Mercedes-Benz owner Daimler fined €870m for diesel emissions scandal September 24, 2019 German car manufacturer Daimler has been handed an €870m (£767m) fine for its role in the diesel emissions scandal. Prosecutors in Stuttgart ruled that the Mercedes-Benz owner had committed a “negligent violation of supervisory duties” by failing to meet regulatory requirements for some of its diesel vehicles since 2008. Read more: Volkswagen chief executive faces [...]
Google advertising overtakes rival Facebook in app downloads market September 24, 2019 Adverts on Google now drive more app downloads than adverts on Facebook, marking the first time the search giant has overtaken its Silicon Valley rival. Google has increased its share of the app installation sector eightfold in the last five years and is now the largest player in the app marketing space, according to marketing [...]
Buzzfeed forms video ad alliance as publishers look to fend off tech giants September 24, 2019 Buzzfeed has teamed up with two other digital media companies to pool their video advertising space, as the firms look to counter the dominance of tech giants. Buzzfeed, Group Nine Media and Insider will create an alliance enabling them to sell advertising space across all three companies’ websites, apps and Youtube channels. Read more: Publishers [...]
Canada denies wrongdoing during arrest of Huawei finance chief September 24, 2019 There is no evidence that officials acted improperly during the arrest of Huawei chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou, the attorney general of Canada has said. The statement came in a filing made public last night, as Meng and her lawyers appeared in the British Columbia Supreme Court in Vancouver. Read more: Huawei CFO’s arrest to [...]
Google’s ‘quantum supremacy’ claim does not compute, rivals say September 23, 2019 Google’s rivals have cast aspersions on claims that the tech giant has achieved a major milestone in quantum computing. Researchers at Google last week claimed to have built a quantum computer capable of performing calculations far beyond the abilities of current supercomputers, an achievement known as quantum supremacy. Read more: Google plugs €3bn into European [...]
Huawei CFO’s arrest to be probed in Vancouver hearing September 23, 2019 Lawyers for Huawei’s chief financial officer Meng Wanzhou are set to probe her arrest in Vancouver airport during a court hearing today. Meng was arrested in December on suspicion of misleading banks and violating sanctions against Iran, and is now facing extradition to the US. Read more: Huawei drops lawsuit against US over seized equipment [...]
Reuben brothers invest £19m in modular homes developer Project Etopia September 23, 2019 Billionaire property tycoons David and Simon Reuben have invested £19m in Project Etopia, a housing developer specialising in modular homes. Project Etopia, which was founded in 2015, provides energy-efficient modular homes and school buildings that can be constructed in under four weeks. Read more: UK house price growth slows to seven-year low The Cambridge-based company [...]
Ofcom launches probe into Chinese state broadcaster over Hong Kong coverage September 23, 2019 Ofcom has launched an investigation into Chinese state broadcaster CGTN over concerns its coverage of protests in Hong Kong broke the regulator’s impartiality rules. Ofcom is understood to be probing four separate news programmes aired on the station in August and early September. Read more: Ofcom gives green light to BBC’s Britbox push CGTN, which [...]
London overtakes New York to steal global fintech investment crown September 23, 2019 London has overtaken New York to become the world’s number one city for investments in fintech firms, new figures have revealed. In the first eight months of the year alone, London has attracted 114 investments with a record-breaking value of more than $2bn (£1.6bn), according to industry body Innovate Finance and the mayor’s promotional agency [...]
NHS software delays cause headache for digital health firm Babylon September 22, 2019 British health startup Babylon has suffered a setback to its expansion plans after the NHS missed the deadline to upgrade a key piece of software. The London-based firm, which connects patients with doctors through a video chat service, won approval in June to expand its operations to Birmingham. Read more: US health firm Centene invests [...]