A major insurance firm just joined this blockchain consortium August 31, 2016 The blockchain consortium R3 has signed up yet another new member, this time the major US insurance firm MetLife. The addition brings the number of members to more than 60 and it joins the likes of the biggest banks such as Barclays, HSBC and Goldman Sachs. The insurer will work with the other financial services [...]
Uber’s going electric in London August 31, 2016 Uber is launching a fleet of fully electric cars across London in a bid to reduce levels of pollution in the capital ahead of another potential clash with the city's transport regulators. Already well-known for its hybrid Toyota Priuses, 50 electric powered cars will hit the city's roads over the next month with potential plans for hundreds more [...]
10 London startups named the hottest in Europe August 31, 2016 Dinner delivery startup Deliveroo and and an artificial intelligence company acquired by Twitter have both been named among the hottest startups in Europe to emerge from London. Top entrepreneurs and investors from across Europe have chosen the startups, along with a further eight, to compile a top 10 list of the capital's newest tech companies making a name for themselves, [...]
Watch out Uber, now Google’s getting into ride-sharing August 31, 2016 Google is getting in on the ride-sharing action with the expansion of a pilot feature helping commuters catch a ride from a driver heading in the same direction and who has a spare seat. Google will use Waze, a real-time mapping and navigation startup it snapped three years ago, to connect those driving in San Francisco with potential passengers. The tech company has already been testing [...]
Amazon’s Dash button service launches in the UK today: Prime users can press a button to order condoms, dishwasher tablets, cat food and more August 31, 2016 Amazon has today launched its Dash button service in the UK, meaning British shoppers can order essential household items such as loo roll, dishwasher tablets, condoms and cat food using a physical button placed in the home. Launched in the US last year, Dash buttons are dongle-sized devices that connect to your home wi-fi network [...]
Brussels and Washington DC must end this silly standoff over taxes and fines August 31, 2016 Transatlantic relations were hardly flourishing even before Apple was slammed with a €13,000,000,000 tax bill by the European Commission yesterday. Such is the awkward standoff between Washington DC and Brussels that the move was pre-empted in America last week, with the US Treasury accusing the EC of becoming a “supranational tax authority”. The tax tiff [...]
Brexit Britain could be new sweetheart after EU-US relations soured by Apple tax ruling August 30, 2016 Souring relations between the US and Europe in the wake of the EU competition watchdog ordering Apple to pay a record multi-billion pound tax bill could hand the UK a post-Brexit boost. Britain could be the big winner from the tax feud between Europe and the US after the EU competition commission ruled Apple should [...]
European Union internet regulators rule against two-speed highway in win for open net activists August 30, 2016 Europe's biggest telecoms companies were dealt a blow this afternoon by European Union regulators adopting strict net neutrality rules. The new guidelines for net neutrality – the idea that all internet traffic should be treated equally – means Europe's internet will not become a so-called two speed highway. Under the new rules, laid out by the Body of European Regulators for Electronic [...]
SoftBank “not a good owner” for ARM laments Lord Myners as shareholders wave the deal through August 30, 2016 All systems go! Shareholders of tech giant ARM Holdings have approved the £24bn SoftBank takeover – clearing its last hurdle ahead of the deal being completed on Monday. The deal was waved through by 95 per cent of investors this afternoon, the Cambridge-based company said in a regulatory filing. Not all are happy about the deal however. [...]
Here’s what Apple has to say about that €13bn tax ruling August 30, 2016 Apple has responded to the conclusion of a European probe into its tax arrangements that has resulted in a tax bill for the tech company of up to €13bn… and it isn't mincing its words. "The European Commission has launched an effort to rewrite Apple’s history in Europe, ignore Ireland’s tax laws and upend the international tax system [...]