France vows to hit back at US tariffs as luxury stocks fall December 3, 2019 The European Union will hit back at “unacceptable” US tariff threats against French products, finance minister Bruno Le Maire has warned. Shares in luxury French retailers took a hit this morning after the US issued new tariff threats in retaliation against the country’s new tech tax. Read more: US to slap France with tariffs over [...]
Oaktree abandons attempt to stall $6bn Inmarsat deal December 3, 2019 Inmarsat shareholders have dramatically dropped their objections to a take-private deal on the day they were set to raise them in court. A consortium led by Oaktree Capital was expected to try and block a $6bn offer made by hedge funds in the High Court today. Oaktree, Kite Lake Capital Management and Rubric Capital Management [...]
Private wealth becomes main source of funding for European venture capital December 3, 2019 Private wealth is now the main source of funding for European venture capital, according to a new report, as a new generation of entrepreneurs ditch more traditional assets in favour of funding the next generation of startups. A fifth of fundraising by European VC firms in 2018 came from family offices and private individuals as [...]
US to slap France with tariffs over ‘burdensome’ digital tax December 2, 2019 The US has vowed to slap tariffs of up to 100 per cent on $2.4bn (£1.6bn) of French goods, in retaliation over findings that a new digital services tax in the country would harm US tech companies. US trade representative (USTR) Robert Lighthizer said its investigation found that the French proposal was “inconsistent with prevailing [...]
Food delivery apps serve up extra £400m in restaurant revenue December 2, 2019 Food delivery apps such as Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats are serving up an extra £400m in revenue for European restaurants, according to a new report. Third-party platforms, that customers can use to order food from a variety of restaurants, have also increased profit across the Europe’s restaurant sector, with venues in London seeing [...]
EU Commission to open investigation into data usage by Google and Facebook December 2, 2019 The European Commission has begun a preliminary inquiry into Google and Facebook, and whether the two firm’s data usage complies with EU regulation. “The Commission has sent out questionnaires as part of a preliminary investigation into Google’s and Facebook’s data practices. These investigations concern the way data is gathered, processed, used and monetised, including for [...]
Tech giants set to spend £25bn on advertising this year December 2, 2019 Eight tech titans including Google, Facebook and Amazon dominate the global advertising industry and will spend £25bn on advertising this year, according to new research. Google parent company Alphabet, Facebook, Amazon, Ebay, Netflix, IAC, Uber and Booking.com spent over £20bn on advertising in 2018, and are set to account for five per cent of global [...]
Facebook launches new photo transfer tool to allow users to migrate between services more easily December 2, 2019 Facebook is set to launch a tool today that will finally enable its users to download all of their images from the platform at once. It is the latest step from the social media firm to ensure people can download and transfer all the data stored on Facebook. Read more: Google’s £2bn merger with Looker [...]
Google’s £2bn acquisition of Looker faces competition probe December 2, 2019 Google’s proposed acquisition of rival analytics firm Looker faces an investigation by the UK’s competition watchdog. Google agreed to buy Looker for $2.6bn (£2bn) in the summer as part of its efforts to expand the service’s cloud offerings. Read more: Price comparison rivals urge EU regulators to take action against Google However, the Competition and Markets [...]
How Thriva is putting its customers’ health to the test December 2, 2019 Standing in the middle of a street in Farringdon, it’s hard to know if I’m in the right place. After scanning the list of businesses by the side of the door, I finally spot the name Thriva, and enter a reception-less building where I’m meeting co-founder and chief executive Hamish Grierson. Thriva specialises in blood [...]