Samsung’s super-powered Galaxy Note 9 is back, but has it made enough progress? August 22, 2018 The supersized Galaxy Note series of phones first appeared in 2011, and with each subsequent version the professional-focused device has loaded more and more features into its huge frame. If the Galaxy S9 is the Bugatti Veyron of the phone world, the Note 9 is the Range Rover. If a work horse and a kitchen [...]
Revolut’s Metal card offers customers cryptocurrency cashback August 22, 2018 Fintech darling Revolut today offered customers cashback in the form of cryptocurrency if they sign up to its new Metal account tier, as it aims to generate more revenue from its 2.5m customers. Those who adopt the steel card can get up to one per cent cashback in either fiat or digital currency on transactions made [...]
Uber settles sexual harassment claims for $1.9m August 22, 2018 Ride-sharing app Uber has agreed to pay $1.9m (£1.5m) to 56 current and former employees who claimed they were victims of sexual harassment while working at the company. They will also receive an average of nearly $11,000 as part of a class action of 485 people who claimed they were discriminated against while working at [...]
Microsoft says Russia was behind several major US political group hacks August 21, 2018 Microsoft has warned that Russian state actors are ramping up cyberattacks ahead of the US congressional elections in November. The software giant said it had caught and shut down a number of web domains masquerading as websites belonging to the US Senate, two think tanks and its own cloud storage service in the last week. [...]
Uber nabs former Merrill Lynch CFO as top finance boss in race to go public August 21, 2018 Ride-hailing giant Uber today filled the long-standing vacancy of chief financial officer, easing investor concerns ahead of its plans for an initial public offering (IPO) in 2019. The spot, which was left empty after its previous occupant Brent Callinicos departed in 2015, has been plugged by financial services veteran Nelson J. Chai. Chai joins Uber [...]
Tesla shares rise as Musk takes a back seat and Morgan Stanley joins the rumoured Tesla adviser list August 21, 2018 Tesla's share price rose as much as five per cent in early trading today after Morgan Stanley hinted at its possible involvement in discussions surrounding a transaction to take the company private. The brokerage today removed its rating and suspended equity coverage on Tesla, signalling a potential move to join Goldman Sachs as an adviser [...]
Slack is now worth $7.1bn, after raising a $427m series H round August 21, 2018 Workplace messaging platform Slack has closed a series H investment of $427m (£331.3m) from Dragoneer and General Atlantic, pushing the business’ 2017 valuation up 40 per cent to a post-money value of more than $7.1bn. The round added to the $841m previously raised by Slack from over 40 investors, including the likes of Softbank, Accel, DST [...]
Halal digital investment platform gets FCO approval August 21, 2018 The UK's first digital Halal investment platform has been approved by the Financial Conduct Authority. New York-based Wahed will invest in a global portfolio of ethically responsible stocks, Islamic bonds and gold, which will be assessed by a full time ethical review board. The board will screen against funds related to excess debt, tobacco, alcohol, firearms, gambling, adult [...]
Market influencer: City brokers look for the likes as social media boosts brands’ growth August 21, 2018 Brokers are hitting “like” on companies that have strong social media engagement, as UBS yesterday became the latest to factor Instagram influence into its ratings. The Swiss bank announced that it will now track the performance of 19 luxury brands on Instagram and Google Search,tracking “social media heat”. Analyst Julie Zhuang said there is a [...]
Flying cars, AI and blockchain: These are the top tech trends in Gartner’s 2018 Hype Cycle August 20, 2018 Artificial intelligence (AI), self-driving cars and distributed ledger technology – otherwise known as blockchain – are among this year’s emerging technology trends, though some have moved closer to the so-called trough of disillusionment. Research firm Gartner’s annual hype cycle, which tracks where tech trends are on their journey from an idea to mainstream usage, today determined driverless [...]