London to explore how drones can work for the capital in Flying High Challenge with four other cities February 7, 2018 London has been selected as one of five cities to explore in detail how drone technology could be utilised across the UK. The challenge, run by innovation foundation Nesta’s Challenge Prize Centre in partnership with government-backed Innovate UK, called on cities to apply for a chance to examine how drones could be used in their [...]
Digital mapping firm Here to map Dubai with high definition technology to deliver driverless car ambitions February 7, 2018 Dubai said today it is working with digital mapping firm Here to use a live HD map for driverless cars as it looks to get 25 per cent of public transport self-driving by 2030. In an announcement today, Here said it will aim to map Dubai with high definition technology for the first time, to [...]
How will Mark Carney respond to the FTSE 100 sell-off? The shadow MPC votes to hold as market bets on May hike pull back February 7, 2018 Markets have dialled back their bets on a May rate hike from the Bank of England after the massive market sell-off at the start of the week, with Mark Carney due to make his first public statements since the turmoil tomorrow. Investors are currently pricing in a 37 per cent probability of a rate hike [...]
China’s Didi Chuxing is partnering with 12 auto giants including Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi on a car-sharing platform February 7, 2018 Chinese ride-hailing behemoth Didi Chuxing announced today that it has launched a car-sharing platform alongside 12 auto giants including Geely Auto and Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi. Didi said it intends to utilise its artificial intelligence strengths and national network to help the “entire automotive industry chain”. The company, which bought out Uber’s China business in 2016, said it [...]
River and Mercantile fund head Philip Rodrigs has left the business following an investigation into professional conduct February 7, 2018 A portfolio manager at River and Mercantile Asset Management has left the business after an internal investigation into a “professional conduct issue”. Philip Rodrigs, a 36-year-old German-born fund manager who graduated from Oxford University, was previously lead manager of the River and Mercantile (R&M) UK Equity Smaller Companies Fund, the R&M UK Dynamic Equity Fund, [...]
Winter chill on house prices after second consecutive fall says Halifax February 7, 2018 House prices in the UK fell for the second successive month at the start of the year, pulling annual growth to its lowest level since June last year. The 0.6 per cent fall in house prices reported by Halifax came as a surprise to analysts, who had expected the index to edge up in January. [...]
Foreign cash ploughed into UK startups hit record levels last year, with more than £8bn invested in young companies, according to Beauhurst February 7, 2018 A record amount of money, at £8.27bn, was invested in UK startup businesses last year, new data shows. The promising recovery from 2016’s slump showed an all-time high of megadeals, according to data from research firm Beauhurst, as 29 investments of more than £50m were completed. These included a £215m funding round in TransferWise, and [...]
Bulls take back control of global stock markets as FTSE 100 and European markets follow Asian and US lead upwards February 7, 2018 Bullish sentiment once again took the upper hand on global stock markets this morning after gains on US indices ended a run of big losses. The FTSE 100 gained by more than 0.6 per cent at the market open, after yesterday sustaining its worst loss since the day after the Brexit vote. Markets on the [...]
Ryanair’s perception climbs again after winter turbulence February 7, 2018 Ryanair has posted a 12 per cent rise in profits after tax in the three months to December. So what has happened to the carrier’s consumer perception since September when it was beset by flight cancellations and issues surrounding pilot holiday? YouGov brand tracking data indicates that following its difficulties in early autumn, the airline’s [...]
Without profit at Tesla, Elon Musk will be coming back to earth February 7, 2018 Last night, eccentric billionaire Elon Musk sent one of his own Tesla sports cars into outer space with the launch of the most powerful operational rocket the world has ever seen. The swagger and showmanship of the event should not distract from the significance of the launch, or the fact that Musk is an immensely [...]