These are 2016’s top 100 influential leaders in fintech (part 1 of 4) December 7, 2016 It is no secret that the financial services industry continues to be transformed by the digital revolution. According to PWC, roughly 20% of financial services business is at risk of disruption to fintech companies by 2020. It follows that investment into the sector continues to rise. In 2015, funding of fintech businesses more than doubled [...]
Basingstoke Town FC listed for sale on eBay by former director – but club labels it “misguided publicity stunt” December 7, 2016 Looking for some inspiration in your Christmas shopping this year? How about a football club? Basingstoke Town are currently for sale and you won't even have to grapple with the crowds to buy them. The non-league club were listed for sale on eBay yesterday by fan and former director Simon Hood who believes more needs to [...]
EU antitrust authority approves Microsoft’s $26bn connection with LinkedIn December 6, 2016 The European Union has approved a $26bn (£20.5bn) connection request between technology behemoth Microsoft and professional networking site LinkedIn. The deal has already received the green light from antitrust authorities in the US, Canada, Brazil and South Africa. Having received the go-ahead from the EU’s competition watchdog, the deal is likely to close in the [...]
Digital challenger bank N26 has pulled back from its UK launch plans December 6, 2016 The German digital challenger bank N26 has pulled back on its plans to launch in the UK as it pushes forward with expansion elsewhere in Europe, City A.M. can exclusively reveal. The startup which is seeking to disrupt the established banks, and whose peers include the likes of Monzo, Tandem and Atom in the UK, announced its [...]
OECD Pisa education report: Reading and science scores climb as maths struggles December 6, 2016 The UK is climbing the world rankings in both reading and science according to the latest Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) international student assessments. The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is undertaken once every three years and tests 15-year-olds' abilities in the core academic disciplines of reading, maths and science. It found the [...]
Samsung Vs Apple: US Supreme Court rules in favour of the South Korean giant December 6, 2016 The US Supreme Court has backed Samsung in the latest round of its patent bout with Apple. The decision to throw out an appeals court ruling means the South Korean company won't necessarily have to pay the $399m (£313m) penalty to Apple for copying the design of the iPhone. The US justices were unanimous in their decision, ruling eight to zero in [...]
UK tech is putting its top post-Brexit demands to government December 6, 2016 Keeping the country's emerging tech talent in the UK and guaranteeing to fill any startup funding shortfall from Europe are just two of the measures being demanded from government by a group of top entrepreneurs and investors after the vote to leave the EU. Brent Hoberman, the entrepreneur behind Lastminute.com, Made.com and Founders Fund, Betfair founder Edward Wray, [...]
GoDaddy has beaten out the competition to buy Host Europe Group for $1.8bn December 6, 2016 Website domain name provider GoDaddy is buying rival Host Europe Group (HEG) for €1.69bn (£1.42bn) including debt. The move is designed to help accelerate GoDaddy’s international expansion and grow its services beyond the initial set-up of websites. Host Europe is currently owned by private-equity firm Cinven, which picked up the business in August 2013, and has a debt [...]
Ex-Liverpool chairman Sir Martin Broughton targets sophisticated investors for new sports venture December 6, 2016 Sophisticated investors in the UK are being encouraged to back sport businesses using a new online platform that puts them in front of a range of unquoted companies in the sector. Sports Investment Partners (SIP), the private equity firm founded by former Liverpool chairman Sir Martin Broughton, has teamed up with corporate finance adviser Envestors to launch [...]
Google’s DeepMind is using “blockchain related” technology to increase data transparency December 5, 2016 DeepMind is using technology "related to blockchain" in an effort to become more transparent in the way it handles patient data in a tie-up with NHS health trusts which has caused concerns over privacy. Co-founder Mustafa Suleyman said the British artificial intelligence company owned by Google is working on a "general transparency architecture" for monitoring [...]