Not On The High Street founder: ‘Small firms don’t have to copy big business’ – Holly Tucker MBE started her multimillion-pound company from her kitchen table. Now she wants to do it all again Holly Tucker has seen everything the business world can throw at a fledgling company. The serial entrepreneur best known for founding […]

NRA under mounting pressure as companies cut ties with gun lobby – Companies including Best Western, Hertz and Wyndham end affiliation after #BoycottNRA campaign gains momentum on social media US companies are distancing themselves from the National Rifle Association as the gun lobby comes under increasing pressure following the mass shooting in Florida last week. […]

MPs launch inquiry into digital currencies amid cybercrime fears – Scrutiny is needed to examine risks for investors, says Treasury committee chair Nicky Morgan A powerful committee of MPs is launching an inquiry into bitcoin and other digital currencies over fears that cryptocurrencies could lead to increased “market volatility, money laundering and cybercrime”. The Treasury […]

Ebooks are not ‘stupid’ – they’re a revolution – The head of publisher Hachette has claimed ebooks are a failure – but as an author and a reader, they’ve completely changed my life I was a relatively late convert to the e-reader, getting my Kindle five years ago when it became clear that reading 600-pages […]

The need for an internet sales tax | Letters – Letter from Richard Stallman, president of the Free Software Foundation Replacement of physical stores with internet sales is bad for people’s rights (Maplin seeks buyer, 20 February), because internet sales track people; they don’t allow privacy-respecting cash.It’s bad for the Treasury because the internet giants such […]

Hey Alexa, is it true a TV advert made Amazon Echo order cat food? – Advertising watchdog rejects Echo Dot owner’s complaint that TV spot was irresponsible An Amazon Echo owner has tried to get a television advertising campaign for the smart speaker banned after the Alexa virtual assistant attempted to order cat food when […]

How Iceland became the bitcoin miners’ paradise – The island nation is the first to use more electricity on mining cryptocurriencies than on its households – thanks in part to its magma-fuelled power plants Bitcoin’s price may be down more than 50% from its highs in December, but no one has told Iceland, where the […]

Bitcoin: what have experts said about the cryptocurrency? – The most memorable comments on the cryptocurrency from senior figures in world finance •ECB official backs bitcoin clampdown Bitcoin’s gyrations have attracted a lot of attention over the past year. Here are some of the most memorable comments from senior figures in world finance. At these […]

Unicef recruits gamers to mine Ethereum in aid of Syrian children – Cryptocurrency scheme is part of wider UN effort to revolutionise aid with blockchain technology, increasing financial transparency The UN’s children’s agency, Unicef, has launched a futuristic pilot project to utilise the cryptocurrency Ethereum to raise money for Syrian children. The scheme is part […]

Healthcare is a huge industry – no wonder Amazon is muscling in | John Naughton – Boss Jeff Bezos is ahead of the game again, spying an opportunity for big data to transform the system ‘Health groups suffer as Amazon, Berkshire and JP Morgan team up,” proclaimed the front-page headline in Wednesday’s Financial Times. The […]