Here’s how a new 3D printer adds a dash of colour January 27, 2014 Minnesota-based company Stratasys has unveiled the world's first 3D printer that combines colours with multi-material printing. The 3D printing firm branded its latest device a "game-changer for product design, engineering and manufacturing processes." The new printer uses triple-jetting technology that combines droplets of three base materials to produce products with almost unlimited combinations of rigid, [...]
Google snaps up UK artificial intelligence company DeepMind for $400m January 27, 2014 Google has agreed to buy London-based artificial intelligence (AI) company DeepMind for a reported $400m (£242m). The price was first reported by technology news website Re/code. The deal represents Google's largest European acquisition. DeepMind was founded in 2012 by 37-year-old chess prodigy and neuroscientist Demis Hassabis, along with Shane Legg and Mustafa Suleyman. The AI [...]
AT&T quashes rumours of Vodafone takeover January 27, 2014 The telecommunications giant AT&T has confirmed that it will not be making an offer for FTSE 100-listed company Vodafone. Rumours that the second-largest mobile provider in the US was considering a takeover of the UK company had been mounting in the wake of Vodafone's agreed disposal of its stake in Verizon Wireless. Speculation was heightened [...]
3 things Cameron won’t tell you about reshoring January 24, 2014 David Cameron has declared he wants Britain to become a "reshore nation." Speaking at the World Economics Forum in Davos, the Prime Minister said he wants international companies to resettle in the UK and has established Reshore UK to facilitate the process. David Cameron argued that reshoring would increase quality, shorten lead times and improve [...]
Nokia receives welcome relief as SocGen upgrades to “buy” January 24, 2014 Troubled communications firm Nokia received some welcome news this morning as French bank Societe Generale upgraded the company's shares from "hold" to "buy." The bank explained that Nokia had revised up its guidance for intellectual property licence fees from €500m (£410m) to €600m (£594m) annually on the back of higher fees to be received by [...]
Privatised Royal Mail sees parcel business boom January 24, 2014 Recently privatised Royal Mail Group has reported a boost in like-for-like revenue of two per cent in its trading update for the nine months ended 29 December 2013. Parcel revenue grew strongly, up eight per cent on a like-for-like basis. Addressed letter volumes fell by five per cent on a like-for-like basis, in line with [...]
Having a child will now cost you £227,266 January 23, 2014 Raising a child now costs over a quarter of a million pounds, according to research released today by insurer LV=. The price of raising a child has risen from £222,458 last year to £227,266 today. The annual "Cost of a Child" report found that education and child care remain the largest items of expenditure. Single [...]
80 per cent of users set to abandon Facebook by 2017 January 23, 2014 Facebook is set to lose 80 per cent of its users by 2017, according to researchers at Princeton University. The decline of the world's largest social network was predicted using a model that compares the growth of social media to that of diseases. The authors applied the susceptible, infected, recovered model of disease, which uses [...]
The main winners from Help to Buy? Rich men in London January 23, 2014 Nearly 40 per cent of would-be homeowners under the age of 40 are planning to apply for the government's controversial Help To Buy scheme in 2014, according to research from Experian Consumer Services. In November, Halifax and RBS reported strong interest in the first phase of Help to Buy receiving more than 2,000 applications in [...]
Winter storms fail to dampen enthusiasm for EasyJet January 23, 2014 Winter storms and power outages at Gatwick airport over Christmas have failed to dampen passengers enthusiasm for low cost airline EasyJet. Seats flown grew by 4.1 per cent to 16.1m, with passengers carried increasing by 4.2 per cent to 14.3m. EasyJet's system of seating allocation introduced in 2012 helped grow revenue per seat by 3.4 [...]
