Switch it up: Nintendo profit triples on lockdown gaming boom November 5, 2020 Nintendo’s profit tripled in the six months to the end of September as consumers splashed out on gaming during the coronavirus lockdown. The Japanese tech giant posted a first-half operating profit of 291.4bn yen (£2.1bn), up from 94bn yen in the same period last year. Nintendo has enjoyed booming demand for its Switch consoles, with [...]
BT threatened with strike action over job cuts and pay November 5, 2020 BT could be facing its first major strike action in more than 15 years after union members accused the company of “putting profit before people”. The Communication Workers Union (CWU) today asked members to vote on whether to hold a strike ballot at the company over an “increasingly aggressive” approach by management across BT, Openreach [...]
Virgin Media boosts customer numbers ahead of O2 merger November 5, 2020 Virgin Media today reported its biggest quarterly increase in broadband customers since 2017 as the firm said its proposed merger with O2 was on track. The telecoms group said its fixed-line customers have surpassed 6m after an increase of 37,000 in the third quarter. This is compared to a loss of 3,000 in the same [...]
Virgin Media switches on gigabit broadband across London November 4, 2020 More Londoners can now enjoy access to next-generation broadband after Virgin Media carried out the UK’s largest ever network switch-on. Roughly 2.6m homes across the capital will be able to benefit from gigabit broadband, which is more than 17 times faster than the national average, with speeds of 1,104Mbps. Virgin’s broadband coverage reaches every London [...]
Three owner CK Hutchison nears €10bn tower sale to Cellnex November 4, 2020 The owner of mobile network Three today confirmed it is closing in on a €10bn (£9bn) sale of its European masts business to Spanish infrastructure group Cellnex. In a stock market filing today, CK Hutchison said it had reached a “substantial agreement” with Cellnex on key commercial terms for the sale. The Hong Kong-based group [...]
Fitness industry rolls orange tank into Parliament Square in lockdown protest November 4, 2020 Fitness firms sparked chaos this morning after driving an orange tank through Westminster to protest the sector’s closure during the upcoming lockdown. Among the protesters was former England rugby international James Haskell, who was filmed releasing orange smoke from the armoured vehicle in Parliament Square. The disruptive stunt, which was organised by fitness brand Grenade, [...]
Sink or float: What’s next for Ant Group after China suspends world’s biggest IPO? November 4, 2020 The tech world was thrown into turmoil yesterday after Chinese authorities put an abrupt halt to Ant Group’s record-breaking initial public offering. The Chinese fintech giant was set to raise $34.4bn (£26.5bn) through a dual listing in Shanghai and Hong Kong in what would be the world’s largest stock market debut. But the Shanghai leg [...]
Prop 22: Uber and Lyft win California bid to class drivers as contractors November 4, 2020 Uber and Lyft have secured a major victory today after winning a vote in California that allows the ride-hailing apps to continue classing their drivers as contractors rather than employees. Voters in California yesterday passed Proposition 22, a state ballot measure that will enable companies in the gig economy to bypass labour laws. Roughly 58 [...]
STV holds guidance as advertising recovery beats expectations November 4, 2020 Scottish broadcaster STV today said advertising had bounced back more quickly than expected following a coronavirus-induced slump, though it warned the short-term outlook remained uncertain. STV, which holds the channel 3 licence in Scotland, suffered a 20 per cent drop in advertising revenue in the first half of the year as the outbreak of coronavirus [...]
Shares in cyber firm ECSC spike as home working drives up demand November 4, 2020 Shares in ECSC jumped more than 11 per cent this morning as the cybersecurity firm said a shift to home working during the pandemic had boosted demand for its services. In a trading update for the four months since June, ECSC said revenue and profit had continued to rise as clients bolstered their cyber defences. [...]