Elon Musk test fires new Space X Raptor rocket engine for Starship space craft February 4, 2019 Eccentric tech billionaire Elon Musk’s space exploration company Space X has test fired the Raptor engine for its Starship space craft. Musk tweeted videos of the tests today from Space X’s Texas base. Read more: Elon Musk wants you to work 100 hours a week First firing of Starship Raptor flight engine! So proud of [...]
DEBATE: Should Apple produce a cheaper iPhone to stem the decline in sales? February 4, 2019 Should Apple produce a cheaper iPhone to stem the decline in sales? Carolyn Dailey, founder of Creative Entrepreneurs, says YES. Apple has been missing out on a huge opportunity to increase sales, keep ahead of the competition, and build brand loyalty with key audiences that can’t currently afford an iPhone. These include students, freelancers and startup entrepreneurs, [...]
An end to gridlock? How artificial intelligence could help get London moving again February 4, 2019 London is a truly remarkable city – an economic powerhouse and a cultural destination without equal. It’s a magnet to millions, and rightly so. But it’s a terrible irony that this fast-moving, fast-living, fast-earning metropolis is stuck in traffic so much of the time. We simply cannot move. According to traffic data company INRIX, London [...]
HSBC, Goldman and Lord Fink back City fintech firm Bud February 4, 2019 Fintech startup Bud has closed a $20m (£15.3m) funding round from investors such as HSBC, Goldman Sachs and former Man Group boss Lord Stanley Fink. Other investors included Investec’s INVC fund, ANZ Bank, the corporate venture arm of Banco Sabadell and 9 Yards, the venture capital firm which lists former chancellor George Osborne among its [...]
JP Morgan takes minority stake in London startup Smart Pension February 4, 2019 Banking behemoth JP Morgan has made a strategic investment in workplace pensions startup Smart Pension, the firm will announce today, as part of a fresh equity funding round. The size of the round was undisclosed, however Smart Pension said it had raised around £50m to date. JP Morgan took a minority equity stake as part of [...]
Starling Bank courts Irish banking licence as it launches euro accounts February 4, 2019 London digital challenger bank Starling is today kicking off preparations to apply for an Irish banking licence, as it launches support for euro currency accounts this week. Offered to its users based in the UK, the euro account will be available alongside Starling’s existing pound account in order for customers to hold, send and receive euros with [...]
There’s more to Nissan’s X-Trail move than Brexit, but there’s no denying the cost of uncertainty February 3, 2019 The UK may or may not leave the EU on 29 March, and if it does the departure may or may not be facilitated by a formal withdrawal agreement. Unfortunately that's about as precise as anyone can be at the moment. With politicians still wrangling over the kind of Brexit that may emerge, businesses from [...]
Revealed: The 10 fintech startups in Barclays’ 2019 Techstars accelerator February 1, 2019 It's that time of year again: Barclays has unveiled the 10 startups that have made the cut for its annual fintech accelerator programme, powered by venture capital giant Techstars. Now in its sixth year, the 13-week programme puts the young companies through an intensive training course with access to mentorship from Barclays and industry experts, and [...]
Don’t be fooled, Facebook will always treat users like commodities February 1, 2019 You are worth £142 to Facebook. That is the financial figure attached to your scrolling through self-indulgent statuses and pictures of your friends’ babies. The same goes for the guy sitting next to you on the Tube, smugly counting the likes on his latest selfie with someone slightly famous. It’s a simple calculation: company value [...]
Minimum wage rises could cause job losses amid rise in automation, report finds February 1, 2019 Rises in the minimum wage could lead to job losses as employers turn to automation to keep costs down, according to research by the London School of Economics (LSE). The report, which analysed the impact of minimum wage policies on automation and offshoring, showed manufacturing jobs are most likely to be under threat from robots. Read [...]