‘Zoom anxiety’ infects the nation during the pandemic December 3, 2020 Most of the population has experienced ‘Zoom anxiety’ since March, when working moved online and Zoom became a widely used tool to connect colleagues and friends. Home workers worried about everything from their looks and their Zoom background to having a technical problem and being unable to fix them. Following an 80% increase Google searches [...]
Hackers target vaccine supply chain in suspected state-led cyber attack December 3, 2020 The international Covid vaccine supply chain has been targeted by a suspected state-led cyber attack, according to IBM. An alert issued by the US government showed IBM tracked a campaign aimed at the delivery “cold chain” used to keep vaccines at the correct temperature during transit. Hackers targeted a range of organisations including within the [...]
Monzo secures additional £60m in funding December 2, 2020 Digital bank Monzo has topped up its earlier fundraising round with an additional £60m in funding, bringing its total raised this year to £125m. The challenger bank had previously closed a £65m top-up in June at a reduced valuation of £1.2bn, down from £2bn. The latest funding, first reported by TechCrunch, is effectively a top-up [...]
Revolut offers UK customers the opportunity to be paid a day early December 2, 2020 Revolut is now offering its customers the opportunity to be paid a day early in a move that will prove popular as people struggle with pandemic uncertainty. Revolut customers that receive a salary payment via Bacs credit – which the majority of the population does – will be able to access their salary a day [...]
Challenger lender Koto launches in the UK for left-behind consumers December 2, 2020 A challenger lender focused on providing credit to freelancers and self-employed has today launched in the UK following an investment round. Koto, authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority, has closed a £1.3m funding round which it says it will use to expand and acquire its first 50,000 users. Kotto hopes to cater to “near prime” [...]
Salesforce buys workplace messaging app Slack in $28bn deal December 1, 2020 Salesforce has agreed to buy workplace messaging app Slack in a deal worth $27.7bn, the company confirmed tonight. The mixed stock and share agreement will see Slack shareholders receive $26.79 in cash and 0.0776 shares of Salesforce stock for each Slack share. Salesforce said the deal, which is set to complete in the second quarter [...]
Bytes Group looks to raise £455m in London stock market float December 1, 2020 Software firm Bytes Group is aiming to raise as much as £455m from its initial public offering as it cashes in on the rise in home working. The Surrey-based company today said it will sell up to 172m new shares at a target price range of between 240p and 290p per share, giving it maximum [...]
Airbnb targets $35bn valuation in blockbuster float December 1, 2020 Airbnb is targeting a $35bn (£26bn) valuation in what is set to be one of the final blockbuster stock market listings this year. In a filing today the holiday rental firm said it will look to raise up to $2.6bn from its initial public offering on the Nasdaq exchange, which is set to take place [...]
Facebook to pay UK news publishers for use of articles December 1, 2020 Facebook will pay UK news publishers to use some of their articles as the tech giant looks to fend off the looming threat of regulation. From January the site will launch a dedicated news section with a selection of articles from top publishing groups. The companies behind the Guardian, the Independent and the Evening Standard [...]
Britain takes the lead in vaccine race as EU regulators delay safety assessments December 1, 2020 European regulators have pushed back formal safety assessments of the Pfizer/Biontech and Moderna vaccines, meaning vaccinations will not take place on the continent until next year. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) today said it planned to decide on whether to approve the vaccine being developed by Pfizer and BioNTech by 29 December, meaning distribution will [...]
