Just Eat bins Benelux business for millions August 2, 2016 Just Eat has conceded defeat to a rival takeaway business in two European markets – but netting itself millions in the process. The food delivery company, which last week upgraded its earnings guidance for the second time this year, has sold off its business in Belgium and the Netherlands to rival Takeaway.com for €22.5m (£19m). Read more: Just Eat [...]
Thomson Reuters is the latest to join this major blockchain consortium August 2, 2016 Thomson Reuters is the latest financial institution to join one of the major consortiums working on blockchain technology, joining several of the world's biggest banks. The global firm is joining R3, the group which is spearheading efforts to standardise blockchain technology and now counts more than 40 members, including Barclays, HSBC and Goldman Sachs. Read more: The UK [...]
The unbearable overload of inboxes: A new way after-work emailing is killing your productivity August 2, 2016 Ever feel like the incessant attention your inbox needs is driving you to distraction? Phone buzzing late into the night, disrupting dinner plans and generally more needy than a small toddler, the good news is that you're not the only one – the bad news is, it's bad for you. Scientists have found that checking your email outside [...]
City heavyweight Lady Barbara Judge has joined a startup August 2, 2016 One of the most well-known women in British business and the outgoing head of the pensions lifeboat is joining a technology startup that wants to disrupt how businesses manage workers. Lady Barbara Judge, who also chairs the Institute of Directors (IOD), has been named chairman of Hibob, the London-based startup which boasts backing from Saul and Robin Klein's [...]
The billion-dollar Tesla SolarCity merger is (El)on August 1, 2016 Green energy firm SolarCity has accepted a $2.6bn all-stock takeover deal from Elon Musk's Tesla. Both companies' stocks dipped on the news, with SolarCity's closing down 7.4 per cent to $24.72, while Tesla's share closed down two per cent at $230.01. SolarCity's stock also took a five per cent dive this morning after it snuck out a downgrade in its full-year [...]
Anticipation of $20bn Microsoft bond to finance LinkedIn deal drives up US Treasury yields August 1, 2016 US Treasury yields rose today in anticipation of a $19.75bn (£14.93bn) bond offering from Microsoft to finance its takeover of LinkedIn. The tech giant is expected to imminently launch the seven-tranche US dollar bond. Orders for the bond have reached more than $30bn, while 30-year yields hit a session high today of 2.244 per cent, Reuters reported. Yields [...]
HSBC’s online banking is down August 1, 2016 HSBC is suffering technical problems, leaving customers unable to access online banking services. The issue arose around 3pm according to Downdetector, which has had more than 900 reports of issues so far. HSBC said its service is currently unavailable, but did not elaborate on the reason behind the issue. The issue is also affecting First Direct, the [...]
The UK government now has its first official blockchain provider for public services August 1, 2016 Every single public sector organisation across the UK will be able to use blockchain technology for the first time after the government rubber-stamped fintech startup Credits as one of its approved suppliers in a major step forward for the potentially revolutionary technology. It's the first time a company working with blockchain's distributed ledger technology (DLT) has been given the thumbs up, and [...]
Google parent Alphabet’s life sciences arm and GSK are teaming up and investing millions into bioelectronics August 1, 2016 Google's parent company Alphabet and pharma firm GSK are banding together to form a new company that will explore the science behind using small electronics to treat disease. The pair will plough £540m over the next seven years into Galvani Bioelectronics, which will explore technology which combines electronics and biology to treat illnesses, with headquarters in the UK. Alphabet's Verily Life [...]
Fintech startup wants individual investors to buy big corporate bonds August 1, 2016 Fintech start-up wiseAlpha wants smaller investors to take a bite out of the multi-billion pound corporate bond market. The online investment platform is widening access to individual corporate bonds for UK companies such Enterprise Inns, Vue Entertainment and New Look for as little as £100. wiseAlpha will issue notes, which are backed by loans or bonds it [...]