Let markets work: Uber, Lyft and the benefits of taxi deregulation October 29, 2014 The development of ride-sharing taxi-apps like Uber and Lyft has elicited much controversy. Customers can now have a cab pick them up in minutes with a simple touch of their smartphone. However, these kinds of services have faced fierce opposition from taxi unions and regulators across Europe and the US. A new report from the [...]
Intertek leads the way as FTSE buoyed by data – London Report October 29, 2014 BRITAIN’S top equity index yesterday rose to its highest level in nearly three weeks on the expectation that the US Federal Reserve would signal that it was in no rush to raise interest rates. However, late last night – after the London close – investors elsewhere in the world were betting that a US rate [...]
Wall St slips as US Fed ends bond buying – New York Report October 29, 2014 US STOCKS closed with slight losses yesterday, finishing off their lows of the session, after the Federal Reserve ended its stimulative monthly bond-buying programme and expressed confidence in American economic prospects. In a statement after a two-day meeting, the Fed ended its quantitative easing programme of bond purchases, as had been expected. At its peak, [...]
Top economists reject Paul Krugman’s call for government intervention to curb Amazon’s market power October 29, 2014 Rarely far from controversy, Nobel Prize-winning economist Paul Krugman caused quite the stir in his New York Times column a couple weeks back. Krugman argued that e-commerce giant Amazon "has too much power, and it uses that power in ways that hurt Americans". Furthermore, state intervention was necessary to protect the public. Amazon drew Krugman's [...]
Markets keep their cool as Federal Reserve ends quantitative easing October 29, 2014 The Federal Reserve has announced the end of its monthly $15bn bond-buying programme, adding that its intention is to maintain low interest rates for "considerable time". The Fed was more bullish on the state of the US labour market, and all its members with the exception of one voted to draw quantitative easing (QE) to [...]
CurrentC, US retailers’ Apple Pay killer, has already had a security breach October 29, 2014 Since its launch last week, Apple Pay has become surprisingly controversial – in fact, various mega-retailers, including Wal-Mart and Best Buy, have blocked its use. That's because they're part of a network called the Merchant Customer Exchange (MCX), which is working on its own version of Apple Pay. Known as CurrentC, the app has been [...]
Facebook has shown the way with its move to mobile – now everyone else must follow October 29, 2014 Facebook has made mobile pay. That much was made clear after the site revealed mobile adverts now account for 66 per cent of its advertising revenue. And when that mobile ad revenue amounts to $1.95bn, it pays to seek to understand how it got there – and quite possibly how to copy it. “Our strong [...]
WhatsApp in numbers: When will it make a profit and reach 1 billion users? October 29, 2014 It may not be making any money yet, but newly Facebook-owned tech darling WhatsApp still has some pretty interesting numbers. Revealed yesterday by Facebook during its latest earnings, its the first time outsiders have been able to get an inside look at the app which Facebook paid a hefty sum for. So, we know Facebook [...]
Spread of Ebola appears to be slowing in west Africa: Number of new patient admissions in Liberia declines October 29, 2014 The spread of Ebola may be slowing down in Liberia, according to the World health Organisation (WHO). Dr Bruce Aylward, assistant director general of the UN's health agency, said during a news conference earlier today that there had been a drop in the number of burials in Liberia and no increases in laboratory-confirmed cases. [...]
These beautiful pictures show how the fall of the Berlin Wall is being commemorated October 29, 2014 It's 25 years since the Berlin Wall came down, arguably one of the most significant moments of the late 20th century. Most people will remember the images of people joyfully climbing across from East to West Berlin for the first time in nearly 30 years, or of those on both sides finally destroying the [...]