How Edinburgh-based firm Krotos gave Avengers: Age of Ultron a monster August 14, 2016 | City Talk An Edinburgh-based audio software specialist is attracting increasing interest from film, TV and game studios thanks to its innovative vocal processor software. Krotos has developed audio software that is now being used by Hollywood film and game studios. The company’s software – Dehumaniser – is a vocal processor which allows the production of high quality [...]
How Edinburgh is driving the fintech revolution August 14, 2016 | City Talk According to recent figures published by Innovate Finance, global investment in fintech has rocketed from $930m in 2008 to $12.5bn in 2015, with recognised tech clusters such as Edinburgh supporting London’s global dominance. Fintech is, to coin a phrase, white hot right now. It’s not only empowering new start-ups with the ability to launch disruptive [...]
UK government could fall back on get-out clause for Hinkley August 14, 2016 A get-out clause could let Prime Minister Theresa May withdraw crucial funding for the controversial Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant project if she chose to use it. May recently kicked backed the government’s decision on the £18bn project — reportedly due to security concerns regarding Chinese investment. There are fears that its complete abandonment would spark [...]
Sky plots Spain launch as online TV war escalates August 14, 2016 The battle for control of the growing online streaming market is heating up as Sky prepares to launch Now TV in Spain. It’s understood Sky plans to use Spain as a springboard in to other European markets if the Spanish launch is a success. Now TV will be competing directly with US streaming site Netflix in [...]
Tech darling Misys said to be in line for a return to the stock exchange August 14, 2016 Misys remained tight-lipped amid talk over the weekend of a possible listing that would revoke memories of being the darling of the dotcom bubble in the 1990s. Now owned by American buyout firm Vista Equity Partners, the banking software developer is reported to be in line to raise £5.5bn from the listing. This would net its owners a bumper return [...]
UK offshore companies side-step new transparency rules August 14, 2016 Some of Britain's offshore companies have continued to wriggle out of new transparency restrictions according to research released this weekend. Under rules brought in on 1 July 2016, British companies need to disclose on an annual basis any changes to directors or shareholders – both being deemed "persons of significant control". Read more: New corporate [...]
Never mind the Brexit: Meet JP Morgan’s “glass half-full” European chief August 14, 2016 JP Morgan Chase employees were left in little doubt about how damaging the UK’s Brexit vote could be. In early June, chairman and chief executive Jamie Dimon spoke to staff in Bournemouth alongside now-former chancellor George Osborne and warned that a vote to leave the European Union could lead to as many as 4,000 job losses [...]
Johnston Press boss defends bond buybacks August 14, 2016 Johnston Press defended plans to buy back its own bonds at a healthy discount. The beleaguered publisher, whose share price is a fifth of where it was at the start of the year, said that this was not a new policy. "We have always stated we would use disposals to both strengthen balance sheet and pay [...]
Bank of England considers easing challenger burdens August 14, 2016 The Bank of England is considering easing regulatory burdens on challenger banks, amid increasing pressure from the small lenders. Challengers are concerned about capital requirements imposed on them, which they say disadvantage them to bigger players and stop them from being able to offer loans and credits to small business. There was anger among the [...]
Business and entrepreneurs pile pressure on Sadiq over Uber red tape August 14, 2016 Business groups and entrepreneurs have piled the pressure on the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, warning that new rules clamping down on Uber will stifle innovation in the capital and its multi-billion pound digital economy as he attempts brand the city "open for business". New rules have drawn the ire of business groups and tech entrepreneurs, who labelled them a backwards step that threatened the [...]