
THE WEEK THAT WAS: The 5 things you need to know – Week 30
Big IT companies presented Q2 results with Amazon waning it expects slow-down of sales as shops start opening when pandemic is getting under control. Apple warned for slower growth referring to the global shortage of semiconductors. Facebook said Apple’s updated software iOS with new privacy rules will have negative effect on ad sales. Amazon’s Q2 report showed revenues up 27% to USD 113bn. Facebook total revenue was up 56% to USD 29.08 billion. Microsoft‘s profits were up 42% to USD 19.1 billion, mainly explained by strong demand for cloud computing. Apple reported strong sales of new iPhones with revenue up 36% and a profit for the company of USD 21.7 billion. Spotify reported monthly active users up 22% year-over-year. But it fell short of its guidance of 366 million to 373 million users, paid, subscribers grew 20% year over year.
The inquiry into the assassination of investigative Maltese journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia held the state of Malta responsible for her death, concluding that a collective culture of impunity was created from the highest echelons of power within Castille, the International Press Institute (IPI) reported.
Amazon was been hit with a record €746 million fine after the Luxemburg data privacy regulator said the company had violated the EU GDPR rules to protect privacy. The fine is the highest so far for violation of GDPR. Amazon said the ruling is without merit.
Advertising firm Zenith’s forecasted global spending on advertising this year will exceed pre-pandemic spending by 6%. Digital advertising will represent 58% of the market, up from 48% before the pandemic in 2019. Social media advertising is expected to grow by 25% in 2021.
Hollywood star Scarlett Johansson sued Disney for breach of contract for streaming her film Black Widow at the same time as its theatre release. Background is that the stars traditionally earn more on good ticket box sales and less on streaming, as the streaming contracts used to be seen as secondary sales. Disney was not impressed.
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