How worried should you be about deepfakes? June 21, 2019 Mark Zuckerberg recently became the latest high-profile subject of a “deepfake” hoax. A manipulated video circulating on Instagram appears to show him boasting about having “billions of people’s stolen data” and thanking a Sheffield art installation for his success. Squint, and you could mistake the fake video produced using artificial intelligence software for the real [...]
DEBATE: Slack has gone public with a direct listing, but is this type of ‘non-IPO’ just a fad? June 21, 2019 Slack has gone public with a direct listing, but is this type of ‘non-IPO’ just a fad? Neil Wilson, chief market analyst at Markets.com, says YES. Direct listings can work, and you may well get superior price discovery, but they’re suitable only for a relatively small number of firms and will never replace the traditional [...]
Slack surges on public debut at $25bn valuation June 21, 2019 Shares of workplace messaging app Slack soared in its first session as a publicly-traded company today, rising nearly 60 per cent to value the firm above $25bn (£19.7bn). The tech firm had used a direct listing model to go public on Wall Street, opting to not raise any additional capital after several large funding rounds [...]
Internet regulation poses ‘serious threat’ to free speech and innovation June 20, 2019 Government plans to tighten regulations against internet companies pose a serious threat to free speech and will damage the economy, according to a new report. The Adam Smith Institute (ASI) warned that making platforms such as Google and Facebook accountable for material posted by their users could lead to widespread censorship. Read more: Online harms [...]
BoE’s Mark Carney cautiously welcomes Facebook’s new currency Libra June 20, 2019 The Bank of England today said it will treat Facebook’s proposed cryptocurrency Libra with an “open mind”, and announced measures to prepare for the coming “payments revolution”. Read more: Facebook confirms launch of own cryptocurrency In a speech in the City’s Mansion House tonight, the Bank’s governor Mark Carney will praise Libra’s potential to “substantially [...]
London tech wages lag behind US despite fintech boom June 20, 2019 Salaries for London tech workers are lagging far behind their US rivals, despite the capital’s status as a leading hub for fintech firms. The average salary for London tech workers is £62,000, up six per cent on last year, according to figures from employment firm Hired. Read more: Five fintech firms scoop combined £25m from [...]
Workplace messaging app Slack prepares to make stock exchange debut June 20, 2019 Workplace messaging platform Slack will go public later today in a move that could value the firm at $16bn. The tech company is preparing to launch a direct listing on the New York Stock Exchange, an alternative to an initial public offering (IPO) which will see shares of the company’s private investors become available for [...]
Better building holds the key to boosting growth and productivity June 20, 2019 The Tory leadership campaign is narrowing, and whoever becomes our next Prime Minister will inherit a political landscape that is more challenging and complex than any I’ve experienced in my time in business. Our relationship with the EU is receiving the most attention, and understandably so. But the to-do list after that is extensive. The [...]
DEBATE: Is Facebook’s launch of libra proof that cryptocurrency is going mainstream? June 20, 2019 Is Facebook’s launch of libra proof that cryptocurrency is going mainstream? Eleesa Dadiani, a cryptocurrency economist and broker and founder of Dadiani Fine Art, says YES. For any new financial system, mainstream adoption is contingent on ease of access – and libra is specifically designed with that in mind. There are many reasons why crypto [...]
Facebook cryptocurrency libra could pose regulatory problems, Bank of England deputy governor warns June 20, 2019 Facebook’s plans to launch a new global cryptocurrency called Libra could raise regulatory issues, Bank of England deputy governor Sam Woods warned. “It does seem clear that something like this could be very important from a regulatory point of view,” Woods told a financial conference in Brussels. Read more: Is Facebook’s libra a step towards [...]