2021 British satellite giant Inmarsat today said it has appointed former Nokia boss Rajeev Suri as its new chief executive. Suri, who stepped down as president and chief executive of the Finnish telecoms giant in 2020 after six years at the helm, will take up the position next month. He will replace Rupert Pearce, who has [...]
‘Vaccines are working’ against new Covid variants, says Jonathan Van-Tam February 24, 2021 “Vaccines are working” against the Kent Covid variant and will likely reduce the risk of severe disease from new mutations, the deputy chief medical officer has said. Jonathan Van-Tam said the B117 strain of coronavirus first identified in Kent now accounts for around 95 per cent of all Covid cases in the UK. Speaking to [...]
Apple acquisitions: Tech giant buys a company every three to four weeks February 24, 2021 As the giants of Silicon Valley jostle for pole position in the escalating technology arms race, mergers and acquisitions are often the name of the game. But the scale of Big Tech acquisitiveness has been laid bare after Apple boss Tim Cook revealed his company has snapped up roughly 100 companies over the last six [...]
Facebook and Google duopoly is ‘too powerful’ says CMA boss February 23, 2021 Facebook and Google’s duopoly is too powerful, and the pair have too great a share of the UK online advertising space, CMA boss Andrea Coscelli has said. Speaking to the BBC, Coscelli said he would like to see regulatory changes to deal with their market dominance, but stopped short of saying the giants should be [...]
Tesla rival Lucid Motors gears up for $24bn stock market float February 23, 2021 A luxury electric vehicle maker looking to challenge the dominance of Elon Musk’s Tesla is set to go public in a blank cheque deal that will value it at $24bn (£17bn). California-based Lucid Motors has agreed to merge with Churchill Capital IV, a special purpose acquisition company (Spac) set up by former Citigroup banker Michael [...]
Facebook reverses Australia news ban after law changes February 23, 2021 Facebook has backed down in its feud with Australia after negotiating changes to a new law that will force tech firms to pay publishers for news. The social media giant last week blocked access to news in the country in protest at the upcoming legislation, drawing widespread criticism. But following talks between the government and [...]
Is technology a new asset class? February 23, 2021 | City Talk With Covid-19 accelerating digitalisation, the question facing many companies is no longer whether technology is important, but just how important? What percentage of their time should a bank or retailer’s top executives spend thinking about technology? How much investment should a company make in tech? What weighting should institutional and retail investors give the sector? [...]
Pfizer vaccine cuts Covid transmission by up to 85 per cent February 22, 2021 “Vaccines are working,” the health secretary has announced, after new data showed the Pfizer vaccine cuts Covid transmission by up to 85 per cent and reduces the risk of death and hospitalisation by three-quarters. In a major boost for the Prime Minister’s plans to lift lockdown restrictions, early data from Public Health England’s (PHE) first [...]