GSK board rejects call for board shake-up by activist investor Elliott July 2, 2021 The board of Glaxosmithkline has rejected calls for a shake-up of its board after activist investor Elliott Management launched a shock attack on the company’s management. Elliott yesterday urged GSK to name new board directors and launch a review of Emma Walmsley’s leadership of the company in its first public push for change since its [...]
Smart devices could expose homes to thousands of cyber attacks a week July 2, 2021 A home filled with smart devices could be exposed to thousands of hacking or unknown scanning attacks from around the world in a single week, according to a new report. A real-world study carried out by consumer group Which recorded more than 12,000 attack attempts in a week, including 2,435 specific attempts to maliciously log [...]
Screenshot: Who will win the summer TV ratings war? July 2, 2021 This week **Media Moment of the Week: Rob Beckett’s Wembley wisdom **Who will win the summer TV ratings war? **Kantar’s boardroom carousel Media Moment of the Week: Rob Beckett’s Wembley wisdom We all had a great time on Tuesday, didn’t we, but arguably no one had a better time than Rob Beckett. Fortunately, the comedian [...]
Alibaba founders pledge company stock to secure bank loans July 2, 2021 Chinese tycoons Jack Ma and Joe Tsai have pledged part of their combined $35bn (£25bn) stake in Alibaba in exchange for large loans from investment banks. The share pledges, which were made to lenders including UBS, Credit Suisse and Goldman Sachs, were made by offshore companies that control half of the two billionaire’s stake in [...]
Richard Branson set to beat Jeff Bezos in space race July 2, 2021 Sir Richard Branson is aiming to beat billionaire rival Jeff Bezos into space by just nine days after setting a launch date for his Virgin Galactic rocket ship. The entrepreneur plans to join as a passenger on VSS Unity as early as 11 July, subject to weather and technical checks. The journey to the edge [...]
Defence firm Qinetiq taps new chief financial officer July 2, 2021 Defence and security group Qinetiq has tapped a new chief financial officer following the departure of incumbent finance chief David Smith. Smith, who joined Qinetiq in 2017, will step down from the role and his position on the board on 30 November. He will be replaced by Carol Borg, currently chief financial officer of solar [...]
Micro Focus narrows loss as software group slashes costs July 1, 2021 British software firm Micro Focus today reported a narrower loss for the first half of the year as it reaped the rewards of a cost-cutting plan. The London-listed company, which helps customers maintain and update legacy IT systems, posted an operating loss of $154.8m (£112m) for the six months to the end of April. This [...]
Revolving door: Kantar’s third boss in 18 months is BT CEO’s bro July 1, 2021 Kantar has tapped the brother of BT’s chief executive as its new boss, marking yet another leadership change at the media giant following its takeover by Bain Capital. The market research group today said Chris Jansen, brother of BT’s Philip Jansen, will take the reins from 1 November. The appointment comes less than 18 months [...]
BT promises wholesale price freeze in full-fibre broadband push July 1, 2021 BT has pledged to freeze prices for its wholesale telecoms customers in a bid to drive the take-up of full-fibre broadband services and fend off competition from rivals. The FTSE 100 company today said it will hold prices for up to 10 years when communications providers commit to using full-fibre wherever it is available, rather [...]
Primark lifts profit forecast after store reopenings boost sales July 1, 2021 Primark has hiked its profit forecast for the full year after the easing of lockdown restrictions drove a sharp rise in sales for the third quarter. Parent company Associated British Foods (ABF) said profit at the budget fashion chain would be roughly in line with last year — up from previous guidance of “somewhat lower”. [...]
