Zoom agrees $85m settlement over privacy and ‘zoombombing’ allegations August 2, 2021 Video software company Zoom has agreed to pay $85m (£61.9m) to settle a privacy lawsuit claiming the firm violated user’s rights and allowed hackers into meetings. The conferencing firm had allegedly shared users personal data with Facebook, Google, and LinkedIn. The lawsuit also claimed Zoom had failed to prevent hackers from zoombombing calls. Zoombombing is [...]
Rentokil’s shares soar as it ups dividend by a third following strong performance July 29, 2021 Pest control and hygiene group Rentokil Initial reported a strong performance today in its 2021 interim results, and announced they will increase dividends by over a third. The British company will up dividend payments by 38 per cent to 2.09p per share, raising the amount payable to shareholders to £38.9m on 13 September. Proving services [...]
Open waters: International cruises to welcome passengers again July 29, 2021 International cruises will be allowed to restart next Monday after an extended break due to the coronavirus crisis. Months after domestic cruises restarted, international cruise lines operating in EU, UK, and US waters are finally allowed to welcome passengers onboard at 4am on 2 August but many companies say this won’t be possible until later [...]
Fraud detection company RELX expects 2021 revenue growth to be above historic trends July 29, 2021 Analytics and fraud prevention company RELX said it expected profit growth and underlying revenue to be “slightly above historic trends” in its 2021 full-year results. Following a strong performance in the first six months of 2021, the London-based company saw revenue total £3.39bn, with a constant historical currency growth of four per cent. However this [...]
Biden: Cyber attacks likely the trigger to a real ‘shooting war’ July 28, 2021 Joe Biden has said any major “shooting war” is most likely to come as a consequence of a cyber attack, Biden announced cybersecurity has become his top priority within his administration after a series of attacks on high-profile businesses across the US over recent weeks. Software company SolarWinds, Colonial Pipeline, Kaseya, and meat-processing firm JBS [...]
China’s industrial profit slows as material prices soar July 27, 2021 China’s industrial firms have seen their profits slow in recent months, as raw material prices put pressure on factories. Recovery post-coronavirus in the industry has seen weaknesses in higher materials prices and hits to global supply chains. Year-on-year profit for Chinese industrial firms climbed 20 per cent in June to 791.8bn yuan (£88.5bn), according to [...]
London home sellers now get 91 per cent of asking price, but Westminster buyers achieve largest discount July 27, 2021 Home sellers in London are now achieving 91 per cent of their initial asking price, an increase of six per cent on the first three months of this year, data from sales agent Benham and Reeves has found. As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, some in the market panic-bought to secure properties over the [...]
Barings coughs up £130m for Capital House in the City July 27, 2021 Real estate investment manager Barings announced they have acquired a Grade A office building in the City of London for £130.5m from a German retail real estate fund. The global company gained Capital House, a 126,000 square foot office, retail, and ancillary space with 55per cent of the building currently being let to the likes [...]
AIM-listed K3 Business Technology sees pandemic increase losses July 26, 2021 Software company K3 Business Technology saw a year-on-year loss of £4.3m before taxes due to the impacts of the pandemic. The Salford-based company said performance was in line with their expectations, after announcing a ‘steady’ revenue at £23.2m in the first six months ending May 31, 2021. Gross margins fell to 56.2per cent from 60.4per [...]
Philips exceeds forecast earnings as pandemic increases demand July 26, 2021 Health tech firm Philips beat expectations in the second quarter after a pandemic-fuelled demand spike saw profits hit £455m, the firm confirmed to markets this morning. Analysts had expected profit to come in around £10m shy of that figure. The third wave of the pandemic across much of western Europe resulted in personal protection and [...]