The government wants to give you better wi-fi and 5G mobile signal on trains December 28, 2017 The government is promising to sort out mobile phone signal on trains across Britain that would let every passenger stream movies straight to their smartphone, with no interruption while travelling through reception “back holes”. Plans for laying fibre optic cables alongside train tracks to provide gigabit broadband wi-fi and mobile masts to bring 5G to [...]
Bank of England’s Mark Carney spreads Christmas cheer with Brexit assurances for EU banks December 20, 2017 The governor of the Bank of England (BoE) has attempted to spread a little festive cheer after the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator insisted that a financial services deal was off the table. In response to Michel Barnier’s position (which saw him dubbed “Scrooge” by City lobbyists yesterday) Mark Carney has assured EU banks that they [...]
London startup investor Future Planet Capital promises up to £30m for spinouts from China’s Tsinghua University X-lab December 20, 2017 Future Planet Capital (FPC), a London-based investor which funds innovative startups, has announced it will invest up to £30m in businesses spinning out from China’s Tsinghua University. Tsinghua University’s X-lab is a platform which supports and facilitates startups founded by Tsinghua alumni, students or faculties. Since its launch in 2013, it has worked with more [...]
Britain is in for a rough ride next year; the EU holds all the cards ahead of Brexit trade talks December 20, 2017 At times Brexit can seem like one giant wheeze invented to sell more newspapers. But even by the standards of Fleet Street’s saturation Brexit coverage, this week the press has really gone to town on the latest twist in the saga. On Monday night many newspapers got very hot under the collar after Michel Barnier, [...]
Bank of England plans to allow EU banks in the UK lighter regulation option after Brexit December 20, 2017 The Bank of England (BoE) has today announced it will allow European wholesale banks to operate as branches in the UK after Brexit, removing the threat of a much stronger regulatory regime which bankers feared would harm their profits. European wholesale banks and insurers will be able to apply for authorisation to operate as a [...]
Gocompare share price rises after splashing £36.5m of its spondoolicks on voucher code website MyVoucherCodes December 19, 2017 Price comparison website Gocompare today snapped up online voucher code website MyVoucherCodes for £36.5m. Gocompare is hoping the acquisition will be transformational by attracting customers on a daily rather than annual basis. Boss Matthew Crummack said MyVoucherCodes would play a “valuable role [in the firm’s] ambition to become the ‘go-to’ place for savvy savers to [...]
MMC Ventures has just joined a $15m funding round for consumer services artificial intelligence company DigitalGenius December 19, 2017 The robots will soon be taking over call centres, as a company which develops consumer-focused artificial intelligence today nabbed almost $15m (£11.2m) of funding. San Francisco-based DigitalGenius, which works with companies including Unilever, KLM Airlines and Eurostar, has raised $14.75m of series A funding from a number of firms including London’s MMC Ventures. The business, [...]
Hargreaves Lansdown’s five stocks to watch in 2018: From life insurance to Irn Bru to that well-known heritage check December 19, 2017 Investment platform Hargreaves Lansdown has set out its stocks to watch in 2018. And where its eyes are straying, others' are likely to follow. While some asset managers are predicting the return of volatility in what has been a relatively uneventful year for the UK stock market, Hargreaves Lansdown's equity analysts spread their bets across [...]
Insurance startup InsurePal to launch £15m initial coin offering December 18, 2017 Millennial-focused insurance startup InsurePal has announced it is raising £15m in an initial coin offering (ICO) to fund its UK motor launch in the first half of 2018. ICOs are a type of crowdfunding using cryptocurrencies, but they have been criticised by the Financial Conduct Authority as “very high-risk, speculative investments”. InsurePal uses the ethereum [...]
The UK is still the world’s top financial services exporter generating more than its next two competitors combined December 15, 2017 The UK has managed to retain the title of the world's biggest financial services exporter by a country mile, new data from TheCityUK has revealed. Last year the tiny island netted a total trade surplus from financial and related professional services of $93.6bn (£69bn) – more than the US and Switzerland, its next biggest competitors, [...]