Futuristic entrepreneurs are helping us reach for the stars March 11, 2019 Houston, there is no problem. America is back in the space race. “We’re really at the forefront,” says US President Trump. “Nobody is doing what we’re doing.” He’s right. But in a break with tradition, the US is now leaning on its entrepreneurs, rather than the Federal Reserve, to fund its interplanetary aspirations. The latest [...]
The UK’s competition policy must be fit for a world of tech giants and hidden cartels March 11, 2019 Competition is the oxygen of the capitalist system. From Adam Smith on, there have been warnings of the threats to economic health if competition is restricted by would-be monopolists or cartels. In the UK, the system is policed by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA). It rarely hits the headlines except for occasional controversial cases like [...]
Felix Capital leads £3m funding round in mental health app Unwind March 11, 2019 London venture capital firm Felix Capital has led a £3m funding round in workplace mental health app Unmind. The app, which is used by employees at John Lewis, William Hill and Yorkshire Building Society, launched in London in 2016 and provides clinically-backed tools, training and assessments to improve mental health in the workplace. Read more: [...]
Revolut fights back: Nik Storonsky on negative press, growing pains and what’s next March 11, 2019 Revolut has endured a torrid start to 2019. Drawing the City watchdog’s attention after causing concerns by temporarily shutting down its sanctions screening system last year, the fintech starlet was revealed to have lost its finance chief, and drew further negative publicity when a customer complained of a bungled £70,000 payment. Its woes were compounded [...]
Klarna rival Laybuy partners with Footasylum in UK launch March 10, 2019 Klarna rival Laybuy, which offers a “buy now, pay later” service, has launched in the UK today in a partnership with shoe shop Footasylum. Online Footasylum customers will be given the option to pay using Laybuy from today, and it will be rolled out in the brand’s 70 high street stores later this year. Read [...]
House of Lords calls for tougher rules on tech firms March 9, 2019 A new report from the House of Lords has called upon tech firms such as Facebook and Twitter to improve their "inadequate" responses to privacy breaches and anti-social content. The report, which comes in the wake of the high-profile data breaches such as the Cambridge Analytica scandal, has also suggested that a digital authority is created to provide laws [...]
Technology can save the high street and future-proof the entire retail ecosystem March 8, 2019 Ever since the first online transaction over a quarter of a century ago, we’ve been bombarded with a growing number of claims that the high street is dead and online is king. The recent downfall of former offline strongholds such as BHS, Toys R Us, and House of Fraser are often cited as evidence that [...]
UK Space Agency joins hunt for Earth-like planets orbiting alien stars March 8, 2019 The UK Space Agency is set to provide £7m to tackle solar winds' impact on Earth communications, as it works with other space agencies to search for more Earth-like planets orbiting alien stars. The space weather mission, called the Solar Wind Magnetosphere Ionosphere Link Explorer (Smile), will study how solar wind affects the Earth's magnetosphere [...]
International Women’s Day is a reminder to keep breaking down barriers March 8, 2019 As a senior woman in business, I’m often approached to speak at events about the importance of nurturing diversity, in the technology industry and beyond. It is both a privilege and a regret. I long for a world where diverse leadership is simply the norm; where senior female business leaders are just known as “business [...]
China throws weight behind Huawei as telecoms giant sues US government March 8, 2019 Mobile giant Huawei has gained the backing of the Chinese government in its bid to sue the US, in a move which threatens to deepen the countries' ongoing diplomatic rift. China’s top diplomat, state councillor Wang Yi, said on Friday that China supports Huawei Technologies’ bid for legal redress in the United States, adding that [...]
