Big Tech cashes in on worst day for US economy since Great Depression July 31, 2020 The world’s four largest tech firms yesterday announced blockbuster earnings for three months to June, despite the US economy facing its darkest day since the Great Depression. Facebook, Google, Amazon and Apple, worth more than $5 trillion ($3.81 trillion) in total, smashed expectations as they all posted record profits yesterday. The upbeat results were met [...]
A data arms race has begun — it’s not a game, it’s a national security imperative July 31, 2020 Data privacy is a human right. It is also a matter of national — and international — security. If the “new Cold War” is upon us, as has been claimed on City A.M., it will be fought with information. However, the west seems less serious about the “data arms race” than China and Russia, leaving [...]
Strong iPhone sales power Apple past expectations July 30, 2020 Sales of Apple’s hallmark iPhone surpassed analyst expectations by $4bn in its fiscal third quarter, pushing the tech firm to report revenue gains in every product category and geography. With 60 per cent of its smartphone sales coming from international markets, the California-headquartered tech giant posted iPhone revenues of $26.42bn, leapfrogging analyst expectations of $22.37bn. [...]
Amazon blows past estimates in revenue and profit beat July 30, 2020 Amazon surprised investors as it beat analyst estimates for second-quarter revenue and profit by a long shot, sealing off a strong quarter for the e-commerce retailer. Amazon reported a net income of $5.2bn in the second quarter, or $10.30 per diluted share, doubling its profit from a year earlier of $2.6bn. Analysts had been expecting [...]
Tiktok sets up $2bn fund to poach creators from rivals July 30, 2020 Tiktok has today revealed it will be putting more than $2bn aside over the next three years to pay creators on its platform, in a bid to attract more influencers from rivals Instagram and Youtube. Around $300m of that fund will go to creators in the UK and Europe, while $1bn will be set aside [...]
Nasa launches ninth Mars mission in hunt for signs of past life July 30, 2020 Nasa today launched its next-generation Mars rover from Florida on a $2.4bn mission to find signs of past life on the red planet. The Perseverance rover was aboard an Atlas 5 rocket, which is manufactured by the Boeing-Lockheed joint venture United Launch Alliance. Once on Mars it will also deploy a mini helicopter and test [...]
Want a cure for Covid right now? Stop smoking, exercise more, and focus on holistic health July 30, 2020 So much of the conversation around how to beat Covid-19 has focused on the Holy Grail of a vaccine. This is obviously of utmost importance. But to beat coronavirus, as well as prepare for the next pandemic, we need a new definition of health — one that can strengthen our natural immunity and save thousands [...]
Sadiq Khan tasks advisers to create emerging tech plan for London July 30, 2020 Sadiq Khan has tasked his advisers with identifying which emerging technology trends would most benefit London and its residents, as he seeks upgrade the capital’s infrastructure and policies. The mayor of London has appointed his chief digital officer Theo Blackwell and the Smart London Board to create an Emerging Technology Charter, which will set out [...]
Big Tech vs Congress live: Facebook, Google, Apple and Amazon face Washington grilling July 29, 2020 Welcome to City A.M.’s Big Tech vs Congress live blog. Please refresh this page for live updates. Big Tech faces its day of reckoning today as the world’s four biggest tech moguls appear before the US Congress in Washington to face a grilling over their companies’ size and power. Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, [...]
Tiktok boss attacks Facebook as parent firm weighs $50bn takeover bid July 29, 2020 Tiktok’s chief executive Kevin Mayer has launched a stinging rebuttal against Facebook, accusing it of using patriotism as a way to unfairly target the short-form video app. In a blog post today, Mayer criticised Facebook for pushing for higher scrutiny on Tiktok’s Chinese origins. “At TikTok we welcome competition. We think fair competition makes all [...]