WeWork Confirms the Tech Bubble Pop

Layoffs in all industries are accelerating because of COVID-19. However, there are tech companies that are being affected more than others. A clear example is SoftBank Group, which backed out of a US$3 billion deal to buy WeWork stock, which means that Neumann is not even a billionaire anymore, according to an analysis by Bloomberg. SoftBank cited regulatory concerns and government investigations and not the collapsing market as the reason for the move.

Thousands of people under lockdown could be the ideal setting for home delivery apps and as quarantine became mandatory in several cities, demand for these companies increased. However, the impending closure of restaurants seems to have made people lose their appetite for takeaway.

According to SimilarWeb, which tracks downloads and use of smartphone apps and websites across key European markets, Just Eat and Uber Eats saw drops in average daily users ranging from 2 percent to 23 percent in March in France, Spain and the UK, compared with the averages of January and February. Deliveroo also saw falls in France and Spain, although it registered a small increase in the UK, data shows. 

More news below: 

• Is there a link between coronavirus and 5G? Of course not, but many are claiming there is one and that is damaging telecommunications infrastructure in the UK.

• Samsung is living proof of the impact the pandemic is having on companies' finances. The company said it expects to report 1Q20 sales of US$44.9 billion and an operating profit of US$5.2 billion.

• Zoom is sued by one of its own. Michael Drieu said the company damaged its own stock by overstating privacy standards. The video conferencing tool, suddenly the most important app of all, has faced weeks of criticism over security.

• Co-founder and CEO of both Twitter and Square Jack Dorsey said he is going to set aside US$1 billion in his Square equity to support relief efforts for COVID-19. Dorsey said he is pulling the shares from his stake in Square instead of Twitter, because he owns more stock in the former, reported CNBC.

• Amazon is suspending its Amazon Shipping service in June, according to the Wall Street Journal. The service is a competitor to UPS and FedEx that delivers non-Amazon packages and is available only in a few US cities.