Liberty Global snaps up Swiss telecoms group Sunrise for $7.4bn August 12, 2020 Liberty Global today said it has acquired Swiss telecoms group Sunrise Communications in a deal worth 6.8bn Swiss francs ($7.4bn). Liberty, which is run by US cable mogul John Malone, said it had agreed to buy Sunrise for 110 Swiss francs a share, representing a 32 per cent premium on the company’s average share price [...]
Government to crack down on online political campaigns August 12, 2020 The government has today outlined proposals for new laws designed to improve the transparency of political advertising on social media. The new measures would require political parties and campaigners to clearly state who they are when promoting campaign content online. Under the plans, all campaigners would be required to include a digital imprint containing their [...]
Markets live: US stocks near record high on stimulus hopes as FTSE 100 soars August 11, 2020 The FTSE 100 jumped today as US stimulus hopes offset bleak new data that showed a surge in UK job losses during the coronavirus crisis. The blue-chip index was up 2.42 per cent at 6,197 points at midday, before closing up 1.71 per cent at 6,154 in a bullish day for western markets. The gains [...]
Nokia phone maker HMD Global bags $230m in Google-led funding round August 11, 2020 Nokia smartphone maker HMD Global today said it has secured an additional $230m (£176m) in investment following a funding round led by Google. Chip giant Qualcomm and Nokia also contributed to the round, which is the largest since the company was founded in 2016. The Finnish manufacturing firm said the investment would be used to [...]
UK media profit warnings hit record high amid Covid-19 advertising slump August 11, 2020 The number of profit warnings issued by FTSE-listed media companies hit an all-time high in the first half of the year as the coronavirus crisis sparked a collapse in advertising revenue. Between January and June 59 per cent of the media sector issued one or more profit warnings, with 81 per cent citing Covid-19. A [...]
ITV investigated by watchdog over viewer competitions August 11, 2020 ITV is facing a probe by the media watchdog over its viewer competitions after the broadcaster admitted that some postal entries were never counted in its prize draws. ITV referred itself to Ofcom after discovering that some postal entries were not entered into the winner selection process for six competitions between 2014 and 2019. The [...]
Softbank bounces back with $12bn profit thanks to tech boom August 11, 2020 Softbank has bounced back from a record loss earlier in the year after strong performances by its tech investments fuelled a $12bn (£9.2bn) quarterly profit. The Japanese conglomerate plunged to its worst ever annual performance in March after recording a huge $18bn loss for its flagship $100bn Vision Fund. Softbank set out plans for a [...]
Coronavirus: Deaths in England and Wales fall to new low August 11, 2020 The number of coronavirus deaths recorded in England and Wales has fallen to a new low, according to the latest official figures. Of the 8,964 deaths recorded in the week ending 31 July, just 193 were linked to Covid-19. This is the lowest number of coronavirus-related deaths in the last 19 weeks and marks an [...]
UK economy: Britain braced for GDP and jobs hit August 10, 2020 The full extent of the Covid-19 crisis on the UK economy is set to be laid bare this week with the release of two key reports. While economists have been at odds over the speed of the country’s recovery from the pandemic, this week’s figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) are likely to [...]
FTSE 100 climbs on economic recovery hopes August 10, 2020 The FTSE 100 pushed higher today as investors shrugged off concerns about ongoing tensions between China and the US and focused on positive signs of economic recovery. The blue-chip index was up 0.93 per cent at 6,087 points in early trading, before dipping to a 0.42 per cent rise shortly before 3pm. The positive start [...]
