Amazon buys self-driving startup Zoox for $1bn June 26, 2020 Amazon has acquired US self-driving startup Zoox, marking its first major step into the driverless cars market. The deal is valued at more than $1bn, the Information first reported. Amazon declined to confirm the size of the acquisition. Zoox chief executive Aicha Evans and chief technology officer Jesse Levinson will continue to lead Zoox as [...]
Microsoft to permanently close all retail stores June 26, 2020 Microsoft has said it intends to keep all of its retail locations closed permanently, as it reorganises its sales offering towards online shopping. It said its retail team members will “continue to serve customers from Microsoft corporate facilities”, remotely providing sales, training, and support. No job losses were mentioned. It added that it will reimagine some of its [...]
France and UK offer concessions on digital tax after US tariff threat June 26, 2020 The Treasury is offering to reduce the scope of its digital services tax if the US promises to come back to the negotiating table on a global proposal, it has emerged. Alongside the finance ministers of France, Italy and Spain, the UK said in a letter to US Treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin it would “considerably [...]
Google reveals coronavirus support package for UK businesses June 26, 2020 Google has today launched a number of pledges to support British small businesses during the pandemic, as part of a bid to help companies stay open through boosting online performance. The tech firm said it has set a goal of helping 1m businesses by the end of 2021, particularly focusing on those which rely on [...]
H&M losses worsen as pandemic hurts sales June 26, 2020 Losses at H&M were slightly worse than expected in the second quarter as shopper activity slumped amid the coronavirus pandemic. The world’s second biggest fashion retailer said its loss before tax in the three months to May was 6.48bn Swedish crowns (£559.4m), against a profit of 5.93bn crowns a year earlier. Analysts had on average [...]
Menzies chief to exit in move to Glenfiddich owner June 26, 2020 Airport services group John Menzies chief executive Giles Wilson will step down, the firm said today, as he leaves to join Glenfiddich owner William Grant & Sons. Wilson will take up his post as William Grant & Sons chief financial officer in the end of August. John Menzies said Wilson will not be replaced. Its [...]
Tesco sales bounce amid lockdown spending spree June 26, 2020 Tesco said its sales for the first quarter rose almost nine per cent in the UK, as shoppers stocked up on essentials and hunkered down during the pandemic. Underlying sales in the UK rose 8.7 per cent in the 13 weeks to the end of May, reaching £9.9bn. It maintained its outlook on profit, saying [...]
Ebay calls for government funding to help charities innovate during pandemic June 26, 2020 Ebay’s UK arm has put pressure on the government to do more to help charities during the coronavirus pandemic by establishing an innovation fund to support online retail and services. The e-commerce giant is part of a coalition behind the initiative, which also includes Barnardo’s, the Charity Retail Association and New Philanthropy Capital. The fund [...]
Huawei wins fight to build £1bn UK chip facility June 25, 2020 Huawei was today given the green light by planning authorities to build a £1bn research and development facility in Cambridgeshire. The 500-acre facility will hold around 400 staff, and be focused on the production of technology for use in fibre-optic communication systems. Once up and running, it will become Huawei’s international headquarters for its optical [...]
Google to pay select publishers for news content June 25, 2020 Google will begin paying some publishers for their news content, after regulators threatened to force the tech giant to share the revenue it receives from articles. Google’s vice president for news Brad Bender said it would start paying some publishers in Germany, Australia and Brazil for “high-quality content”, with talks continuing regarding licences in six [...]
