Softbank’s second Vision Fund set to come in underweight December 8, 2019 The giant Japanese investment fund Softbank is dialing down its ambitions for the second of its Vision Funds after failed bets on firms such as Wework and Uber dragged the company to its first quarterly loss in 14 years. Softbank’s first Vision Fund two years ago raised around $100bn (£76bn) from backers including the Saudi [...]
Elon Musk defamation trial: Tesla founder wins case over ‘pedo guy’ remark December 7, 2019 A US jury has ruled that Elon Musk did not defame a British caver who helped in last year’s rescue of trapped Thai schoolboys by calling him a “pedo guy”. Vernon Unsworth sought $190m (£145m) in damages from the billionaire on the grounds that the tweet had damaged his reputation. It came amid a public [...]
Uber says it received 6,000 reports of sexual assault over two-year period in United States December 6, 2019 Uber has revealed it received almost 6,000 reports of sexual assault in the United States in 2017 and 2018. It said that although there had been more cases in 2018, the incidence had dropped by 16 per cent due to there being more trips undertaken. The ride-hailing firm has come under increased scrutiny of late [...]
Elon Musk defamation trial: Diver refuses to apologise to Tesla founder December 5, 2019 Vernon Unsworth, the British cave diver suing Tesla founder Elon Musk for calling him a “pedo guy” on Twitter, refused to apologise to the billionaire businessman and said his criticism of Musk was not a personal attack. In the third day of the defamation trial, Unsworth said he would not say sorry for an interview [...]
Huawei mounts new legal challenge over US national security ban December 5, 2019 Huawei has launched a fresh legal battle against US authorities after they branded the Chinese tech giant a national security threat and blocked it from a government subsidy programme. The US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) last month voted unanimously to block rural telecoms firms from using a $8.5bn (£6.5bn) government fund to buy Huawei equipment. [...]
Thai cave rescuer brands Elon Musk’s ‘pedo guy’ tweet a life sentence December 5, 2019 Vernon Unsworth, the diver seeking damages from Elon Musk, has described the effect of the billionaire’s “pedo guy” tweet as “a life sentence without parole.” Speaking in court in Los Angeles, Unsworth laid out in detail the effect he believes the comment has had on his life. Read more: Elon Musk defamation trial: Tesla founder [...]
Elon Musk defamation trial: Tesla founder says ‘pedo guy’ tweet was ‘off the cuff’ December 4, 2019 Elon Musk insisted that his “pedo guy” Twitter comment directed a British diver involved with the rescue of 12 boys from a cave in Thailand was “off the cuff” as he wrapped up two days of testimony at his defamation trial today. The billionaire businessman apologised again to Vernon Unsworth, the diver who is seeking [...]
Slack beats expectations in third quarter results December 4, 2019 Workplace messaging app Slack beat analyst expectations in its third quarter results, following concerns that the tech firm would fall victim to increased competition. The company reported a loss of 2 cents per share compared to a consensus of an 8 cent per share loss. Read more: Investors balk at Slack’s earnings debut on Wall [...]
Governments commit to tech tax despite Trump threats December 4, 2019 Governments around the world have reiterated their plans to implement a tax on tech giants, despite threats of retaliation by the US. Canada, Austria and Indonesia are among those to join the UK in reaffirming a commitment to a tax on US tech companies such as Amazon, Facebook and Google. Read more: British tech tax [...]
Changing of the guard: Google founders make way as tech giant gears up for new era December 4, 2019 Google’s announcement that co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin will step back from their top roles is, in some senses, a groundbreaking moment. Since starting the iconic search engine in a rented California garage in 1998, the pair have grown the firm into one of the world’s most valuable companies, turning themselves into two of [...]