London property prices: Luxury homes are so expensive in London, the uber-rich are going bargain hunting in New York November 30, 2015 Luxury homes in London cost "double" those in New York, new research has suggested – meaning super-wealthy Britons are increasingly going bargain hunting in Big Apple. The Transatlantic Wealth Report, by upmarket British estate agent Beauchamp Estates and New York equivalent Leslie J Garfield, found the value of luxury homes in London's most exclusive areas is typically [...]
In praise of Simon Danczuk MP: A Great British contrarian who can’t be silenced November 26, 2015 Disruption is in vogue. Airbnb, Uber and BlaBlaCar are all cases in point. Their tech-savvy founders are turning conventional wisdom on its head to deliver services to customers in new ways. This is laudable and exciting. It is also about more than making money. Take Elon Musk, arguably the most daring entrepreneur of our time. [...]
The grass is always greener… Three Goldman Sachs investment bankers leave for Uber November 25, 2015 It's supposed to be one of the dream jobs for any banker, but three Goldman Sachs employees think the grass is greener… at Uber. Three mid-level bankers from Goldman Sachs' technology investment banking group, based in San Francisco, have left to join Uber recently, which was first reported by Reuters. The bank has always had a close [...]
How much is Uber worth? More than Twitter, Netflix and LinkedIn after latest reported funding round values taxi app at up to $40bn November 24, 2015 Uber, the never-far-from-controversy taxi app, has raised a new round of funding, giving the firm a higher valuation than tech superstars such as Twitter, Netflix and LinkedIn. The new funding round of at least $1bn from new and existing investors gives the five-year-old startup a valuation of up to $40bn, according to Bloomberg. The new sum [...]
Business committee chair Iain Wright MP accuses Uber of being a “seedy backstreet minicab firm” November 24, 2015 An influential MP has accused Uber of being a "seedy backstreet minicab firm". Iain Wright, a Labour MP who chairs the business, innovation and skills committee, made the comments during an evidence session at the House of Commons this morning. Wright took issue with a previous Uber promotion in France offering passengers the chance to book a minicab with a "hot [...]
Uber vs London Taxi Drivers’ Association: Sajid Javid knows the benefits of enterprise November 24, 2015 One should never assume that a Secretary of State for Business will be, by nature, pro-business. Fortunately, the current occupier of the role, Sajid Javid, most definitely is. He possesses an instinctive understanding of the benefits of enterprise, competition and innovation. This perspective is doubtless the product of having witnessed his immigrant father save enough money [...]
Tech unicorns face fresh bubble fear November 24, 2015 Traders are piling up short interest on early stage technology firms after a string of young companies made market-busting initial public offerings (IPOs). The so-called “unicorns” – companies which are valued at $1bn before they have launched onto the stock market – are being targeted by traders betting their share prices will fall. Although they [...]
Uber and the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association to square off before MPs November 23, 2015 Top bosses from Uber and the Licensed Taxi Drivers Association are set to be questioned by MPs tomorrow morning. Both Uber's head of public policy in the UK Andrew Byrne and Licensed Taxi Drivers Association chairman Richard Massett will give evidence to the influential business, innovation and skills (BIS) committee as part of its inquiry into the digital economy. [...]
Brands without borders: OMD’s Nikki Mendonca on the digital single market November 22, 2015 Sharing data across jurisdictions remains a headache for brands that operate within a number of different markets. The situation may be about to become a lot easier in Europe, however, due to the European Commission’s digital single market strategy. “I’m optimistic about what these changes would mean for brands,” says Nikki Mendonça, president of OMD [...]
Forbes top 40 richest individuals under 40 2015: Who are the richest young Americans and how did they make their money? November 20, 2015 No surprises here, as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg claims the accolade for the richest American under 40. Indeed, Zuckerberg's fortune, which is now worth $47.1bn, is more than four times as much as the second person in the ranks – his college pal and Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz, who has a net worth of $9.7bn. In fact, eight [...]