Twitter has invested $70m in music streaming service SoundCloud June 14, 2016 Tech giant Twitter invested $70m in music streaming service SoundCloud earlier this year it has been revealed. The social media network bought the stake as part of a round that would value SoundCloud at about $700m, tech website Recode has reported. Twitter's newly returned CEO Jack Dorsey didn't reveal details of the deal but confirmed that the San Francisco-based company now owns a stake [...]
Fewer children can get first choice school places because of immigration, Leave campaigner Priti Patel has warned June 14, 2016 Leave campaigners have seized on new figures from the Department for Education which warn that the number of applications for school places is continuing to rise, while fewer students are able to get their first choices. Figures from the DfE show that 84.1 per cent of children were allocated places at their first choice for [...]
Valeant opens door to bids for any assets to clear the company’s massive debt load June 14, 2016 The new chief executive of Valeant has said he’s open to flogging more of the company’s assets to try and clear its mounting debt pile. Joe Papa, who replaced Mike Pearson as chief executive of the embattled Canadian pharmaceuticals company in May, has said the company would assess offers for any of its assets. Last [...]
Global Drug Survey 2016: UK tops the list for legal high buys while use of the dark web rises June 14, 2016 The UK had the highest rate of legal high purchases in 2015 of any country surveyed in the largest study of drug use worldwide. The Global Drug Survey (GDS), released today, polled more than 100,000 drug users in 20 countries including the US, UK, Mexico, Colombia and Germany. It found respondents from the UK had a purchase [...]
IMF raises fresh alarm over Chinese debt time bomb June 14, 2016 Excessive Chinese borrowing is one of the most serious threats to the world economy, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has declared, as it urged policymakers to press ahead with reforms. Concluding its annual health check of the world’s second biggest economy, the IMF said getting a grip of the debt problem — particularly in the [...]
Creative and technology industries best served by Remain vote, warns law firm June 14, 2016 A Brexit would hamper the UK's creative and technological industries, a law firm specialising in intellectual property has today warned. EIP also noted that it was supporting the Remain campaign, adding that a vote to leave the EU would be bad for intellectual property (IP) rights holders in general. Read more: ECB to do "whatever it [...]
Block Volkswagen’s dividend plans, Pirc tells the carmaker’s shareholders June 14, 2016 Investor advisory firm Pirc has advised shareholders in Volkswagen to reject its dividend plans. The body said the carmaker did not address "key weaknesses" within its governance structure including the "overlap of major shareholders and controlling functions, a remuneration structure excessively linked to sales, the absence of a whistle blowing system and an apparently inefficient [...]
EU referendum: Just one in 10 bets taken in past two days back Remain as Leave makes strides in polls June 14, 2016 Punters are starting to back the pro-Brexit camp with just one in 10 bets placed in the last 48 hours being in favour of Remain with one bookmaker. While a slew of polls has put Leave ahead of Remain, Sporting Index has also found a flood of bets backing Leave over the past 48 hours has [...]
Affectv founder Glen Calvert talks hiring and firing in a fast-growth firm June 14, 2016 It's a sign of the times that Glen Calvert, now 33 and with over seven years’ experience managing startups, doesn’t see himself as a young entrepreneur. Nonetheless, getting stuck in with his first company at 25 meant the learning curve was steep. He had passion, drive, and knowledge of his industry. What he lacked was experience [...]
At the close: £30bn wiped off FTSE 100 as Brexit fears mount June 14, 2016 Financial markets were plunged into turmoil today as the latest Brexit opinion polls sent investors running for the hills, wiping tens of billions off the value of the UK's leading companies. The FTSE 100 shed two per cent to end the day at 5,923.53 – its lowest close since 24 February – knocking roughly £30bn [...]