Sony injects $250m into Fortnite creator Epic Games July 10, 2020 Sony has invested $250m in the game studio behind Fortnite, giving the tech giant a reported 1.4 per cent stake in the business. Epic Games is now said to be valued at $17.9bn after the deal. The two companies said the deal will allow them to “broaden their collaboration across Sony’s leading portfolio of entertainment [...]
World reserve currencies: Is the US Dollars’ days numbered? June 30, 2020 “Every dog has its day” is an expression believed to have come from 405 BC when a Greek playwright, Euripides, was mauled and killed by a pack of dogs. An analogy to this tale could be the US Dollar. Is the end nigh? Has the mighty Greenback ‘had its day’? Having been on the boards [...]
Tiktok owner Bytedance sees revenue surge to £4.4bn, according to sources June 17, 2020 Bytedance, the Chinese company behind social media platform Tiktok, has seen a surge in first-quarter revenue to 40bn yuan (£4.4bn), according to two people familiar with the matter. The revenue boost marks a 130 per cent year-on-year increase, according to Reuters, citing two sources with knowledge on the matter who declined to be identified. Bytedance [...]
Tencent revenue rises as Covid-19 lockdown drives mobile gaming boom May 13, 2020 Tencent today posted a rise in revenue and profit for the first quarter as global coronavirus lockdowns boosted demand for its blockbuster mobile games. The Chinese tech conglomerate posted revenue of 108bn yuan (£12.4bn) in the first three months of the year — up 26 per cent year on year. Profit attributable to equity holders [...]
The Long Read: Sir Martin Sorrell on advertising, coronavirus and the new media landscape May 7, 2020 Sir Martin Sorrell has bestrode the ad world for decades – and in the midst of a global pandemic that has hit the industry hard, he’s understandably got some thinking to do. Christopher Jackson spoke to the ad mogul, and his interview for finitoworld – the organisation’s online magazine – is republished here. Prior to [...]
First-hand account: my observations on China’s return to work May 1, 2020 Emerging markets analyst Shuyu Gao provides a personal account of virus containment measures on her return to China, and reviews the recovery in activity. Amid the global spread of Covid-19, with lockdowns necessitating working from home more broadly, I decided to return to China and work from my family home in Nanjing. At the time, [...]
Flying taxi startup Lilium raises $240m in funding round March 23, 2020 German flying taxi firm Lilium has raised an extra $240m (£207m) in funding from backers such as Chinese tech firm Tencent. The new funds mean that the startup has now raised more than $340m, which it will use for further development of its prototype jet as well as preparing its facilities to begin production. The [...]
Tencent posts rise in profit as pandemic drives surge in Wechat use March 18, 2020 Tencent today said the coronavirus outbreak had driven a huge surge in usage for its social media platform Wechat. The Chinese tech giant said Wechat had racked up 8bn visits since February as people logged in to access so-called health codes that allow them to travel during the outbreak. It came as Tencent posted fourth [...]
UK artists pull in record £87m in overseas music royalties February 7, 2020 British artists pulled in a record-breaking £86.7m in overseas royalties last year as the UK boosted its status as a global music powerhouse. The figure hit a record high in 2019 and is up 22 per cent on the total reached in 2018, according to new figures from licensing body PPL. The surge was driven [...]
Burberry raises full year guidance after sales rise January 22, 2020 Designer brand Burberry this morning raised its guidance for the year after a quarter in which the luxury brand saw revenue rise three per cent. Revenue in the third quarter hit £719m, up from £711m twelve months ago, as the firm’s focus on the far eastern market looked to be paying off. In response Burberry [...]