Facebook launches UK news service in boost for publishers January 26, 2021 Facebook will today start rolling out its dedicated news feed, marking a major boost for publishers in a long-running tussle over online advertising revenue. Facebook News will offer users a selection of curated stories alongside news personalised to their interests from hundreds of national, local and lifestyle outlets. The social media site today said it [...]
Moderna to trial new Covid vaccine for South African mutation January 25, 2021 Moderna is set to trial its new Covid-19 vaccine specially designed to tackle a new coronavirus strain that first emerged in South Africa, the company announced today. The US pharmaceutical firm said laboratory tests showed its current vaccine appears to work against the UK Covid variant first identified in Kent. However, it warned that the [...]
Astrazeneca delays vaccine delivery to EU by ’60 per cent’ January 22, 2021 Astrazeneca will slash the supply of it Covid vaccine to the EU by 60 per cent in first quarter, according to reports. The company was expected to deliver to the 27 EU countries around 80m doses by the end of March, but will now only be able to deliver 31m doses, Reuters reported. It comes [...]
It’s game over for Alphabet’s Loon balloon broadband adventure January 22, 2021 Alphabet, the parent company of Google, said last night it will shut down its high-altitude broadband connectivity venture Loon. The announcement is at odds with its recent successful endeavours. Loon raised $125m from a SoftBank unit in 2019, and in April 2020 it launched the first balloons to provide commercial connectivity service to Kenyans following [...]
Swedish payments app Trustly plots IPO amid flurry of tech listings January 22, 2021 Swedish payments firm Trustly is reportedly planning a public listing this year worth up to 9bn, amid a flurry of tech IPOs. Trustly’s private equity backer Nordic Capital is working with Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and Carnegie on the IPO which is due in the second quarter, according to Reuters. Nordic Capital bought a 70 [...]
Intel to probe results hack as chip demand lifts revenue January 22, 2021 Intel is investigating reports that financially sensitive information was stolen from its website last night in a hack that forced the chipmaker to release its quarterly results early. Chief financial officer George Davis told the Financial Times that a graphic in its financial report had been stolen by a hacker. “Once we became aware of [...]
Transferwise picks banks ahead of blockbuster IPO January 21, 2021 Transferwise has reportedly picked two of Wall Street’s biggest banks to lead its London listing this year. The payments unicorn has hired Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley as joint global coordinators for its IPO later this year, Sky News reported. Transferwise secured a $5bn valuation following a secondary share sale last summer, cementing its place [...]
Outgoing Trump official warns of China telecoms threat January 21, 2021 A top official in the departing Trump administration has issued a stark warning over the threat of Chinese espionage to US telecoms networks and internet freedom. Ajit Pai, who stepped down as chair of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) this week, said Beijing-backed spying was the biggest threat to national security facing regulators over the [...]
Monzo founder steps down saying pandemic took its toll January 21, 2021 Monzo founder-turned-president Tom Blomfield is stepping down from the digital bank, saying the pandemic has taken a toll on his mental health. In an interview with Techcrunch Blomfield said he had stopped enjoying his role a long time ago as Monzo moved from startup to scaleup. “I stopped enjoying my role probably about two years [...]
Biden mulls creation of competition tsar amid tech probes January 20, 2021 The administration of incoming US President Joe Biden is said to be mulling the creation of a new White House role focused on competition issues amid a string of probes into tech giants. The Biden administration is still weighing up the role, which could be based in the White House or focus on coordinating actions [...]