Daily Digest: Tuesday 28th March
USA
-Apple has announced the launch of Apple Pay Later, a buy now pay later service for purchases between $50 and $1,000. The service allows users to split purchases into four zero interest, fee free payments over a six week period.
-Former FTX CEO and co-founder Sam Bankman-Fried has been accused by US law enforcement of sending cryptocurrency bribes to Chinese officials during 2021, the bribes are widely believed to have valued amounts in the region of $40 million USD.
-Rumours emerged during Tuesday’s trading session that Amazon (Ticker:$AMZN) were looking to acquire US cinema chain AMC (Ticker:$AMC). $AMC shares rose 13.19% on the news.
UK
-Gary Lineker has won a court battle against HMRC who believed the ex-footballer was abusing UK tax regulation in order to reduce his annual tax liability. Under IR35 HMRC suggested that Lineker was acting as a ‘disguised employee’ paid for work through a limited company (Gary Lineker Media, GLM). During the case Lineker was able to prove the existence of legally compliant contracts between himself, BT Sport and the BBC, voiding HMRC attempts to enforce IR35 legislation.
-Andrew Bailey the Governor of the Bank of England has confirmed the bank will remain on a level of ‘high alert’ for the foreseeable future, in the wake of the US banking crisis.
Rest of the World
-Alibaba’s US listed shares (Ticker:$BABA) soared 14.26% during the trading session on news that the company will undergo a six way split. Alibaba is to become a holding company during the restructure, allowing the individual entities to maximise resources and develop operational efficiencies and competitive advantages.