Tech City UK: What London needs from the next mayor January 15, 2016 The race to become London’s next mayor has begun, and now more than ever we need a tech champion at the controls in City Hall. London is unquestionably the digital capital of Europe. Our fintech pioneers, app developers and software innovators are re-defining city life. Digital businesses employ over 250,000 people in the capital alone. [...]
Tax return deadline day looms, and HMRC reveals the 10 worst excuses it has received for filing late which did not avoid that £100 late filing penalty January 15, 2016 Tax return deadline day is looming and, while it may seem tempting to concoct an elaborate excuse rather than knuckle down with your paperwork before 31 January, it’s highly recommended that you don’t. Not only could a late return land you with a £100 fine, you could also find your not-so-wise words taking a place in [...]
Northern Powerhouse: Policy Exchange says devolved cities need geeks overseeing data analytics offices January 15, 2016 An influential think tank wants to require cities with devolved powers to recruit “geeks” to oversee data analytics programmes, as another leading research group says successful devolution will require more than just new infrastructure projects. In a new paper out today, Policy Exchange said that elected mayors should have to set up data analytics offices [...]
EU referendum: Osborne slammed for lack of contingency plans for Brexit January 14, 2016 The government has come under fire for not making contingency plans for a possible Brexit. The criticism came after chancellor George Osborne told BBC 2 Newsnight that the Treasury is not planning for Brexit. Instead of a plan, he said his department is "100 per cent now focused on achieving the renegotiation… That is where the [...]
US President Barack Obama commits $4bn over 10 years to driverless technology January 14, 2016 US President Barack Obama is committing $4bn (£2.8bn) over 10 years to investment in driverless car technology. The goal of the investment is to "accelerate the development and adoption of safe vehicle automation through real-world pilot projects". Transport Sectretary Anthony Foxx announced at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit yesterday that the US Department of Transportation will remove some of [...]
Petrol prices plummet, but what’s that got to do with the price of water? January 14, 2016 As we all know, the oil industry is not having a great time. Brent crude fell to below $30 (£20.80) a barrel for the first time since 2004 on Wednesday, and now there’s panic in the press at the idea that petrol, now 86p per litre, might become cheaper than water. The Institute of Economic [...]
Greece accepts IMF role in bailout programme as Eurogroup takes stock of progress January 14, 2016 The Greek government has accepted that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) will be part of its new bailout. Prior to a Eurogroup meeting – a meeting of Eurozone finance ministers – Dutch finance minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem told reporters that his Greek counterpart Euclid Tsakalotos "confirmed to me that the Greek government accepts that the IMF needs to be part [...]
EU referendum: UBS chief executive Sergio Ermotti says London has “lost a lot of its attractiveness” but Europe would lose out in Brexit January 14, 2016 New regulations have made the City a less desirable place to do business, UBS group chief executive Sergio Ermotti has said. "London has lost a lot of attractiveness for sure," Ermotti told an audience in Canary Wharf tonight, pointing to the controversial Senior Managers Regime (SMR), which is set to to go into effect in March. “If you add the [...]
JetBlue flights delayed as budget airline’s website goes down after power outage January 14, 2016 US budget airline JetBlue is experiencing flight delays due to a power outage at its data centre. The company's website has also gone down due to the issues. In a statement on Twitter the company said it was experiencing "intermittent network issues" which were affecting airport systems, but it hopes to resolve the problem quickly: [...]
Paypal adds Xapo bitcoin entrepreneur Wences Casares to its board January 14, 2016 Paypal just added fintech and bitcoin entrepreneur Wences Casares to its board. The move marks a big step forward for Paypal’s push into bitcoin, launched in 2014. 41-year-old Casares is founder and chief executive of bitcoin payment firm Xapo, but has previous experience from a number of other fintech ventures. “I am honored to serve [...]