Bill Ackman’s Spac closes in on $40bn deal with Universal Music June 4, 2021 Billionaire Bill Ackman’s blank-cheque company is closing in on a deal to buy a 10 per cent stake in Universal Music Group for roughly $4bn (£2.8bn). Pershing Square Tontine Holdings is in talks with Universal’s French owner Vivendi over the deal, which would value the record label at around $40bn. Vivendi, controlled by billionaire Vincent [...]
Backlash over Russian oligarch’s £1bn UK broadband bet June 3, 2021 Campaigners have called for greater scrutiny over foreign investment in the UK telecoms market after a Russian oligarch backed a £1bn plan to upgrade the country’s broadband network. Letter One, an investment company founded by billionaire Mikhail Fridman, is a key investor in a project by new broadband firm Upp to deploy full-fibre connections in [...]
What does a €50 carbon price mean for European companies? June 3, 2021 Earlier this month, the EU carbon price moved above €50 per tonne for the first time ever. The price is now more than double its level prior to the pandemic, with a sharp rise in recent months. What is the EU carbon price? The EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) is designed to put a price [...]
Prosus snaps up Stack Overflow in $1.8bn edtech deal June 2, 2021 Prosus has bought Stack Overflow, an online community for software developers, in a $1.8bn deal as it seeks to capitalise on the demand for online learning. Prosus is one of Europe’s most valuable tech companies and investors and is the largest shareholder in Chinese tech giant Tencent. It is its first acquisition in the edtech [...]
Wall Street creeps higher as investors bide time until key economic reports June 2, 2021 Wall Street’s main indexes edged higher today as cautious investors awaited key economic data later in the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.2 per cent at the open, while the Nasdaq Composite gained 0.1 per cent. The S&P 500 also added 0.1 per cent as it continued to recover its losses following a [...]
Cardano bridges the gap to China by teaming up with Nervos blockchain June 2, 2021 Chinese public blockchain Nervos and blockchain engineers IOHK are teaming up to create a cross-chain ‘bridge’ to connect the Cardano and Nervos networks
China reimposes travel curbs after spike in coronavirus cases May 31, 2021 China has reimposed anti-coronavirus travel controls on its southern province of Guangdong, announcing that anyone leaving the populous region must be tested for Covid-19 following a spike in infections that has alarmed authorities. Guangdong, which borders Hong Kong, recorded 20 new confirmed cases, all contracted locally, in the 24 hours through midnight on Sunday. Guangdong’s [...]
British agents think it is ‘feasible’ Covid came from Wuhan lab leak May 30, 2021 British intelligence agents now reportedly believe it is “feasible” Covid-19 originated in a Chinese research lab and not from a Wuhan wet market. Agents are now investigating whether the virus originated in the Wuhan Institute of Virology and accidentally escaped, a prospect forcefully denied by Beijing, just days after Joe Biden said this theory needed [...]
Investors unshaken by inflation surge as Wall Street opens higher May 28, 2021 Wall Street’s main indexes opened higher today as investors shrugged off data showing a rise in inflation. Consumer prices rose 0.7 per cent in April after a 0.4 per cent increase in March, exceeding economists’ predictions of a 0.6 per cent gain. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.3 per cent, while the Nasdaq Composite [...]
Leicester City title hero Christian Fuchs explains why he is auctioning his viral video of the team’s Premier League celebrations as an NFT May 28, 2021 Former Leicester City player Christian Fuchs is auctioning his viral video clip of the team celebrating the Premier League title as part of an NFT (non-fungible token). Fuchs shot the clip of the moment Leicester became champions on his mobile phone and shared it on Twitter, where it has received 12m views. The defender is [...]