EU responds to US treasury complaints over commission investigation into tax arrangements August 25, 2016 The EU has brushed off complaints from the US Treasury about its investigations into tax deals between companies like Apple and McDonald's and member states. The US Treasury published a white paper yesterday in which it attacked the EU's tax probes, arguing that they will create an "unfortunate" precedent in international tax policies and leave [...]
Before the bell: What you need to know before the US market open August 25, 2016 Jackson Hole – the annual US economic symposium – is now underway with market watchers keenly awaiting clues on a September Fed rate hike. Here's what you need to know before the US market open at 2:30pm London time. US markets are not looking perky ahead in the pre-market. The S&P is off by 0.24 [...]
The world’s first driverless taxis have hit the road (beating Uber) August 25, 2016 The first-ever driverless taxis have hit the road in Singapore, and despite the ambitious plans of Uber announced just last week that it's about to put autonomous cabs into service, the billion dollar startup has been pipped to the post. Residents of Singapore will spot the robo-taxis driving around the business district and they will even be able [...]
Google, Facebook and Twitter blasted over failure to tackle online extremism August 25, 2016 The world's biggest tech companies have been blasted by MPs for failing to do enough to tackle extremism which appears in videos and messages posted online. Google, Facebook and Twitter have have been accused of "consciously failing" to tackle the incitement of extremism, despite multi-million pound profits, by a group of MPs on the home affairs select [...]
The US is not happy about the EU’s crackdown on tech giants’ tax arrangements August 24, 2016 Top officials in the US have raised concerns over Europe's probes into the tax arrangements of companies such as Apple, an investigation of which is due to be wrapped up imminently and could result in a multi-billion pound bill for the tech company. The US Treasury argues it will create an "unfortunate" precedent in international tax policies and leave taxpayers [...]
Apple is said to be planning three new iPhones for next year August 23, 2016 Beyond the upcoming iPhone 7 due to be unveiled soon, Apple is said to be planning three new smartphones for next year, including a premium device with a bold new design feature. The tech company will make a radical overhaul of the iPhone design with a curved screen on one of the models due in 2017, [...]
The mobile payments battle just intensified in the UK August 23, 2016 iZettle is likely a familiar sight if you frequent small coffee shops or market stalls across the capital. The tiny card reading machine has sprung up across the UK, making it easier for shops to offer customers the option of paying by card without having to invest in the pricey systems offered by the big tech companies. [...]
Uber’s former rival Didi launches car rental service August 22, 2016 Not satisfied with winning the ride-sharing wars with Uber after merging in China, Didi is now expanding into other car services. It's launching an online car rental service in the country to capitalise on the billions of domestic tourist trips made throughout the country, which is expected to grow to 5.8bn by 2020. Read more: Uber [...]
We’ve already spent more via contactless than in all of 2015 August 22, 2016 People are swiping their card rather than splashing the physical cash these days as new figures reveal payments made with contactless technology have already overtaken the amount spent in the whole of 2015. Just over £9bn was spent using contactless in the first half of the year compared to £7.75bn in the the entire of last year, the new [...]
Did Barbra Streisand just let slip Apple’s iOS 10 release date? August 21, 2016 When you're as big a star as Barbra Streisand, you can pretty much do what you want – including getting the boss of one of the biggest companies in the world to fix what might be a minor annoyance to us mere mortals. The singer's name is pronounced slightly wrong by iPhone voice assistant Siri, it turns out [...]