Airlines may soon ditch their in-flight entertainment systems as new networks allow passengers improved access to the internet, according to the telecommunications satellite firm, Inmarsat. This week sees the launch of the company’s European Aviation Network (EAN) satellite, which the firm says will deliver 100 of megabits per second to devices such as tablet and […]
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Bitcoin rival ethereum dropped Monday despite a major exchange’s efforts to shore up confidence by announcing a credit for customers who lost money during last week’s flash crash. Ethereum, also known as ether, traded 11 percent lower Monday morning, near $268, according to CoinDesk. Last Wednesday, ethereum briefly plunged in a flash crash from above […]
Read moreAlibaba’s payment app Alipay unveiled the latest step in its global expansion strategy Monday. The platform is to launch in South Africa with the intention of servicing Chinese tourists. Rita Liu, head of Alipay EMEA, told CNBC’s Street Signs that the firm would work with tour bus operator City Sightseeing, facilitated by its partner ACI […]
Read moreMobile payments app Yoyo raises $15 million in investment, backed by German retail giant Metro Group
Yoyo Wallet, Europe’s fastest growing mobile payments app, raised £12 million ($15.3 million) in a Series B round, it announced on Monday. The deal was led by German retail giant Metro Group, and awaits approval from the U.K.’s Financial Conduct Authority. The U.K.-based fintech app began life four years ago, servicing dozens of U.K. and […]
Read moreJust two days after a successful launch and landing of a reused rocket, SpaceX pulled off another Falcon 9 landing Sunday afternoon. The rocket was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on Sunday afternoon, and its first stage made its way back to Earth, successfully landing on a drone ship in the Pacific […]
Read moreBarclays has been in discussions with regulators and financial technology – or fintech – firms about bringing cryptocurrencies like bitcoin “into play”, the bank’s U.K. chief executive told CNBC on Monday. Ashok Vaswani revealed that the banking giant has met with Britain’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) watchdog to talk about how to make bitcoin safe […]
Read morePandora co-founder and CEO Tim Westergren plans to step down as the streaming music company’s leader, according to people familiar with the company’s plans. Pandora hasn’t selected a replacement for Westergren, sources say; he will likely stay on at the company he founded 17 years ago until a new CEO is in place. A Pandora […]
Read moreSpaceX achieved history on Sunday with a rocket launch—an act that the CEO of Iridium Communications told CNBC was “critical” to his company’s commercial success. The Falcon 9 rocket belonging to Elon Musk’s SpaceX carried 10 communications satellites into orbit from California, merely two days after the company successfully launched a satellite from Florida. The […]
Read moreAmazon’s acquisition of specialty grocer Whole Foods is not only about acquiring hundreds of stores and affluent customers — the real value of the deal is in all of that customer data, according to one data expert. Kenneth Sanford, adjunct professor at Boston College, told CNBC recently that one of Amazon’s goals should be to […]
Read moreFacebook's WhatsApp is so huge in India that one app reached 9 million users without spending a dime
Emerging brands in the U.S. count on Facebook to promote themselves online. In India, they also rely on a Facebook service, but one that doesn’t cost them anything—WhatsApp. According to Mary Meeker’s annual internet trends report published last month, WhatsApp is the most popular Android app in India, followed by Facebook Messenger at number two […]
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