Week in Sportbiz: Fenerbahce step up attacks on beIN; CVC serves up $300m volleyball deal; London pipped by Big Apple; Qatar sales record; Man Utd February 5, 2021 Conflict is in the air at Fenerbahce – and not just because they face rivals Galatasaray in the Istanbul derby this weekend. Mesut Ozil’s new club have embarked on a bizarre crusade against broadcaster beIN Sports, accusing it of conspiring against the club by manipulating VAR and choosing camera angles or highlights that show them [...]
Corona Impact Series: How an EV charging company in Shoreditch was powered up by a policy change mid-pandemic February 5, 2021 In this series, City A.M. looks at the financial and economic impact of the ongoing pandemic on a range of small and medium-sized businesses across London. This week: How an electric vehicle charging startup in East London was made future-proof by government policies that were introduced at the height of the pandemic. “When the first [...]
GameStop’s stock slide speeds up as US senator steps in February 4, 2021 The slide in GameStop shares accelerated today as US officials warned they may step in to investigate the trading frenzy that has roiled markets in recent weeks. A surge in buying by amateur traders, fuelled by activity on social media, sparked big moves in shares of companies that were shorted by Wall Street hedge funds. [...]
A Glitch In The Matrix – reality docu is a stoners’ paradise February 4, 2021 Premiering at this week’s Sundance Film Festival, A Glitch In The Matrix ponders a very large idea: what if what we perceive as reality is in fact a computer simulation? Talking to academics, artists, and hardcore believers discuss the various clues around us that suggest not all is as it seems. Director Rodney Ascher’s Room [...]
BBC to slash programme spend by £400m amid funding squeeze February 3, 2021 The BBC has warned it will have to make significant cuts to programmes and services due to a squeeze on its funding and growing pressure from streaming rivals. The public service broadcaster said it expects to make roughly £408m in content cuts in the upcoming financial year in a bid to shore up its finances. [...]
Time Out to open Abu Dhabi market as it banks on post-Covid recovery February 3, 2021 Time Out today unveiled plans to open a new food market in Abu Dhabi as the media group pins its hopes on a return to dining out after the pandemic. The market, which is set to open on Abu Dhabi’s Saadiyat Island in 2023, will be the company’s second location in the United Arab Emirates, [...]
Boris Johnson and Keir Starmer butt heads in post-PMQs spat February 3, 2021 Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer have reportedly been involved in a heated confrontation after today’s Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs). Starmer confronted the Prime Minister just outside the House of Commons, after a back-and-forth during PMQs over whether the Labour leader had in the past called for the UK to stay [...]
Spotify paid subscribers hit 155m on lockdown listening boom February 3, 2021 Spotify today reported a sharp increase in subscribers in the fourth quarter as the pandemic drove demand for music and podcasts, but warned of uncertainty in the year ahead. The Swedish streaming giant said paid users hit 155m in the final three months of the year, while revenue grew 17 per cent to €2.2bn (£1.9bn). [...]
Cabinet minister rubbishes Sunak’s plan to give Universal Credit claimants one-off £1,000 payment February 3, 2021 Work and pensions secretary Therese Coffey has rubbished Rishi Sunak’s idea of giving a £1,000 lump sum payment to Universal Credit holders in what is a new front in an ongoing cabinet row about welfare payments. Coffey told MPs today that Sunak’s lump sum payment idea, intended to offset a cut in a temporary uplift [...]
When will the fun and GameStop? February 3, 2021 Retail and day traders dealing in shares and other assets that Wall Street funds bet against may not be new; Wallstreetbets, the Reddit group at the centre of the story, itself has been in existence since 2012. However, with retail investors buying in such numbers as recently, the group has captured worldwide attention. Perhaps the [...]