Volt Axis e-bike review: You won’t find a more hard-wearing, high-spec and reliable electric folding bike on the market February 6, 2019 Winter is done. I’m no Michael Fish, but I’m calling it. The season is finished. That pathetic sprinkling of grey snow we had last week was all that nature dared throw at us. From here on in we can gently coast back up the thermometer, past the teens, into the twenties, and then beyond to [...]
BMW-owned car sharing venture Drivenow expands electric car fleet February 6, 2019 BMW's car sharing service Drivenow has added 130 all-electric cars to its London fleet, as it pushes to meet the capital's air quality requirements. The extra 130 BMW i3 vehicles will join Drivenow's current electric fleet of 50 cars, as well as its other 540 BMW and Mini vehicles across the city. Drivenow said the [...]
Snap shares rise almost 30 per cent as strong results convince investors February 6, 2019 Shares in Snap have risen almost 30 per cent today, after a bumper set of results acted as a boon to investors looking for signs the tech firm could be revived. The parent of photo-sharing app Snapchat trounced consensus estimates in its fourth quarter, reporting a revenue rise of 36 per cent to $389.8m (£300.9m), [...]
Islington AI-powered gig economy startup Catapult nabs £4.3m February 6, 2019 On-demand staffing platform Catapult has raised £4.3m in fresh funding, taking its total amount raised in three years to £10m. The funding was led by Novator Partners, and supported by Dollar Shave Club and Jobbio-backer Elkstone Ventures. The Islington-based startup uses artificial intelligence to match the skills and experience of workers to employers' requirements, with [...]
In a spin: Cars likely to be hit by cyber attacks in next year, say experts February 6, 2019 Malicious cyber attacks against cars’ IT systems are “very likely” to start taking place in the next year, according to IT gurus. A survey has found 62 per cent of security professionals in the car industry anticipate such an attack in the next 12 months, as cyber security in the car industry lags behind technology [...]
Softbank to launch £4.2bn share buyback as profits soar February 6, 2019 Softbank has unveiled a ¥ 600bn (£4.2bn) share buyback scheme today, as its wide-ranging portfolio of tech investments provided a boost to quarterly profits. The Japanese technology and telecoms giant said it would buy 112m shares over the next 11 months, which equates to about 10.3 per cent of its total outstanding shares. Chief executive Masayoshi [...]
Spotify posts its first quarterly profit as paid subscriptions near 100m February 6, 2019 Spotify has made its first ever quarterly profit, it said today, as it revealed results for the three months to the end of December. The figures The Stockholm-based firm posted an operating profit of €94m (£82.5m), as well as a 29 per cent rise in revenue in the fourth quarter thanks to an increased number of paid [...]
Huawei offers to open Polish cyber security centre to combat spying fears February 6, 2019 Huawei has offered to open a cyber security centre in Poland in a bid to assuage fears that it is spying for the Chinese government. “We are ready to establish a cyber security center in Poland if authorities accept this as a trusted solution,” Huawei’s Poland boss, Tonny Bao, said today, according to Reuters. Read [...]
Softbank Vision Fund sells entire stake in struggling chipmaker Nvidia February 6, 2019 Softbank’s Vision Fund has sold its stake in chipmaker Nvidia, which saw shares plummet after it cut its fourth quarter revenue estimate by $500m last week. In Softbank’s third quarter report it revealed that the drop in Nvidia’s share price following the forecast cut reduced the fund’s valuation gain by ¥299.5bn (£2.11bn). Read more: Chipmaker [...]
Fine social media sites that fail to protect children, Labour says February 6, 2019 Social media companies could face hefty fines if they fail to protect children and young people on their platforms under strict new rules proposed by Labour. The party’s deputy leader, Tom Watson, will today give a speech saying the digital market has been “distorted” and outlining plans to ensure sites have a legal duty of [...]