The rise of reward crowdfunding in Europe September 10, 2015 Harriet Green asks Indiegogo’s Anastasia Emmanuel about the platform’s experience in new markets WHAT does the rewards and donation-based crowdfunding sector look like today? Despite having a longer history than equity and debt crowdfunding, the fast-growth of platforms which offer perks and non-monetary rewards in return for investment doesn’t get so much media time. Indiegogo, [...]
Richemont confirms talks with Yoox over Net-a-Porter takeover March 30, 2015 It turns out that Richemont, the private equity owner of Net-a-Porter, is in talks with Yoox, Net-a-Porter's Italian rival, over a possible "deal". The news follows rumours last week that Amazon was sniffing around the luxury shopping site, with a deal thought to be worth as much as €2bn (£1.47bn) on the cards. But today [...]
Amazon brings battle with book publishers to the UK June 27, 2014 Amazon has been accused of bullying UK publishers in the latest upset between the book industry and the ecommerce giant. An investigation by the Bookseller, the industry trade magazine, found Amazon was putting UK publishers under "heavy pressure" when it came to agreeing new contract terms. Publishing houses are worried about certain terms proposed in [...]
Amazon shares slide as markets take a dim view of second-quarter loss July 25, 2014 Amazon shares have folded faster than high-street bookstores today after the Nasdaq showed what it thought of the world's largest online retailer posting a loss for the second quarter and falling some way short of market expectations. Shares had slumped by 11.36 per cent at pixel time with earlier losses as high as twelve per cent. That [...]
Crazy markets, Night Tube called off and Jeremy Corbyn goes off the rails: Here’s what got us talking this week August 28, 2015 It was the week in which everything got a bit trippy: the markets went bananas. The South Bank went psychedelic. Someone discovered a Nazi train full of gold (allegedly). And after 60 years of rivalry, Burger King finally proposed a truce with McDonald's… What got us talking 1. Up, down, up, down… Who said August was [...]
E-books cannot have a lower rate of VAT, says European court March 5, 2015 E-BOOKS cannot have a lower rate of VAT applied to them, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled yesterday. The Luxembourg- based court was adjudicating on a case brought by France and Luxembourg, to try and have e-books subject to the same lower rate of VAT that hardcopy books are. However, ECJ judges said: “The [...]
Author Allan Ahlberg turns down award because it is sponsored by Amazon July 11, 2014 Revered children's author Allan Ahlberg has turned down an award for lifetime achievement because it is sponsored by Amazon, saying “the idea that my 'lifetime achievement' should have the Amazon tag attached to it is unacceptable". The award was offered to him by the Booktrust at its Best Book Awards earlier this month, and [...]
Amazon and Luxembourg hit by EU “sweetheart deal” tax crackdown. July 3, 2014 Amazon is the latest company to have been hit by an EU tax crackdown that has already caught out Apple, Starbucks and Fiat’s financial arm. According to a report in the FT, the EU's competition commission has sent a request to Luxembourg, where the company's headquarters are based, for information about whether decisions on [...]
Europe’s digital single market 16 point plan unveiled: What is it, what does it mean, why does it matter? May 6, 2015 Europe wants to build a digital single market – and now it has a 16-point plan of how it's going to make that happen. What is it? The European Commission intends to bring a whole number of markets that are digital, from ebooks to parcel delivery and video on demand to VAT, in line with [...]
Banks fear fast payments could worsen runs March 23, 2015 ONLINE accounts and instant payments could exacerbate future bank runs, the industry warned today, urging regulators to look into the possibility. Technological advances have improved life for customers and boosted competition in banking, but the British Bankers’ Association (BBA) said it could also create risks. “We all remember the queues outside Northern Rock as people [...]