PayPal valued at just under $50bn as it soars past EBay on Nasdaq July 21, 2015 After its first day back as an independent company, PayPal is valued just under $50bn (£34bn). Read more: EBay revenue jumps 7pc as PayPal spinoff draws near The online payments company's share price closed up 5.43 per cent on its first day of trading after splitting from parent eBay, after initially soaring 11 per cent in [...]
How to make a startup successful: Five lessons from venture capital firm First Round July 30, 2015 Ever wondered what traits successful entrepreneurs have in common? Three startups are founded every second across the world, as hopeful entrepreneurs take a stab at their dream venture. The dream will be short-lived for most, however, as 90 per cent inevitably fail. It’s a risky business, and there may not yet be a way to [...]
Royal Mail share price drops as government nets £750m from sale of 15 per cent stake June 11, 2015 The government sold off half its remaining stake in the Royal Mail this morning at 500p per share – half again as much as its original price when it listed in October 2013. Read more: Lessons learned as final parcel of Royal Mail goes on sale The offer netted the government £750m, leaving it with [...]
The best summer holiday gadgets: From Bose speakers to Plantronics headphones July 22, 2015 The gadgets you should load up on before you even think about boarding a plane this summer BOSE SOUNDLINK MINI SPEAKER II Make sure you leave the weather at home but bring the party with you this summer by investing in a wireless speaker. This one pairs with your music library via Bluetooth, [...]
Amazon rolls out new tablets and e-readers September 18, 2014 AMAZON ramped up its push into hardware yesterday, with the debut of six new or upgraded mobile devices, including a high-end £169 e-reader called the Kindle Voyage and its cheapest-ever six-inch touch-screen Fire tablet starting at just £79. The online retail giant also revamped its basic Kindle e-reader to include a touch screen at just [...]
“Amazon is like IS” terrorist group says Andrew Wylie, literary agent of Martin Amis and Salman Rushdie October 31, 2014 One of the most powerful people in the publishing world has compared Amazon to the Islamic terrorist group IS. Andrew Wylie, agent to literary stars such as Martin Amis and Salman Rushdie, called the online retailer a “sort of Isis-like distribution channel” in a speech at the International Festival of Authors on the future of [...]
Meet the Gartner Hype Cycle for 2015: It’s all about self-driving cars and smart dust in emerging tech trends August 18, 2015 You've probably heard of the self-driving car, but smart dust probably isn't on your radar just yet. That's because the autonomous vehicle trend has hit what's known as the peak of inflated expectation. Smart dust on the other hand, is at the earliest stage of innovation, as defined by Gartner in its annual research on [...]
The best places to look for Black Friday deals 2014: John Lewis, Amazon, Marks & Spencer, Very, Curry’s PC World and Halfords November 24, 2014 Retailers are gearing up for Black Friday to be one of – if not the – biggest online shopping day of the year, with hundreds of promotions being planned to tempt consumers to join the spending bonanza. According to the Centre for Retail Research, shoppers will spend £1.32bn over the four days between Black [...]
Amazon hires for Christmas: 13,000 temporary UK jobs to be created over festive period October 20, 2014 Amazon is set to create an extra 13,000 temporary jobs in the UK over the Christmas season as the online giant braces itself for the busiest trading period of the year. The company announced yesterday it will hire people to work across it eight fulfilment centres across the UK and its customer service centre [...]
John Lewis to start charging for click-and-collect orders under £30 from this month July 1, 2015 Grave news for middle England: John Lewis is about to start charging for click-and-collect orders. The department store's managing director Andy Street revealed the plans – to charge £2 for orders worth less than £30 from the end of July – during last night's Christmas in July preview. There will be no charge [...]