BT completes £12.5bn EE deal today – and the sector’s M&A activity could be a good thing for consumers who want more from their providers January 29, 2016 So it’s finally official: BT now owns EE. The result is a telecoms market that looks very different this morning than yesterday, with BT gaining access to the one in three UK mobile users already on EE. Existing EE customers can expect to see some exciting offers over the coming months as BT tries to persuade them to [...]
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg just made $6bn on share price surge, making him world’s sixth richest person January 29, 2016 Facebook investors will be patting themselves on the back after last night's share price surged more than 15.5 per cent, closing just shy of $110 per share. But there's one among them who is probably feeling most pleased with himself: creator and owner of 28.8 per cent of the social media company Mark Zuckerberg, whose stake [...]
Sky’s share price rises as James Murdoch named chairman (again) and broadcaster reports highest UK and Ireland growth in 10 years January 29, 2016 Rupert Murdoch's son James is to become chairman of Sky in April, as incumbent Nichols Ferguson steps down after 12 years on the board. Martin Gilbert has been appointed as deputy chairman, with Andrew Sukawaty taking over his former role as Sky's senior independent director. This is not Murdoch's first stint as chairman of the [...]
Excessive politeness breeds poor quality work: What’s the point of praising people for incompetence? January 29, 2016 I recently came across a taped phone call in which a Tory MP snaps “shut up” at her caseworker. At the time of its release, the call prompted widespread accusations of bullying, and the caseworker went to the media complaining about the lack of “sympathy” she had received from her boss. How mild-mannered and proper [...]
Forget a tech bubble: This is the start of 50-year Digital Revolution January 29, 2016 The possibility that we are in a “tech bubble” is a hot and much contended issue in both Europe and the US. So why all the concern? Many market analysts and experts, drawing on comparisons with the dot-com crash, are warning of a similar trend in the current tech industry, characterised by inflated company valuations [...]
This is how much money Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Twitter make every second January 28, 2016 Earnings season is upon us, and it's been a mixed bag: Facebook announced its revenues increased 51.7 per cent in the three months to the end of December, while Apple said its sales growth had slowed for the first time in a decade. It can be hard to keep track of it all, cutting through the hype [...]
Rupert Murdoch slams “posh boys” in Downing Street over Google tax deal January 27, 2016 Media mogul Rupert Murdoch took to Twitter today to blast politicians in the UK and the US for giving Google an easy way out of questions over its tax arrangements. Google recently reached a £130m deal with HMRC over corporation tax claims covering a 10-year period. However, Murdoch referred to the payment as a "token amount", handed over [...]
EU referendum: How will SMEs vote? January 27, 2016 With the prospect of increased business rates looming in George Osborne’s March Budget as well as the European Union referendum set to take place next year, UK SMEs have a number of issues that need to be addressed within their businesses in order to remain profitable during what could be a turbulent time. This is [...]
City Moves for 26 January 2016 | Who’s switching jobs January 26, 2016 Ashurst Global law firm Ashurst has strengthened its international arbitration team with the appointment of Matthew Saunders as a partner in the dispute resolution practice, based in London. Matthew joins from DLA Piper, where he was global head of its international arbitration group and was one of the partners responsible for founding the practice. He [...]
How the next mayor can turn London into a truly digital city January 26, 2016 In a little over three months, Londoners will elect a new mayor. When we last went to the polls in 2012, London’s tech industry was only just starting to bloom, but since then it has gone on to become the driving force of the capital’s economy. The next mayor will take the helm of the undisputed [...]