Here’s what Richard Branson’s new supersonic passenger aircraft will look like November 16, 2016 Sir Richard Branson has unveiled the prototype of his supersonic passenger aircraft, and it's pretty snazzy. The Virgin Group founder has teamed up with US startup Boom to build a new generation of supersonic jets which will deliver 3.5 hour flights from London to New York for an "affordable" $5,000 return. It will bring in [...]
There may be trouble ahead: Dixons Carphone shares fall as it prepares for “uncertain times” December 14, 2016 Shares in Dixons Carphone fell 4.6 per cent in early trading after it said it was steeling itself for "uncertain times" in the months ahead. The figures Revenues in the six months to the end of October increased four per cent on a like-for-like basis to £4.9bn, it said in a statement today. Profit before tax [...]
Fitness trackers, men’s grooming and FIFA 16: Amazon reveals the 6 products that defined 2015 December 27, 2015 We are what we shop, after all, and if our online shopping baskets are anything to go by we’re getting into fitness trackers and male grooming – as well as rediscovering lost skills such as haberdashery. Online retail giant Amazon has just released its annual Winter Report, revealing the bestselling and fastest growing product categories [...]
US cloud firm snaps up UK startup for European expansion August 17, 2016 US cloud computing company Datapipe has snapped up a UK startup to kickstart its expansion into Europe. It has acquired Adapt, a five-year-old startup majority owned by private equity investor Lyceum Capital and which manages cloud computing services for companies such as Made.com and the National Trust for an undisclosed sum. The firm has not been put [...]
Watch out Siri? Samsung’s next phone will have an AI assistant November 6, 2016 Samsung is following the lead of Apple and Google, revealing it will add a Siri-like personal assistant to its newest smartphone, the Galaxy S8. It's the first time a Samsung phone will have the feature and follows the tech company's acquisition of San-Francisco artificial intelligence startup Viv Labs last month. The open platform will let others [...]
Here are the best Cyber Monday deals November 28, 2016 If you've been trying to bag a bargain on all your Christmas gifts over Black Weekend, but you haven't got everything you need quite yet, don't worry. There's still time: it's Cyber Monday. According to Nationwide, its customers have spent over £15.3m on Cyber Monday deals between midnight and 9am alone. During that period, more [...]
Oxfam is wrong to imply free markets make the rich richer at the poor’s expense January 17, 2017 Every year Oxfam releases statistics comparing the wealth of the global poor and the global rich, showing a stunning, often widening, gap between the two. They heavily imply that the poor are getting poorer while the rich are getting richer – but only half of this is correct. The lot of the world’s worst off [...]
Sky plots Spain launch as online TV war escalates August 14, 2016 The battle for control of the growing online streaming market is heating up as Sky prepares to launch Now TV in Spain. It’s understood Sky plans to use Spain as a springboard in to other European markets if the Spanish launch is a success. Now TV will be competing directly with US streaming site Netflix in [...]
Amazon Studios acquires North American rights to Woody Allen’s upcoming film starring Blake Lively and Kristen Stewart and his new TV show with Miley Cyrus February 18, 2016 Amazon Studios has today acquired the North American rights to Woody Allen's latest feature film. Amazon Studios has obtained all the rights for the region, including theatrical and streaming. The film, which does not yet have a title, is a romantic comedy set in the 1930s starring Blake Lively and Kristen Stewart and is due to be released in cinemas [...]
Sir Martin Sorrell: Brexit not the only uncertainty worrying businesses November 21, 2016 Sir Martin Sorrell has said today current levels of uncertainty are hurting businesses, but Brexit was far from the only problem. Speaking at the Confederation of British Industry annual conference, the WPP group chief executive said of the Brexit negotiations: "What business wants is more certainty but, given the different objectives of both parties (businesses and government), [...]