Uber and Lyft costs set to rise as California passes AB5 gig economy workers bill September 11, 2019 California has passed a controversial bill that means gig economy workers are set to be classified as full-time employees. The move, expected to be signed and passed into law by California governor Gavin Newsom, would pile pressure on companies like Uber and Lyft, which rely on self-employed workers. Read more: How Uber’s quiet cabs are [...]
Wework adds woman to board after criticism ahead of IPO September 4, 2019 The We Company, which owns office space provider Wework, has said it will add a woman to its board of directors and unwind a $5.9m (£4.8m) payment to its chief executive for use of the trademarked word “we” as it prepares for an initial public offering (IPO). We Company had faced criticism from analysts over [...]
Top 10 Just Eat shareholder to vote against £9bn merger deal with Takeaway.com September 3, 2019 Just Eat’s proposed merger with Takeaway.com was dealt a setback this morning after a top 10 shareholder revealed it plans to vote against the tie-up. US asset manager Eminence Capital, which holds a 4.4 per cent stake in Just Eat, is set to oppose the British food delivery firm’s £9bn deal with Amsterdam-based rival Takeaway.com. [...]
Car alarm: Half of UK consumers fear driverless vehicles September 2, 2019 Almost half of UK consumers are worried about the dangers posed by driverless cars, a new survey has revealed. Roughly 43 per cent of adults surveyed said they were concerned about the problems that may arise from autonomous vehicles, as car manufacturers race to develop the new technology. Read more: Former Uber driverless guru charged [...]
Pie in the sky? London urged to plan for flying taxi future September 2, 2019 Airbus will tomorrow urge London authorities to plan for a future in which electric air taxis roam the skies and drones carry cargo a few thousand feet above the city. The aviation juggernaut has already built a prototype air taxi, as have arch rivals Boeing, Uber and several other manufacturers. Airbus will urge city planners [...]
Williams Formula One team owner considering sale of engineering arm August 31, 2019 The owner of the Williams Formula One team, Williams Grand Prix Holdings, is exploring the possibility of selling its engineering arm. The company has been approached by several parties looking to acquire Williams Advanced Engineering (WAE) and a sale could raise tens of millions of pounds for the racing team, according to Sky News. Read [...]
Twitter founder Jack Dorsey has account hacked as series of racist messages posted August 31, 2019 Twitter is investigating after the social media network’s co-founder and chief executive Jack Dorsey had his account hacked. A series of offensive and racist messages were posted to Dorsey 4.2m followers on Friday evening. Read more: Google uncovers ‘indiscriminate’ iPhone hack attack lasting years Among them included false reports of a bomb threat at Twitter’s [...]
Toyota to halt production at UK factory day after Brexit August 31, 2019 Toyota is set to pause its production in the UK the day after Brexit in case there is any disruption to the delivery of parts. The car maker has said its work at the Burnaston plant in Derbyshire will stop on Friday 1 November and resume the following week. Read more: Sadiq Khan vows to [...]
Uber’s quiet cabs are sapping our social skills August 30, 2019 Uber’s recent move to offer passengers a “quiet preferred” option sparked a lively debate online, with some praising the move and others sharing stories of overly chatty drivers disturbing their journeys. Others bemoaned the change, branding it “dehumanising” for the drivers and “entitled”. Whatever side of the fence you sit on, there’s no denying that [...]
Banks aren’t keeping up with the rise of the intangible economy August 30, 2019 Innovation is the key to growing the economy and creating prosperity. It creates new industries, transforms old ones, and often generates well-paid jobs. Today, innovation usually relies on the investment in and the growth of intangible assets, such as software, data, networks, and design. But the financial system has failed to keep pace with innovation. [...]