China tech crackdown: From Jack Ma’s disappearance to online tutoring debacle August 5, 2021 Chinese technology giants once seemed untouchable, with billions of profits through aggressive expansion. But that status is now more uncertain after a year of Beijing’s sweeping regulatory crackdowns that have spread like wildfire across sectors. The saga started last October when Chinese billionaire Jack Ma, who founded e-commerce behemoth Alibaba, criticised China for lacking a [...]
India’s financial crime watchdog looks to fine e-commerce giant Flipkart $1.3bn August 5, 2021 India’s financial crime watchdog is looking to fine Walmart-backed e-commerce giant Flipkart $1.35bn over claimed foreign investment violations, according to reports. The Enforcement Directorate agency has been investigating retail heavyweights like Flipkart and Amazon for allegedly bypassing laws that regulate multi-brand retail and restrict them to operating a marketplace for sellers, Reuters first reported citing [...]
City watchdog intensifies crackdown on high-risk products August 5, 2021 The City watchdog has intensified its crackdown on high-risk financial products being used to exploit retail investors, it announced today. The Financial Conduct Authority has stopped a Cypriot-based firm, BDSwiss Group, from offering high-risk contracts for differences to UK investors. Read more: City watchdog launches money laundering probe into Monzo Sarah Pritchard, executive director, markets [...]
SoftBank injects $100m into former partner’s new consumer tech fund August 5, 2021 SoftBank Vision Fund II plans to invest $100m in a new consumer tech fund launched by one of its former managing partners Jeff Housenbold, the latest in a string of tech investments in the past few weeks. SoftBank’s second Vision Fund’s $100m investment will form up to a fifth of the $500m to $600m that [...]
Stamp Duty Holiday gives UK property market and tax coffers a major boost August 5, 2021 The government has published data confirming that the UK property market has been given a major boost by the Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT) holiday. Results for the second quarter of 2021 show that total SDLT transactions jumped 165 per cent compared to the same period last year and are up nine per cent compared [...]
Vanguard’s US staff get $1,000 vaccine bonus: Will it come to the UK? August 5, 2021 Vanguard is to pay $1,000 to each of its 16,500 US staff should they prove they are fully vaccinated by October. The bonus includes those who were jabbed prior to the company making the generous offer. However, the offer will not be extended to employees of the asset management firm in Europe, it was announced. [...]
Ethereum upgrade incoming as price continues to surge August 5, 2021 Crypto at a glance The Ethereum price continues to soar this morning ahead of today’s big upgrade, up 8% over the past 24 hours to almost $2,700. The latest push means Ethereum is up more than 16% over the week, with five Ethereum Improvement Proposals set to get incorporated into the blockchain’s code today. The [...]
Covid recovery: Failing supply chains constrain UK construction industry August 5, 2021 Severe shortages of essential materials triggered by faltering supply chains slowed the UK construction industry’s recovery from the Covid crisis last month, according to a closely watched survey released today. The latest IHS Markit / CIPS construction purchasing managers’ index for the UK construction industry hit 58.7 in July, down sharply from June’s 24-year high [...]
New car sales fall to lowest level since 1998 amid pingdemic August 5, 2021 Supply issues and staff shortages have proved a speed bump for new car sales which fell by 29.5 percent in July 2021 according to an industry body. A total of 123,296 new vehicle registrations were recorded last month by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) – the lowest figures for July since 1998. [...]
Switched off: Nintendo sales tumble as lockdown gaming boom recedes August 5, 2021 Nintendo, which welcomed a frenzy for its newest console the Switch last year, has seen hardware sales tumble 21.7 per cent as the lockdown gaming boom receded amid lifting restrictions. The Japanese gaming giant posted record profits last year but has today reported that its software sales were down 10.2 per cent year on year. [...]
