City law firm criticises HMRC’s use of informants to claw back receipts from tax evaders August 28, 2018 A city law firm has criticised HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) for paying informants to provide details on possible tax evasion, saying there were "ethical risks" tied to the practice. RPC said the practice of paying informants opened up the risk of increased data theft as disgruntled employees with an axe to grind could be persuaded into [...]
Corbyn’s plan for the BBC would harm the press and prevent new media from thriving August 24, 2018 Taxing tech giants for the purpose of levelling the playing field is a monumentally bad idea. Unfortunately, it’s gaining traction. Over the past few weeks, we’ve seen calls for an “Amazon Tax” from chancellor Philip Hammond to help save the high street. The immediate implications of increasing the tax burden on companies like Apple, Amazon, [...]
Tech titans bed down in London: Why Brexit won’t be bringing about a ‘techxodus’ any time soon August 24, 2018 Brexit has generated investment uncertainty for many companies, but not – it would seem – for the US tech giants opening the throttle and splashing out on multi-million long-term property deals in London and creating thousands of jobs. Facebook, Google, Snap and Apple have firmly quashed the notion that the UK’s exit from the EU [...]
Tips for travellers when shopping for a currency card August 23, 2018 Travellers cheques. Remember them? Cue confused expressions from anyone under 25. You may be surprised to hear that some banks still offer these cheques, which can be exchanged when you go abroad for hard currency (though you’re limited to just six of the major currencies). Fortunately, this outdated mode of currency exchange has now been [...]
Gartner Hype Cycle 2017: Artificial intelligence at peak hype, blockchain heads for disillusionment, but say hello to 5G August 17, 2018 The hype around artificial intelligence is at its peak, while those interested in blockchain might be heading for disillusionment. That’s according to Gartner’s annual Hype Cycle, which tracks the progress of emerging technology trends, from early innovation to becoming a household must-have. Deep learning and machine learning are at what it calls the “peak of [...]
Bad Apple: Erdogan threatens iPhone boycott after spat with US August 14, 2018 Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan called for a boycott of iPhones and other American electronic products yesterday as tensions between the two countries escalated. Erdogan remained defiant amid what he called an “economic war” with the US after Washington imposed punitive sanctions on Ankara. “Whatever we buy from abroad we are going to produce here in [...]
Tesla in legal row with investors over Elon Musk’s plan to go private | City A.M. August 13, 2018 Tesla is facing a barrage of lawsuits from investors angry at founder Elon Musk’s shock proposal to take the company private at $420 (£329) a share. The colourful entrepreneur dropped the bombshell on social media last week, claiming that funding for the move had been secured, driving shares up 11 per cent before its price [...]
Apple re-hires Tesla’s ex-engineering chief for its self-driving car unit | City A.M. August 10, 2018 Tesla’s former chief of engineering Doug Field has landed on his feet – back at his old firm Apple. Field will be joining Apple to work on its self-driving car unit Project Titan, which until recently was shrouded in relative secrecy. He previously worked at the firm on engineering Apple’s Mac computers, alongside Titan’s current [...]
The Galaxy Note 9, a smart speaker, and a partnership with Spotify: Here’s what happened at Samsung’s Unpacked event | City A.M. August 9, 2018 A new phone, a new watch, a new speaker. Samsung unveiled some fresh shiny things for you to spend your money on at its Unpacked event in New York this afternoon, and here’s a breakdown of the bits you need to know. The Galaxy Note 9 So the 6.4-inch Galaxy Note 9 underwhelmed most Samsung [...]
Apple’s iPhone LED screen maker Japan Display narrows quarterly losses, but sales take a nosedive | City A.M. August 8, 2018 Cost cuts have helped Japan Display clawed back its losses for the last three months, but crashing sales numbers stopped celebrations short. The maker of smartphone screens for companies such as Apple reported a net loss of ¥1.77bn (£12.4m) in its first quarter, at an almost 95 per cent decrease from ¥31.46bn in the same [...]