Google’s £2bn acquisition of Looker faces competition probe December 2, 2019 Google’s proposed acquisition of rival analytics firm Looker faces an investigation by the UK’s competition watchdog. Google agreed to buy Looker for $2.6bn (£2bn) in the summer as part of its efforts to expand the service’s cloud offerings. Read more: Price comparison rivals urge EU regulators to take action against Google However, the Competition and Markets [...]
How Thriva is putting its customers’ health to the test December 2, 2019 Standing in the middle of a street in Farringdon, it’s hard to know if I’m in the right place. After scanning the list of businesses by the side of the door, I finally spot the name Thriva, and enter a reception-less building where I’m meeting co-founder and chief executive Hamish Grierson. Thriva specialises in blood [...]
US seeks extradition of Autonomy founder Mike Lynch to face charges December 1, 2019 The US has formally requested that the UK extradites British tech billionaire Mike Lynch to stand trial on charges of securities fraud, wire fraud and conspiracy related to the sale of his company Autonomy to Hewlett Packard (HP). The US embassy submitted the request on 21 November for Lynch, who is currently embroiled in a [...]
Black Friday backlash: Amazon and GMB dispute protest numbers at UK warehouses November 29, 2019 Staff at Amazon warehouses are staging walkouts on Black Friday and Cyber Monday in a row over the “appalling” treatment of workers. The demonstrations are taking place today and on Monday at Amazon’s head office in Shoreditch, as well as seven other locations across the UK, the GMB union said, and involve “100, if not [...]
Natwest and RBS down: Outages hit online banking and mobile apps on Black Friday November 29, 2019 RBS and Natwest’s mobile apps and online banking services suffered intermittent problems today, with customers taking to Twitter to complain. “Our Online Banking, mobile app and Bankline are currently facing intermittent problems,” Natwest told customers on Twitter. “We’re working hard getting them back up and running smoothly for you. We’ll post an update when we [...]
Ocado shares soar on Japanese robot warehouse deal with Aeon November 29, 2019 Shares in online retailer Ocado jumped more than 11 per cent today after it announced a deal to help Japanese retailer Aeon launch a new online business. Ocado uses robot technology in its customer fulfilment centres (CFCs) to automate many processes. Read more: Ocado to build sixth warehouse as online grocer accelerates growth It said [...]
Inside Amazon’s Black Friday operations hub: How the e-commerce giant prepares for its busiest day of the year November 29, 2019 Where could be a better place to witness the behind-the-scenes impact of Black Friday than at the heart of Amazon’s UK warehouse operations? Some of the credit – or perhaps, blame – for the annual shopping event’s popularity in Britain surely lies with the US e-commerce giant. The fulfilment centre – which is the size [...]
Linkedin division paid no corporation tax on £70m profit November 28, 2019 An Irish subsidiary of social media network Linkedin paid no corporation tax last year despite posting a profit of almost £70m. Accounts filed for Linkedin Technology revealed the company pulled in profit of $86.7m (£67.1m) in 2018, a huge increase on the $10m posted the year before. Read more: France will tax Amazon and Facebook [...]
Price comparison rivals urge EU regulators to take action against Google November 28, 2019 Axel Springer’s price comparison shopping service Idealo and a group of European rivals have urged the EU’s competition regulators to enforce a ruling against Google as they accused the tech giant of favouring its own service. In a letter to European Competition Commissioner Margrethe Vestager signed by companies from 21 EU countries, the group said [...]
Tiktok apologises after banning US teen behind Uighur video November 28, 2019 Chinese social media firm Tiktok has apologised to a US teenager who was blocked from the platform after posting a video criticising the country’s repression of Uighur Muslims. Feroza Aziz was suspended from the app earlier this week after criticising the Chinese authorities in a video disguised as a make-up tutorial. Read more: Tiktok owner [...]
