RBS sees better-than-expected price for its Aldgate office block March 31, 2015 Bids for one of the Royal Bank of Scotland’s office buildings in Aldgate have entered a second round, with the taxpayer-owned lender set to gain a better-than-expected payout. The bank appointed advisory firm DTZ at the end of last year to sell Aldgate Union on Whitechapel High Street, with a guide price of around £85m. [...]
IBM announces plans to invest $3bn in Internet of Things unit March 31, 2015 Computing giant IBM yesterday announced it would invest $3bn (£2.02bn) over the next four years in a new Internet of Things unit. It is aiming to sell its expertise in gathering and making sense of the surge in real-time data. The New York-based technology company said its services will be based remotely in the cloud, [...]
HP files lawsuit against Autonomy execs claiming billions in damages March 31, 2015 HP has filed a lawsuit in the British High Court alleging fraudulent activity by the founder and finance chief of the British company Autonomy which it bought in 2011 for $11bn. The US tech firm which later took an $8.8bn writedown on the acquisition is claiming damages from Autonomy founder Mike Lynch and former CFO [...]
It’s proven: People with rich parents have bigger brains March 31, 2015 Rich and well-educated families are more likely to have children with big brains, according to a new study looking at socioeconomic status and brain structure among young people in the US. Led by The Saban Research Institute of Children's Hospital Los Angeles and Columbia University Medical Centre, nine universities across the country collaborated to analyse [...]
Facebook makes new friends as it doubles its London HQ March 31, 2015 Silicon Roundabout? What Silicon Roundabout? Far from fleeing to the east, Facebook has just doubled its capacity at its Euston Road headquarters, signing a lease for the top seven floors of Regent's Place. The Evening Standard reported the social media company has taken 65,000 sq ft – which is also the London base of Manchester City [...]
Amazon moves drone testing to Canada after US takes too long to grant licence March 30, 2015 Tech giant Amazon appears to have followed through on its threat to move futuristic drone testing out of the US, after complaining of excessive red tape. The company is testing drones just across the border in Canada. It plans on using the unmanned flying machines to deliver goods ordered through its website. Just last week, Amazon [...]
Vodafone teams up with Visa and Carta Worldwide to offer contactless payments to Android mobile users March 30, 2015 Vodafone is getting into the business of contactless payments by allowing its customers to add bank cards to their digital wallets in the coming months it announced yesterday. The telecoms giant has teamed up with Visa and Carta Worldwide to allow European customers with Android smartphones to pay for services at contactless pay points via [...]
The new Meningitis B vaccine for babies on the NHS: How much of a difference will it actually make in the UK? March 30, 2015 Later this year, the NHS will start rolling out its new Meningitis B vaccination programme for all babies in the UK. As part of the national childhood immunisation scheme, they will receive three doses of the GSK-owned medication, first at two months, then at four months and finally at 12 months. It makes Britain [...]
Being tired helps you have creative thoughts, which can make you better at your job March 30, 2015 If thinking creatively is part of your job, tossing and turning all night could actually be a good thing. Having a well-rested, straight-thinking mind improves attention and focus, but it also blocks out weird – aka "creative" – thoughts that creep up after a night of little sleep. These thoughts should not be cast aside [...]
Uber users in Singapore can hail a Lamborghini or a Maserati March 30, 2015 Commuters in Singapore can now ride in a Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder or Maserati GranTurismo, after taxi app Uber added the supercars to its fleet there. Uber has partnered with luxury car rental company Dream Drive for a trial period which runs until April 20. However, the taxi app warned customers it expects demand will be high and [...]