What the Clegg? Facebook taps former Lib Dem leader as its next head of global affairs October 19, 2018 Facebook has hired former Liberal Democrats leader Nick Clegg to be its next head of global affairs and communications, with the ex-politician set to move to Silicon Valley in January. Clegg will take over from the role's former occupant Elliot Schrage, who personally led the search for his replacement after announcing he would be leaving Facebook following [...]
Ebay snaps up Motors.co.uk as it races Autotrader for car dealerships’ spending budgets October 19, 2018 Bidding platform Ebay is set to acquire car search site Motors.co.uk as it takes on Autotrader. The online shopping giant will buy the website from current owner Cox Automotive for an undisclosed sum, Cox said today. Read more: MPs urge government to ban diesel and petrol cars by 2032 Ebay plans to fold the website [...]
The future is now, but we’ll miss it if we don’t solve tech’s talent crisis October 19, 2018 The time has come for us to change the narrative. Too often, company executives talk about a future where artificial intelligence will transform the employment landscape or the strategies they are developing to adapt to the fourth industrial revolution. But that time is here – and companies need to be taking action now. Read more: London's [...]
Amazon ramps up UK investment with commitment to over 1,000 new jobs October 19, 2018 E-commerce giant Amazon is set to further cement its commitment to the UK, after it revealed plans tonight for a new research centre in Manchester and expansion in Edinburgh and Cambridge which will create over 1,000 new highly-skilled jobs in the country in 2019. Labelled by the firm as “Silicon Valley jobs in Britain”, the [...]
Morgan Stanley banker moonlights as an Uber driver to win top role in upcoming IPO October 18, 2018 A top banker at Morgan Stanley has reportedly been moonlighting as an Uber driver outside of working hours, in a bid to win the deal to take the ride-hailing firm public in 2019. Michael Grimes, a technology banker in the US for Morgan Stanley, has been running the job on the side for several years despite [...]
BBVA and Anthemis launch London venture builder for fintech startups October 18, 2018 Spanish banking group BBVA and fintech-focused venture capital firm Anthemis have teamed up to launch a joint venture builder for London fintech startups, beginning with the development of a startup studio. The partnership hopes to find top London startups that can create the next big technologically-innovative products in financial services, deploying capital and resources to [...]
Scottish government confirms case of mad cow disease on farm in Aberdeenshire October 18, 2018 The Scottish government has today confirmed a case of Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) on a farm in Aberdeenshire. Movement restrictions have been put in place at the farm, while further investigations are carried out, the government said in a statement. Read more: US wants to start trade talks with UK as soon as possible post-Brexit [...]
DEBATE: Subscribers have surged, but are we nearing ‘peak Netflix’? October 18, 2018 Subscribers have surged, but are we nearing ‘peak Netflix’? Jon Tipple, chief strategy officer at FutureBrand, says YES. Netflix is an amazing success story. Its content, valuation, and subscriber numbers all say so, especially after Tuesday’s results. Our FutureBrand Index also confirmed it last week – we reorder the PwC Global Top 100 firms to [...]
Loot boxes, video games, and others ways the gaming industry wants you to spend more money October 18, 2018 What do you get when you buy a game? You might think that, after spending hundreds of pounds on a PlayStation or Xbox console, or an expensive gaming PC, then another £50 on the latest release, you’re getting a full and complete experience. But that’s not necessarily the case. Games are very expensive to [...]
Growing the UK games industry’s success shouldn’t be taxing October 18, 2018 The video games industry is one of the UK’s great success stories. Last week’s report by the British Film Institute (BFI) showed that the sector is thriving, describing it as a “significant entertainment industry”, which has produced a “wide array of globally successful and culturally impactful entertainment products”. At The Independent Games Developers' Association (TIGA), [...]