Lazy people rejoice: Jaguar and Shell team up for in-car cashless petrol payment February 15, 2017 Here's a treat for those often in a hurry. Jaguar and Shell have teamed up to launch the first in-car payment system for petrol. So you'll actually be able to pay for your fuel through an app on the car's touchscreen at Shell service stations. You drive up, use the car's touchscreen to select how much [...]
AIG’s share price Trump bump halted by worse than expected losses February 15, 2017 Insurance giant AIG reported a worse than expected quarterly loss of $3bn after having to ramp up reserves to cover possible claims against commercial policies it has already written. The group said it had set aside an additional $5.6bn in its fourth quarter trading statement, published overnight. AIG also revealed plans for a $3.5bn share [...]
For successful businesses, failure is not an option – it’s a requirement February 14, 2017 Urgent memo to executives everywhere: please stop saying things like “failure is not an option”. You’re engaging stakeholders – not saving Private Ryan. And if you are fostering a fear of failure among your people, you probably aren’t winning either. Let’s look at winning in today’s world, where it is increasingly crucial to spark emotional [...]
The worrying tale of how my business made $515m more than Snapchat last year February 14, 2017 The marketing and media agency I co-founded likely made at least $1bn more profit than Uber last year. We also made $515m more than Snapchat and $450m more than Twitter. This isn’t because we did anything particularly remarkable. We just stuck to the basic business principle that it’s better to make money than lose it. [...]
Apple stock just got a major upgrade from Goldman Sachs (it’s very confident about the iPhone 8) February 13, 2017 Apple's stock has closed at an all-time high after Goldman Sachs has upped its price target for the tech giant, indicating confidence in the company's upcoming 10th anniversary iPhone. Apple's shares closed 0.89 per cent higher at $133.29 a share. Goldman Sachs predicts Apple's share price could hit $150 over the next 12 months, up from previous estimates [...]
Now Sonos is hiking prices because of the weaker pound February 13, 2017 Trendy speaker maker Sonos has become the latest cult tech giant to announce it is increasing prices on its UK catalogue thanks to the weaker pound “Our prices are defined regionally,” the company said in an email to its customers. “In the UK, this includes local taxation and import duties, but we pay for everything we make in [...]
Now Santander lets you make payments using just your voice February 13, 2017 More proof that voice control is the future… Santander is now letting customers make payments just by asking their phone, along with several other new functions that work in a similar way to Apple's Siri or Amazon's Alexa Users of the bank's SmartBank app can use their voice to check their account balance, report a lost [...]
We should roll back the barriers to growth post-Brexit – not employment rights February 13, 2017 For years, some of the people I’ve encountered on the Westminster circuit have argued that one of the principal reasons for the UK to leave the EU is employment law. For this hardy bunch, and their tight circle of business supporters, rolling back employment legislation always seemed to be the answer to everything that ails Britain. [...]
This is why a Silicon Valley entrepreneur believes London could produce the next Facebook February 12, 2017 By the time Clara Shih turned 30, she was a Starbucks board member, had raised $21m (£16.7m) for her social media startup and had become a bestselling author. A Stanford and Oxford graduate, the Silicon Valley entrepreneur founded software company Hearsay Social [now Hearsay Systems] in 2009 to make financial giants look slick on social media [...]
Almost 50 Tory MPs are demanding a fast-track visa system for Commonwealth citizens February 12, 2017 Commonwealth countries could be offered a new “fast track” visa system in the aftermath of Brexit, under plans promoted by almost 50 Conservative MPs. In a letter to home secretary Amber Rudd, 45 Tory backbenchers have called for the UK to “extend the hand of friendship to our Commonwealth partners”. The MPs, who include former [...]