FTSE 100 breaks 6,000 and US stocks rise amid economic optimism August 3, 2020 The FTSE 100 rose sharply, surpassing 6,000 points, as investors looked past rising coronavirus cases and cheered positive economic data. London’s blue-chip index was 2.2 per cent higher in afternoon trading at 6,028 points. The mid-cap FTSE 250 was up 1.2 per cent. Read more: HSBC profit plummets due to coronavirus pandemic On Wall Street, [...]
Chinese AI firm slaps Apple with $1.4bn patent lawsuit August 3, 2020 Chinese artificial intelligence firm Shanghai Zhizhen Network Technology has filed a $1.4bn lawsuit against Apple, claiming the iPhone giant has infringed on a patent for its voice assistant technology. Shanghai Zhizhen, also known as Xiao-i, is calling for 10bn yuan ($1.4bn) in damages and demands that Apple cease “manufacturing, using, promising to sell, selling, and [...]
Trump gives Microsoft 45 days to clinch Tiktok deal as owners eye London move August 3, 2020 Microsoft and US President Donald Trump have worked out an agreement which gives the software giant 45 days to finalise a deal for the US arm of Tiktok. The software giant said in a statement that its chief executive Satya Nadella has been in discussions with the President about a potential Tiktok purchase, and that [...]
The City View: Thames Clippers’ CEO on getting London back to work August 3, 2020 Subscribe to The City View Podcast: Apple / Google / Spotify / RSS Christian is joined by Sean Collins, co-founder and CEO of London’s riverboat service, Thames Clippers, as the transport provider grapples with life under lockdown. Last year the company carried nearly 5 million passengers, many of them commuters, and today they’re operating at around 25 per cent of that. Despite the [...]
Trump vows action on Chinese companies ‘in coming days’ August 2, 2020 US President Donald Trump will take action against Chinese companies sharing data with the Beijing government “in the coming days”, secretary of state Mike Pompeo said today. “President Trump has said ‘enough’ and we’re going to fix it,” Pompeo said on Fox News this afternoon. “He will take action in the coming days with respect [...]
Microsoft shelves plans to buy US arm of Tiktok August 2, 2020 A potential sale of video platform Tiktok to Microsoft is reportedly on hold after US President Donald Trump vowed to ban the Chinese-owned app over national security concerns. Tiktok owner Bytedance yesterday told the White House it was seeking a sale of its US operations to Microsoft, in a bid to curb restrictions on the [...]
The City View: Tom Tugendhat MP on China, Russia and foreign affairs July 30, 2020 Subscribe to The City View Podcast: Apple / Google / Spotify / RSS Today Andy is joined by Tom Tugendhat MP, the chair of the Foreign Affairs Commons Select Committee. Tom responds to the latest warnings from the Chinese ambassador, warns Beijing it should not attempt to “bully” Britain, and Hong Kong’s economic future. He also offers us his take on the [...]
Openreach to deliver fibre to 3.2m extra homes as it slams government inaction July 29, 2020 BT’s infrastructure arm Openreach has pledged to extend its fibre service to 3.2m extra homes by 2025, as it said the government was “running out of time” to meet its connectivity targets. Openreach today unveiled plans to bring full-fibre broadband to the UK’s “hard-to-reach” areas, as part of BT’s £12bn plan to connect more than [...]
Sales plunge at Gucci owner Kering as 2020 outlook remains unclear July 28, 2020 Luxury group Kering said sales plunged almost 44 per cent in the second quarter due to the coronavirus pandemic, adding it could not provide a forecast for the second half of 2020. The Gucci owner’s revenue was a touch better than analyst expectations, however, with those at UBS citing estimates for a 46 per cent [...]
Chinese hackers target senior Tory MP in impersonation campaign July 28, 2020 Chinese agents are believed to be behind a series of cyber attacks on senior Conservative MP Tom Tugendhat, including email personations and hacking attempts. Tugendhat, chair of the Commons Foreign Affairs Select Committee and co-founder of the Sino-sceptic China Research Group, last night said he had been subjected to cyberattacks intended to smear his reputation. [...]