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Plans for digital vaccine passports were given a boost this morning after IATA, the global airline industry body, revealed its version of a digital travel pass would be launched on the Apple platform in mid-April.

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Spain also today said it expects digital vaccine passports that can ease travel within the European Union to be ready in June at the latest.

Elsewhere, Deliveroo's shares have plunged as much as 31pc, the worst performance in decades for a big UK float. Its poor debut has dealt a blow to London’s efforts to establish itself as a hub for technology listings in the wake of Brexit.

And Bill Gates and the billionaire behind the mobile network Three, Li Ka-Shing, have invested a further $24m into a hydrogen plane start-up.

ZeroAvia, which is based in Cranfield and also has backing from the government, is working on a hydrogen powered propulsion system that will ultimately allow aircraft with up to 50 passengers.

05:00 PM

That's all for today

Thanks for reading, we'll see you tomorrow.

04:46 PM

Fake Amazon Twitter ambassador 'was comedian's joke'

Robby Appleton, a comedian from Chicago, has claimed responsibility for a Twitter account imitating an Amazon worker that drew international attention and has since been deleted by Twitter.

'Darla', as the account purported to be, did a passable job of one of Amazon's Twitter ambassadors, tweeting statements opposing a US unionisation drive. It was suspended yesterday.

I guess I can just say it now since the account was suspended, but today Darla was going to post a PowerPoint presentation from Amazon about the evils of unionization that ended with a monologue calling to seize the means of production.

— hi i'm robby (@robbleton) March 30, 2021

03:49 PM

Apple 'to announce mixed reality headset' at in-person event

Apple announced yesterday that its software conference, WWDC, will be held virtually for the second year in a row, but the company will hope it is the last time.

According to Bloomberg, Apple is seeking to hold an in-person event later in the year to announce a mixed reality headset - one that can handle both virtual reality and augmented reality applications.

Apple spent billions on its spaceship-like headquarters in Cupertino, and is also seeking to get workers back into the office as soon as it is safe to do so.

03:20 PM

Robinhood drops the confetti

The trading app Robinhood, which was at the centre of the GameStop trading controversy, has often been accused of glamourising risky investments. Executing trades in the app results in confetti raining down from the top of the screen, a design choice that critics say is more akin to social media or gaming than sound investing.

Today, the app has announced that the confetti is out, being replaced by animations showing diamonds and Tetris blocks - which may be seen as less celebratory. One might detect a touch of defensiveness in its blogpost announcing the move, however.

Robinhood was designed to help investing fit easily into people’s lives. That’s why our app is simple, easy-to-use, bright—maybe even delightful. We celebrate our customers taking steps to begin their financial journey and invest for the long term.

We’ll keep working to deliver a beautifully designed, intuitive product experience. We’ll keep pushing the status quo—because that’s how real change happens. And we’ll keep celebrating the steps you take in your investment journey.

Your financial journey is something to celebrate. Starting this week, you’ll see new designs marking milestone moments, like making your first investment, depositing money in your app, or signing up for Robinhood Gold. https://t.co/WR649EJO6Y

— Robinhood (@RobinhoodApp) March 31, 2021

02:44 PM

They promised us flying cars...

The dream of a flying car may seem like something out of the Jetsons, but now a host of vertical-take-off-and-landing start-ups are getting billions of pounds in funding to make it a reality.

A number have gone onto the stock markets via 'SPACs', or special purpose acquisition vehicles. This blank cheque arrangement fundamentally leads to less scrutiny of these businesses that have no revenues to speak of.

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On Tuesday, a German start-up called Lilium became the third flying car maker in two months to announce that it was going public. Here is what my colleague Laurence Dodds has to say of the trend:

It is notable that some of the most hotly-anticipated Spacs of this year involve electric and autonomous vehicle (EV and AV) start-ups such as Rivian and Lucid Motors. Like flying cars, these are potentially world-changing technologies whose short-term future remains uncertain.

Read his full analysis here.

02:00 PM

Huawei's quarterly sales fall for the first time on US sanctions

Sales at Huawei slipped in the final three months of last year for the first time as the impact of US sanctions finally began to bite.

While overall sales were up 3.8pc and profits rose 3.2pc over the course of the year, in the final quarter its sales slipped by 11pc, to $33.5bn, Bloomberg reported.

It comes on the back of a relentless campaign by US security officials who warned Huawei posed a security risk to Western nations. Huawei has always denied it poses an espionage risk.

The US placed Huawei on a blacklist, the 'entity list', which prevented American companies from doing business with the Chinese firm. It also lobbied allies to limit their use of Huawei equipment. Huawei 5G kit was banned from being installed in the UK's telecoms network as a result.

Ken Hu, Huawei's chairman, said: “The global supply chain Huawei heavily relies on has been disrupted. I don’t know who will benefit from it but definitely not the industry.”

01:27 PM

Apple gives us a date for WWDC

Apple has given developers and iPhone users a date for its Worldwide Developer Conference, its annual event to show off the latest tricks it is bringing to its iOS and macOS operating systems.

The tech giant also often uses the event to show off a new device or two. It was previously used as a showcase for the original HomePod and other tech such as iPads.

The event will take place between June 7 and 11, showing developers some of the latest improvements it is making to its software.

Of course, Covid has once again put a dent in plans to host a live event. This year's WWDC will take place virtually, rather than in person.

12:31 PM

Harmful content on Facebook spread by users not algorithms, says Nick Clegg

Nick Clegg has blamed Facebook users for harmful content spreading on the social network, saying that the tech giant's algorithms aren't at fault.

The former Deputy Prime Minister, who is now a senior Facebook executive, said “bad and polarising” material was also a problem on messaging services like WhatsApp that don’t use algorithms to determine what users see.

His comments come as Sir Nick admitted Facebook was “not transparent” enough with users about how its algorithms determine what appears in their newsfeeds.

The company, which also owns Instagram, announced a raft of new features Wednesday, which will let users have more control over what Facebook shows them.

The social media company is also bringing in new controls that will let users and public figures restrict who is able to comment on their posts.

The move follows a number of high profile footballers, including Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford, criticising Facebook and Instagram in recent weeks after being subjected to racist abuse on its apps. Read our full story here

12:12 PM

Arm takes on Intel with biggest overhaul of its technology in almost a decade

Arm has unveiled the biggest overhaul of its technology in almost a decade, with new designs targeting markets currently dominated by Intel, the world’s largest chipmaker.

The Cambridge-based company is adding capabilities to help chips handle machine learning, a powerful type of artificial intelligence software. Extra security features will lock down data and computer code more.

The new blueprints should also deliver 30pc performance increases over the next two generations of processors for mobile devices and data center servers, said Arm, which is being acquired by Nvidia.

The upgrades are needed to support the spread of computing beyond phones, PCs and servers, Arm said.

Thousands of devices and appliances are being connected to the internet and gaining new capabilities through the addition of more chips and AI-powered software and services. The company wants its technology to be just as ubiquitous here as it is in the smartphone industry.

“As we look toward a future that will be defined by AI, we must lay a foundation of leading-edge compute that will be ready to address the unique challenges to come,” said Simon Segars, chief executive officer of Arm.

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11:44 AM

DoorDash accuses software start-up Olo of fraud

US food delivery service DoorDash has accused software business Olo of fraud in a lawsuit that alleges the business overcharged DoorDash by “tens of millions of dollars.”

Olo produces software used by restaurants to manage deliveries coming in from multiple services. Delivery companies such as DoorDash and rivals including UberEats pay Olo per order they get through the service.

DoorDash is claiming in legal filings that Olo overcharged DoorDash after it initially pledged that the fees DoorDash paid to Olo “would never be higher than the fees charged to any other delivery platform provider,” The Financial Times reported.

The alleged overcharging only emerged when DoorDash reviewed the terms that food delivery business Caviar, which it bought in 2019, had with Olo. DoorDash lawyers claim these charges were far more favourable.

Olo has sought to dismiss the lawsuit and claimed that the allegations are “without merit.” It has also claimed that a 2017 addendum to its contract with DoorDash removed its earlier agreement to provide the company with the lowest fees.

A spokesperson for Olo said: '“As Olo has already set forth, DoorDash’s allegations are baseless. Despite all of DoorDash’s litigation rhetoric, the evidence speaks for itself. Olo will not comment further on ongoing litigation. Olo looks forward to continuing to work with DoorDash for the benefit of the restaurant industry.'

10:53 AM

Apple leads $50m investment round into music distribution start-up UnitedMasters

Apple has led a $50m (£36m) funding round in New York start-up UnitedMasters which helps musicians sell tickets and merchandise to their fans alongside their music.

Existing investors including Google’s parent Alphabet and high-profile venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz also joined the funding round.

UnitedMasters lets the 1m musicians using its service release albums from their smartphone and helps them to retain ownership of their masters, a growing request in the music industry.

As part of the investment, Apple will help to promote and market unsigned musicians.

“[Chief executive] Steve Stoute and UnitedMasters provide creators with more opportunities to advance their careers and bring their music to the world,” Apple executive Eddy Cue said in a statement. “The contributions of independent artists play a significant role in driving the continued growth and success of the music industry, and UnitedMasters, like Apple, is committed to empowering creators.”

10:20 AM

Deliveroo slump 'may well dent confidence,' tech investor warns

Deliveroo’s share price slump in the hours after its float in London “may well dent confidence,” according to GP Bullhound managing partner Manish Madhvani, “but it’s so important we focus on creating an ecosystem for our tech companies to float.”

Deliveroo shares remain down around 19pc from its floatation this morning, raising questions about the pricing of the company and its valuation.

“The initial figures for Deliveroo are a bit of a setback,” Mr Madhvani said, “as London was gaining momentum as a listings destination.”

“However, we should also realise that the company is still highly valued – the pricing was set against its peers, and companies like Glovo and Just Eat are growing much faster. There may have been a mistake on the pricing given the market conditions, but we shouldn’t forget how truly pioneering the Deliveroo model is, rather than getting bogged down in the headlines.”

Does today's disappointing #Deliveroo debut bode negatively on London's ability to support large tech IPOs in the future?

Sophie Lund-Yates, Equity Analyst, Hargreaves Lansdown thinks not, this is Deliveroo specific $ROOpic.twitter.com/C2KWBCOL4N

— Joumanna Bercetche 🇱🇧 (@CNBCJou) March 31, 2021

09:54 AM

IATA says travel pass app to launch on Apple mid-April

Some more vaccine passport news this morning: Global airline industry body IATA has just announced that a digital travel pass for Covid-19 test results and vaccine certificates will launch on the Apple platform in mid-April.

The digital travel pass, currently in the testing phase, had been planned to be launched by the end of March.

IATA Regional Vice President for Africa and the Middle East Kamil Alawadhi said it was expected to launch on the Apple platform around April 15, and later for the Android platform.

'But the application will only achieve its success once airlines, different countries, airports adopt it,' Alawadhi said.

Virgin Atlantic said on Friday it would trial the IATA app on its London to Barbados route from April 16. Barbados has said it will accept the pass at its border, one of the first countries to accept a digital pass instead of paper documentation.

09:30 AM

Amazon built a Twitter army to defend the company, leaked documents reveal

Amazon efforts to create an army of “ambassadors” on Twitter began in 2018 under the codename “Veritas,” according to leaked document seen by The Intercept.

The documents came to light after Amazon courted controversy this week for deploying 'ambassadors' on Twitter to push back against accusations of tax avoidance and inhumane working conditions.

At least four purported ambassador accounts used profile pictures taken from stock photo websites or showing signs of being generated by artificial intelligence (AI). Laurence Dodds has more details on that here.

According to the Intercept, Amazon chose workers based on their “great sense of humor” to confront critics in a “blunt” manner. The document includes examples of how its ambassadors can sarcastically reply to criticism online.

For some reason @amazonnews

I believe @AndrewYang yes I do & I don’t believe U.

And I ALSO believe that Amazon employees pee in bottles. Why?

Because your warehouses are so huge that by the time they walk all the way to the bathroom their break is OVER.

You people are awful. https://t.co/AyzKohXl6B

— EllenFromTexas✡️ (@Bananadogs3) March 27, 2021

“To address speculation and false assertions in social media and online forums about the quality of the FC [Fulfillment Center] associate experience, we are creating a new social team staffed with active, tenured FC employees, who will be empowered to respond in a polite—but blunt—way to every untruth,” the project description reads.

“FC Ambassadors (‘FCA’) will respond to all posts and comments from customers, influencers (including policymakers), and media questioning the FC associate experience.”

Kelly Nantel, an Amazon spokesperson, told Intercept: “FC Ambassadors are employees who work in our fulfillment centers and choose to share their personal experience — the FC ambassador program helps show what it’s actually like inside our fulfillment centers, along with the public tours we provide.” Read more here.

09:20 AM

Geely weighs reviving $20bn Volvo Cars IPO

China’s Zhejiang Geely Holding Group s considering reviving plans for an initial public offering of its Volvo Cars unit that could value the business at around $20bn, according to Blommberg

The company has been speaking with potential advisers about selling shares in Volvo Cars as soon as this year, sources told the publication. It is considering potential listing venues including Stockholm and Amsterdam, the people said.

It comes as automakers around the world search for ways to fund the enormous investments needed for the seismic shift toward electric vehicles.

Deliberations are at an early stage, and details such as the potential valuation could change, the people said. A representative for Geely Holding declined to comment.

08:50 AM

Spain says digital vaccine certificates to be ready in June

Spain expects digital vaccine passports that can ease travel within the European Union to be ready in June at the latest, foreign minister Arancha Gonzalez Laya said on Wednesday.

Faced with a pandemic that has killed more than 900,000 people in Europe and thrust the continent into its deepest recession, EU leaders agreed last month to work on vaccine certificates to kick-start the tourism, which has been hit hard.

'We are in Brussels with a proposal made by the Commission to the European Parliament,' Gonzalez Laya told Onda Cero radio station, saying the parliament had agreed to fast track the certificates to ease travel in Europe.

The vaccine certificates would not prevent non-vaccinated people from travelling, Gonzalez Laya said, but people with the certificate would go through borders faster while others would have to go through all the existing controls.

However, experts remain concerned about the technology underpinning such passports. Read our in-depth feature about their potential flaws here.

08:29 AM

So much for Rishi Sunak's 'Big Bang'

The Chancellor took the unusual step in the build up to Deliveroo's initial public offering of lending his weight to it and espousing how the deal was a boon to the City. The hope was that it would be the first in a 'Big Bang' of new listings, thanks to rule-easing around dual-class shares.

However, at least so far, it has been more muted. Trading today is very thin, which is likely leading to increased volatility.

Maybe it’s a bad idea for the Chancellor to personally endorse companies that list on the UK stock market, as Rishi Sunak did in this Deliveroo press release. pic.twitter.com/GKALMbUaqn

— Ben Wright (@_BenWright_) March 31, 2021

But the lack of a pop and the sharp drop in Deliveroo's share price will rankle investors who have seen shares in the US surging when they hit public markets.

08:21 AM

Analysts react to Deliveroo float

Sophie Lund-Yates, equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, says:

Deliveroo’s price isn’t quite as tasty as it was hoping for, coming in at the lowest end of an already narrowed range. This isn’t hugely surprising given the substantial background noise surrounding the company. The biggest concern is regulation around worker rights. The flexible employee model of Deliveroo’s riders is a huge pillar of the group’s plans for success.If forced to offer more traditional employee benefits, like company pension contributions, Deliveroo’s already thin margins would struggle to climb, and the road to profitability would look very tough indeed. Throw in the recent developments at Uber, and general market volatility, and the net effect is one of increased anxiety. Sadly for the group, anxiety doesn’t tend to inflate share prices.

07:27 AM

Deliveroo shares tumble as trading begins

Shares in Will Shu's food delivery company hit the market today, raising £1.5bn and valuing the company at an initial £7.6bn.

However, in early trading at least, those shares have tumbled, dropping by as much as 30pc in the first trades, according to Bloomberg data, and are now trading down by around 20pc, wiping over £1bn off the value of the company in the opening trades.

#Deliveroo sinks 31% in its London debut, putting pressure on the City’s efforts to boost its profile as a technology and listings hub post-Brexit.https://t.co/doEKRtQv0Ypic.twitter.com/To9GRD8RvG

— Adveith Nair (@Adveith) March 31, 2021

That will be a bitter blow to customers who bought into the initial public offering, in particular retail investors, who are in for around £50m for shares made available through primary bid.

More as we get it this morning.

06:46 AM

ZeroAvia cashes in

Hydrogen planes are seen as a way to turn the dirty business of air travel to clean zero carbon fuels. Hydrogen power uses fuel cells emit only water vapour.

One start-up working on this technology for flight is ZeroAvia, which last year relocated to Cranfield in the UK from the US.

It secured $16m from the UK government as part of the deal, and now has raised a further $24m from Bill Gates and Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing.

It is hoping to build an aircraft that can carry 50 passengers.

“We a have a road map that goes into larger and larger airframes,” ZeroAvia Chief Executive Officer Val Miftakhov said. “We thought we’d go for the next size in a year or two, but there’s been so much interest, we decided to accelerate.”

06:36 AM

Five things to know this morning

1) Meet Romi Savova, the 35-year-old ex-banker who battled sexism to build a £300m pensions giant The PensionBee head's stake is set to be worth up to £157m following the start-up's London float

2) Netflix's carbon emissions are equal to 2.7bn miles on the road The streaming giant said that 50pc of its carbon footprint comes from actually filming its shows, and only 5pc from cloud services

3) Woodford investors to miss out on bumper profits from Oxford Nanopore listing The stock picker previously held a 12pc stake in the biotech company, which is set for a multibillion pound listing later this year

4) Satellite mega-constellations are making our night skies 10pc brighterIt comes as companies including SpaceX and OneWeb race to put internet satellites into orbit

5) Deliveroo launches £7.6bn London float It has priced its float at the lower end of its range