Google/Alphabet’s $5bn share buyback was the geekiest ever, and maths fans will love it October 23, 2015 Don't say Google – now known as Alphabet – doesn't know how to have a bit of fun. Of course, it's the geeky type of fun that will bring a smile to the face of maths whizzes, or anyone who enjoys a good in-joke. While a massive jump in earnings yesterday gained the most headlines, and a $5bn share [...]
Alzheimer’s risk can be predicted by your ability to navigate through a virtual maze October 23, 2015 Scientists believe they can use virtual reality to predict a person's risk of developing Alzheimer's, decades before the disease actually begins. By testing how well a group of people in their 20s were able to navigate their way around a computerised maze, they found that those with a known genetic link to Alzheimer's found the [...]
Tesla Autopilot fail: Driverless car developers need to stop prioritising speed over market safety October 23, 2015 Last week, amid a wave of anticipation, Tesla released a software update that propels us one step closer to a world of driverless consumer vehicles. The Autopilot software will allow cars to change lanes at the flick of a switch, detect other vehicles, adjust speeds in response to traffic and even park themselves. How do [...]
Microsoft share price jumps as cloud revenues take the edge of profit decline October 22, 2015 Microsoft shares rose six per cent in after-hours trading as profits positive performance in its cloud computing sales offset declining sales elsewhere. Microsoft reported $20.4bn (£13.2bn) in revenue in the three months to September, down 12.1 per cent from $23.2bn in the same period last year. Earnings per share came in at $0.58 from last years [...]
Amazon posts jump in profits as cloud sales grow 70 per cent October 22, 2015 Profits at online retailer Amazon jumped in the three months to September, the company has announced today. Amazon posted net income of $79m (£51m), or $0.17 per share in the three months September, compared to a net loss of $437m, or 0.95 cents a share, in the same period last year. Net sales were reported to be [...]
Are the CMA’s provisional recommendations enough to increase competition in the banking sector? October 22, 2015 Omar Ali, head of UK financial services at EY, says Yes The CMA’s provisional remedies will encourage competition in a market that’s already much more competitive than it was. We now have several credible challenger banks, a burgeoning fintech sector and a switching service better than most markets. But the CMA is right to [...]
Cybercrime: IT workers are actually the office’s worst offenders when it comes to IT security October 22, 2015 How’s this for ironic:it turns out the office’s tech-savvy IT workers are actually the greatest offenders when it comes to scrimping on IT security. In its annual Insider Risk Report 2015, Intermedia has analysed online security habits of over 2,000 UK and US employees. The report found that, well, pretty much all of us have [...]
Deloitte: Bitcoin isn’t ready to be regulated yet October 22, 2015 Deloitte has said bitcoin doesn’t need to be regulated yet, comparing the digital currency to technologies like the telephone and the internet, which were both given decades to mature before regulation. In its report, “Bitcoin at the crossroads”, the professional services firm said despite the financial industry’s excitement over bitcoin and blockchain, the underlying technology supporting it, [...]
Driverless technology: London’s existing drivers must be central to the solution October 22, 2015 London is commonly considered the UK’s test bed for technology and innovation. As a hub for digital technology, it comes as no surprise that driverless cars, the most controversial motor innovation of recent times, would be trialled in the capital to show its potential for the rest of the country. Last year, Kabbee hosted an industry-first roundtable to [...]
Science grads earn the highest wages initially but arts students win in the end – Emolument October 22, 2015 Science graduates might earn the most when they first leave university, but arts students ultimately land the biggest pay cheques. A new study by Emolument shows that in both the US and the UK, employers hiring recent graduates look most favourably at the technical and numeracy skills of scientists. But as people get older and more [...]