Business and entrepreneurs pile pressure on Sadiq over Uber red tape August 14, 2016 Business groups and entrepreneurs have piled the pressure on the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan, warning that new rules clamping down on Uber will stifle innovation in the capital and its multi-billion pound digital economy as he attempts brand the city "open for business". New rules have drawn the ire of business groups and tech entrepreneurs, who labelled them a backwards step that threatened the [...]
Holiday taxes add £131 to typical family getaway August 13, 2016 A plethora of holiday taxes can add more than £130 to the typical family summer getaway, research by the TaxPayers' Alliance (TPA) has found. A combination of Air Passenger Duty (APD), the Insurance Premium Tax and the cost of VAT on holiday essentials such a sun cream and swimming costumes, sets vacationers back an extra £61.12 per adult [...]
The Cambrian Explosion: What does the CMA report mean for alt fi? August 11, 2016 After a two-year investigation into retail and SME banking, this week the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) mandated the adoption of Open Banking by early 2018. Open Banking will be underpinned by secure authorised data gateways called application programming interfaces (APIs), the pipes of modern software technology. Just as our Android or Apple smartphones opened [...]
Watch is going on? Fossil shares jump despite rocky revenue performance August 9, 2016 US watchmaker and retailer Fossil’s share price jumped in after-hours trading despite the company reporting some rocky revenue figures. The figures Worldwide net sales during the three months to 2 July were down seven per cent to $54.6m (£42m). Fossil said the fall was driven by a “decline in the company’s multi-brand licenced watch portfolio [...]
The Apple Watch 2 might be coming this year August 9, 2016 An updated version of Apple's first ever wearable and its newest device, the Apple Watch, could be coming as soon as this year, one analyst predicts. The Apple Watch 2 is expected to hit wrists by the end of the year, said Ming-Chi Kuo, an analysts at KGI and known as one of the most well informed [...]
Intellectual property strategy should be at the heart of every startup’s plans right from the start August 9, 2016 Protecting intellectual property is probably not the first thing that springs to an entrepreneur’s mind during the heady days of founding their business. But it can’t be ignored. In fact, it should be taken seriously right from the start and integrated into the overall strategy of the business. The most common mistake founders make is [...]
Samsung’s Galaxy Note 7 could be its best chance to pip Apple to the post August 8, 2016 Samsung versus Apple is one of the fiercest mobile tech rivalries ever and, with the right timing and its latest “phablet” device, the South Korean giant may have found the right formula to steal customers from the iPhone maker. Last week, Samsung released the Galaxy Note 7, a 5.7 inch “phablet” that comes with an [...]
Oxford Economics study finds soft drinks tax will cost UK economy £132m and put 4,000 jobs at risk August 8, 2016 The sugar tax will put more than 4,000 UK jobs at risk and will cost the economy £132m as a result of lower sales, research from global forecasting group Oxford Economics has found. The levy on soft drinks, which was a surprise announcement in the March Budget, will have the biggest impact on the hospitality sector and [...]
Long Weekend: Newly opened hotel Innside New York NoMad offers to give guests the goss on Manhattan’s coolest hang outs August 5, 2016 The weekend: The epicentre of the world according to every Armageddon-themed movie ever made, New York’s also a welcoming, walkable city which begs to be visited when the days are long, the spirits high, and the air-con’s omnipresent. Its familiarity belies a forever changing chameleon of a personality, as the heaving bulk of an 8m-plus [...]
Three top tips for a reluctant digital detox August 4, 2016 That's it – switch off your phone, close your laptop… maybe even unplug the telly? Ok – perhaps wait until you've finished reading this, but a third of the country has considered taking just such drastic action in an effort to detox from the digital devices littering our lives. More than half of us consider ourselves hooked and a third of [...]