UK to gain new £700m film and TV studio amid streaming goldrush August 1, 2021 The UK is set to gain yet another major film and TV studio complex after private equity giant Blackstone unveiled plans to build a major new hub near London. Funds managed by Blackstone Real Estate Partners and LA-based Hudson Pacific Properties have acquired a 91-acre site in Hertfordshire, 17 miles north of central London, for [...]
Amazon shares sink as EU hands down record €746m EU data privacy fine July 30, 2021 Amazon has been hit with a record €746m (£635m) fine for breaking EU rules over how it processed customers’ personal data, the tech giant disclosed today. In a regulatory filing Amazon said the Luxembourg National Commission for Data Protection (CNPD) had issued the ruling against it for breaches of EU data protection rules on 16 [...]
Wall Street dragged down by sinking Amazon shares July 30, 2021 US stocks fell sharply on Friday morning driven by shares in Amazon sinking after the EU slapped the firm with a record fine. The blue-chip S&P 500 dropped 0.51 per cent, while the Dow Jones and the Nasdaq 0.36 per cent and 0.66 per cent respectively. Shares in Amazon sunk as much as 7.1 per [...]
Sundance Film Festival: London 2021 – Our Best of The Fest July 30, 2021 Thursday sees the return of Sundance London to Picturehouse Central. Like many events, the 2020 edition was held online, but the independent film extravaganza will once again be taking place in-person this week with a stellar line up picked from the best of its parent event in Utah. Fifteen features have been chosen, along with [...]
Screenshot: Will the digital advertising boom ever end? July 30, 2021 This week **Media Moment of the Week: You are what you tweet **Will the digital advertising boom ever end? **Esports: Britain’s next big thing? Media Moment of the Week: You are what you tweet You know the scenario: someone says something you don’t like on Twitter and you have an overwhelming urge to rise to [...]
Google hit with £920m UK lawsuit over ‘unlawful’ app store charges July 29, 2021 Google has been slapped with a £920m class action lawsuit in the UK over claims charges on its Google Play Store are “excessive and unlawful”. The claim, filed in the Competition Appeal Tribunal in London, alleges that the tech giant shuts down competition in its Play store and hits out at its 30 per cent [...]
Spotify beats forecasts as paid subscribers hit 165m July 28, 2021 Spotify has beaten expectations for the second quarter as the streaming giant saw its paid subscriber numbers grow by a fifth. The Swedish company said premium subscribers jumped 20 per cent year on year to hit 165m in its latest quarter – towards the upper end of its guidance and modelty ahead of forecasts. Monthly [...]
Apple posts record quarterly revenue on China sales and iPhone demand July 27, 2021 Apple has beat analysts’ expectations and posted record quarterly revenue on surging demand for premium versions of its iPhones, subscription services, and strong China sales growth. Revenues grew by more than a third to $81.4bn this quarter, up 36 per cent from last year and driven by better-than-expected iPhone sales. This beat analyst expectations of [...]
Big Tech earnings: What to expect this week as tech titans report July 27, 2021 Wall Street is gearing up for a slew of Big Tech earnings this week with Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Google and Microsoft all set to deliver figures for their latest quarter. Twitter and Snap kicked off proceedings by smashing expectations last week, raising hopes that a post-pandemic advertising rebound will boost other platforms. Tesla also shrugged [...]
`Your network is your net worth´: seven tips to propel your career July 27, 2021 My thought leadership speaking tours to the Middle East and Europe were postponed. To convince the organizers to host their events online, I went on a shopping spree and bought all kinds of audio and video equipment just before the first lockdown in Singapore. It wasn’t just me. Everyone, from students to senior professionals, needed [...]