New Media forms largest US newspaper group after $1.4bn Gannett takeover August 6, 2019 US local media giant New Media Investment Group has bought rival Gannett for $1.4bn (£1.1bn), forming the country’s largest newspaper owner. Virginia-based Gannett owns USA Today, as well as over 160 UK publishers including Newsquest and online marketing firm Reachlocal. Read more: Media group Future buys US publisher Smartbrief for up to $65m New Media [...]
Tencent in talks to buy stake in Universal Music Group August 6, 2019 The French media conglomerate behind Universal Music Group (UMG) is in talks to sell a chunk of the music company to Chinese tech giant Tencent. Vivendi said the deal, which would give Universal a total equity value of €30bn (£27.6bn), will help boost the firm’s presence in Asia. Read more: London firm to launch Spotify-style [...]
Battersea Power Station opens Coaling Jetty to the public amid mammoth revamp project August 6, 2019 Battersea Power Station has unveiled its redeveloped Coaling Jetty, which is open to the public for the first time ever. The Grade II*-listed jetty will host live music, food and drink, wellness sessions and family activities for visitors during a string of riverside events this month. Read more: Battersea Power Station home buyers claim refunds [...]
Facebook ‘still flooded with fake reviews’ despite regulator warning August 6, 2019 Facebook is failing to crack down on a “thriving” marketplace of fake reviews on its website, despite being told by regulators to tackle the problem, a new investigation has revealed. Consumer group Which found dozens of groups on the social media site that recruit people to write fake reviews on ecommerce sites such as Amazon [...]
Regional investment, not taxes, holds the key to bursting the London bubble August 6, 2019 For populist left-wing, typified by Jeremy Corbyn, there are few problems that can’t be solved by taxing the rich. But who exactly are they? A new report by the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) sheds some light on this much-maligned demographic. To be in the top 10 per cent of income tax payers you need [...]
Ad industry urges Boris Johnson to ditch ‘onerous’ junk food ad ban August 5, 2019 The advertising industry has urged Prime Minister Boris Johnson to rethink “onerous” restrictions on ads for unhealthy food amid concerns over the economic impact. In a letter to Johnson, the Advertising Association (AA) said that while it supported the government’s ambition to reduce childhood obesity by 2050, plans to crack down on adverts would not [...]
Regulator opens probe into City broker SVS Securities as it falls into administration August 5, 2019 Stockbroker SVS Securities has collapsed into administration and will face a regulatory investigation amid “serious concerns” about its business. Administrators at Leonard Curtis have been appointed to take control of the City-based broker and are exploring options including a sale, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said in a statement. Read more: UBS becomes first broker [...]
Global heatwave makes July hottest month ever recorded August 5, 2019 Soaring global temperatures meant last month was the hottest ever recorded, weather experts have revealed. Temperatures in July at least equalled, if not surpassed, the highest previously recorded, marking a continued rise in global temperatures over recent years. Read more: London’s Tower Bridge manually cooled in extreme heat to prevent it jamming The data, published [...]
Ofcom clears Channel 4 News over Jon Snow’s ‘white people’ comment August 5, 2019 Ofcom has cleared Channel 4 News of wrongdoing after presenter Jon Snow remarked he had “never seen so many white people in one place” during a Brexit rally. The regulator received 2,600 complaints that Snow’s comment, made at the end of the programme, was racist and offensive. Read more: BBC gets Ofcom approval to stream [...]
Far-right website 8chan down as Cloudflare pulls support after mass shootings August 5, 2019 8chan, the far-right messaging forum linked to recent mass shootings in the US, has been forced offline after cybersecurity firm Cloudflare cut ties with the website. San Francisco-based Cloudflare said it would stop protecting the controversial website at midnight Pacific time (8am BST) today. Read more: At least 30 people killed in separate US mass [...]