Pfizer hikes Covid vaccine sales forecast by almost a third to $33.5bn July 28, 2021 Pfizer has raised its full-year sales forecast for its coronavirus vaccine by nearly a third, as governments across the world rush to secure doses to vaccinate their populations. The US drugmaker raised its 2021 forecast for sales of the Covid vaccine that it produces with Germany’s BioNTech by 28.8 per cent to $33.5bn (£24bn), up [...]
Apple posts record quarterly revenue on China sales and iPhone demand July 27, 2021 Apple has beat analysts’ expectations and posted record quarterly revenue on surging demand for premium versions of its iPhones, subscription services, and strong China sales growth. Revenues grew by more than a third to $81.4bn this quarter, up 36 per cent from last year and driven by better-than-expected iPhone sales. This beat analyst expectations of [...]
Google owner Alphabet smashes earnings estimates on digital advertising boom July 27, 2021 Google parent company Alphabet sprinted past revenue expectations for the second quarter, as the pandemic-induced surge in online shopping powered companies’ digital advertising spend. The tech giant posted revenue of $61.88bn in the three months to 30 June, up 62 per cent from the same period last year, and miles in front of Wall Street estimates [...]
Microsoft beats Wall Street expectations on soaring demand for cloud computing July 27, 2021 Microsoft beat earnings expectations and posted a rise in revenue for the fourth quarter, as the ongoing shift to remote working bolstered demand for its cloud computing services. Microsoft reported a 21 per cent rise in revenue to $46.2bn in the three months ending 30 June – beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $44.24bn, according to [...]
Morrisons’ biggest shareholder refuses to back £6.3bn Fortress-led takeover bid July 27, 2021 Morrisons’ largest shareholder has announced “it is not inclined to support” a £6.3bn takeover bid by a consortium led by SoftBank-owned Fortress. Silchester International Investors, which owns 15.1 per cent of Morrisons, said in a statement on Tuesday evening that “there is little in the recommended offer that could not be achieved by Morrison as [...]
Rio Tinto to build $2.4bn lithium mine in green energy metals push July 27, 2021 Rio Tinto Group has announced it will build a $2.4bn lithium mine in Serbia, in a bid to become the largest source of lithium supply in Europe for fifteen years. It represents the first move by one of the world’s mining giants to focus on metals that will help them capitalise on the electric car [...]
UK Covid cases have now fallen for seven days in a row. Is this the beginning of the end? July 27, 2021 The number of people testing positive for new cases of Covid-19 has now fallen for seven days in a row, prompting thoughts that the UK may be through the worst of the third wave of the pandemic. But are they justified? A seven day stretch of falling case rates last happened in summer last year, [...]
Boris Johnson urges caution as falling Covid case numbers raise hopes for UK July 27, 2021 The Prime Minister said that people should not get carried away by six days of lower Covid case numbers in the UK, and warned that the effects of Freedom Day had not yet fed through to the data. Johnson urged people not to get complacent or jump to premature conclusions after the UK recorded six [...]
Return to pub trumps return to work for Brits in first week since Freedom Day July 27, 2021 Freedom Day’s easing of restrictions on 19 July sparked a return to drinking holes and restaurants for more Brits last week than it did a return to the office, according to new data tracking average footfall. Overall hospitality footfall in the UK now stands at 80 per cent of pre-Covid levels, and the lifting of [...]
Supermarket sales improve tentatively after restaurant reopening hit July 27, 2021 UK supermarket sales improved slightly in the last four weeks as Brits stocked up on beers for the Euros and picnic items to enjoy in the sun, according to new data released today. Total till sales over the four weeks ending 17th July were down 1.3 per cent on the same period last year, new [...]