Facebook hit by major data breach that left millions of user records on Amazon public software April 3, 2019 Millions of Facebook users have been affected in a major data oversight that left a trove of records publicly available on Amazon cloud-computing servers. Researchers at cybersecurity firm Upguard found that in one example, media firm Cultura Colectiva had posted 540m user records in a public database that included information such as account names, Facebook [...]
‘Reality check’ time: Mel Stride thinks Boris Johnson will break triple tax lock promise October 23, 2020 The UK needs a “reality check” when it comes to public spending levels and Rishi Sunak is almost certain to break the Tories’ triple tax lock election pledge, according to the chief of Westminster’s Treasury committee. Conservative Central Devon MP, and chair of the Treasury Select Committee, Mel Stride told City A.M. in an interview [...]
Christmas truce: Apple Music arrives on Amazon’s Echo device next month November 30, 2018 Silicon Valley rivals Apple and Amazon are cosying up next month to give customers an early Christmas present, by enabling Apple Music streaming on Amazon’s Echo speaker. In an apparent thawing of relations, Amazon announced this morning that Echo owners would be able to ask its voice-activated assistant Alexa to play songs, artists, albums and playlists [...]
Our tech advances are difficult for productivity stats to compute January 13, 2021 One of the most depressing aspects of the decade of the 2010s, well before Covid-19 struck, was the apparently very slow growth in productivity. This is not a mere ivory tower issue. It is only through increasing productivity that rises in living standards can be sustained. Productivity is the key measure of the efficiency of [...]
Top lawyers in House of Lords rail against disclosing foreign interests April 21, 2021 Members of the House of Lords have criticised stricter rules on disclosing payments from foreign governments. The upper chamber decided without a vote there should be no exemptions from the tougher transparency regime, despite concerns expressed by senior members of the legal profession sitting on the red benches, due to the duty of confidentiality. One [...]
The Banking Dilemma: Do we really want Big Tech to control our financial data? October 20, 2020 “If something is a tool, it is genuinely just sitting there, waiting patiently. If something is not a tool it’s demanding things from you… seducing… manipulating; it wants things from you.” This damning indictment of social media platforms is one of many from industry insiders featured in the latest must-watch Netflix documentary, The Social Dilemma. [...]
Mirror publisher reports 14 per cent slump in revenue as print sales plummet November 27, 2020 Daily Mirror publisher Reach has reported a 14 per cent in revenue for the five months to November, after lockdowns across the UK hammered print sales. Reach, which owns 240 regional news titles, booked a 19.6 per cent decline in print revenue for the period. The group is now consulting on proposals to permanently close [...]
Renishaw shares fall 10 per cent after profit plunges 97 per cent August 13, 2020 Shares in Ftse 250 engineering company Renishaw fell 10 per cent today after it said profit collapsed and revenue fell which it blamed on poor macroeconomic conditions and the coronavirus pandemic. Renishaw said statutory profit fell 97 per cent to £3.2m compared with £109.9m last year The company said revenue fell 11 per cent to [...]
CMA clears £6.2bn Just Eat Takeaway merger April 23, 2020 Just Eat and Takeaway.com received the green light to complete their £6.2bn merger today. UK watchdog t he Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) found the tie-up would not lessen competition in the food delivery space. The CMA said it was “satsified there are no competition concerns”. Takeaway.com fought off a rival bid from Dutch rival [...]
Britain 2030: Reviving the industrial spirit along the River Thames August 17, 2021 Snaking inland from the dark of the North Sea, the River Thames has for centuries been the very lifeblood of London. In the 17th and 18th centuries, it was the Thames that put the capital right at the heart of Britain’s global empire, turning it into the modern, thriving metropolis it is today. Travel just [...]