Uber’s chief executive Travis Kalanick has stepped down from the ride-hailing company June 21, 2017 Travis Kalanick, the controversial chief executive of Uber, has stepped down from his post, the company has confirmed. Kalanick helped set up the ride-hailing behemoth, but faced a shareholder revolt which forced his hand, according to the New York Times. Yesterday five investors called for his resignation, and wrote a letter to Kalanick outlining their [...]
The Serious Fraud Office’s Barclays probe: Everything you need to know June 21, 2017 What happened in 2008? In the summer of 2008, at the height of the global financial crisis, Barclays needed emergency funding. The bank raised £4.5bn in June that year and £7.3bn in October from investors including Qatar Holding and Challenger Universal. Why was this investigated? Over the last five years, the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) [...]
Venture funding from the Business Growth Fund (BGF), Episode1 and Entrepreneur First for biometric recognition company AimBrain could change the face of retail banking June 20, 2017 AimBrain, a biometric recognition business, could be set to change the face of retail banking after receiving £4m of venture capital funding. As banks increasingly look to explore automation and enhance security, devices ranging from mobile phones to ATMs could soon be paying much more attention to how customers look, sound and act. AimBrain’s founders, [...]
Barclays (BARC) and ex-staff including former chief executive charged by Serious Fraud Office (SFO) with fraud over Qatar fundraising but share price remains flat June 20, 2017 The Serious Fraud Office has announced today it has charged four former Barclays bankers, including ex-chief executive John Varley, over a 2008 fundraising from Qatar. It said this morning that it had charged the bank and four individuals with “conspiracy to commit fraud and the provision of unlawful financial assistance contrary to the Companies Act [...]
The UK has backed down on the timeline for Brexit talks on the very first day of negotiations June 19, 2017 Brexit secretary David Davis was forced to capitulate on a key disagreement during the first day of negotiations with the European Union yesterday, backing down on a battle he previously said would become “the row of the summer”. The UK kicked off talks in Brussels with both sides agreeing a schedule for dialogue as they [...]
Marks & Spencer has started laser printing avocado labels to reduce waste | City A.M. June 19, 2017 In a push towards sustainability, Marks & Spencer (M&S) has started laser labelling avocados. Moving from sticker labels to lasering will save the retailer 10 tonnes of labels and backing paper and five tonnes of adhesive every year on avocados alone. Lasering also uses less energy. So, how does it work? M&S said the innovative [...]
The official ranking of the hottest Tube lines, according to Transport for London (TfL): Bakerloo Line is the hottest London Underground line, followed by the Central Line June 19, 2017 If you’re planning to get home by cramming yourself onto a Tube train today, prepare for an unpleasant journey. And, thanks to the brave souls at Gizmodo, we now know exactly how unpleasant it will be, after it lodged a freedom of information (FoI) request to find out which are the hottest Tube lines. Surprisingly [...]
Meet Charlie Muirhead and Tabitha Goldstaub from Cogx, preparing London (and the world) for our AI future June 19, 2017 In the last few years, gradually, and despite lamentations from the old guard, the world has started to accept the reality of a new economy. It’s the “Fourth Industrial Revolution,” “The Data Economy”, the “Information Age,” or a “Digital Epoch”. Whatever nomenclature one denotes the phenomenon, it is clear that it is here to stay. [...]
Banks to be forced to reveal all cyber security breaches to the European Central Bank June 19, 2017 All banks regulated by the European Central Bank (ECB) will be forced to reveal all major cyber security breaches, according to one of the supervisor’s bosses. Starting this summer, banks directly supervised by the ECB will have to “report all significant cyber incidents”, said Sabine Lautenschlaeger, a member of the ECB’s executive board. At a [...]
Bitcoin explained: What is it? Why has its price risen so much? Will it ever take over from traditional currencies? All your questions answered June 19, 2017 Bitcoin has rocked headlines this year as its price jumped more than 100 per cent to reach all-time highs of over $3,000 – but what actually is it? As the cryptocurrency breaks into the mainstream market, we take you back to basics. What is bitcoin and where did it come from? Bitcoin is a digital [...]