Connected cows: An actually useful example of the Internet of Things (seriously) March 6, 2017 Just when you'd lost faith in the Internet of Things (IoT) and its pointless devices such as connected vases, toothbrushes and, um, egg holders, which make you scream "but why?" to the world, along comes something that might restore your faith. And it's not just because it's cute. Farming is where you'll find an actually [...]
Fintech funding trends in 2017 March 6, 2017 An Innovate Finance report recently suggested that venture capital investments into the UK FinTech sector have dropped by a third over the past year, potentially making way for a new type of investor in town. FinTech has typically attracted the most investment and limelight compared to other areas of digital innovation. Yet the funding landscape [...]
Phew: TfL says the new RMT industrial action starting tomorrow won’t cause much disruption March 6, 2017 The RMT's London Underground members will be taking industrial action from Tuesday 7 March, but Transport for London (TfL) has said the action – which is short of a strike, shouldn't cause disruption to services. That's unless it continues to drag on of course. The dispute is over a "breakdown in industrial relations" according to the [...]
Airlines braced to cancel over 1,000 flights this week as French air traffic controllers’ strike takes off March 6, 2017 Airline passengers across Europe could suffer more than 1,000 flight cancellations and severe delays this week after French air traffic control (ATC) strikes kicked off today. According to Airlines for Europe (A4E), which has the likes of Air France, EasyJet, Finnair, IAG, Lufthansa and Ryanair as members, the five-day action being held at Brest and Bordeaux control centres will result [...]
Donald Trump lessened importance of central banks as driver of global markets says influential group March 6, 2017 The ascent of Donald Trump to the US Presidency lessened market reliance on central banks, according to an influential body of central bankers. The surge in US equity valuations which followed the election of Donald Trump meant central banks “stepped back from the limelight”, according to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS). “Politics tightened its [...]
London has been named the least friendly place in the UK again (but it’s getting friendlier) March 6, 2017 No prizes for guessing what the UK's unfriendliest city is: yep, yet again, London has been given the dubious honour. But new figures suggest the capital, which has just been ranked bottom in a list of the UK's 30 friendliest cities suggest the capital has become marginally more welcoming in the past six months: the study, [...]
Chelsea enters the big league after Sadiq Khan signs off new £500m home March 6, 2017 Chelsea's £500m stadium expansion has been given the green light by Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, paving the way for a 50 per cent increase in the ground's capacity. The club, currently sitting at the top of the English Premier League, will expand within the tight constraints of its Fulham-based home. Match-day capacity at Stamford Bridge [...]
British Land is offering enhanced shared parental pay after rejigging its shared parental leave policy March 6, 2017 Real estate giant British Land has announced it is upping shared parental leave (SPL) for employees, providing parents with equal benefits in terms of pay following the birth, or adoption, of a child. British Land said the approach will allow more parents to enjoy the benefits of SPL, as it goes "above and beyond" statutory requirements. [...]
Lonmin’s chief operating officer Ben Moolman has resigned after two years with the troubled miner March 6, 2017 Ben Moolman has resigned as chief operating officer and director of Lonmin, one of the world's largest platinum miners, citing personal reasons. Moolman, who joined the mining company in 2015, will leave with effect from 5 April 2017. Lonmin did not name a successor. Chief executive Ben Magara said: "My colleagues and I would like to thank [...]
IBM is commercialising quantum computing to solve mind-boggling problems March 6, 2017 IBM has revealed its ambitions to bring the power of quantum computing to the business world. The tech firm is making available its IBM Q quantum systems to firms wanting to analyse and explore data that's too complicated for standard computing. Read more: The organisations of tomorrow – and the technologies already building them “Classical computers [...]