Toyota expects profit to fall 80 per cent on coronavirus hit May 12, 2020 Japanese carmaker Toyota today said it expects profit to fall 80 per cent to its lowest level in nine years after the impact of coronavirus on its sales. Toyota said it expects to take a massive 1.5 trillion yen (£11bn) hit from a collapse in global sales, but it still expects to scrape an operating [...]
Covid-19: why the tech giants have emerged as winners May 12, 2020 While many businesses struggle to survive under the global lockdown, the largest technology companies remain afloat and in some cases are even thriving. Microsoft has reported a surge in usage of its cloud computing service Azure, as millions of people work from home. Amazon is hiring an additional 75,000 workers, on top of the 100,000 [...]
Digital Rights Blockchain May 12, 2020 There is a clear use case for a globally recognised digital rights blockchain. Content creators and content consumers can see real value. The challenges are aligning the motivations of all those stakeholders in the middle – including the ones who may become redundant. Musicians, scriptwriters, photographers, artists and yes – even journalists – experience a [...]
Boris Johnson defends government’s new ‘stay alert’ coronavirus slogan May 11, 2020 Prime Minister Boris Johnson tonight defended the government’s new “stay alert” message in the face of criticism it was unclear. Johnson, in answer to questions from the public and the media, said the clarity of the government’s previous “stay at home” message was difficult to emulate as the UK begins to return to work. Pooja [...]
Adverts in adversity: Johnny Hornby on the case for advertising through Covid-19 May 8, 2020 There’s no doubt the advertising industry has taken a battering in recent weeks, with the coronavirus crisis sparking the biggest fall in ad spend on record. In fact, with TV production on hold, it seems brands may have to turn to Zoom to keep their campaigns going. The downturn comes as little surprise. Marketing budgets [...]
Coronavirus: Job hunting amid a pandemic May 8, 2020 A common experience of the COVID-19 pandemic is the tantalising glimpses of people’s personal space. Colleagues, politicians and television presenters are all – typically for the first time – speaking to us from their homes. It is a daily reminder of what a topsy turvy time this is. This is especially true of those who [...]
The Long Read: Sir Martin Sorrell on advertising, coronavirus and the new media landscape May 7, 2020 Sir Martin Sorrell has bestrode the ad world for decades – and in the midst of a global pandemic that has hit the industry hard, he’s understandably got some thinking to do. Christopher Jackson spoke to the ad mogul, and his interview for finitoworld – the organisation’s online magazine – is republished here. Prior to [...]
FTSE 100 and US stocks rise despite more dire economic warnings May 7, 2020 US stocks have joined the FTSE 100 in positive territory as investors bet on a relatively speedy economic recovery from coronavirus despite yet more dire economic predictions. London’s blue-chip FTSE 100 index was up 1.4 per cent at 5,933 points in afternoon trading. This was despite the Bank of England warning of the worst slump [...]
An Interview with Massimo Buonomo May 7, 2020 Massimo Buonomo is a former United Nations (UN) Alliance of Civilization Global Expert in Blockchain, Fintech and Regtech. Massimo is currently exploring how blockchain solutions can be used to address the challenges addressed by Covid-19. BEQUANT Talks has undertaken an exclusive interview with Massimo to explore his views on the state of the market and [...]
How the O2-Virgin Media merger will reshape the telecoms sector May 7, 2020 O2 and Virgin Media this morning confirmed they will join forces in a mammoth merger that will create a new £31bn telecoms powerhouse. The deal — reports of which first emerged last week — came as little surprise to industry watchers, though the timing of the deal in the middle of a global pandemic has [...]