Business and technology quick bites: 28.04.2021

Updated version at 8.00 am

The highlighted words in red are links to the news article.

April 28, 2021,

Business News

1. Visa Inc is emerging from the Covid-19 pandemic as spending power recovers, total payment volumes rose 11% on a constant dollar basis from a year earlier, its biggest jump since the start of the pandemic.
2. Microsoft Corp met analysts’ quarterly sales expectations and beat profit estimates, but its shares dipped slightly as investors hoped for an even stronger performance after a year-long rally to a massive market valuation.
3. Tepid results from Tesla and 3M weighed on Wall Street on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 and Dow ending near flat as investors focused on wave of earnings reports from Microsoft, Alphabet and other corporate heavyweights.
4. Masayoshi Son has run almost all the way through $23 billion allocated to buy back SoftBank Group Corp. shares, raising concerns that his stock’s bull run will end without rapid intervention.
5. Cathay Pacific has upped its game with free Covid insurance in a competitive industry where airlines are fighting for the limited number of travellers taking to the skies.

Technology News

1. Google parent Alphabet on Tuesday reported that quarterly profit more than doubled to US$17.9 billion from US$6.8 billion as digital advertising surged with more people relying on the internet during the coronavirus pandemic.
2. Spotify unveiled plans on Tuesday for podcast subscriptions, countering a similar initiative from Apple but offering a better deal than its US rival by allowing creators to keep all revenue for a limited time.
3. The UK government became the first country to announce it will regulate the use of self-driving vehicles at slow speeds on motorways, with the first such cars possibly appearing on public roads as soon as this year.
4. Pharmacy Online Concierge (POC), an online platform that digitises pharmacies in Vietnam, has secured US$4.5 million in an equity financing round, DealStreetAsia reports.
5. Temasek Holdings has co-led the US$30 million Series C funding round of EAVision Technologies, a Chinese agricultural drone company.