BT boss Philip Jansen hints at sale of Openreach stake November 20, 2020 BT has opened the door to a sale of a stake in infrastructure division Openreach as the telecoms giant battles a declining share price. Chief executive Philip Jansen said he was “open minded” about offloading a stake once a regulatory review into full-fibre networks has been completed next year. “We feel — I feel — [...]
The Week in Sportbiz: Cricket meets hip-hop; Germany exports VAR; and the ‘Yes Sir, I Can Boogie’ goes global November 19, 2020 Cricket and hip-hop aren’t obvious bedfellows but they cosied up this week when South Africa fast bowler Lungi Ngidi joined Jay-Z’s talent stable Roc Nation. Ngidi, South Africa’s player of the year in one-day and T20 internationals, is the first cricketer to sign with Roc Nation Sports. Roc Nation has snapped up mostly American athletes, [...]
Huawei sells Honor smartphone brand as US sanctions bite November 17, 2020 Huawei is selling its budget smartphone brand Honor to a newly-formed consortium of Chinese buyers after US sanctions pushed the division to the brink of collapse. The Chinese tech giant said it will offload Honor’s business assets to Shenzhen Zhixin New Information Technology Co, a group of over 30 agents and dealers, including several state-owned [...]
Vodafone hails ‘resilient’ first half despite Covid challenges November 16, 2020 Mobile giant Vodafone this morning hailed a “resilient” performance in the first half, saying that it had “increased confidence” in its full year outlook. Group revenue at the world’s second biggest mobile firm declined by 2.3 per cent to €21.4bn, with the acquisition of Liberty Global’s assets in Germany and Central Europe offset by lower [...]
Government’s digital strategy cannot be a missed opportunity November 12, 2020 Why is there no British tech titan on the scale of Google, Apple or Amazon? This is a question that has exercised the minds of those in and outside of government for some time. Many have concluded that more needs to do done if the UK is ever going to create a $1 trillion home [...]
Premier League confirms plans to scrap controversial pay-per-view model November 10, 2020 The Premier League has confirmed it will scrap its controversial pay-per-view model after a fierce backlash from fans. The new model, which was introduced following the international break in October, means fans have to cough up £14.95 to watch games not selected for regular broadcast. The move sparked anger among supporter groups, who raised hundreds [...]
The definitive live sport TV guide you need to make it through lockdown 2 November 5, 2020 Lockdowns are rubbish, but lockdowns with a stacked sporting calendar to watch are slightly less rubbish. And as England battens down the hatches until 3 December, at last sport fans have a feast of action to get us through. The Masters, the Autumn Nations Cup, the ATP Tour Finals and an England cricket tour are [...]
BT threatened with strike action over job cuts and pay November 5, 2020 BT could be facing its first major strike action in more than 15 years after union members accused the company of “putting profit before people”. The Communication Workers Union (CWU) today asked members to vote on whether to hold a strike ballot at the company over an “increasingly aggressive” approach by management across BT, Openreach [...]
FTSE 100 edges higher after Covid sparks sharp sell-off October 29, 2020 The FTSE 100 rose slightly this morning after tumbling three per cent yesterday as investors braced themselves for a tough winter of rising coronavirus cases and new government restrictions. London’s main stock index climbed was last up 0.3 per cent at 5,600 points. Despite the slight gain, the index remained at around a six-month low. [...]
BT profit drops a fifth but telecoms giant boosts guidance October 29, 2020 Telecoms giant BT said that half-year profit had slipped 20 per cent this morning but still boosted its earnings guidance for the full year. Post-tax profit dropped from £1.07bn last year to £856m, while revenue at the FTSE 100 firm fell eight per cent to £10.6bn. The company said that the fall was due to [...]