The tangled Huawei web isn’t just about Gavin Williamson May 3, 2019 To say that Gavin Williamson was neither widely liked nor widely respected in Westminster would be an understatement. Often a figure of ridicule for the pet tarantula kept on his desk when he was chief whip, his former life as a fireplace salesman, and gaffes like saying Russia should “go away and shut up”, he [...]
Of course we must protect the planet, but not by taking Britain back to the dark ages May 3, 2019 On Wednesday parliament declared a climate emergency. Then yesterday, the Committee on Climate Change published a series of recommendations on how to cut Britain’s carbon emissions, including banning the sale of petrol and diesel cars by 2035 and increasing the cost of air travel. Making this planet greener and cleaner is a goal shared by [...]
Revealed: Elon Musk’s half-a-billion dollar debt to banks helping Tesla fundraise May 3, 2019 Tesla boss Elon Musk personally owes $507m (£389m) to the Wall Street banks helping the electric car firm raise up to $2.3bn, it emerged yesterday. Read more: Tesla looks to strengthen with $2.3bn fundraising round The lending was disclosed in a Tesla prospectus for the fundraising, and showed the debt to be $117m less than [...]
Banking challenger Monese tops 1m customers May 3, 2019 British banking startup Monese has surpassed the 1m customer milestone, as user growth tripled in the last year alone. The banking app, which counts Monzo, Revolut and Starling Bank among its rivals, said over 3,000 people are now joining Monese every day across its dual UK and European current accounts. Read more: Fintech startup Monese crashes [...]
Tech will disrupt the City more than Brexit May 2, 2019 The City’s roof gardens may be opening up for the summer but the fog of Brexit still hangs over the Square Mile. Businesses have been unequivocal about the consequences of uncertainty but the policy debate rages on, while political manoeuvring (or even the lack of it) tests the collective patience of the nation. You’d be [...]
London startup Checkout.com raises $230m in Europe’s largest ever fintech series A May 2, 2019 London-based fintech firm Checkout.com has raised $230m (£176.6m) from investors Insight Partners and DST Global, marking the largest European early-stage fintech raise to date. It is also the largest series A fintech fundraise globally of all time. Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC, Blossom Capital, Endeavor Catalyst and other strategic investors also participated in the round. With [...]
VCs delay funding for London’s tech startups after the latest Brexit delay May 2, 2019 The latest Brexit extension has struck hesitancy into the heart of London’s venture capitalist scene as funders delay investments in the UK tech sector. Read more: Tech sector activity gets a boost despite falling optimism Almost a quarter of the capital’s technology startups have suffered a drop in VC funding since the end of 2018 [...]
50,000 businesses exposed to cyber attacks through SAP systems May 2, 2019 Up to 50,000 businesses running Sap software are at risk of being hacked after security researchers uncovered new ways to exploit insufficiently protected systems. German firm Sap, which provides software to more than 90 per cent of the world’s top 2,000 firms, said it had issued guidance on configuring security settings in 2009 and 2013. However, security [...]
Why Airbnb, Paypal and Spotify are paying hackers to break their security May 2, 2019 Top global chief executives have willingly forked out more than $50m (£38m) to hackers amid growing concerns about cybersecurity threats. Bosses have paid so-called ethical hackers to help tighten up their cyber defences in a bid to avoid expensive and embarrassing data breaches. Read more: Government to roll out new cybersecurity laws for IoT products [...]
Tesla looks to strengthen with $2.3bn fundraising round May 2, 2019 Tesla will look to raise around $2.3bn (£1.76bn) by issuing new shares and debt, with chief executive Elon Musk pitching in $10m of his own cash to buy shares. The electric car maker said this afternoon it has filed with regulators to launch the fundraising, after it lost $700m in the first three months of [...]