Nigel Farage’s unresignation, Mayoral candidates and the Avon lady’s funny turn: Here’s what got us talking this week May 15, 2015 It was the week we dealt with the fallout of the election – including the coining of the phrase “doing a Farage” (aka “taking an extra day off to prolong the weekend”). What got us talking this week 1. Barage of Farage Some called it Ukip’s Easter (“on the third day, he rose again”), [...]
Carl Icahn just invested $100m in Uber rival Lyft valuing it at $2.5bn May 15, 2015 The well-known activist investor Carl Icahn has made a massive investment in Uber rival Lyft. The underdog taxi hailing startup is getting a $100m (£63m) from the outspoken investor's Icahn Enterprises. It's an unusual move for Icahn who holds stakes in larger companies such as Apple and eBay Lyft has exclusive membership of the so-called [...]
UK train strikes: Network Rail, DLR strike action and further taxi driver protests spell May bank holiday travel hell for Londoners May 15, 2015 London is speeding towards a bank holiday that could bring utter misery to commuters with the prospect of strike action looming. Workers for Network Rail, the company which keeps the entire UK rail network running, have voted in favour of strike action over pay which has the potential to bring rail services in London and [...]
ITV a takeover target after Adam Crozier oversees dramatic turnaround May 14, 2015 Charlotte Henry watches a positive programme at ITV, unlike a few years ago. No wonder that takeover talk persists. In a conference centre in Westminster, some of ITV’s shareholders have assembled for the company’s annual general meeting (AGM). They broadly welcomed the progress of the share price, their positivity no doubt boosted by a [...]
Why we need an Apple for financial services – to rebuild customer trust May 13, 2015 Modern life has turned us all into perfectionists. We value companies that make our lives easier, and shun those that don’t. We expect brands to make us feel good and remind us that we’re part of something special. Companies have to deliver great service every time, or face our wrath on social media and risk [...]
Uber fundraising: Here’s one chart showing how fast its valuation has grown May 11, 2015 Another day, another Uber funding round – this time the cab app is looking to raise between $1.5bn and $2bn, a report has suggested. If it does raise that much (and let's be honest – it almost certainly will), Uber will be valued at $50bn, setting it on a course to become the most valuable [...]
The world’s most valuable start up? Uber eyes $50bn valuation from next fundraising round May 10, 2015 Uber is aiming to become the world's most valuable startup in a new fundraising effort. The disruptive taxi-hailing app, already valued over $40bn, is aiming to raise between $1.5bn and $2bn in a private funding round according to report in the Wall Street Journal. Such a valuation would set Uber on course to become the most [...]
Uber teams up with peer-to-peer lender Zopa to help drivers buy their own cars May 6, 2015 Uber is aiming to make it easier for its drivers to buy their own cars by teaming up with peer-to-peer (P2P) lender Zopa. The taxi-hailing app's partnership with the world's first P2P marketplace will give drivers renting a licensed vehicle access to a loan agreement with one of Zopa's institutional lenders, allowing them to swap [...]
Uber eyes move into luxury deliveries April 30, 2015 UBER is eyeing its first foray into retail with plans to launch a new luxury shopping delivery service as it seeks new ways of tapping into its huge inventory of drivers around the world. The controversial taxi app has already been trialling a new courier service, called UberRush, in New York, letting customers request a [...]
Is Uber planning an on-demand service for luxury shopping deliveries? April 29, 2015 Uber could be delivering more than just people from A to B: the controversial taxi app is said to be eyeing a move into shopping deliveries. Not just any kind of delivery, though – Uber doesn't want to be the next Ocado. It wants to deliver luxury brands such as Louis Vuitton, Tiffany's, Hugo Boss [...]