Shoreditch meets the City: RBS, Lloyds and American Express challenge startups to create FinTech of the future March 9, 2015 Leading financial firms are laying down the gauntlet and challenging startups to come up with the next financial technologies of the future. Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), Lloyds and American Express are just three of the finance firms putting their weight behind the search to find digital innovations which will address areas such as [...]
Apple Watch launch: Four questions Tim Cook will answer about price, battery life, UK release date and apps March 9, 2015 So many questions, so few answers – until now. The rumour mill may have been in overdrive about the Apple Watch since Tim Cook first revealed the smartwatch late last year, but we’re about to get the full lowdown on what’s possibly the most anticipated wearable launch ever. At 5pm GMT, Cook will take to [...]
Apple Watch: How many smartwatches will Apple sell? This is what analysts are predicting March 8, 2015 The countdown is nearly over and in just a few hours time Tim Cook will be revealing all there is to know about the Apple Watch. Fresh from record-breaking numbers – from a valuation of $700bn, to selling an iPhone every nine seconds last quarter – can we expect more of the same from the [...]
Google’s Eric Schmidt: Humans are better off than ever – and it’s down to technology March 6, 2015 Humankind has never had it so good and we should be thankful for the role of technology in getting us to that point, according to Google’s Eric Schmidt. Speaking at the WorldPost's Future of Work conference, the executive chairman of the software giant said he wanted to talk about “why we are so unhappy – [...]
The non-bank of Facebook, AliBay, and AI: The future of global fintech March 5, 2015 The global fintech industry has seen some remarkable developments since we launched Level39 two years ago. But what of the future? I’d like to suggest two possibilities for what might happen, and challenge one that, contrary to some current thinking, I don’t think will. FACEBOOK: THE NON-BANK BANK More than any other social media platform, [...]
Mobile World Congress 2015: The eight best gadgets you need to know March 5, 2015 This week a record-breaking 92,000 people congregated in Barcelona for Mobile World Congress, where the likes of Samsung and LG announced an eclectic mix of smartphones, smartwatches and even smart sofas. Here are some of the best – and weirdest – gadgets we’ve seen. 1. SAMSUNG GALAXY S6 EDGE Since the S3, Samsung’s annual [...]
Abbvie just bought one of the best pharmaceutical investments ever: Pharmacyclics’ Imbuvrica was worth just $6.6m a decade before the $21bn deal March 5, 2015 In 2006, a small US pharmaceutical company called Pharmacyclics bought a little-known cancer drug for just $6.6m (£4.3m). That same cancer drug, Imbruvica, turned out to be a better investment than anyone could ever have imagined – this morning Pharmacylics was taken over by AbbVie for $21bn, after the US pharma giant fought against rivals [...]
Upwardly mobile March 4, 2015 This week a record-breaking 92,000 people congregated in Barcelona for Mobile World Congress, where the likes of Samsung and LG announced an eclectic mix of smartphones, smartwatches and even smart sofas. Here are some of the best – and weirdest – gadgets we’ve seen. KODAK IM5 Rumours of the once-giant US camera maker’s demise remain [...]
Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg’s 5 best quotes from Mobile World Congress March 4, 2015 Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg has been answering audience questions at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. From issues surrounding free speech to what it takes for someone to get hired at Facebook Zuckerberg faced a mix of tough and softball questions. Here are the five best quotes from Zuckerberg's answers: 1. Answering what Facebook looks for [...]
Former Virgin exec plots telecoms bid March 4, 2015 THE MAN who engineered Virgin Media’s $24bn (£15bn) blockbuster sale to Liberty Global has unveiled ambitious plans to take advantage of frenzied deal activity in Europe’s telecoms market. Ex-Virgin Media finance boss Eamonn O’Hare’s dramatic come-back, revealed last night, will involve raising cash in London to snap up struggling telecoms assets across the continent. Along [...]