Google owner Alphabet beats revenue expectations as ad spend recovers April 27, 2021 Google’s parent company Alphabet beat Wall Street estimates for the first quarter amidst a recovery in digital ad spend. Revenue rose to $55.31bn in the first quarter from $41.16bn a year earlier, beating analyst estimates of $51.7bn according to Refinitiv data. Alphabet shares rose about five per cent to $2,405 in after-hours trading. Digital advertising [...]
Softbank leads $525m round in British drug developer Exscientia April 27, 2021 British pharmaceutical company Exscientia has received funding from Softbank Vision Fund just a month after closing its last investment round. Exscientia uses artificial intelligence to discover new drug molecules and has now designed two drugs that are in Phase 1 of clinical trials. The Oxford-based company today announced it had completed a $225m Series D [...]
Spotify launches podcast subscriptions as Apple rivalry heats up April 27, 2021 Spotify today revealed plans to launch a paid subscription platform for podcasters as the streaming service’s rivalry with Apple continues to heat up. The feature, which will initially launch in the US, means podcast creators can mark certain episodes as subscriber-only and publish them on Spotify, as well as on other podcast services. It comes [...]
Oppo Find X3 Pro review: An excellent new top-tier handset April 27, 2021 The consumer electronics industry has been hit as hard as any by the pandemic, with companies struggling to even build their products – just try getting your hands on a graphics card or a next gen games console – let alone get them in front of customers. And while there have been a handful of [...]
EU to charge Apple with anti-competitive behaviour over Spotify row April 27, 2021 The EU will reportedly file antitrust charges against Apple this week over accusations its dominance of the app market has harmed competition. The case relates to a complaint lodged by Spotify in 2019, which accused the iPhone maker of unfairly restricting rivals to its own Apple Music service and complaining about the company’s 30 per [...]
European tech regulation will hold back free competition and hand power to digital giants April 27, 2021 Last month, the world’s eyes were on America as the CEOs of its most successful businesses came before Congress to testify about their companies’ content moderation practices. But while America debates if and how to regulate digital markets, the EU has been moving forward with similar proposals—proposals that would needlessly burden technology companies for decades [...]
FTSE 100 and Wall Street strike an upbeat tone to start the week April 26, 2021 Soaring copper prices and hopes of a summer holiday pushed the FTSE 100 to close higher on Monday while Wall Street rose ahead of a busy week for big tech earnings. London’s blue-chip index came under pressure this morning due to a stronger pound and weaker oil prices. However comments made by Ursula von der [...]
How mead emerged as the drink of summer 2021 April 26, 2021 These are heady times for British mead. The honey-based drink is thought to be the world’s oldest alcoholic beverage. It was probably being made in China in 7000 BC and King Arthur counted it amongst his favourite tipples. Chaucer mentions “braggot”, a form of mead made with honey and barley malt, and the Ancient Hindus [...]
City A.M. TV: Daily Market Snapshot (video) April 26, 2021 Since early April, US equity markets have been in a persistent uptrend. That’s been is aided and abetted by (i) notable US dollar weakness; (ii) lower bond yields (resulting in tech outperformance); and (iii) a strong Q1 earnings season, with most US companies surprising markets to the upside. In that respect, and while US equity indices [...]
How to pick the perfect wine to suit your tastes April 23, 2021 We have all been there. Staring down the barrel of the supermarket aisle trying to work out which wine to choose for dinner. Do you reach for the “reassuringly expensive” top shelf or look for what is currently on offer to grab yourself a bargain? You may have a better-made wine or a steal of [...]