Wednesday newspaper round-up: Netflix, Amazon, Twitter

Netflix reported better-than-expected earnings on Tuesday, seeing a smaller exodus of viewers than originally forecast even as the platform struggles to maintain its meteoric pandemic growth. Though Netflix reported its second straight quarterly drop in subscriber growth, and lost 1 million viewers in the second quarter of 2022, that number was lower than the 2 million it had projected in its previous report. Shares were up 10% in after-hours trading. – Guardian

Amazon’s core UK division was handed a tax credit of just over £1m last year by HM Revenue and Customs despite the online retailer’s profits soaring by almost 60% to £204m. The tax benefit was part of €1bn (£850m) in tax credits provided to Amazon by governments across Europe, up from €56m a year before, according to accounts filed for the US company’s Luxembourg-based division. – Guardian

Twitter has been granted a fast-track hearing in its attempt to force Elon Musk to complete his $44bn takeover, after accusing the Tesla billionaire of harming the company “every hour of every day”. Delaware judge Kathaleen McCormick ruled in favour of Twitter on Tuesday, setting a trial date for October. Mr Musk’s lawyers had attempted to push the trial back to next year. – Telegraph

Clifford Chance has become the first of London’s international “magic circle” law firms to smash the £2 million pay barrier for partners after it awarded a 10 per cent rise. The company said that the average annual drawing for its full-equity partners was £2.04 million, moving the firm at least temporarily to the top of the league table of elite UK commercial practices. The increase meant that Clifford Chance overtook Allen & Overy, which announced average annual pay last week of £1.9 million. – The Times

Retail investors will be able to take part in all types of fundraisings under sweeping proposals designed to shake up City rules and help London compete with stock markets overseas. Private investors are often penalised when companies seek to raise money quickly through placings that target institutions. This is because the stakes of individual shareholders who are not allowed to participate are automatically diluted by such deals. Placings are also typically priced at a discount, meaning retail investors miss out on the opportunity of buying cut-price shares. – The Times