Huawei sues Verizon over patent theft claims February 6, 2020 Huawei has announced it is launching legal action against telecoms giant Verizon, signalling the latest salvo in an ongoing dispute between the US and China. In a lawsuit filed in Texas, the Shenzhen-based tech giant accused Verizon of using its technology in areas such as computer networking, download security and video communications. Huawei is also [...]
Estee Lauder cuts profit forecast amid coronavirus outbreak February 6, 2020 Cosmetics giant Estee Lauder has slashed its profit forecast for the year, citing the recent Coronavirus in epidemic, one of its key markets. The beauty brand said it expects adjusted earnings of $5.60 to $5.70 per share in 2020, down from a previous estimate of $5.85 to $5.93. Analysts were expecting earnings to reach $5.94 [...]
Varadkar teeters on the brink amid Sinn Fein surge February 6, 2020 Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is teetering on the edge of defeat in Saturday’s election, with his Fine Gael party looking likely to lose out as a result of a resurgent Sinn Fein. Most recent polling puts Varadkar’s party third with 17 per cent of the vote, while Sinn Fein has support from around a quarter [...]
Aluminium group EN Plus to buy back a fifth of shares February 6, 2020 Russian aluminium and power producer EN Plus said it would buy back a fifth of its shares from state bank VTB for $1.6bn (£1.24bn) in response to the US lifting sanctions on the group. Oligarch Oleg Deripaska, who has close ties to Russian president Vladimir Putin, offloaded his controlling stake in EN Plus to VTB [...]
Swiss investment adviser calls on Credit Suisse chairman to quit over spying scandal February 6, 2020 The head of a prominent Swiss investment adviser has called on Credit Suisse chairman Urs Rohner to step down, as a boardroom battle sparked by the bank spying on executives escalates. Rohner has been locked in a power struggle with chief executive Tidjane Thiam since the revelation in September that the Swiss lender had hired [...]
Malaysian PM says payments in high-value deals not bribes following Air Asia allegations February 6, 2020 The Prime Minister of Malaysia Mahathir Mohamad said today that payments to offset high-value orders could not be considered bribes. Mahathir was responding to questions from reporters on a controversial sponsorship deal the owners of Air Asia struck with plane maker Airbus. The UK’s Serious Fraud Office (SFO) said last week as it concluded a [...]
Twitter shares rise as revenue beats $1bn for the first time February 6, 2020 Shares in Twitter rose as much as eight per cent in pre-market trading today after the social media firm missed profit estimates but beat $1bn in quarterly revenue for the first time. Twitter reported net income of $119m (£91m), down from $255m on the same quarter last year and behind expectations. However, the social media [...]
Nationwide to refund customers £900,000 for overdraft text failures February 6, 2020 Nationwide will repay £900,000 to customers after it failed to correctly warn them that they would be charged for entering an unarranged overdraft. The move follows an investigation by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), which ruled that the building society fell foul of rules stating customers with personal current accounts must receive a text [...]
$65bn Ponzi scheme king Bernie Madoff is dying, and wants to leave prison early February 6, 2020 Ponzi scheme king Bernie Madoff has said he is dying of kidney failure and has fewer than 18 months to live, and is seeking to end his 150-year prison sentence. Madoff’s lawyer said the 81-year-old is confined to a wheelchair, often requires oxygen, and suffers from cardiovascular disease, hypertension, insomnia and other chronic and serious [...]
Sajid Javid’s growth plan unlikely to succeed, says think tank February 6, 2020 Sajid Javid’s plan to double the UK’s economic growth rate has little chance of success, according to a major think tank, as Britain pays the price for weak productivity. Javid has said he wants to boost UK economic growth to around 2.75 per cent by “levelling up” spending across the country. Yet the National Institute [...]