Exclusive: A quarter of Londoners fear capital will lose global status April 29, 2021 More than a quarter of Londoners fear the capital will become less important on the global stage as a result of the dual shock of Covid-19 and Brexit. A survey conducted by market research firm One Pulse exclusively for City A.M. revealed 26.5 per cent of Londoners believe the city will lose international clout over [...]
Spy scandal: Businessman admits smuggling marine tech to China April 28, 2021 A Chinese businessman has pleaded guilty to smuggling marine technology out of the US to help China’s efforts to develop underwater military drones. Shuren Qin, a marine biologist who owns a company that sells oceanographic instruments, pleaded guilty in Boston federal court to illegally exporting devices called hydrophones, which monitor sound underwater. His plea related [...]
G7 leaders ink agreement over global tech regulation April 28, 2021 Top leaders from G7 nations today signed an agreement over proposed new tech laws aimed at curbing the power of Big Tech and improving safety on online platforms. Politicians from the UK, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the US and the EU signed a declaration outlining a series of shared principles on how to tighten [...]
Samsung tycoon’s family to sell off art as it faces $11bn inheritance tax bill April 28, 2021 The family of Samsung’s late chairman Lee Kun-hee will donate a vast art collection as it faces a $10.8bn (£7.7bn) inheritance tax bill on his estate following his death last year. Lee, who is credited with transforming the South Korean company into the world’s largest smartphone and memory chip maker, died in October at the [...]
Spotify hits subscriber targets as pandemic party continues April 28, 2021 Spotify today reported subscriber growth at the top end of its targets for the first quarter as strong momentum from a pandemic-induced boom in trading continued into 2021. The music streaming giant posted 21 per cent year on year growth in premium subscribers to 158m after it added 4m in the first three months of [...]
WPP returns to revenue growth as UK ad market bounces back April 28, 2021 WPP today reported a surprise return to revenue growth in the first quarter as clients began to increase their marketing spend after a frugal pandemic year. The London-listed ad giant posted a 3.1 per cent rise in revenue less pass-through costs — its key metric — to £2.3bn for the first three months of the [...]
Spotify earnings: Is the music streaming giant facing a subscriber lag? April 28, 2021 Spotify will be in the spotlight this afternoon as it reports its first-quarter figures, with all eyes on the streaming giant’s subscriber numbers. The Swedish music platform enjoyed a bumper year in 2020, with paid subscribers hitting 155m thanks to higher demand for music and podcasts during the pandemic. But Spotify warned that pace of [...]
Covid connections: Pandemic narrows digital divide as more Brits go online April 28, 2021 While it may be hard to find silver linings in lockdown, it appears the rapid shift to online services has had its benefits. A surge in demand for internet services over the last year means the UK’s digital divide has narrowed even further, with more and more Brits getting connected. The proportion of homes without [...]
Oneweb raises $550m as French satellite firm Eutelsat takes major stake April 27, 2021 Oneweb today said it had raised $550m (£395m) in fresh funding from French satellite firm Eutelsat as the race to roll out space internet services gathers pace. Eutelsat, which is part owned by the French state, will take a stake of roughly 24 per cent in the British company and take on similar governance rights [...]
Spotify launches podcast subscriptions as Apple rivalry heats up April 27, 2021 Spotify today revealed plans to launch a paid subscription platform for podcasters as the streaming service’s rivalry with Apple continues to heat up. The feature, which will initially launch in the US, means podcast creators can mark certain episodes as subscriber-only and publish them on Spotify, as well as on other podcast services. It comes [...]
