Government debt continues to balloon as Rishi Sunak promises stability October 28, 2022 Government debt ballooned in the second quarter of this year, making up 101.9 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP). New figures released by the ONS show that gross debt was £2,436.7bn between April and June in the UK. At 101.9 per cent of GDP, this puts the UK 15.5 percentage points above the EU [...]
Premier League eyes £30m NFT deal with Sorare October 28, 2022 The Premier League is weighing up £30m-a-year digital tokens deal with Sorare, as the sport pushes into the world of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). According to reports from Mark Kleinman for Sky News, the top English clubs are set to meet with the French start-up later today to discuss a multi-year agreement. It is understood the deal [...]
World Cup spells win for struggling advertising market October 27, 2022 The ad sector is set to score a much-needed goal this winter with the Qatar World Cup driving up advertising spend. According to new data from the Advertising Association (AA), ad spend for the final quarter is set to climb by 4.5 per cent from last year’s record high, to a total of £9.5bn. This [...]
Spotify calls out ‘kafkaesque’ App Store regulations in its audiobook push October 26, 2022 The boss of Spotify has criticised Apple for stifling its big break into audiobooks, calling its rules around customer access “kafkaesque”. The music streaming firm first announced that it would be pushing into audiobooks back in September, offering a potential rival to Amazon’s Kindle services in the US market. However, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek told [...]
Google and Microsoft drag tech stocks both sides of the Atlantic October 26, 2022 Disappointing results from both Google owner Alphabet and Microsoft have dragged down tech shares both sides of the Atlantic. Nasdaq was down two per cent at the opening bell, whilst European tech stocks fell 1.8 per cent to lead sectoral losses. It comes after Alphabet said third-quarter revenue grew six per cent to $69.1bn, raising [...]
Peloton lures CEO back from retirement with £145m package despite tumbling market value October 26, 2022 Peloton lured chief exec Barry McCarthy out of retirement with a handsome package worth $168m (£145m), making him one of the highest-paid bosses in the US. McCarthy, who previously served as chief of finance at both Spotify and Netflix, replaced Peloton co-founder John Foley as CEO of the fitness company back in February. McCarthy is often credited [...]
Juul eyes up investor bailout as it fends off US regulatory hurdles October 25, 2022 JUUL is reportedly in talks with two of its top investors about a potential bailout as the vaping giant fends off US regulators. As first reported by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), Hyatt Hotels heir Nick Pritzker and Riaz Valani are weighing up whether to cover the firm’s operations and near term legal liabilities. The [...]
Warner Bros Discovery said scrapping content could cost over £2bn October 25, 2022 Warner Bros Discovery said that charges associated with cutting content could reach $2.5bn (£2.2bn), as the media giant continues down its cost-saving path. According to a security filing posted on Monday, the merged firm said restructuring costs could total up to $4.3bn through 2024, including between $2bn and $2.5bn in “strategic content programming assessments”. It [...]
Apple ups prices for music and TV for first time ever October 25, 2022 Apple has hiked its prices for its music and TV services for the first time ever this week, perhaps signalling things to come for its biggest streaming rivals. The tech giant said it would be increasing the price of Apple Music globally by $1 to $10.99, and breaking away from the standard ‘9.99’ price level [...]
Govt drags feet with new digital markets bill October 25, 2022 A new report by MPs on the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Committee has called on the Government to push forward with a draft Digital Markets Bill that would allow regulators to take a more proactive approach to curbing big tech dominance. The bill would enshrine the Competition and Markets Authority’s (CMA) Digital Markets Unit (DMU) [...]
