Boris Johnson’s disastrous Huawei decision is an act of national self-harm February 3, 2020 Powerful US Republican senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas put it best. Letting the state-sponsored Chinese technology firm Huawei build even a portion of Britain’s 5G network — as the Prime Minister nonsensically decided to do last week — is quite a bit like letting the KGB construct the British phone systems in the 1980s. At [...]
Sales of e-scooters leap up over Christmas period despite UK ban February 3, 2020 Sales of battery-powered e-scooters jumped over the festive period last year, despite there being a ban on using the vehicles on public roads. Data collated by Swedish e-scooter startup Voi showed that sales of both e-bikes and e-scooters rose 96 per cent year on year in the three months to the start of January 2020. [...]
Tesla short-sellers extend their losses following share price surge February 2, 2020 Investors betting against Tesla suffered losses of $1.5bn in mark-to-market losses after Tesla beat analyst estimates in its fourth quarter results last week. Thursday’s losses bring Tesla shorts down $5.6bn in 2020 in mark-to-market losses, according to data provider S3 Partners. Tesla is the largest short in the domestic market with short interest of $14.28bn. [...]
Thanks to improving tech, tax collectors are no longer the bad guys January 31, 2020 “If you drive a car, I’ll tax the street. If you try to sit, I’ll tax your seat. If you get too cold, I’ll tax the heat. If you take a walk, I’ll tax your feet.” Thus warbled four rockstars from Merseyside. As rebellious as it was melodic, Taxman would become the first track on [...]
Amazon shares bounce as figures leapfrogs expectations in Prime boost January 30, 2020 Amazon reported better-than-expected results for its fourth quarter tonight, sending shares up more than 13 per cent in after-hours trading and pushing it back above $1 trillion in market value. For the three months to the end of December 2019, the e-commerce giant posted a profit of $6.47 per share, or $4.2bn, jumping well ahead [...]
Avast to shut controversial data analytics division affecting hundreds of jobs January 30, 2020 Cybersecurity business Avast said today it would shut down its controversial Jumpshot business after media reports revealed it was selling data on its users to clients. Avast said it would terminate the provision of data to Jumpshot “with immediate effect” with more than 200 jobs in the business at risk. Speaking to City A.M. chief [...]
Facebook valuation takes a $50bn hit after growth slump January 30, 2020 Shares in Facebook fell as much as eight per cent as Wall Street opened this afternoon, following a disappointing set of a results from the tech giant last night. More than $50bn was wiped off Facebook’s market capitalisation as a result of the slump, though shares have since recovered to be down 6.8 per cent. [...]
Microsoft Surface Pro 7 review: A design-led and high-performance two-in-one powerhouse January 30, 2020 Since the original Surface Pro launched in 2013, Microsoft’s range of tablets have offered a value proposition most business users have found hard to resist: the form factor of an iPad, but with the functionality of a Windows PC. Some mistakes were made along the way, namely a few tablets running compromised, Frankenstein versions of [...]
DEBATE: Are technology companies a threat to central banks? January 30, 2020 Are technology companies a threat to central banks? Bhavin Patel, head of fintech research at OMFIF, says YES. Tech companies are rapidly developing solutions to overcome shortfalls in the monetary system and proving flexible in tailoring their services to converge with consumer trends. Wide-scale adoption of privately-issued digital coins is growing more probable, particularly in [...]
The UK must show faith in the OECD, not go it alone with a digital services levy January 30, 2020 Following months of brewing trade tensions between France and the US, centred around President Emmanuel Macron’s plans to regulate big tech, headlines from last week showed a victory for an integrated approach, as France agreed to delay its digital tax. The country will postpone applying a three per cent levy on the likes of Google [...]