David Cameron announces creation of London’s first digital skills hub in 2015 December 8, 2014 David Cameron has announced the creation of the UK's first digital skills hub, as part of a government drive to boost the take-up of maths, science and technology subjects. The National College for Digital Skills, opening in London next year, will equip students with the technological skills needed to "compete in the global economy". It aims [...]
Royal Dutch Shell wins legal battle in India over tax payments November 19, 2014 Royal Dutch Shell has won a billion-pound court battle over the underpricing of its shares. The Indian branch of the oil giant was accused of selling its stock for a lower-than-usual amount to its parent firm, and the country's authorities demanded it pay them tax on the interest they would have earned if the [...]
Eyesore or beauty? The 14 postwar office blocks listed by English Heritage January 28, 2015 Whether you're a fan or take an altogether more "Prince Charles" attitude to post-war architecture, office buildings provide some of the finest examples of it. And turns out English Heritage thinks it's worth preserving: the organisation has listed 14 of the UK's best-loved (or most-hated) post-war offices. According to English Heritage, the buildings – which [...]
Lenovo buys IBM server division January 23, 2014 LENOVO, the world’s largest PC maker, yesterday agreed to buy IBM’s low-end server business for $2.3bn (£1.38bn), the biggest ever tech acquisition by a Chinese company. Lenovo said the deal, which was reported to have stalled during talks last year due to differences in pricing, will allow it to diversify away from its shrinking PC [...]
Just one UK company ranked among the world’s top 50 innovative firms in BCG report October 27, 2014 Britain's biggest firms are lagging behind US and Asian firms in terms of innovation, according to a new report that lists just one UK firm among the world’s 50 most innovative companies. The single British firm was multinational Unilever, which owns brands such as Lynx, Ben and Jerry’s and Dove. The firm finished in 49th [...]
City Moves for 02 December 2014 | Who’s switching jobs December 1, 2014 Baker Tilly Jim Muir has been appointed head of financial services at the accountancy and business advisory firm. He previously worked at KPMG, and has held board level positions at a range of financial services businesses. Standard Chartered Gwynne Master has been appointed head of financial institutions for Europe in the bank’s corporate and institutional [...]
Verizon reports strong growth while IBM falls January 21, 2014 VERIZON reported strong fourth quarter growth in its Verizon Wireless joint venture yesterday while IBM, the world’s largest technology services company, reported its seventh straight quarterly decline as demand for its services continues to fall. Verizon’s shares fell 1.3 per cent yesterday to $47.7, which analysts attributed to profit taking ahead of its $130bn buyout [...]
BlackBerry swoops for London mobile software startup Movirtu September 11, 2014 BLACKBERRY, the struggling smartphone maker, has bought London-based startup Movirtu, a firm that makes software that allows users to have multiple phone numbers on the same device. BlackBerry yesterday said the move would help it target smartphone users who increasingly use a single device for personal calls and business. Chief executive John Chen said: “In [...]
City Moves for 27 October 2014 | Who’s switching jobs October 26, 2014 PwC The professional services firm has appointed Tim Reay as a director of its pensions team. Reay has 30 years of experience, and joins from Aeon Hewitt. He is also the treasurer and former chairman of the International Employee Benefits Association. Purplebricks.com Former Capita boss Paul Pindar, and Nick Discombe, former chief executive of several [...]
ARM is betting on the Internet of Things with new mbed OS October 1, 2014 ARM, the uk chipmaker which makes processors for most of the world’s smartphones and tablets, is creating a new operating system for Internet of Things (IoT) devices. The mbed OS is designed to use as little battery and memory as possible and will work in devices which use its own chips in a bid to [...]