Saudi Arabian wealth fund set to invest in digital health startup Babylon July 30, 2019 Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund is said to be in late-stage talks over an investment in British startup Babylon Health. The investment, which would come as part of a funding round worth hundreds of millions of dollars, could be announced later this week, the Financial Times reported, citing people with knowledge of the matter. Read [...]
Ralph Lauren revenue rises after social media marketing boost July 30, 2019 Ralph Lauren today posted a modest rise in revenue in the first quarter, after bumper marketing campaigns helped drive trading among younger shoppers. The luxury retailer reported a three per cent rise in revenue to $1.4bn (£1.2bn) in the three months to the end of June, while net profit rose to $117m from $109m in [...]
Sextortion and bomb threats fuel rise in email scams July 30, 2019 The number of email extortion scams has spiked in recent months as cyber criminals increasingly use fabricated bomb and sex threats to dupe victims into handing over money. In a report published today, cybersecurity firm Symantec said it blocked almost 300m extortion scam emails from the start of the year until the end of May. [...]
Huawei shrugs off US blacklisting with strong first half revenue growth July 30, 2019 Huawei has posted a sharp rise in revenue for the first half, despite the US’s attempts to cripple its global trading. President Donald Trump has added the Chinese firm to a trade blacklist, effectively blocking it from doing business with American companies. Read more: US sanctions blamed for Huawei 5G decision delay But the move [...]
UK ad spend defies economic gloom to hit £6bn as online radio drives growth July 30, 2019 UK ad spend defied economic uncertainty and fraught political tensions to grow to £6bn in the first quarter, new figures have revealed. Advertising spend rose 4.2 per cent year-on-year thanks to strong growth in the video on-demand, online display and online radio sectors. Read more: Social media ad spend growth plummets amid decline in trust [...]
Facebook fact checkers stumped by satire amid crackdown on harmful content July 30, 2019 Third-party fact checkers tasked with flagging misinformation on Facebook have been forced to reconsider how they handle humorous posts due to the number of people misinterpreting satire as fact. Full Fact, which carries out fact checking services on Facebook in the UK, has urged the social media firm to introduce a new rating for humorous [...]
Ofcom sets out new rules for reality TV after Jeremy Kyle Show death July 29, 2019 Ofcom has proposed new rules to protect participants in TV and radio shows, weeks after ITV bosses were slammed over the death of a guest on The Jeremy Kyle Show. The regulator today unveiled plans for new rules requiring broadcasters to protect the welfare and dignity of participants in shows, and to ensure participants are [...]
Media group Future buys US publisher Smartbrief for up to $65m July 29, 2019 Media firm Future today said it has snapped up US-based news curation site Smartbrief for up to $65m (£53m) as it looks to beef up its business-to-business (B2B) offering. Future, which owns magazine titles including Four Four Two and Tech Radar, said it has paid an initial sum of $45m for the firm through a [...]
Shares in Sorrell’s S4 Capital get boost as rapid expansion continues July 29, 2019 Shares in S4 Capital rose more than four per cent this morning after the digital advertising firm reported strong trading for the first half. S4, which is run by ad veteran Sir Martin Sorrell, said like-for-like revenue and gross profit were up roughly 40 per cent over the period. Read more: Sorrell’s S4 Capital to [...]
London Stock Exchange share price hits record high on Refinitiv takeover talks July 29, 2019 Shares in the London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) jumped 14 per cent this morning after it emerged the company is in talks to buy data analytics firm Refinitiv for $27bn (£22bn). Read more: London Stock Exchange in talks to buy data analytics firm Refinitiv for $27bn The company confirmed that it is in discussions with [...]
