DEBATE: With Uber drivers striking over pay and conditions, is the gig economy bad news for workers? May 9, 2019 With Uber drivers striking over pay and conditions, is the gig economy bad news for workers? Dalia Gebrial, researcher on the gig economy and workers’ rights at the London School of Economics, says YES. The gig economy is currently rigged against workers. Platforms like Uber hide behind their status as tech firms, rather than employers, to [...]
‘Orgy of greed’: Uber drivers go on strike one day before IPO May 8, 2019 Drivers of ride-hailing platform Uber have gone out on strike today in protest over unfair pay and workers rights. The strike, which is intended to run between 7am and 4pm, comes ahead of the company’s initial public offering. The IPO, scheduled for Friday, values the company at as much as $90bn (£69bn). Read more: Uber [...]
Gett eyes 2020 flotation and profitability as it raises $200m at a $1.5bn valuation May 8, 2019 Taxi-hailing firm Gett said it has raised $200m (£153m) in additional funding yesterday, with a flotation on the cards “as soon as the first quarter of 2020”. It added it is on track to become operationally profitable globally by the fourth quarter of this year, including its US operation. Read more: Uber drivers to stage [...]
Uber drivers to stage nationwide protest tomorrow before headline IPO May 7, 2019 Uber drivers are gearing up for a national boycott of the app tomorrow ahead of the firm's highly anticipated public listing later this week. Uber drivers in London, Birmingham, Nottingham and Glasgow will not log into the app between 7am and 4pm tomorrow to protest at the IPO, which they claim will result in payouts to venture capitalists [...]
Softbank mulls float for $100bn Vision Fund as it looks for fresh cash injection May 3, 2019 Japanese investment giant Softbank is reportedly considering an initial public offering (IPO) of its $100bn (£77bn) Vision Fund. The firm is mulling the bumper float as part of series of options as it looks to raise more funds for its investment arm, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Read more: Softbank [...]
Uber: Is it worthy of the price tag? May 1, 2019 | City Talk Underwhelming or canny? Uber may have learned something from Lyft after it announced it will chase a lower market valuation than previously forecast when it lists next month. Nevertheless, for a company that is burning cash at the rate it does and with no obvious path to profitability, it’s still asking rather a lot from [...]
Uber revamps app to offer London passengers a public transport option April 30, 2019 Uber is revamping its app to include public transport information that will allow users to compare journeys based on price and time. Using publicly available data from Transport for London (TfL), the app will grant users to access real-time information for services such as the Underground, Overground and DLR, which Uber says will allow them to [...]
Can Just Eat deliver the City what it wants? April 29, 2019 On Wednesday morning most eyes in the City will be on Mike Coupe, the Sainsbury’s chief executive battling to keep his job. In the firm’s Holborn HQ the grocery veteran will set out his Plan B after the UK competition watchdog crushed his dreams of a merger with Asda. Read more: Shortsellers increase bets against [...]
Shortsellers increase bets against Just Eat amid competition from Uber and Deliveroo April 29, 2019 Hedge funds have ramped up their bets against FTSE 100 giant Just Eat in recent months as they look to cash in on shareholder disruption and a slowdown in growth at the online takeaway player. The food delivery firm, which has been facing investor unrest in recent months as it fights to protect its market share against the [...]
A pro-business mayor? Khan is less so than Livingstone April 29, 2019 Before he was elected, Sadiq Khan promised – in this newspaper and elsewhere – to be the “most pro-business mayor yet”. In a literal sense, that pledge was already a bit limited, because Khan has only had two predecessors: Ken Livingstone and Boris Johnson. The first one was an apologist for assorted Communist regimes. In [...]
