Asian stocks fall after US-China trade war anxiety sees Wall Street bleed October 9, 2019 Asia stocks recorded their biggest drop in a week overnight after US-China trade tensions left American stocks bleeding red yesterday. The Nikkei 225 fell 0.6 per cent to 21,456 while Hang Seng sank 0.6 per cent to 25,741 after US markets tumbled amid rising anxiety before crunch talks between Washington and Beijing. Read more: Global [...]
Lack of clarity over AI definition ‘will confuse’ regulators October 8, 2019 The lack of clarity over what technology is classed as artificial intelligence (AI) poses a major challenge to future regulation in the financial services industry, a new report has warned. Read more: UK must adapt to automation or firms will suffer, MPs warn Research by the International Regulatory Strategy Group (IRSG) found that the lack [...]
Notion Capital opens £125m fourth fund October 3, 2019 London-headquartered venture capital investor Notion Capital today announced its fourth and largest fund to date, which will target a final closing value of £125m. Notion, which focuses on European business-targeted software-as-a-service startups, has previously backed the likes of fintech starlet Gocardless, Paddle and self-driving tech firm FiveAI. Notion IV will be aimed at startups around [...]
Uncanny valley: Explaining the rise of virtual influencers September 30, 2019 I have fallen down a social media rabbit hole. I’ve been scrolling through the feed of an online influencer called “Lil Miquela”, and watching her videos on YouTube. Her Instagram is just like any other influencer account. There are pictures of her on nights out with friends, several of her posing in trendy clothes, even [...]
Marketing trends 2019: Interactive content and voice search are in, annoying chatbots are out September 28, 2019 Marketing is an industry undergoing seismic changes. New technology, changing consumer attitudes and shrinking budgets mean marketers are constantly having to adapt. But while many large advertisers have tightened the purse strings, marketing remains a key way for businesses to drive growth. A recent report by marketing consultancy Lewis, which looked at the world’s 300 [...]
Ex-communication: Pope warns Silicon Valley against ‘barbarous’ AI September 27, 2019 Monks worried about losing their jobs to robots got a new champion today as the pope urged tech giants to ensure they do not lead the world into a new “form of barbarism” when developing artificial intelligence. Francis called for “open and concrete” discussions on the future of technology. Read more: Two thirds of adults [...]
Death of a sales tradition: Tomorrow’s sellers can’t rely on the gift of the gab September 25, 2019 Over the course of the last decade, the art of selling has undergone a radical transformation. A key factor in this has been a shift in the buyer-seller dynamic. Buyers are changing substantially faster than sellers, with younger generations increasingly self-educating – a CSO Insights study found that 70 per cent of them now fully [...]
Microsoft issues emergency security fix for Internet Explorer September 24, 2019 Microsoft has released an emergency patch for its ageing Internet Explorer browser to fix a bug that hackers have used to exploit web users. Read more: Microsoft invests $1bn in Elon Musk’s Open AI The US tech giant warned users that cyber thieves could use the bug to take over people’s devices and install malware. [...]
Frozen Woodford fund falls 13 per cent since since June September 23, 2019 Neil Woodford’s frozen flagship Equity Income Fund (EIF) substantially underperformed its industry benchmark in September and will remain under lock and key as expected, the firm managing the suspension said. The fund has dropped 12.83 per cent since its suspension on 3 June, while the benchmark FTSE All Share total return rose 4.29 per cent, [...]
Facebook’s London accelerator programme expands to startups outside UK September 23, 2019 Facebook has announced the third edition of its London accelerator programme, which will be open to startups from Europe, the Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) for the first time. The scheme is open to high-growth startups and aims to support those that are “harnessing the power of technology to have a positive impact on the [...]