House of Lords committee opens inquiry into future of journalism February 13, 2020 The House of Lords Communications and Digital Committee has opened a new inquiry into the future of journalism amid concerns about the impact of tech giants. The committee today said it was seeking evidence on how digital technologies such as social media had changed the way journalism is produced and consumed, and how journalists could [...]
Pound pushes higher after chancellor reshuffle February 13, 2020 Sterling rallied this afternoon after the prime minister’s Cabinet reshuffle was thrown into disarray by the resignation of chancellor Sajid Javid. The pound fell against the dollar following Javid’s surprise departure, which came after the chancellor refused to fire two of his special advisers. But it swiftly bounced back to trade up 0.5 per cent [...]
Car manual publisher Haynes soars as it agrees £115m takeover February 13, 2020 Shares in Haynes surged 60 per cent this morning after the car manual publisher said it has agreed a £114.5m takeover deal by a French rival. Under the terms of the deal Infopro Digital will pay 700p per share, representing a premium of roughly 62 per cent on Haynes’ closing price yesterday. It marks the [...]
Google gets the green light for $2.6bn Looker acquisition February 13, 2020 Google today completed its $2.6bn (£2bn) acquisition of analytics firm Looker after the deal was approved by the competition watchdog. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) opened an investigation into the merger in December amid concerns it could damage competition in the UK’s cloud computing market. However the regulator today said it had cleared the [...]
Exhibition giant Relx boosts profit but coronavirus risk looms February 13, 2020 Relx today posted a rise in revenue and profit for the full year, but warned it could not predict how the coronavirus outbreak would impact its business in China. The FTSE 15 publishing and exhibitions giant reported revenue of £7.9bn in the year to the end of December, up four per cent on an underlying [...]
MWC 2020 cancelled after coronovirus fears spark mass exodus February 12, 2020 Telecoms extravaganza Mobile World Congress (MWC) has been cancelled after fears over the coronavirus sparked a mass exodus by some of the world’s biggest tech giants. GSMA, which organises the annual conference, today said the outbreak had made it “impossible” for the event to go ahead later this month. “With due regard to the safe [...]
Court gives green light to T-Mobile’s $59bn merger with Sprint February 11, 2020 T-Mobile and Sprint were today given the green light for their $59bn (£45bn) merger after a US federal judge ruled the tie-up was legal. A group of US state attorneys general filed a lawsuit seeking to block the merger over concerns it would reduce competition and lead to higher prices. But judge Victor Marrero today [...]
Soundcloud bags $75m funding from Pandora owner Sirius XM February 11, 2020 Veteran music streaming site Soundcloud today announced it has received a $75m (£58m) cash injection from Sirius XM, the owner of US streaming giant Pandora. Soundcloud said it will use the funding to speed up its product development and enhance services for its users. The investment follows an ad sales partnership between Soundcloud and Pandora, [...]
Government ‘considers taking stake’ in struggling airline Flybe February 11, 2020 The government is said to be mulling taking a stake in struggling airline Flybe, despite concerns about state aid rules and a fierce backlash from the budget firm’s rivals. Ministers are in talks with Flybe and the European Commission to ensure any rescue deal did not contravene rules about government intervention, the BBC reported. While [...]
William Hill boosts US reach as it strikes media deal with CBS Sports February 11, 2020 Betting firm William Hill today confirmed it has struck a deal with CBS Sports as it ploughs ahead with its US expansion plan. The deal means the British bookmaker will be the exclusive provider of betting odds across CBS Sports’ digital platforms. The tie-up will kick off in March, with a full rollout planned for [...]
