Virgin Media down: Broadband outage hits thousands working from home June 25, 2020 Virgin Media appeared to suffer an outage this morning, leaving thousands of customers working remotely without broadband. The broadband operator had not acknowledged the issue by 10.15am on Twitter despite a flood of angry complaints from customers. Downdetector, a website that records outages by tracking social media mentions, registered a surge of complaints of Virgin [...]
Minister: UK imperial and Commonwealth ties to India will help secure trade deal June 24, 2021 The UK and India’s shared imperialist and Commonwealth history will help the two countries close a trade deal, according to trade minister Ranil Jayawardena. Jayawardena also told City A.M. in a wide ranging interview that a trade deal would help the UK have more “honest conversations” with India over things like its human rights and [...]
Future Fund: Early-stage startups missed out on funding February 2, 2021 Startups in their earliest stage missed out on funding with the majority of the government’s Future Fund investment going to companies at a venture or growth stage. The Future Fund was launched in May to provide support to startups ineligible for the government’s other support schemes. It was designed to provide support to startups through [...]
Pay phone: Would you spend £1m on a mobile number? January 27, 2021 You may be willing to splash out £1,500 on a new iPhone, but would you add another seven figures to that to secure the ‘phone number of your dreams’? London-based entrepreneur Usain Kubah has just released what he says is the world’s most expensive phone number, which will set you back a million pounds. The [...]
Takeover talk mounts as Chinese tycoon ups stake in Cineworld January 29, 2021 A secretive Chinese tycoon has increased his stake in Cineworld, fuelling speculation of a possible takeover offer for the UK’s largest cinema chain. Liu Zaiwang’s Jangho Group has built its holding in Cineworld to 13.3 per cent, according to stock market filings published yesterday. The Chinese magnate, whose net worth is valued at $760m (£556m) [...]
A world wide web of regulation: tech giants need a tough new set of rules to fix global problems May 26, 2021 The end of the Internet free-for-all is nigh. Or so we are told, again and again. Big technology companies need – and even want – regulation; yet fears of stifling freedom of speech has made it a political hot potato. Debate about regulation has been raging since the internet began. Technology companies scored an early [...]
O2’s £31bn Virgin Media merger ‘will help UK pandemic recovery’, says CEO February 25, 2021 O2’s proposed £31bn tie-up with Virgin Media will accelerate investment in telecoms infrastructure and bolster the UK’s post-pandemic recovery, the mobile network’s boss has said. The mega-merger, agreed last year by O2 owner Telefonica and Virgin Media parent Liberty Global, is facing an in-depth probe by regulators amid concerns it could harm competition. But O2 [...]
Britain’s billboards are lighting up despite lockdown restrictions February 13, 2021 The billboard industry – also known as out-of-home (OOH) advertising – earlier this month received a welcome shot in the arm comparable to the good news surrounding the UK’s vaccination efforts. The latest expenditure report from the Advertising Association and WARC forecast OOH media channels will recover and expand significantly this year, with digital OOH [...]
Market indecisive as Bitcoin continues to hold below $60k November 22, 2021 Bitcoin fell to its lowest price in a month on Friday, with the leading cryptocurrency dropping below $56k before bouncing back to close the week at $58,730.
NatWest £365m money laundering case linked to separate case involving infamous gold dealer James Stunt March 22, 2021 Criminal money laundering charges against NatWest are linked to a separate case against 13 individuals based in cities around the country. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) started a criminal action against NatWest last week, making it the first bank to be charged under a 2007 money laundering law. The FCA accused NatWest of failing to monitor suspect activity by [...]