Amazon smashes profit predictions on soaring cloud services demand April 26, 2019 E-commerce giant Amazon reported a significant jump in profit tonight to soar past average analyst expectations, in addition to matching estimates on revenue. The company’s net income for the first three months of 2019 more than doubled year-on-year to reach a record $3.6bn (£2.8bn), or $7.09 per share, compared to the average estimate of $4.72. [...]
Microsoft’s valuation passes $1 trillion as competition with Apple and Amazon heats up April 25, 2019 Microsoft’s valuation briefly exceeded $1 trillion (£776bn) for the first time yesterday after the firm posted strong revenue and profit growth in its quarterly results. Shares in the US tech behemoth rose as high as $130.87 in late trading, taking its market capitalisation past rivals Apple and Amazon and beyond the coveted $1 trillion mark. [...]
Fieldfisher merges with Irish firm McDowell Purcell in Brexit-related expansion April 25, 2019 City law firm Fieldfisher has struck a merger deal with Irish firm McDowell Purcell as it looks to secure a route into the EU market post-Brexit. The deal gives Fieldfisher a Dublin office and 16 new partners and 50 lawyers. A string of UK and US law firms have established Dublin bases following the 2016 [...]
Public will be able to make digital HMRC complaints from August April 25, 2019 The chair of the Treasury Committee, Nicky Morgan, has today welcomed the move by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) to let the public make complaints about its decisions digitally. Read more: HMRC claims its online tax evasion crackdown has clawed back £200m Earlier this month Morgan said her and the Committee, which scrutinises the Treasury [...]
Inside Huawei: Spies, spin and billions at stake April 24, 2019 The journey from Paris to Verona takes just two minutes. The small, replica Swiss train trundles past imposing French chateaux and gothic German castles, sliding effortlessly through 12 European cities before ending up, after just under eight kilometres of newly-built track, back in Paris. On Huawei’s new Ox Horn campus, not far from the Chinese [...]
UK digital advertising spend jumps to £13bn as brands opt for smartphone ads April 24, 2019 Digital advertising spend hit £13.4bn last year as smartphone adverts overtook desktop for the first time, new figures have revealed. Data from digital advertising body IAB and PwC show UK ad spend jumped 15 per cent in 2018 amid a boom in digital formats. Read more: Digital advertising firm Teads posts double-digit revenue rise Ad [...]
Twitter profits triple as it reaps rewards of crackdown on harmful content April 23, 2019 Shares in Twitter rose more than 16 per cent today after the social media platform posted a threefold increase in first-quarter profits. Read more: Twitter boss Jack Dorsey was paid just $1.40 in 2018 The figures Revenue grew 18 per cent year-on-year to $787m (£605m) in the three months to the end of March. Net [...]
Chief executive of struggling Kraft Heinz to step down April 22, 2019 Kraft Heinz has today announced that chief executive Bernardo Hees is to step down and be replaced by Miguel Patricio, an executive at drinks giant Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev). Read more: Kraft Heinz share price plunges as SEC probe and losses spook Wall Street The US food company said that Patricio, who is Portuguese, will on 1 [...]
Antisemitism just doesn’t matter that much to Labour – what a surprise April 18, 2019 Spare a thought for poor Richard Burgon, the Labour front-bencher under attack after having his own words heartlessly quoted back to him. The shadow justice secretary’s woes began when he was pressed in a 2018 BBC interview on his alleged quote that “zionism is the enemy of peace”. Burgon repeatedly claimed “I didn’t say that” [...]
City Moves for 18 April 2019 – Who’s switching jobs at VGC Partners, TFoil and Lilium? April 18, 2019 Today's City Moves includes VGC Partners, TFoil and Lilium. VGC Partners London-based growth capital investor VGC Partners has appointed Andrew Lister as investment and portfolio director as the firm looks to invest from its £50m Fund II in high-growth consumer, media and technology businesses. Andrew joins from Marlin Equity Partners, where he spent over three years [...]