Has Rand Paul’s Silicon Valley charm offensive worked its magic on Peter Thiel? October 30, 2014 "I remain committed to the faith of my teenage years: to authentic human freedom as a precondition for the highest good". So wrote Paypal founder and early Facebook investor Peter Thiel back in 2009. With its hippie pedigree and laid-back working practices, Silicon Valley may traditionally be a hotbed of leftie activity, but Thiel – [...]
From Ukip and bird flu to RBS and Lidl: 10 things we learned this week November 21, 2014 1. Ukip got its second member of parliament. Mark Reckless retook the seat he'd held as a Conservative. But that was really the side show to accusations of snobbish tweets and comments around immigration that were so inflamatory Ukip distanced itself from them. 2. Bird flu returned to the UK. It's unlikely to pose [...]
2014 City A.M. awards: It’s always good to toast the best of the City – Editor’s Letter November 13, 2014 In a matter of weeks, during the first few days of January, I will be calling people to invite them to next year’s City A.M. awards. The event, the latest of which was held last night, has become a fixture in the City calendar and has grown in stature since its inception. Last night, [...]
More $1bn startups bypass the US October 27, 2014 SILICON Valley’s stranglehold of creating leading software businesses is weakening as less than 40 per cent of the 134 software companies reaching a billion-dollar valuation over the past 10 years have come from the legendary tech hub. New research, created by London-based venture capital firm Atomico, led by Skype co-founder Niklas Zennstrom, found that 82 [...]
78 per cent of economists agree that Uber’s price hikes are good for consumers January 15, 2014 A poll of academics has overwhelmingly concluded that using higher prices to allocate transport services is good for consumers. 78 per cent of the IGM Economic Experts Panel agreed with the statement: Using surge pricing to allocate transportation services — such as Uber does with its cars — raises consumer welfare through various potential channels, [...]
How Uber takes over a city in just four days February 19, 2014 Uber’s global expansion has exploded bringing the service to 74 cities since the start of 2011 – the ride-hailing app added 13 new cities in just the first 50 days of 2014 alone – and spearheading this rapid growth are a crack team known as launchers. Described as a blend between US Navy Seals and [...]
How Uber takes over a city in just four days February 19, 2014 Uber’s global expansion has exploded bringing the service to 74 cities since the start of 2011 – the ride-hailing app added 13 new cities in just the first 50 days of 2014 alone – and spearheading this rapid growth are a crack team known as launchers. Described as a blend between US Navy Seals [...]
Taxi protest by London’s black cab drivers- in pictures September 24, 2014 London cab drivers brought parts of the capital to a standstill today as they protested against Transport for London's transport policies. The drivers of black cabs blocked roads in central London around Trafalgar Square, Parliament Square and Whitehall. The blockade caused the partial closure of the Regent Street, Pall Mall and the Strand close by, [...]
From chips to telecoms innovation is the key September 17, 2014 INNOVATIVE COMPANY of the year City A.M.’s Innovative Company of the Year category salutes businesses that are frontrunners in their industry, from micro-chips to car service apps. With London being one of the leading hubs in Europe – if not the world – of innovative technology, our judges have had a hard time choosing a [...]
Wolrd Health Organization: Ebola outbreak cases pass 10,000, death toll nears 5,000 October 25, 2014 There have been over 10,000 cases of the Ebola outbreak and nearly 5,000 deaths, the World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed in its latest situation report update. The total death toll from the latest outbreak has risen to 4,922 while the number of recorded cases stands at 10,141. All but 27 of those [...]