Bookshop.org: How a ‘scrappy’ online bookseller is trying to take on Amazon November 15, 2020 While the tech revolution has worked its way into all parts of daily life, few industries have experienced as extreme an overhaul as publishing. US bookstore sales have dropped from highs of more than $17bn (£12.9bn) to less than $10bn, while Amazon’s market share has grown to over 50 per cent. But now there’s a [...]
Wall Street opens higher but FTSE 100 slips as virus cases continue to rise November 13, 2020 Wall Street opened higher this afternoon as upbeat earnings from major companies helped markets shrug off concerns about rising Covid-19 cases. The S&P 500, Dow Jones and Nasdaq were all trading up roughly 0.8 per cent this afternoon. US stocks had seen their rally halted yesterday as investors weighed the timeline for a mass rollout [...]
Google boss apologises to EU chief over plans to dodge antitrust laws November 13, 2020 Google chief executive Sundar Pichai has apologised to EU industry chief Thierry Breton after leaked documents revealed plans to attack the commissioner over new antitrust laws. In a video conference last night, Pichai insisted he had not seen or signed off on the document and apologised for the way it had come out. The internal [...]
Screenshot: Is this the end for impartial TV news? November 13, 2020 A weekly column from City A.M. bringing you all the biggest stories and trends in technology, media and telecoms This week **Media Moment of the Week: How not the book the Four Seasons **Is this the end for impartial TV news? **UK protectionism: A tech takeover balancing act Media Moment of the Week This one’s [...]
Disney doubles down on streaming as it keeps a lid on losses November 13, 2020 Disney has said its nascent streaming service is key to the future success of its business after the media giant swung to its first annual loss in four decades. The House of Mouse today said it had racked up almost 74m paid subscribers for its Disney Plus platform, which launched in the UK on the [...]
Trump administration to delay enforcement of Tiktok ban November 13, 2020 The US government has said it will delay enforcement of a ban on Tiktok as the Chinese-owned viral video app fights back against the measures. The Trump administration in August filed a divestiture order that would have forced Tiktok to sell its US operations by Thursday this week. But the US Commerce Department said it [...]
Dominic Cummings ‘set to resign’ by end of the year November 13, 2020 Boris Johnson’s top advisor Dominic Cummings is expected to resign from his role in Downing Street by the end of the year. Transport secretary Grant Shapps told Sky News this morning: “As he [Cummings] wrote right at the beginning of the year in his own words, he planned to make himself largely redundant this year [...]
Full-fibre broadband firm Hyperoptic opens new London headquarters November 13, 2020 Challenger broadband firm Hyperoptic is set to move into new headquarters in London amid growing demand for next-generation internet services. The company will make the short hop from its current offices into two floors in Kings House in Hammersmith. It also has offices in Manchester, Reading and Belgrade in Serbia. Hyperoptic has grown steadily since [...]
Equality watchdog clears BBC of gender pay discrimination November 12, 2020 The BBC has been cleared of unlawful gender pay discrimination but was warned of a breakdown in trust between the broadcaster and its female employees. The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) last year launched an investigation into the BBC following a string of pay complaints from high-profile presenters such as Carrie Grace and Samira [...]
Defence firm Qinetiq lifts guidance as order book grows November 12, 2020 Defence and security firm Qinetiq has raised its guidance for the full year after it reported a strong increase in orders against the backdrop of the Covid-19 crisis. The figures Qinetiq posted revenue of £603.2m in the six months to the end of September, up 24 per cent on last year. Statutory operating profit fell [...]
