Mastercard snaps up Vocalink giving banks a £700m windfall July 21, 2016 Mastercard has snapped up a majority stake in Vocalink, the payments processor that probably handles your salary payment, in a £700m deal giving the biggest UK banks a windfall. The deal comes after the UK regulator urged banks to sell their stake in Vocalink, the system which governs trillions of payments in the UK, from bacs salaries to [...]
More broadband problems for BT customers July 21, 2016 BT said it is close to resolving more internet connection issues reported by customers today – and said a power cut at another of its partner's sites had led to service problems. The telecoms provider said: “We’re sorry that some BT and Plusnet customers are having problems connecting to some internet services this morning. "This is [...]
Eight technologies Elon Musk revealed Tesla is working on in his plan for world domination July 21, 2016 Tesla founder Elon Musk has already pioneered electric and driverless vehicles (to varying degrees of success). Now he has unveiled what the business will do next. Yep: having pulled an all-nighter to finish putting it together, last night Musk unveiled "Master Plan, Part Deux" – 10 years after he wrote the company's original plan. Today's [...]
Lockheed Martin’s space chief rubbishes claims that Brexit could spell the end for the UK’s extraterrestrial ambitions July 21, 2016 Vice president for Space Systems International Jim Crocker says the Brexit vote will have little impact on Britain’s ability to collaborate on upcoming space missions. This follows comments in the lead-up the referendum made by former UK Minister of Science Lord Paul Drayson suggesting the UK could be grounded if we voted to leave the EU. [...]
A £10,000 smartphone with military grade security specs and end-to-end encrypted VOIP and messaging. But can it play Pokémon Go? July 20, 2016 Picture the scene. You’re zooming along at 30,000 feet in your private jet, surrounded by a team of highly trained guards. They’re headed up by your most trusted friend, Gavin, an ex-SAS soldier who you made chief of security after an injury forced him into early retirement. There’s a rumble through the fuselage. A tray [...]
ARM deal gives handy profit to Mr May’s City firm July 20, 2016 The billion pound takeover deal for ARM by Softbank is a nice hand for the fund manager which employs the new Prime Minister's other half. Capital Group, where Theresa May's husband Philip works as a client manager (but doesn't manage any funds), is one of the largest shareholders in the British tech company which is being taken over by [...]
Peter Thiel’s just plunged more cash into this fintech startup July 20, 2016 Renowned investor Peter Thiel is ploughing more cash into a fintech startup he first invested in earlier this year. Retail banking platform Deposit Solutions has raised €15m in a new funding round from top investors, valuing the firm at €110m. In addition to Thiel, the Hamburg-founded fintech firm landed investment from another prior investor, FinLab, [...]
VCs held off on startup investments because of Brexit July 20, 2016 The figures are in: and they show that in the build up to the EU referendum, venture capital investors held off on putting their cash into startups. VC investment "plummeted" 40 per cent according to the latest report from CB Insights and KPMG. Some $2.8bn went into VC-backed firms in Europe, of which the UK grabs the biggest share, dipping below [...]
Problems for BT broadband users across the UK: Services restored after usage problems this morning July 20, 2016 BT said this afternoon that it had fixed the broadband problems that affected around 10 per cent of its internet customers this morning. "We’re sorry that some BT and Plusnet customers experienced problems accessing some internet services this morning," the group said. "Around 10 per cent of customers’ internet usage was affected following power issues at [...]
Brace yourself: Musk’s pulling all-nighter on top secret Tesla masterplan July 20, 2016 Fans of Elon Musk and Tesla, prepare yourself – the top entrepreneur and visionary thinker will delight you with a new plan for the electric car company. Musk teased the "top secret masterplan, part two" on Twitter last week, but has kept everyone guessing about what it might contain. Working on Top Secret Tesla Masterplan, Part 2. Hoping to [...]