Italian challenger bank FinecoBank set to enter UK market July 27, 2016 An Italian bank is set to enter the UK this autumn as another contender in the challenger banks’ battle against the Big Four. FinecoBank launched in 1999 as a subsidiary of UniCredit Group and has grown rapidly to have 1.1m Italian customers. It’s disrupting the banking industry by being the only company in Europe to combine [...]
Apple’s latest earnings explained in seven simple charts July 27, 2016 Fewer people are buying iPhones They still drive the bulk of Apple's revenue, but last year's huge, record iPhone sales (creating an almost freakish quarter or two), are a lot to follow. Despite the decline on last year and the previous quarter, Apple minimised that decline, beating expectation on what's traditionally one of its slowest quarters – and that's a [...]
Four things Jack Dorsey’s done to try and turnaround Twitter… so far July 26, 2016 Nine months after re-joining the flock, Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey is under mounting pressure to revive its fortunes. While Wall Street awaits the latest numbers, here’s a reminder of what Dorsey’s been up to… 1. Wielded the axe Dorsey wasn’t afraid to wield the axe when it came to staff numbers, cutting up to eight [...]
Why Britain and America are streets ahead of Europe in cutting-edge innovation July 26, 2016 The proposed takeover of the hugely successful Arm Holdings by the Japanese giant SoftBank is in the news. Cambridge-based Arm is well placed to exploit the white hot concept of the internet of things, highlighting the UK’s recent advances in this field. The UK has also performed well in biotechnology. But the industry came under scrutiny [...]
As Amazon steps up tests in the UK, will drone deliveries really catch on among consumers? July 26, 2016 Nadav Rosenberg, partner at Entrepreneur First, says Yes. Two years ago, drone deliveries were a consumer gimmick; a PR stunt designed to push Amazon’s forward thinking brand. But this recent development is different. Having gained approval from the Civil Aviation Authority to test drones outside of warehouses, with special concessions including operating drones without a direct [...]
No one asked for it, but Blackberry’s launched a new phone July 26, 2016 Blackberry's first Android smartphone, the Priv, has hardly been a hit, but that's not stopping the formerly hottest phone maker in the world from launching another device – the Dtek 50. Its second Android phone is cheaper than the Priv and is a purely touchscreen controlled device, ditching the familiar qwerty keyboard which made the original Blackberries a [...]
What to expect when you’re expecting Apple’s earnings July 26, 2016 Apple is expected to experience another quarter of decline in iPhone sales as global demand cools off across the market – its second quarter in a row of decline after year's of unprecedented growth. The figures Sales of around $42bn are expected, according to consensus estimates from analysts polled by Reuters and earnings per share of $1.38. That's down [...]
Ofcom announces reform plans for Openreach – or it risks being split from BT July 26, 2016 TalkTalk boss Dido Harding has called for Ofcom to fully separate BT's broadband networks division from the rest of the group, warning that BT may "game the system" if it is allowed to continue controlling the business. The media and telecoms watchdog today recommended a set of reforms for Openreach which will make it more independent [...]
Ex-William Hill online boss Andrew Lee joins money transfer firm WorldRemit July 26, 2016 The former managing director of William Hill Online has joined money transfer service and London-based startup WorldRemit. Andrew Lee spent four years at William Hill, during which time he led the firm's online growth. Before joining the gambling group, he worked at Jefferies International, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Dresdner Kleinwort, among other places. Lee, who announced [...]
Yah-ooh dear: Verizon reports five per cent revenue fall July 26, 2016 Verizon Communications, the US company that yesterday announced a $4.83bn (£3.7bn) deal for the internet business of Yahoo, has reported a more than five per cent drop in revenue. The figures Total operating revenues for the second quarter of 2016 were $30.5bn, down 5.3 per cent on the same period in 2015. Analysts had expected the [...]