Google’s gearing up to spin off its self-driving cars business October 27, 2016 Google's self-driving cars are getting a life of their own. X lab, the autonomous vehicle project, is becoming a standalone unit of Google's parent company Alphabet; possibly the first step on its journey to becoming an independent company. The wheels were set in motion at the beginning of the year when Alphabet started separating the [...]
Leading the charge: How to invest in the nascent, but lucrative, electric power storage sector October 27, 2016 One word captures the holy grail for the energy industry: storage. A Carbon Trust report from March found that better energy storage could save £2.4bn a year by 2030 in the UK. If certain regulatory hurdles are overcome, this could rise to £7bn a year. New developments and innovations are coming to market all the [...]
Here’s how to make the most of investing in Apple, Amazon and major overseas players October 27, 2016 In a globalised world, equity investors need to think big if they want to buy the world’s best companies. “There is no UK equivalent to the likes of Amazon or Facebook. The UK’s own social networking pioneer, Friends Reunited, finally closed its web doors in February this year,” says Michelle McGrade, chief investment officer at [...]
Tesla posts shock profit October 26, 2016 Tesla Motors has trumped analysts' expectations and posted its first profit in eight quarters on the back of record car deliveries. The electric carmaker said its net income for the third quarter ending 30 September was $21.9m (£17.9m). A year earlier, Tesla made a loss of $229,9m. Tesla's revenue more than doubled, reaching $2.3bn. Analysts had been expecting [...]
Before the bell: What you need to know before the US market open October 20, 2016 Markets are further backing a Clinton victory in the US presidential election next month after last night's final debate, while the European Central Bank is expected to keep policy on hold when it meets this afternoon. Here's what you need to know before the US market open at 2:30pm London time. US futures are pointing higher [...]
Watch: Tesla’s self-driving cars revealed in video shared by Elon Musk October 20, 2016 All Tesla cars will have the capacity to drive themselves, company boss Elon Musk has revealed in a highly anticipated announcement which the entrepreneur had teased in tweets. All models, including the Model 3 and and Model X, will now be fitted with hardware that will make it possible to drive without human control. However, that [...]
Surprise, surprise: Oil majors face a “resoundingly negative” threat from the rise of electric cars October 18, 2016 A leap forward in battery technology could pose a "resoundingly credit negative" threat to the oil sector and disrupt global credit markets, according to a report from Fitch Ratings. Falling demand for fuel could scupper oil majors' prospects in particular as transport accounts for 55 per cent of total oil consumption. "Widespread adoption of battery-powered vehicles is [...]
Five things Elon Musk’s mysterious delayed product launch could be October 17, 2016 Is there anyone as mysterious as Elon Musk on Twitter? The Tesla founder has sent analysts and investors into a frenzy of speculation after he posted a single, two-sentence tweet late last night. Moving the Tesla announcement to Wednesday. Needs a few more days of refinement. — Elon Musk (@elonmusk) October 16, 2016 The news [...]
Is 2016 the turning point for energy storage? October 12, 2016 In the future, when investors look back at the year that represented the turning point for clean energy, 2016 may be it. The industry overall is growing at a breath-taking pace, but perhaps not for the reason that some investors think. Energy storage, rather than solar power and wind power, are the real factors that [...]
Tech triumph: These are the most valuable brands in the world October 5, 2016 Technology continues to dominate in the battle of the world's most valuable brands, with Apple and Google topping the latest list and Facebook crowned the fastest growing brand. More than half of the top ten brands in Interbrand’s annual index are technology companies, while Amazon and Adobe were also among the fastest growing brands as [...]