London’s economic growth in 2015 far outstrips the rest of the country, RBS figures show October 7, 2015 London's economy is outstripping the rest of the country, growing 3.3 per cent year on year, compared with a national average of 2.5 per cent, according to RBS’ regional growth figures out today. London’s economic growth was boosted by its burgeoning professional, scientific and technical services industries. The City and the West End, unsurprisingly, were [...]
Microsoft mega launch: Where to watch the live-stream as three new Lumia phones, Surface Pro 4 tablet and new Microsoft Band to launch – plus more details on Windows 10 October 6, 2015 Microsoft is planning a raft of announcements today in what it describes as “our next chapter”. “We have some exciting news to share about Windows 10 devices,” the group has said. The firm is live-streaming the event from 10am EDT (4pm in the UK) and users will be able to watch it here. As [...]
Scientists bring quantum computers a step closer to reality October 6, 2015 For years scientists have known the merits of quantum computing, but increasingly the business world has shown interest and is now eagerly awaiting its introduction into the mainstream. Once it's fully developed, it's hoped the technology will perform a far wider range of calculations than any computers already available, and running at speeds we [...]
Digital Effectiveness Index 2015: These are the world’s most digitally effective countries October 6, 2015 The UK has come fifth in a ranking that looks at how well companies are using digital technologies. The Digital Effectiveness Index (DEI) measures the success of companies at implementing digital initiatives, and how much this boosts their revenue and profit growth. In first and second place, with scores of 6.8 and 6.6 respectively, were the [...]
Sir Philip Green-backed flash sales website MySale buys three online retail firms in Australia October 6, 2015 Flash sales website MySale said yesterday it has bought three retail sites in Australia from Grays eCommerce group for AU$5.2m (£2.4m). The UK-listed company, which is backed by Sir Philip Green, said the deal was a great opportunity to grow its customer base in Australia, where MySale first launched in 2007. The three sites – [...]
Lack of super-fast broadband is holding back London businesses October 6, 2015 Tens of thousands of small businesses in London are being held back by “painfully slow” internet access. Despite London’s position as Europe’s leading tech city, Westminster City Council said less than half the borough, 47 per cent, has access to super-fast broadband. The problem is worse for SMEs, which account for 65 per cent of [...]
Twitter Moments: Meet the new feature Twitter hopes will tempt users October 6, 2015 Twitter has launched a new feature called Moments, designed to make the social network a warm and welcoming place for new users. Pitched as "the best of Twitter in an instant", Moments curates a selection of the hundreds of millions of Tweets sent every single day. "We know finding these only-on-Twitter moments can be a challenge, especially if [...]
Amazon Prime Now one-hour delivery comes to Wandsworth, Sutton and Merton and two-hour slots to Kingston, Croydon and Sunbury October 6, 2015 Residents of Wandsworth, Sutton and Merton are the latest Londoners who will be able to get their hands on items they've bought on Amazon within just 60 minutes. In addition to the new areas eligible for one hour delivery slots, Amazon's Prime Now service will also offer two-hour delivery windows to people in Kingston, Croydon and Sunbury [...]
Winklevoss twins’ Bitcoin exchange Gemini gets a license from the New York State Department of Financial Services October 5, 2015 A top US regulator has licensed a bitcoin exchange set up by the Winklevoss twins, who rose to fame on the back of a lawsuit against Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg. Gemini, which will let individuals and institutional customers buy and sell the cryptocurrency, received a banking charter from the New York State Department of Financial Services today. The [...]
Twitter share price rises as Jack Dorsey returns to flock as permanent boss and Adam Bain promoted to chief operating officer October 5, 2015 Twitter founder and interim chief executive Jack Dorsey has been named as the permanent boss of the social network, confirming speculation and sending shares in the company up by as much as four per cent in early trading. Dorsey, who succeeds Dick Costolo, will remain chief executive of Square, the payments company he founded after leaving [...]