Micro Focus chairman steps down as profit plummets February 4, 2020 Micro Focus lost its chairman today as it posted a huge drop in profit in a “challenging” latest financial year, triggering traders to offload the struggling firm’s stock. The figures Operating profit sank 41.2 per cent year on year to $221.7m (£170.9m) for the 12 months to the end of October. Revenue also tumbled 29.6 [...]
Alphabet slides as it breaks out Youtube and Cloud revenue for the first time February 3, 2020 Google parent Alphabet’s shares fell in extended trading after it missed fourth-quarter revenue estimates, and gave an unexpected deep-dive into its sales breakdown for the first time. Alphabet reported overall revenue of $46.08bn for the three months to the end of December, versus analyst estimates of $46.9bn according to Refinitiv. Meanwhile it posted a profit [...]
Goldman Sachs ‘in talks’ to partner with Amazon on small business loans February 3, 2020 Goldman Sachs is reportedly in advanced talks with Amazon to offer small business loans in the US, as the Wall Street giant looks to the tech titan in a bid to break into the mainstream areas of financial services. Goldman Sachs has begun building technology that would allow it to offer loans to small and [...]
Angela Merkel fails to unite government over Huawei plan February 3, 2020 German Chancellor Angela Merkel is failing in her bid to unite the coalition government over a verdict on whether to allow Huawei to build the country’s 5G networks. Merkel has attempted to rule out a total ban on Huawei, but has been forced to strike a compromise with hardline ministers in her Christian Democratic Union [...]
Amazon ‘launches search’ for new London office space February 3, 2020 Amazon is said to be on the hunt for new office space in London as the e-commerce giant doubles down on its commitment to the capital after Brexit. The tech firm has called in advisers at Cushman & Wakefield to find a building with roughly 200,000 square feet (sq ft) of office space, the Times [...]
UK competition watchdog to push for tighter controls on US tech giants February 3, 2020 The UK’s competition watchdog will push for tougher powers to regulate companies such as Google and Facebook following the UK’s official departure from the EU, and will pursue antitrust investigations against tech giants independently of the bloc. “The upside [Brexit] is that you take back control — genuinely — of the decisions,” Competition and Markets [...]
Boris Johnson’s disastrous Huawei decision is an act of national self-harm February 3, 2020 Powerful US Republican senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas put it best. Letting the state-sponsored Chinese technology firm Huawei build even a portion of Britain’s 5G network — as the Prime Minister nonsensically decided to do last week — is quite a bit like letting the KGB construct the British phone systems in the 1980s. At [...]
Sales of e-scooters leap up over Christmas period despite UK ban February 3, 2020 Sales of battery-powered e-scooters jumped over the festive period last year, despite there being a ban on using the vehicles on public roads. Data collated by Swedish e-scooter startup Voi showed that sales of both e-bikes and e-scooters rose 96 per cent year on year in the three months to the start of January 2020. [...]
Tesla short-sellers extend their losses following share price surge February 2, 2020 Investors betting against Tesla suffered losses of $1.5bn in mark-to-market losses after Tesla beat analyst estimates in its fourth quarter results last week. Thursday’s losses bring Tesla shorts down $5.6bn in 2020 in mark-to-market losses, according to data provider S3 Partners. Tesla is the largest short in the domestic market with short interest of $14.28bn. [...]
Thanks to improving tech, tax collectors are no longer the bad guys January 31, 2020 “If you drive a car, I’ll tax the street. If you try to sit, I’ll tax your seat. If you get too cold, I’ll tax the heat. If you take a walk, I’ll tax your feet.” Thus warbled four rockstars from Merseyside. As rebellious as it was melodic, Taxman would become the first track on [...]