Tech sector activity gets a boost despite falling optimism April 30, 2019 Business activity growth in the UK technology sector has recovered to its fastest pace since the second quarter of 2018, while optimism fell to a 10-year low. The strength of business activity rose to 54.4 in the first three months of 2019, up from 52.3 at the end of last year, according to data from [...]
Game of phones: Apple predicts iPhone rebound as Samsung tanks April 30, 2019 Apple beat Wall Street estimates on both revenue and profit last night, as the tech giant forecast a comeback in iPhone sales later this year. The move followed rival Samsung reporting its worst profit drop in two years, falling 63 per cent year-on-year to 6.2 trillion won (£4bn). Smartphone companies worldwide have been hurt by [...]
Perkbox gets a £13.5m pick-me-up from Revolut-backer Draper Esprit April 30, 2019 Employee rewards platform Perkbox has raised £13.5m in a funding round, led by London-listed fund Draper Esprit. Some of the company's long-term angel investors also participated in the round. Perkbox, which is hired by companies to provide their workers with rewards and benefits for both their personal and professional lives, will use the funding to aid [...]
Chancellor Philip Hammond promises UK fintech sector will attract global talent after Brexit April 30, 2019 The chancellor Philip Hammond has reassured business leaders that the UK’s fintech sector will still have access to talent from across the world after Brexit. Hammond called on the UK to strengthen its dominance of the European fintech industry and warned against complacency. Read more: UK fintech must have ambitions to challenge China, LSE boss [...]
Not so lucky: Google’s share price falls eight per cent after disappointing results April 30, 2019 Shares in Google’s parent company Alphabet fell more than eight per cent in early trading in the US today after its results for the first quarter disappointed last night. Revenue rose 16.7 per cent to $36.3bn (£27.8bn) for the three ended 31 March, its slowest pace in three years, missing analyst estimates of $37.3bn according [...]
CEOs are split over whether they are responsible for AI job losses or not, says PwC April 30, 2019 Bosses are torn over whether or not the private sector must shoulder responsibility for job losses as AI replaces roles traditionally performed by humans. A PwC survey of chief executives has revealed that while 49 per cent believe the government should be responsible for offering displaced workers a safety net, 41 per cent disagree. Read [...]
Wealth management apps could ‘eclipse’ traditional channels, EY finds April 30, 2019 Digital wealth management apps could “eclipse” traditional channels as clients move towards new technology faster than previously anticipated, new research shows. The popularity of mobile apps among wealth management clients has increased faster than predicted, with 41 per cent of clients saying they would prefer to use a mobile app over websites, face-to-face interaction and [...]
Competition watchdog gives green light for Paypal’s $2.2bn merger with iZettle April 30, 2019 The competition watchdog has given provisional approval to Paypal’s $2.2bn (£1.7bn) takeover of payments firm iZettle. Read more: Watchdog launches in-depth probe into Paypal-iZettle merger The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) launched a probe into the merger last year amid concerns it would lessen competition between payment platforms in the UK. But in a provisional [...]
Vodafone found security flaws in Huawei technology but denies backdoor April 30, 2019 Vodafone has denied reports it found a so-called backdoor in Huawei equipment, but confirmed it identified security flaws in the firm’s technology. The telecoms firm said it found security vulnerabilities in two Huawei products supplied to its Italian business in 2011 and 2012, and that the issue had been resolved quickly. Read more: US says [...]
Londoners are bolstering the latest fintech generation April 30, 2019 Have you ever thought about the role of Londoners in guaranteeing the UK as the fintech capital of the world? Our capital is currently hosting UK Fintech Week, an opportunity to showcase and celebrate the businesses transforming our best export: financial services. On Crowdcube, the crowdfunding platform I work for, there are now over 67,000 [...]