Regulators to meet as brokers call time on Reddit-trader rollercoaster February 3, 2021 Hedge funds, small investors and their stockbrokers are bracing for tougher U.S. markets regulation, with officials expected to meet this week to assess the fallout from a social-media driven trading frenzy that has roiled stocks and silver prices. Mass buying by amateur traders over the past two weeks has driven wild price gyrations in companies [...]
Sweden’s Embracer splurges up to $2.5bn on three gaming companies February 3, 2021 Swedish video game group Embracer has agreed to buy three gaming companies, including US-based Gearbox, the maker of first-person shooter game Borderlands, for up to $2.5bn in cash and stock. The company, known for games such as Darksiders and World War Z, will pay Gearbox $363m initially with a commitment to pay another $1bn in the next [...]
Why Test cricket is back on Channel 4 and what it means for the future of sport on terrestrial TV February 2, 2021 For the first time since the heady 2005 Ashes series, Test cricket is returning to British terrestrial television. Channel 4 has bought the rights to show England’s tour of India, which begins on Friday in Chennai. But why is cricket back on a free-to-air broadcaster? Who stands to gain? And what does this mean for [...]
Viagogo forced to break up Stubhub after $4bn takeover February 2, 2021 Viagogo must sell all of Stubhub’s operations outside the US to satisfy competition concerns over its $4bn (£2.9bn) takeover, regulators said today. A probe by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) found that the deal would lead to a substantial reduction in competition in the secondary ticketing market and potentially result in higher fees or [...]
The rise of TikTok ‘finfluencers’ offers lessons for the investment industry February 2, 2021 No longer just a platform for teenage dance challenges, TikTok is becoming the number one spot for financial advice.
Gimme belters: Music rights firm Round Hill snaps up Rolling Stones and Beatles tracks February 2, 2021 Round Hill has made its first acquisition since floating on the London Stock Exchange, snapping up a catalogue of songs from hit artists such as the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. The music royalties group splashed out $282m (£206m) on the portfolio, representing 86 per cent of the capital it raised after floating in November. [...]
Analysis: How worrying is the GameStop-Reddit mania? February 2, 2021 The second half of last week was a fascinating news cycle for financial newshounds and traders alike, as headlines were very much dominated by one story: GameStop. Global equities fell back 3.5 to 4 per cent last week, leaving them down slightly year-to-date, even though they did recover some of these losses yesterday. GameStop – [...]
Woolard review: FCA cracks down on £2.7bn buy-now-pay-later market February 2, 2021 Interest-free buy-now-pay-later credit agreements will be regulated by the City watchdog after the market swelled to £2.7bn last year. The plans, drawn up by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), have been designed to protect consumers, after the use of buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) transactions tripled in 2020, as shoppers looked for ways to spread their money further [...]
Future Fund: Early-stage startups missed out on funding February 2, 2021 Startups in their earliest stage missed out on funding with the majority of the government’s Future Fund investment going to companies at a venture or growth stage. The Future Fund was launched in May to provide support to startups ineligible for the government’s other support schemes. It was designed to provide support to startups through [...]
Forget the BBC, as Ofcom chair Paul Dacre would get his teeth into tech February 2, 2021 Almost a year after Priti Patel vowed to make Ofcom a regulator with teeth, the government looks poised to appoint Fleet Street Rottweiler Paul Dacre as its new chair. No one could accuse her of underdelivering. For many, Dacre’s political leanings (characterised by some as so far to the right as to be almost horizontal) [...]