Blockchain energy trading: London startup Verv has performed the UK’s first energy trade on the blockchain April 13, 2018 A London-based machine learning startup has completed the UK’s first physical trade of energy on the blockchain. Verv uses artificial intelligence (AI) to allow customers with renewable energy supplies and battery storage to sell surplus power directly to their neighbours. The firm is currently conducting a trial at Hackney’s Banister House Estate with hopes of [...]
Yahoo Japan picks up a minority stake in cryptocurrency exchange BitARG April 13, 2018 Yahoo Japan has snapped up a stake in a cryptocurrency exchange, signalling further support of the controversial digital assets from the country’s financial services sector. The firm bought a 40 per cent stake in BitARG Exchange Tokyo for an undisclosed sum. Reuters has reported the deal was likely worth ￥2bn to ￥3bn (£13m to £20m). [...]
Exclusive: City unlikely to get more than “token, minimalist” Brexit deal April 13, 2018 A senior City figure has warned that the UK risks being stuck with a “token, minimalist” deal on financial services as part of the post-Brexit agreement with the EU in October. The source, who is privy to conversations with key players on both sides, told City A.M. that while services are likely to be referenced [...]
Sage Group share price sinks after sales sag below own expectations April 13, 2018 Sage, Britain’s biggest tech firm, today warned sales had fallen below management expectations, “reflecting inconsistent operational execution”. Shares dived 15 per cent in morning trades, wiping almost £1bn off the firm’s market value. Revenue growth in the six months to March grew by 6.4 per cent, slowing from last year’s 7.4 per cent increase. At [...]
Donald Trump says the US will only rejoin the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) if terms are “substantially better” April 13, 2018 Donald Trump late last night said he will only rejoin the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) if it offered “substantially better” terms than those offered to former President Barack Obama. Trump ditched the TPP, a multinational trade pact between 11 members, including Australia, Japan, Canada and Mexico, as one of his first acts as US President. [...]
London Stock Exchange Group appoints Goldman Sachs veteran David Schwimmer as its new chief executive April 13, 2018 The London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) has appointed David Schwimmer, a longtime Goldman Sachs banker, as its new chief executive. Schwimmer will join the group on 1 August, succeeding Xavier Rolet, who left amid a bitter public row with an investor to oust the group’s chairman, which was sparked by the announcement in November 2017 [...]
“People can judge me on whatever basis they like” – departing SFO director David Green says final farewell April 13, 2018 The view of Trafalgar Square surrounding David Green’s office is one he will miss. The departing director of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has enjoyed the architecture for the six years that he has been in, and reshaped, the role that has attracted – perhaps surprisingly – a fair amount of political drama. Green has [...]
April Tube strike: TfL travel advice for this week’s London Tube strike with District Line running a reduced service on Ealing Broadway branch April 13, 2018 Transport for London (TfL) has issued advice for today’s 24-hour strike by Tube drivers, aiming to provide service across the District Line though there will be disruption. The strike will be a 24-hour one on Friday 13 April and has been called by the train drivers’ union Aslef, with members at Acton Town striking for [...]
Disney forced to bid for Sky: How Britain’s takeover umpire has just thickened the plot April 13, 2018 As corporate stories go, this one has more plot twists than Game of Thrones. Sky investors were buoyed at the end of February as Comcast attempted to hijack Rupert Murdoch’s painfully slow takeover of the chunk of Sky he doesn’t already own. Shares hit levels last witnessed during the dotcom bubble – climbing above the [...]
Forget Facebook – it’s the tech-illiterate politicians we should be worrying about April 13, 2018 Watching Mark Zuckerberg testify in front of senators and members of Congress about Cambridge Analytica and wider concerns around Facebook’s omnipotence was painful viewing at times. Yes, Zuckerberg’s uncomfortable delivery and stilted prose indicated that the portrayal of a charismatic maverick in The Social Network film was perhaps a further cry from reality than first [...]