Investing in automation: If robots are coming for your job, how can you make money out of it? February 7, 2017 "Robots are coming to take our jobs,” scream the headlines. The debate around automation has become alarmingly dichotomous – either your job requires skills which are resistant to computers and machines, or you’re destined for the scrap heap. The reality is probably more nuanced. According to the McKinsey Global Institute, it is unlikely that specific jobs [...]
City firms look to take part in Saudi Arabia’s multi-billion pound transformation plan November 28, 2016 Leading City banking, law and project management firms are meeting in Saudi Arabia today as they weigh up whether to take part in the country's National Transformation Programme. The programme, which will reduce Saudi Arabia's dependence on oil and move towards a diverse economy by 2030, is expected to generate $267bn per year in business opportunities. [...]
560,000 reasons why BuzzFeed won in 2015 October 19, 2016 The UK arm of US media company BuzzFeed quadrupled its profits last year, making around £560,000, alongside some huge investments. Accounts filed at Companies House show BuzzFeed grew its profits from £140,772 in 2014 to £558,408 last year. The filings don’t show revenue as firms bringing in less than £6.5m are not required to disclose [...]
Black cabs and Uber can co-exist in London – and can even help each other get more custom February 10, 2016 Famous the world over, London’s black cabs are an iconic part of our city’s transport infrastructure. That’s why the impact of apps like Uber on traditional taxis has generated such a heated debate in the capital. Of course competition has affected the taxi trade. But surely the answer to the pressures faced by black cabs [...]
You can now hail an Uber from Facebook Messenger December 16, 2015 Uber has teamed up with Facebook Messenger, meaning you can now hail a cab directly from the chat app. The question is what you can’t do through the chat app at this point, as Facebook has already added features allowing you to shop and send money to your friends from within the app. In a [...]
Action for Cabbies turns to crowdfunding to launch a judicial review challenging Transport for London’s licensing of Uber January 17, 2016 A company founded by the wife of a black cab driver will today launch a crowdfunding campaign to try to force Transport for London (TfL) to curb Uber in the capital. Action for Cabbies will use crowdfunder.co.uk to try and raise £600,000 to fund the first phase of a judicial review, arguing that in 2012 TfL [...]
Deliveroo chief says employment laws are behind the times August 21, 2016 Deliveroo boss William Shu has said the UK's employment laws need updating, after the food delivery startup tried to temper an ongoing dispute with its riders over a new trial pay structure. Shu says he hasn't had contact with government yet over the issue – although it has issued a warning that the firm needs to [...]
Uber is losing $1bn in China every year due to “fierce competitor” Didi Kuaidi, says chief executive Travis Kalanick February 19, 2016 Taxi-hire app Uber is losing more than $1bn (£699m) a year in China as it battles against what it has branded a "fierce competitor", according to chief executive Travis Kalanick. Uber launched in China in 2014, competing against the country's largest taxi app, Didi Kuaidi. The California-based firm is available in more than 40 cities [...]
Chinese search engine Baidu reports dip in revenue and warns of further declines in the fourth quarter October 28, 2016 Shares in Chineses search engine giant Baidu have dipped by 2.1 per cent in out of hours trading after the company warned that revenue would decline further in the fourth quarter of 2016. The figures Revenue dropped 0.7 per cent to 18.25bn renminbi (£2.21bn), with mobile revenue representing 64 per cent of the total during the [...]
Why Elon Musk’s next SpaceX rocket launch is the most important yet January 13, 2017 For investors in the next generation of energy and in the emerging next-gen aerospace field, SpaceX’s story is a useful lesson. It has been a tough three months for SpaceX. The company has tremendous pressure after the failure of their launch last September. The orbital launch business is brutally competitive and with SpaceX trying to [...]