Music to the ears: How the music industry has been revived by the digital age March 31, 2020 A lot has changed in the music industry from the position it found itself in 20 years ago. In 1999, with Westlife, Fatboy Slim and Britney Spears at the top of the charts, global music revenues peaked at more than $39bn. A decade later, the emergence of digital technology and file sharing had brought about a dramatic [...]
Coronavirus: Deliveroo to provide 500,000 free meals to NHS staff March 29, 2020 Deliveroo has pledged to deliver 500,000 free meals to NHS workers across the country as the UK gears up for the peak of the coronavirus outbreak. The delivery firm said it has begun providing meals to NHS trusts, while customers will be able to donate funds to buy food for doctors and nurses through its [...]
Culture in quarantine: Which UK venues have gone virtual during the coronavirus crisis? March 29, 2020 Since Prime Minister Boris Johnson last week ramped up social distancing measures to tackle the coronavirus outbreak, thousands of cultural institutions across the UK have been forced to close their doors. However, as millions of Brits hunker down at home, a range of arts and culture venues have launched new digital initiatives to ensure exhibitions [...]
Employer confidence plunges as coronavirus crisis escalates March 27, 2020 UK employer confidence in the economy plummeted as coronavirus spead across the country, driven by a dive in sentiment among small businesses, according to the latest research. Confidence dropped 22 percentage points between February and March from a net figure of minus one to minus 23, as smaller firms were hit hard by the economic [...]
Coronavirus: P&O Ferries temporarily lays off workers March 26, 2020 P&O Ferries will reportedly temporarily furlough more than 1,000 workers, using the government’s recently announced job retention scheme to pay staff during the coronavirus crisis. Workers will be paid their basic salaries, with the government funding 80 per cent and P&O topping up the rest. The English Channel operator said on Wednesday that it will [...]
Apple could delay iPhone 12 launch ‘by months’ due to coronavirus March 26, 2020 Apple could be forced to delay the launch of iPhone 12 by up to two months as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, analysts have warned. In a note published yesterday, JP Morgan said the launch could be pushed back by one or two months due to disruption to the firm’s supply chain. Travel restrictions [...]
Apple donates 10m face masks to healthcare workers for coronavirus relief effort March 26, 2020 Apple will donate 10m face masks to US healthcare workers as part of worldwide efforts to halt the spread of coronavirus. Chief executive Tim Cook said the tech giant would also provide “millions more” masks for the hardest hit regions in Europe. “Apple has sourced, procured and donated 10m masks to the medical community in [...]
Silver linings: Positive investment trends for stock market optimists March 24, 2020 Stocks investors are likely to be feeling battered and bruised at the moment. The coronavirus-induced bear market has seen share prices fall sharply — even the UK’s blue-chip FTSE 100 index is down more than 30 per cent since the start of the year. Many industries are facing hurdles due to the government’s self-isolation guidelines, [...]
Facebook and Instagram cut streaming quality amid broadband surge March 22, 2020 Facebook today said it will cut streaming quality for videos posted to its platform to help reduce the strain on broadband networks during the coronavirus outbreak. The measures will be rolled out across Europe, and also apply to Facebook-owned social media app Instagram. “We are committed to working with our partners to manage any bandwidth [...]
Boom or bust: The risk of a repeat of the dot-com bubble March 19, 2020 On 10 March 2000, the US Nasdaq stock market peaked at 5,048.62. By October 2002, the index had lost 78 per cent of its value, or about $5 trillion. The Nasdaq had swelled due to the proliferation of internet-related companies aiming to make money from this nascent technology. In fact, between 1995 and 2000, the [...]