Analysts warn that Ladbrokes – Gala Coral mega merger odds on for competition issues June 23, 2015 Analysts are warning that Ladbrokes' multi-million pound merger with Gala Coral could have to jump serious competition hurdles. The combined company would command 4000 retail shops – about 45 per cent of the UK market – and give the group much better odds in the online gaming space too. The retail position in [...]
Tidal chief executive is out: Peter Tonstad exits as boss of Jay Z’s music streaming service June 23, 2015 The boss of Jay Z's fledgling music streaming service has left after less than three months in charge. The company which was launched by the music superstar in March with backing from fellow musicians such as Kanye West and Daft Punk, said Peter Tonstad was stepping down as interim chief executive in a statement. "Current executives [...]
Blackberry share price rises despite decreasing smartphone revenue June 23, 2015 Canadian smartphone maker Blackberry has announced its results for the first quarter for the three months to the end of May – and things do not look like turning around the struggling firm. It reported revenue for the quarter of $658m (£416m), and income before taxes of $73m. Blackberry's handsets used to be a staple [...]
John Lewis has started selling the iPhone, Samsung Galaxy S6 and other smartphones, partnering Vodafone to offer contracts June 23, 2015 High street favourite John Lewis is going mobile and will for the first time stock smartphones on its shelves in an ambitious move to sate people's appetite for mobile devices and grab a share of the rocketing market. More than 25 sim-free handsets will go on sale online from today, while the department store is [...]
Here’s everything you need to know about the EU’s Sentinel Earth-watching mission June 23, 2015 Late last night, the EU launched the Sentinel-2a satellite into space, from where it will take detailed photos of the world's food crops. Read more: How to stop climate change: Drop the hamburger The satellite was developed by the European Space Agency, and was sent up from Kourou in French Guiana aboard a Vega [...]
“Undo send” feature for Gmail is officially here June 23, 2015 Google has added "undo send" as a formal setting in Gmail for the web, giving users up to 30 seconds to cancel emails after they've hit "send". The feature was available in Gmail Labs, a section that lets users trial experimental, pre-release features. However, most users don't use this section, and "undo send" has now [...]
Stunning image of the red aurora taken from International Space Station June 23, 2015 The American astronaut Scott Kelly posted these powerful images of the red aurora – or "red curtain" – on Twitter today. Day 87. The red curtain of an #aurora closes on another day. Good night from @space_station! #YearInSpace pic.twitter.com/NUyJkGKy9y — Scott Kelly (@StationCDRKelly) June 22, 2015 Aurora borealis is caused by cosmic rays, solar wind [...]
London FinTech startup Currency Cloud raises $18m series C funding from Rakuten, Sapphire Ventures and other investors June 23, 2015 One of London’s FinTech stars has landed a new round of funding as investors scramble for a piece of London’s booming financial technology sector. Currency Cloud has landed $18m (around £12m) from investors, including ecommerce giant Rakuten, in its latest funding round, just a week after London cemented its status as the tech capital of [...]
Bad news, beer drinkers – drinking a couple of pints a day could be toxic for your health June 23, 2015 Drinking a litre of beer a day – about two pints – isn't just bad for you: it's actually toxic, a study by the University of Valencia has found. Researchers looked at levels of Deoxynivalenol (DON) and HT-2, two toxic metabolites produced by microscopic fungi often present in beer, and found over half of [...]
Google wants volunteers to try its virtual reality camera Jump June 23, 2015 Capturing the world with 16 GoPro cameras in a 360-degree view? If you’ve been looking for that one-of-a-kind volunteering opportunity to impress your friends with, this might just be it. Google has developed a 16-camera virtual reality video capture platform called Jump – and now the tech giant is looking for volunteers to try it [...]