Google Home Max review: The supersized version of Google’s smart speaker packs some real punch October 4, 2018 The supersized version of Google’s smart speaker, Google Home Max was launched in the US, Canada and Australia this time last year. Now finally available in the UK, the Home Max joins the regular Google Home and the doughnut-sized Mini in the company’s growing selection of Google Assistant-powered speakers. Whereas the others are Assistant-focused devices [...]
UK warns of further sanctions against Russia as Nato weighs in on fresh hacking allegations October 4, 2018 The UK has said it will revise sanctions against Russia in light of today's cyber hacking allegations, working alongside other institutions as Nato joined the chorus of voices against Russian military intelligence (GRU). The statement, made by the UK's Dutch ambassador Peter Wilson on behalf of Europe minister Alan Duncan, said: "We will increase further our understanding of what [...]
Teenagers charged with manipulating financial markets using social media October 4, 2018 Two young men have been charged with distorting the markets on social media while they were teenagers at a Swedish high school. The pair are alleged to have bought shares in companies listed on alternative exchange Aktietorget before posting positive messages on investor chatrooms to manipulate the prices. They would then quickly sell when the share [...]
Watchdog slaps Lloyds with legal demands over PPI failures October 4, 2018 The UK’s competition watchdog has handed Lloyds legal directions after the lender failed to meet its obligations around managing accounts with payment protection insurance (PPI), the policy at the centre of a huge mis-selling scandal. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has called on the lender to “put effective systems and procedures in place” after it [...]
Slippery slope for ski property as prices take a tumble despite record snowfall October 4, 2018 As Europe’s leading ski centres crank up their lifts ahead of the early-season starting later this month, new figures suggest some resorts on the Swiss alpine slopes are undergoing a property slump. Despite record levels of snowfall and growing investment in infrastructure, house prices across the Alps dipped 0.5 per cent over the last year, [...]
Air France–KLM looks at blockchain to cut costs for flyers October 4, 2018 Air France–KLM has announced a push into the blockchain-based technology to cut prices and offer personalised travel packages for customers. The Franco-Dutch airline company has partnered with Winding Tree, a blockchain specialist, to look at how new technology can help it cut out middlemen in its operations. The airline group will test Winding Tree’s technology, [...]
RMT rail union to stage 48-hour strike on embattled South Western Railway tomorrow October 4, 2018 A 48-hour strike by the RMT rail union hit the embattled South Western Railway (SWR) line tomorrow amid the long-running dispute over the role of guards. SWR operates services out of Waterloo and Clapham Junction to places in the south such as Southampton, Reading, Bournemouth and Portsmouth. The operator said it plans to run nearly two thirds [...]
Damien Hirst refits his new £40m Soho headquarters, set to open early next year October 4, 2018 Artist Damien Hirst has a “blank canvas” to rework his new £40m building in the heart of London’s Soho. Hirst’s new flagship studio and art complex is expected to go through a major overhaul to match his needs and vision before opening in the early part of next year. The second floor of the new [...]
Priyanka Chopra joins Bumble to take the dating app to India October 4, 2018 Indian actress Priyanka Chopra has joined dating app Bumble as an investor and an advisor, as the app plans to launch its service into India later this year. Chopra said she was inspired to join the startup by the "real, positive change Bumble is creating" as dating apps hustle to give women more power online. [...]
ONS: Housing affordability woes deepen as millennial homeowner figures drop October 4, 2018 The number of young people who own a home has tumbled by 10 per cent in the last decade, underlining fears that the UK’s property market is becoming increasingly unaffordable to a new generation of buyers. Compressed wages and rising house prices have contributed to the drop in the proportion of people between the ages of [...]