Why Taiwan thinks that freedom is contagious July 19, 2019 The grand Renaissance style building feels like an embassy, but it isn’t. David Lin talks like an ambassador, but he isn’t. His official title is Representative, and 50 Grosvenor Gardens is Taiwan’s Representative Office in the UK. Taiwan has its own democratic system, currency and military but its official name remains the Republic of China [...]
Netflix loses its chill: Four ways the streaming giant can recover July 18, 2019 Netflix shares dropped roughly 11 per cent when Wall Street opened today, as bleary-eyed investors reacted to a disappointing set of second-quarter results. The streaming firm posted a 26 per cent rise in revenue to $4.9bn (£3.9bn), but added just 2.7m worldwide subscribers, well below its 5m forecast. Read more: Netflix to open huge UK [...]
Audioboom posts revenue surge as it doubles down on original podcasts July 18, 2019 Audioboom has posted a huge rise in revenue in the first six months of the year as it continues to cash in on advertising in the lucrative podcast market. The Aim-listed company reported first-half revenue of $9.8m (£7.9m), a huge increase on the $3.6m posted in the same period last year. Read more: Audioboom posts [...]
Private in the public eye? How a royal fairytale can turn into a nightmare July 17, 2019 A lot of seasoned royal watchers predicted that Miss Markle would give the Royal Family a new edge, a modern, feminist twist and a dose of Hollywood fame into the bargain. It isn’t quite working out that way.
Northern Ireland set for £85m windfall as The Open arrives at Portrush July 17, 2019 For just the second time in golfing history, the Open Championship is being held outside of England and Scotland this year. This week the sport’s oldest and most prestigious tournament returns to Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland, where it was hosted on the only other occasion it left the British mainland in 1951. For one [...]
Euromoney share price drops on ‘challenging’ quarter July 17, 2019 Shares in media group Euromoney fell more than three per cent this morning after it warned of challenges in its asset management division. Read more: Daily Mail shares jump following Euromoney shareholder giveaway The business and finance publication posted revenue of £112m for the three months to the end of June, up marginally on £108m [...]
Stranger Things vs Mickey Mouse: How the media old guard is adapting to disruption July 17, 2019 As I discussed earlier this month, disruption is everywhere (see Five things every investor needs to know about disruption). Incumbent companies have a choice: they can either deny the changes are happening, or they can adapt to the new regime. Faced with the seemingly inexorable rise of streaming services such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, [...]
Burberry shares at 10-month high and challenging records July 17, 2019 After a stunning six-week rally, our head of markets explains why investors are still piling in today. If the market was waiting for signs of an immediate improvement in Burberry (LSE:BRBY) fortunes, it will not be disappointed as the fashion house has delivered an update which is much better than expected – and on a number of [...]
Facebook’s libra could solve the gig economy’s payment problem July 17, 2019 Ordering your evening meal or weekly groceries online has never been easier. In most cities, you can now book a car from your phone to get you from A to B in minutes. All of this is made possible by two things: the marketplace technology that facilitates instant transactions, and the gig economy that delivers [...]
Relax, the UK (probably) isn’t heading for recession July 17, 2019 Immediate fears of a recession in the UK economy were eased last week with the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimate of monthly GDP. The economy had shrunk in April, but growth resumed in May. This has not prevented widespread conjecture that a recession is imminent. The Resolution Foundation claimed last weekend that the [...]