Fintech kings talk starting from scratch, old clients and handing businesses a lifeline October 12, 2014 In Holborn last week, a three year-old London-based company held a party to celebrate reaching £250m of business since its inception. If that doesn’t sound impressive, by the time the event was held, MarketInvoice was already nearing £270m. “We seriously underestimated repeat usage,” says co-founder and chief executive Anil Stocker. “Companies see how the platform [...]
Bitcoin now legal alternative to US dollar in California June 30, 2014 The governor of California has signed assembly bill 129, which gives Bitcoin and other digital currencies the status of legal money. Jerry Brown's signature has finally clarified Bitcoin as valid form of payment in the golden state after AB-129 was passed in February by the California Senate Banking and Financial Institutions Committee by a 7-1 [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 25 April 2014 April 24, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Google+ chief out ahead of shake-up The Google executive who led its attempt to challenge Facebook in social networking is leaving the company, ahead of changes to the service. Vic Gundotra, a former Microsoft executive who has spent almost eight years at the search firm, launched Google+ in June 2011, with the stated [...]
New York Report: Dow and S&P hit record highs on ECB’s easing June 5, 2014 DOW JONES and the S&P 500 ended yesterday’s trading at record highs after the European Central Bank cut rates to record lows and pledged to do more if needed to fight off the risk of deflation. The Dow rose 98.58 points or 0.59 per cent, to 16,836.11, the S&P 500 gained 12.58 points or 0.65 per [...]
Which books do the giants of business read over the summer? July 29, 2014 You might be surprised how many older volumes make the cut. Most of us look at our summer holiday as reading prime time. Indeed, research from TripAdvisor found that, for nearly one in four of us, it’s the only time we manage to read a book. And even if you read more regularly, a [...]
CollectPlus plots growth plans to rival Post Office May 12, 2014 COLLECTPLUS launched a fresh assault on the Post Office today after announcing plans to expand its parcel returns and delivery service to 7,500 stores over the next 12 months. The company was launched in 2009 and has grown rapidly thanks to the boom in online shopping, click and collect, and consumers demanding more convenient ways [...]
Home Retail Group to open new smaller Argos stores in London April 30, 2014 HOME Retail Group announced yesterday it will trial two new formats of its Argos stores as well as extend its new digital concept stores and ramp up its home delivery offer as the retailer continued to turn itself around. The group, which reported a 27 per cent rise in full-year profit yesterday, said it will [...]
Bottom Line: Postman Pat tries for a competitive edge May 21, 2014 WE GOT an advance delivery from Royal Mail ahead of its first full year results as a private company this morning. It announced plans for Sunday opening of some offices for parcel collection and a pilot Sunday delivery scheme. That’s significant, given how much of the delivery market Royal Mail has – 99 per cent [...]
Price of digital music and apps set to skyrocket March 24, 2014 THE PRICE of digital goods – such as music, ebooks and mobile apps – sold by some of the largest technology companies could jump after a tax loophole that allowed firms to avoid paying VAT on their sale is closed next year. The change, if passed on to customers by a price increase, could see [...]
Washington Post sold to Amazon boss August 5, 2013 JEFF Bezos, the founder of Amazon.com, will buy the Washington Post newspaper for $250m, bringing the curtain down on its 80-year old ownership by the influential Graham family. Bezos, who founded Amazon in 1994, will buy the newspaper and affiliate businesses in an all-cash deal, it emerged last night. The internet entrepreneur told employees in [...]