Prop 22: Uber and Lyft win California bid to class drivers as contractors November 4, 2020 Uber and Lyft have secured a major victory today after winning a vote in California that allows the ride-hailing apps to continue classing their drivers as contractors rather than employees. Voters in California yesterday passed Proposition 22, a state ballot measure that will enable companies in the gig economy to bypass labour laws. Roughly 58 [...]
Shares in cyber firm ECSC spike as home working drives up demand November 4, 2020 Shares in ECSC jumped more than 11 per cent this morning as the cybersecurity firm said a shift to home working during the pandemic had boosted demand for its services. In a trading update for the four months since June, ECSC said revenue and profit had continued to rise as clients bolstered their cyber defences. [...]
How ‘following the science’ has let our country down November 4, 2020 If I were to be diagnosed with a malignant tumour, I would expect my doctors to lay out for me the alternative treatment options, how each would affect my quality of life, its impact on survival or potential cure and, as far as is knowable, all the other potential costs and benefits. I would listen [...]
UK spooks block two cyber attacks per day as hackers exploit Covid-19 November 3, 2020 UK spooks blocked an average of almost two major cyber attacks per day last year as unscrupulous hackers tried to capitalise on the Covid-19 crisis. The National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) handled 723 incidents between 1 September 2019 and 31 August 2020, up from an average of 602 incidents over the last three years. The [...]
Softbank Vision Fund dealt another blow with boardroom exodus November 2, 2020 After a year of hefty losses, Softbank is now dealing with an exodus of executives at its $100bn Vision Fund. The Japanese conglomerate plunged to its worst ever annual performance in March after recording a huge $18bn loss for the Vision Fund. It bounced back in August after strong performances by its tech investments. Softbank [...]
Software firm The Bytes Group unveils plans for London stock market float November 2, 2020 Software firm The Bytes Group today unveiled plans for an initial public offering after posting a rise in revenue and profit thanks to the shift in home working. The planned float would see the firm demerge from its South African parent company Altron and pursue a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange and a [...]
Augmentum Fintech raises £28m in oversubscribed placing October 30, 2020 Listed venture capital firm Augmentum Fintech hit its £28m fundraising target through an oversubscribed share placing launched this week. The firm said demand from both existing and new investors exceeded the maximum issue and applications have been scaled back accordingly. Augmentum Fintech raised £28m through the issue of 23.37m shares at 120 pence each. The [...]
Marriott International fined £18.4m over customer data breach October 30, 2020 Marriott International has been handed an £18.4m fine by the UK data watchdog over a data breach that compromised the personal details of millions of customers. The fine relates to an attack on the Starwood hotels chain that exposed records belonging to 339m guests worldwide. The cyber attack began in 2014, before Marriott took over [...]
Bother: The startup looking to disrupt the grocery market October 30, 2020 The days of empty shelves and loo roll shortages seem a distant lockdown memory, but one London-based startup thinks it speaks to a wider problem within the UK’s grocery market. Startup Bother is on a mission to disrupt the saturated grocery market by offering what it considers to be a convenient and cheaper online alternative. [...]
Screenshot: Will Tim Davie win the generation game? October 30, 2020 A weekly column from City A.M. bringing you all the biggest stories and trends in technology, media and telecoms This week: ** Media Moment of the Week: A sorry soy saga ** Tim Davie and the BBC’s tug of war ** The tech titans’ tumultuous year Media Moment of the Week This week it’s another [...]