Bitcoin price hits another record all-time high breaking $6,500 November 1, 2017 Bitcoin’s upward streak continues: the cryptocurrency’s price has once again set a record. After breaking the $6,400 mark overnight it’s continued to climb and cracked $6,500, this morning reaching $6,522 at pixel time. News of plans for bitcoin futures had already pusheed it to new highs yesterday. US-based exchange operator CME Group said it hopes [...]
Vinyl countdown: Sainsbury’s has launched its own record label to take advantage of the record revival November 1, 2017 Have we just reached peak hipster? Sainsbury’s has launched its own record label in an effort to capitalise more on the vinyl revival. The supermarket said it will launch two compilation albums on its new Own Label imprint, which will be released via Universal and Warner Music on Friday. The first of the two albums, [...]
Next’s (NXT) sales return to growth with strong online performance November 1, 2017 Next sales returned to growth last quarter, bolstered by the retail chain’s online division. The figures In the quarter to 29 October, Next’s retail sales fell 7.7 per cent, but its directory sales, which includes website and catalogue sales, jumped 13.2 per cent. Total sales for the period rose 1.3 per cent. For the year [...]
Nationwide UK house price index: Annual growth rate picked up in October November 1, 2017 The annual rate of house price growth rose to 2.5 per cent in October, from 2.3 per cent in September, according to the latest Nationwide house price index. Prices went up 0.2 per cent on a monthly basis, down slightly from 0.4 per cent growth in the previous month. Nationwide’s chief economist Robert Gardner said: [...]
Kano, the innovative coding and computer kit startup, raises $28m from Marc Benioff, Stanford’s VC arm, Index Ventures, LocalGlobe and more November 1, 2017 An innovative tech company that creates computer kits for kids to help teach them how to code has raised fresh investment. Kano has landed $28m in a series B round from a string of well-known investors, including Salesforce entrepreneur Marc Benioff and the venture fund of Stanford University’s engineering department, one of the most prestigious [...]
Fintech startup MarketInvoice is getting into small business lending and taking on big banks November 1, 2017 One of the UK’s most well-known startups is taking on the big banks with a move into lending for small business, a market worth £35bn a year. MarketInvoice is expanding from peer-to-peer invoice financing into short-term loans of between £10k and £100k. Read more: Investec and Banco Sabadell are backing hot UK fintech startup Bud [...]
Catalonia tries to avoid repeating history, but Spain has economic reality on its side November 1, 2017 Karl Marx famously wrote: “History repeats itself, first as tragedy, second as farce”. The phrase might well have been coined with Catalonia in mind. Generalissimo Franco began a military coup against the elected Spanish government in the Canary Islands in 1936. The battle spread across Spain, and Catalonia was the last redoubt of the Republic [...]
The Treasury must get tough and enforce the bank referral scheme November 1, 2017 Today marks the end of the first year of the bank referral scheme. If a bank declines a loan to a small business, it must now offer that business the opportunity to be referred to one or more neutral aggregator platforms providing a wide range of business funding products. The recently published figures for the [...]
Group messaging service Slack is down because of a “server error” and workplaces around the world are freaking out November 1, 2017 The messaging service championed by Silicon Valley startup teams is experiencing a major outage, posting a “server error” message when people try to access the platform. “We’re sincerely sorry for the service disruption you’re seeing at the moment. We’re working on it with top priority,” Slack said in a tweet. We’re sincerely sorry for the [...]
Brexit aviation progress facing turbulence as France and Germany eye business opportunities October 31, 2017 The outgoing boss of London City Airport warned today of the need to be aware of “vested interests” from European countries that have the potential to disrupt progress on post-Brexit aviation agremeents. London City’s chief executive Declan Collier said that despite the overall focus on the benefits of retaining a positive relationship between the UK [...]