Alibaba profit tumbles despite Covid-19 lockdown sales boost May 22, 2020 Alibaba today reported a plunge in profit during the fourth quarter as investment losses offset a surge in ecommerce sales during the coronavirus lockdown. The Chinese tech behemoth reported an 88 per cent decline in net income to 3.2bn yuan (£368m) in the three months to the end of March. The group said the decrease [...]
Competition watchdog launches investigation into fake online reviews May 22, 2020 The competition watchdog has opened an investigation into several major websites over whether they are doing enough to protect shoppers from fake and misleading reviews. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said it will probe how the sites detect, investigate and respond to issues such as suspicious reviews — for example where one user has [...]
Government ‘confident’ of NHS contact-tracing app launch despite delays May 21, 2020 Health secretary Matt Hancock today said he was confident the NHS contact-tracing app would be launched by 1 June despite technical issues that have already caused delays. Hancock said the app, which uses Bluetooth to track and trace coronavirus infections, would be in place to allow an easing of lockdown measures without risking a second [...]
Half of Facebook employees could work remotely by 2030, says Zuckerberg May 21, 2020 Half of Facebook’s workforce could be working remotely in the next five to 10 years, chief executive Mark Zuckerberg has said. The social media boss today said his company would embrace a more permanent work from home policy even after the coronavirus crisis ends. In an internal townhall live streamed on Facebook, Zuckerberg said the [...]
Facebook Workplace takes on Zoom with video call rival during lockdown May 21, 2020 Caught out by the sudden success of Zoom as the world entered coronavirus lockdown, Facebook has introduced its own video conferencing tool on Workplace. The social network’s B2B business has seen its own jump in user numbers this year, as paid customers rose from 3m six months ago to 5m in March. By then coronavirus [...]
Mark Zuckerberg: Facebook is in fake news ‘arms race’ against rival states May 21, 2020 Mark Zuckerberg has said that Facebook is in an “arms race” to prevent misinformation from state actors as he defended his company’s crackdown on fake news about the Covid-19 crisis. The social media boss said his firm was battling to prevent interference from countries such as Russia, Iran and China, and admitted it was “behind” [...]
£500m Future Fund launch mired by fears startups will miss out May 20, 2020 Future Fund, the government’s £500m answer to startups’ need for cash to survive coronavirus, is set to launch today – but risks freezing out a swathe of British firms, entrepreneurs and investors have warned. That many startups cannot yet demonstrate a turnover, and that they typically rely on equity investment for cash flow, excludes most [...]
Coronavirus: Government launches £500m Future Fund for startups May 20, 2020 Startups that have been impacted by the coronavirus outbreak will now be able to apply for emergency support under the government’s £500m Future Fund scheme. The fund, which opened for applications today, will offer UK-based startups convertible loans of between £125,000 and £5m to support continued growth and innovation across a range of sectors. The [...]
Facebook launches new shopping feature to help small firms move online May 19, 2020 Small businesses will be able to open a single online store selling products through Facebook and Instagram thanks to a new feature launched by the tech giant today. Facebook Shops, which will be rolled out over the coming months, allows customers to buy products through a firm’s business Facebook page or Instagram profile, or through [...]
Micro Focus revenue drops 11 per cent as coronavirus disrupts new sales May 19, 2020 Enterprise software company Micro Focus expects an 11 per cent drop in revenue for the first half of the year, following disruption to new sales activity. The figures Micro Focus expects to report revenue of approximately $1.45bn for the first half of the year, an 11 per cent fall from the same period last year. [...]
