Uber protest: London’s Black Cab drivers must adapt to changing market forces – The City View September 30, 2015 It takes a lot of time and money to become a Black Cab driver. The Knowledge has been described as one of the hardest tests to pass in the world. It takes years to complete and at the end of it all the application and licensing process costs the thick end of £1,000. Then there’s [...]
These are six ways banking is about to change, according to former Barclays boss Antony Jenkins June 2, 2016 Antony Jenkins thinks that banking is having an "Uber" moment, undergoing a transformation that will leave the sector looking entirely unrecognisable. Jenkins, who is currently chairman of Business in the Community and was previously group chief executive of Barclays, imparted his wisdom at an event hosted by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales this evening, remarking "there [...]
Amazon’s virtual home assistant Echo comes to the UK September 14, 2016 Amazon has launched its virtual home assistant Echo in the UK and Germany, its first markets for the device outside the US, which lets users control their home and do tasks online via simple voice commands. The device, priced at £149.99 or £99.99 for Prime members, is powered by Amazon's Alexa, an artificial intelligence voice assistant similar to [...]
Driverless cars, artificial intelligence and blockchain: Meet the Gartner Hype Cycle of 2016 August 16, 2016 Driverless car technology is careering towards the trough of disillusionment after hitting the peak of hype, according to Gartner analysts monitoring the progression of the world's emerging technology trends. The firm's annual Hype Cycle tracks where trends such as virtual reality, robotics, personal voice assistants and, of course, driverless cars, are in their journey from talked-about technology to [...]
Is Mercedes the next Uber? Daimler boss Dieter Zetsche plans driverless limos on-demand September 15, 2015 The maker of Mercedes-Benz cars has set out its ambitions to create a high-end Uber service – with driverless cars. Ticking what must be all the boxes when it comes to cutting-edge transport tech trends, Daimler boss Dieter Zetsche told Reuters that developing driverless transport services with limousines was "a concrete goal" of the German [...]
WPP’s share price jumps as company leads FTSE after results – but Sir Martin Sorrell is still worried about Brexit August 24, 2016 The chief executive of the world's largest advertising group is still worried about Brexit despite the company reporting strong results for the first half. The company is leading the FTSE 100 this morning, up more than five per cent to 1,839p per share in early morning trading. WPP reported better-than-expected first half results. The company [...]
Tata invests $100m in Uber to fuel India expansion August 19, 2015 The equity investment fund of India's Tata Group is the latest corporation to hitch a lift with Uber. Tata's Opportunities Fund (TOF) has made a $100m (£64m) investment in the controversial billion-dollar startup, allowing the company to extend its reach in India, where it currently has 150,000 drivers in 18 cities and holds a 35 [...]
Oil prices heading for longest run of monthly gains in five years May 31, 2016 Oil prices are on course for the longest run of monthly gains in five years, helped by supply outages across the world. Brent crude, the global benchmark, slumped 0.9 per cent to $49.33 per barrel today. West Texas Intermediate crude, the US benchmark, also fell 0.2 per cent to $49.4. Read more: These three perilous trends spell [...]
Google Pixel review: Quite comfortably the greatest Android phone ever made October 19, 2016 Every Android phone has come with some compromise built in. Whereas the iPhone owes much of its popularity to Apple’s ability to control every last design detail – creating software and hardware that works in perfect harmony – Google has always had to rely on third-party manufacturers to build its phones. Imperfection’s gnarled fingers tended [...]
Private jet flights from China to Europe soar as sterling falls to Earth July 6, 2016 The number of private jets flying into Europe from China has taken off this year, climbing by 43 per cent on the same period last year. Data from private jet company Magnus Aviation has shown that in June, private jets flying in to Europe from China increased by 41.7 per cent from same month last year. [...]