Twitter suffers advertising revenue slump amid pandemic and US protests July 23, 2020 Twitter suffered a 23 per cent slump in advertising revenue in the second quarter due to the coronavirus pandemic and civil unrest in the US. The social media giant said today that advertising revenue was $562m, down 23 per cent year-on-year. The company said it had seen a “gradual, moderate recovery” compared to March, however [...]
US senators warn that UK digital sales tax could stop free trade deal July 23, 2020 Senior members of the US Senate’s finance committee have warned that the new UK digital sales tax could be a major barrier to a future free trade deal. Republican Chuck Grassley and Democrat Ron Wyden said the new levy “unnecessarily complicates the path forward for a US-UK trade deal”, while also calling for the UK [...]
People more likely to contract coronavirus at home, new study finds July 23, 2020 People are more likely to contract coronavirus from members of their own households than from contacts outside the home, a new study has found, as the global race for a vaccine ramps up ahead of a potential second wave in the winter. In a study of around 65,000 people published by the US Centers for Disease [...]
Record UK manufacturing slump continues but optimism grows July 23, 2020 The decline in UK manufacturing orders eased somewhat in July but the sector remained mired in its deepest downturn on record, according to a closely watched survey. The CBI industrial trends survey’s gauge of total orders rose to minus 46 in July from minus 58 in June. That was its highest reading since March but [...]
A four-step approach to optimise your innovation funding July 23, 2020 | City Talk The landscape of innovation grants, funding and tax credits can be overwhelming. We explore how companies can make the most of the funding options available to them. With a host of new innovation funds being made available across a number of sectors and HMRC committing to accelerating payments of research and development (R&D) tax credits, [...]
Test and trace scheme misses 20 per cent of coronavirus patients July 23, 2020 The government’s coronavirus test and trace scheme failed to gather the contacts of 20 per cent of patients that tested positive for Covid-19, according to the latest official data. The Department of Health said this morning that 80 per cent of the 3,887 people that tested positive for Covid-19 were contacted by the scheme between [...]
From Mad Men to micro-targeting: The internet has democratised advertising July 23, 2020 The coronavirus pandemic has shown that the internet is something we can no longer live without. It has helped us to connect with loved ones we have been unable to physically meet, build communities and groups online to provide help to those who needed it most, and crucially it has enabled small businesses to continue [...]
High-profile Twitter users’ private messages hacked in cyber attack July 23, 2020 Twitter has admitted that at least 36 users have had their private messages hacked in a cyber attack connected to last week’s high-profile bitcoin-related hack, raising concerns that well-known victims could be extorted. Hackers last week took over the official Twitter accounts of more than 130 blue-ticked users, including politicians such as Joe Biden and [...]
BBC reaches record global audience in 2020 despite cash crunch July 23, 2020 The BBC reached its highest ever audience in 2020, the broadcaster announced today, as it faces the most serious financial difficulty in its 97-year history amid the coronavirus pandemic. The public service broadcaster announced it reached 468.2m people a week in 2020, with BBC News scooping up the bulk of the share with 438.3m weekly [...]
Brexit: No progress expected in latest round of UK-EU trade talks July 23, 2020 UK and EU negotiators are expected to announce today that no significant progress had been made in the latest round of Brexit trade deal negotiations. Boris Johnson last month said he wanted the framework of free trade deal agreed between the UK and EU by July, however it looks like this deadline will pass with [...]