Greta Thunberg crowned Time Person of the Year 2019 December 11, 2019 Time named teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg as its person of the year today, after she inspired worldwide protests against inaction on tackling climate change. The 16-year-old Swedish climate activist, whose school strikes in 2018 sparked the so-called Fridays for future movement, is the youngest person to win the prestigious magazine title. Read more: Greta [...]
Don’t cross the streams: Netflix to make series about the rise of Spotify December 11, 2019 As the streaming wars heat up, media firms are increasingly looking to get ahead of their rivals. But now it appears Netflix may be willing to bury the hatchet – by producing a series about its audio streaming rival Spotify. Netflix today said it will air an untitled scripted show that documents the rise of [...]
Saudi Aramco shares surge 10 per cent in $25.6bn stock market debut December 11, 2019 Saudi Aramco’s shares jumped 10 per cent today, as the kingdom’s state-run oil company started life as a public company on Riyadh’s Tadawul stock exchange. The rise took the oil behemoth’s market value to nearly $1.9 trillion (£1.45 trillion), meaning it is now comfortably the world’s most valuable listed firm. Read more: Institutional tranche of Saudi [...]
Mike Lynch $5bn fraud trial enters final stages December 11, 2019 British businessman Mike Lynch will face renewed scrutiny tomorrow as Hewlett-Packard kicks off its closing submissions in a $5.1bn fraud trial centred on its acquisition of software firm Autonomy. Hewlett-Packard is suing Lynch, the founder of software company Autonomy, and the firm’s former finance chief Sushovan Hussain, accusing the company of falsely inflating its revenue [...]
Election 2019: The many losers, and occasional winners, of the campaign December 11, 2019 The winter election has finally come – but was the campaign as bad as we thought? Here we round up the many losers, and occasional winners, of 2019… Tory rebel David Gauke might be about to lose his South West Hertfordshire seat to his Conservative replacement Gagan Mohindra, but the founding member of the Gaukward [...]
Boeing 737 Max: Grounding could cost tour operator Tui €400m next year December 11, 2019 Tui has admitted the grounding of its fleet of Boeing 737 Max planes could cost up to €400m next year if it does not return to the skies by April. The world’s biggest tour operator said that if the global ban on the jet lasts beyond February next year it will not have time to [...]
Hipgnosis profit surges as song catalogue hits the right notes December 11, 2019 Music royalties investment firm Hipgnosis has posted a huge rise in pre-tax profit after snapping up some of the biggest hits of the decade in an aggressive acquisition spree. The London-listed firm today reported pre-tax profit of £12.6m in the six months to the end of September, more than four times the £3m posted in [...]
Supercuts secures rescue deal December 11, 2019 Budget hair salon chain Supercuts has secured a rescue deal, in a move that will save more than 1,000 jobs. Bushell Investment Group, owned by entrepreneur Lee Bushell, supported a management buy-out of the business and assets of Supercuts owner Regis UK. Around 60 sites are expected to close as part of the deal, with [...]
Rugby, Avengers Endgame, and Article 50: What trended on Google in 2019? December 11, 2019 Rugby, cricket and Game of Thrones topped Google searches in both London and the UK, as Google released its 2019 Year in Search lists today. Google also revealed the most popular people, events, and topics searched in London and the UK. England’s run to the final of this year’s Rugby World Cup propelled the event [...]
Revealed: The five most expensive rail routes into London December 11, 2019 Overpriced tickets? Frequent delays? Nowhere to sit? For the millions of people who take the train into London every day, this probably sounds familiar. And to add insult to injury, the five most-expensive rail commutes are for journeys into London – with some passengers paying more than £500 a month just to get into work. [...]