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☆ British regulators will soon announce competition remedies for the multibillion-pound cloud industry
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-21 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Igor Golovniov | Sopa Images | Lightrocket via Getty ImagesLONDON — Britain's competition regulator is preparing remedies aimed at solving competition issues in the multibillion-pound cloud computing industry. The sources, who preferred to remain anonymous given the investigation's sensitive nature, said that the cloud market remedies could be announced within the next two weeks. Amazon is the largest player in the market, offering cloud services via its Amazon Web Services (AWS) arm. Ofcom subsequently referred its cloud review to the CMA to address competition issues in the market. She is expected to outline plans for a review in 2025 into whether the CMA should more frequently use behavioral remedies when approving deals, the FT reported.

Persons: Igor Golovniov, there's, Sarah Cardell, Keir Starmer Organizations: Ofcom, Microsoft, Getty, Markets, CNBC, CMA, Amazon, Web Services, Google, Chatham House, Financial Times Locations: U.S, U.K

☆ Alphabet's VC arm backs little-known SAP rival Odoo, boosting valuation to $5.3 billion
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-20 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Fabien Pinckaers, CEO of Belgian-based enterprise software startup Odoo. OdooOdoo, a startup taking on SAP in the realm of enterprise software, boosted its valuation to 5 billion euros ($5.3 billion) in a secondary share round led by Alphabet 's venture fund and Sequoia Capital. "The reason everybody [has] failed [in this market] is that it's quite complex," Pinckaers told CNBC. The last time Odoo secured primary funding was in 2014, when it raised $10 million in a Series B round. Prior to the latest secondary round, Odoo was most recently valued by investors at 3.2 billion euros.

Persons: Fabien Pinckaers, Odoo, Pinckaers, Andrew Reed, Reed, He's, Billings, aren't, Alex Nichols, CapitalG, he's, bootstrapping, Odoo hasn't, Wallonie Organizations: Belgian, SAP, Sequoia Capital, CNBC, Enterprise, Sequoia, Summit Partners Locations: Belgium, India, billings, Sequoia

☆ European tech funding declines for third consecutive year — but the sector is finally stabilizing
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-19 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Still, Atomico said this shows that European tech funding levels have finally "stabilized" despite worsening global macroeconomic conditions leading to three consecutive years of declines. In the period spanning 2015 to 2024, European startups have bagged $426 billion, dwarfing the sum of investment deployed into tech firms the decade prior. Europe's first $1 trillion tech firm? Atomico said it's optimistic about the next decade in European tech. The VC firm, which was established by Skype co-founder Niklas Zennström, is predicting the entire European tech ecosystem combined could be valued at $8 trillion by 2034, up from around $3 trillion currently.

Persons: Reeves, Oli Scarff, Atomico, Tom Wehmeier, Wehmeier, Europe's, Rachel Reeves, techUK, Niklas Zennström Organizations: Startup Coalition, Getty Images Venture, European Tech, CNBC, VC, Skype, Spotify, Google, Apple, Facebook, Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, Tesla Locations: British, State, Europe, U.S, China, Atomico, United States

☆ Fintech unicorns are watching Klarna's debut for signs of when IPO window will reopen
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-19 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Last week, Klarna made a confidential filing to go public in the U.S., ending months of speculation over where the Swedish digital payments firm would list. Still, the development drew buzz from fintech circles with market watchers asking if the move marks the start of a resurgence in big fintech IPOs. For now, that doesn't appear to be the case — however, founders say they'll be watching the IPO market, eyeing pricing and eventually stock performance. Hiroki Takeuchi, CEO of online payments startup GoCardless, said last week that it's not yet time for his company to fire the starting gun on an IPO. However, Zopa's CEO added that he's seeing signs pointing toward a more favorable IPO market in the next couple of years, with the U.S. likely opening up in 2025.

Persons: Hiroki Takeuchi, Zed Jameson, Klarna, they'll, Takeuchi, GoCardless, Lucy Liu, Airwallex, it's, Liu, Jack Zhang, We're, fintech IPOs, Navina Rajan, It's, Rajan, Jaidev Janardana, Janardana, that's Organizations: GoCardless, Bloomberg, Getty, Portugal —, CNBC, Summit, British, U.S Locations: LISBON, Portugal, U.S, Lisbon, Europe

Insufficient staffing, indiscriminate hiring practices, training failures, “tolerance of unacceptable behavior” and “not holding their staff members accountable” can imperil patients, the foundation said. Step one in VA hospitals’ sexual assault protocol involves providing “non-judgmental acknowledgement of incident,” noting important details and contacting VA police or local law enforcement. Two were at HCA hospitals and one was at a facility operated by nonprofit BayCare Health System. In one 2020 report involving HCA Florida West Tampa Hospital, the mother of a patient alleged her child had been molested. He said he has handled eight other cases involving sexual assaults at Florida hospitals over the past five years.

Persons: ”, Ray, ” Myers, Harlow Sumerford, Ryan Brown, Brown, Ray —, ” Brown, “, Michelle Simpson Tuegel, Larry Nassar, George Tyndall, Michael Adno, BayCare’s, ” Mary Marandi, BayCare, Brianna Hammer, Jeovanni, Hammer, Hechavarria, Julie Love, Love, Donia Goines, Jaclyn Bevis, ” Ryan Fogg, Fogg, ” Paxton Greer, Jesse Barber, ’ Paxton Greer, Greer, Tyler Eoute, ” Greer, ‘, ’ ” Greer Organizations: Citrus, HCA Florida Fawcett Hospital, Veterans Affairs, U.S ., HCA Healthcare, U.S . Marine Corps, USA, University of Southern, Citrus Hospital, NBC, West Florida, HCA, Health, HCA Florida West Tampa Hospital, Adult Protective Services, West Tampa Hospital, Plant Hospital, of Health, Department of Health, Coral Hospital, Lee, Cape Coral Hospital, Coral, HCA’s Trident Medical, Trident Medical, NBC News Locations: Port Charlotte, Citrus, University of Southern California, Gulf Coast, Florida, West, Fort Myers Florida, West Palm Beach , Florida, Charleston , South Carolina

☆ Tesla stock pops 8% in premarket after report Trump wants to relax U.S. self-driving rules
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-18 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Tesla shares jumped on Monday following a report that President-elect Donald Trump's transition team are planning to make a federal framework to regulate self-driving vehicles a top priority for the U.S. Transport Department. ET, Tesla stock was up 7.98% in U.S. premarket trading after the release of the Bloomberg News report, which cited unnamed sources familiar with the matter. CNBC could not independently verify the report and has requested comment from the Trump team and from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a Transportation Department unit tasked to oversee self-driving technologies. Full Self-Driving, or FSD, is Tesla's premium driver assistance system, currently available in a "supervised" version for Tesla electric vehicles. Trump's transition team is reportedly looking for policy leaders for the Transportation Department to develop a federal regulatory framework for self-driving vehicles, according to Bloomberg.

Persons: Elon Musk, Donald Trump, Tesla, Donald Trump's, Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy, Google's, Emil Michael, Sam Graves of, Garret Graves Organizations: Republican, U.S . Transport Department, Bloomberg, CNBC, Trump, National, Traffic Safety Administration, Transportation Department, White, Government, FSD, Uber Locations: Butler , Pennsylvania, U.S, Texas, California, Sam Graves of Missouri, Garret Graves of Louisiana

☆ European tech CEOs urge 'Europe-first' mentality to counter U.S. dominance after Trump victory
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-18 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Thomas Plantenga, CEO of used fashion resale app Vinted, on center stage during Web Summit 2024 in Lisbon, Portugal. The Republican politician's victory was a key topic on various prominent tech bosses' lips at the Web Summit conference in Lisbon, Portugal. "It's time for Europe to step up," Yen told CNBC on the sidelines of Web Summit. US Big Tech 'playing extremely unfairly'However, Proton's Yen urged the EU not to water down its push to rein in America's tech giants. 'AI sovereignty' now a key battlegroundAnother theme that attracted much chatter on the ground at Web Summit was the idea of "AI sovereignty."

Persons: Thomas Plantenga, Harry Murphy, Donald Trump's, Andy Yen, Yen, Trump, Proton's Yen, Mitchell Baker, Baker, it's, Plantenga, we'll, OpenAI, Christian Kroll, Shelley McKinley, GitHub, McKinley Organizations: Web, Getty Images, Portugal — Tech, Big, Republican, Proton, CNBC, European Union, Apple, Microsoft, Meta, Markets, US Big Tech, Mozilla Foundation, Google, Trump Locations: Lisbon, Portugal, Getty Images LISBON, Europe, America, EU, Lithuania

☆ SoftBank-backed fintech Zopa aims to double profit this year as it eyes 2025 current account launch
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-14 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

LISBON, Portugal — British online lender Zopa is on track to double profits and increase annual revenue by more than a third this year amid bumper demand for its banking services, the company's CEO told CNBC. Zopa posted revenues of £222 million ($281.7 million) in 2023 and is expecting to cross the £300 million revenue milestone this year — that would mark a 35% annual jump. The firm also says it is on track to increase pre-tax profits twofold in 2024, after hitting £15.8 million last year. In 2024, we've hit or exceeded the plans across all metrics," CEO Jaidev Janardana told CNBC in an interview Wednesday. He said the strong performance is coming off the back of gradually improving sentiment in the U.K. economy, where Zopa operates exclusively.

Persons: Zopa, we've, Jaidev Janardana Organizations: CNBC, Zopa Locations: LISBON, Portugal, British, U.K

☆ Tech giants are investing in 'sovereign AI' to help Europe cut its dependence on the U.S.
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-14 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +7 min

Sovereign AI is "more driven by the industry naming it that, than it is from the policymakers' side," Gow said. On Wednesday, Denmark laid out a landmark white paper outlining how companies can use AI in compliance with the incoming EU AI Act — the world's first major AI law. How regulation fueled a mindset shiftThat's not to say regulations haven't proven an important factor in getting tech giants to think more about building localized AI infrastructure within Europe. The concept of AI sovereignty is also getting buy-in from local European tech firms. Orange hasn't yet selected a partner for these sovereign AI model ambitions.

Persons: Dado Ruvic, Chris Gow, Anthropic's Claude, Filippo Sanesi, Sanesi, hasn't, —, Cisco's Gow, Rather, " Gow, Gow, It's, David Hogan, Hogan, OVHCloud's Sanesi, Qwant, Bruno Zerbib, Zerbib Organizations: Reuters, Portugal — Tech, CNBC, Data, of Justice, EU, General Data Protection, U.S, Sovereign, Nvidia, Orange Locations: Reuters LISBON, Portugal, Brussels, U.S, Europe, OVHCloud, Italy, Italia, Denmark, Berlin, Paris, French

☆ It's 'liquidity, stupid': VCs say tech investing is tough amid IPO lull and 'nuts' AI hype
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-14 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Edith Yeung, general partner at Race Capital, and Larry Aschebrook, founder and managing partner of G Squared, speak during a CNBC-moderated panel at Web Summit 2024 in Lisbon, Portugal. LISBON, Portugal — It's a tough time for the venture capital industry right now as a dearth of blockbuster initial public offerings and M&A activity has sucked liquidity from the market, while buzzy artificial intelligence startups dominate attention. And in the VC world, it's really all about liquidity stupid," Edith Yeung, general partner at Race Capital, an early-stage VC firm based in Silicon Valley, said in a CNBC-moderated panel earlier this week. When a VC makes an equity investment and the value of their stake increases, it's only a gain on paper. Yeung said the lack of IPOs over the last couple of years had created a "really tough" environment for venture capital.

Persons: Edith Yeung, Larry Aschebrook, G, Portugal —, Groq —, Yeung, there's, Big Techs Organizations: Race Capital, CNBC, Summit, Microsoft Locations: Lisbon, Portugal, LISBON, U.S, Silicon Valley

Buy now, pay later firms like Klarna and Block's Afterpay could be about to face tougher rules in the U.K.Klarna, which is known for its popular buy now, pay later business, announced Wednesday that it's confidentially filed IPO documents with the SEC. The company said the offering would follow the SEC's review process and is subject to market conditions. Analysts recently valued Klarna, which was founded in 2005, in the $15 billion range. Klarna's decision to go pursue a listing in the U.S. represents a major blow to European stock exchanges, which have been trying to encourage local tech companies to list at home. "European IPO markets have seen some recovery as of Q3 this year," she added.

Persons: Block's, it's confidentially, Klarna, Sebastian Siemiatkowski, CNBC's, Siemiatkowski, Siemiatkowski hadn't, Navina Rajan, We've, Rajan Organizations: SEC, SoftBank's Vision, Sequoia Capital, CNBC, Apple, Meta, London Stock Exchange Locations: London, Europe, U.S

☆ Denmark launches landmark framework for using AI under EU rules — with Microsoft backing
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-13 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Denmark on Wednesday laid out a framework that can help EU member states use generative artificial intelligence in compliance with the European Union's strict new AI Act — and Microsoft 's already on board. Denmark's Agency for Digital Government, the country's central business registry CVR and pensions authority ATP are among the founding partners adopting the framework. This includes guidelines governing how the public and private sector collaborate, deploying AI in society, complying with both the AI Act and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), mitigating risks and reducing bias, scaling AI implementation, storing data securely, and training up staff. Netcompany CEO André Rogaczewski said the provisions laid out in the white paper were primarily aimed at companies in heavily regulated industries, such as in financial services. He told CNBC he's aiming to address one core question: "How can we scale the responsible usage of AI?"

Persons: André Rogaczewski Organizations: Microsoft, IT, Public, Denmark's Agency for Digital Government, General Data Protection, CNBC Locations: Denmark, Danish

☆ European Google rivals partner on search engine infrastructure to counter Big Tech
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-12 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

The two internet search firms agreed a joint venture, called the European Search Perspective or EUSP, with ownership split 50-50 between both firms. Why build a European search index? Currently, alternative search engines like Ecosia, Qwant and DuckDuckGo don't develop their own back-end infrastructure. The new venture will see them build their own search index from scratch, however, amassing results from a mix of different search engines. Both companies will use the search index themselves but the tech will also be made available to other independent search engines and tech firms.

Persons: Nikolas Kokovlis, Portugal —, it's, Christian Kroll, DuckDuckGo, Bing, Olivier Abecassis, Abecassis, Kroll, Donald Trump, Ecosia's Kroll, ChatGPT Organizations: Nurphoto, Getty, Google, . Big Tech, Microsoft, CNBC, European Union, The, Markets, Big Tech, U.S Locations: LISBON, Portugal, France, Berlin, Paris, Qwant, United States, Russia, Europe, Ukraine

☆ Sony raises guidance on gaming strength, quarterly operating profit beats estimates
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-08 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The Japanese tech giant revised its fiscal 2025 revenue target up slightly to 12.7 trillion yen. Sony also expects full-year operating profit of 1.3 trillion yen, in line with its previous forecast. That came as Sony saw strength in its game and network services division, which houses its popular PlayStation home console brand. Game and network services revenue at the company came in at 1 trillion yen, up 12% year over year. Sony's gaming division has held up well thanks to a shift to digital game purchases and the PlayStation Plus subscription service.

Persons: — Organizations: Sony, PlayStation, Nintendo, VI

☆ Correction: Sony reports 73% jump in operating profit, beating expectations
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-08 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The Japanese tech giant revised its fiscal year 2025 revenue target up slightly to 12.7 trillion yen. Sony also expects full-year operating profit of 1.3 trillion yen, in line with its previous forecast. That came as Sony saw strength in its game and network services division, which houses its popular PlayStation home console brand. Game and network services revenue at the company came in at 1 trillion yen, up 11% year-over-year. Correction: This story has been updated to reflect that operating income jumped 73% year-over-year in the September quarter.

Persons: — Organizations: Sony, PlayStation, Nintendo, VI

☆ Bitcoin's on track to hit $100,000 after Trump's election victory, analysts say
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-08 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Bitcoin is on track to hit the $100,000 price milestone by the end of the year after President-elect Donald Trump's election victory, according to analysts. Bitcoin at $100,000 "doesn't sound so unreasonable" given it equates to "just 10% of gold's market share," Butterfill told CNBC in emailed comments. BTC to hit $100K by Trump's inauguration A $100,000 bitcoin price is likely to be reached by the time Trump is inaugurated president on Jan. 20, 2025, according to Fadi Aboualfa, head of research at crypto custodian Copper.co. Still, with bitcoin exchange-traded funds currently holding roughly 1.1 million bitcoins, momentum is likely to be positive in the coming months, Aboualfa added. It cuts in half the supply of bitcoin issued to miners who successfully produce new bitcoins.

Persons: Donald Trump's, James Butterfill, Butterfill, Trump, Kamala Harris, Gary Gensler, CoinShares, Kooner, Fadi Aboualfa, Aboualfa Organizations: Republicans, CNBC, Wednesday, U.S . Securities, Exchange Commission, SEC, Federal Reserve, BTC, Trump's Locations: America, bitcoin, U.S

☆ Payments giant Adyen reports 21% jump in third-quarter sales
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-07 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Adyen reported a big miss on first-half sales Thursday. Adyen reported a jump in sales in the third quarter as the Dutch payments firm gained wallet share and added new customers, diversifying its merchant mix. The company, whose technology allows businesses to accept payments online and in-store, reported third-quarter net revenue of 498.3 million euros ($535.5 million), up 21% year-on-year on a constant currency basis. Payments firms saw a boost from an increase in online shopping during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. But in recent years, companies such as Adyen have faced pressure from lower consumer spending.

Persons: Adyen Organizations: North Locations: U.S, Canada, Europe, East, Africa, North America

☆ British fintech firm Wise posts 55% jump in profit on expanding market share
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-06 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Wise posted a 55% jump in profit in the first half of its 2025 fiscal year Wednesday, citing customer growth and expanding market share. The British digital payments firm said that its first-half profit totalled £217.3 million, up from £140.6 million in the same period a year ago. Revenues at the money transfer platform climbed 19% year-on-year for the period to £591.9 million, Wise reported Wednesday. Earlier this year, Wise issued a sales warning that sent shares of the U.K. online payments firm down as much as 21%. On Wednesday, Wise said that its underlying PBT margin for the first-half period was 22%, above its target range of 13% to 16%.

Persons: Wise, —, Kristo Käärmann Organizations: U.K, Authority

☆ British regulator says $19.5 billion Vodafone-Three merger could go ahead if remedies are adopted
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-05 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

LONDON British telecom firms Vodafone and Three's multibillion-pound merger could go ahead if the companies adopt a series of proposed remedies to clear competition concerns, regulators said Tuesday. Vodafone has previously said that the combined entity, once merged, would invest £11 billion ($14.46 billion) into U.K. telecommunications infrastructure. Vodafone has also said it disagrees with earlier findings from the CMA that the merger would lead to price increases for consumers. It says the merger wouldn't pricing strategy and would enhance competition between mobile virtual network operators, or MVNOs. "Approval would mark one of the most significant developments in the history of UK mobile, heralding the arrival of a new market leader with over 29 million customers," Manning said in emailed comments.

Persons: Margherita Della Valle, Three's, Stuart McIntosh, McIntosh, CK Hutchison, Kester Manning, Manning Organizations: Vodafone, LONDON, Markets Authority, Ofcom, CMA, CNBC, 5G, Sky Mobile, Mobile, CK, CK Hutchison, EE, BT, O2, Telefonica, Liberty Global, CCS Insight Locations: London, British, Hong Kong

☆ Affirm expands buy now, pay later service to the UK, heating up local competition
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-03 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

LONDON — Buy now, pay later firm Affirm launched Monday its installment loans in the U.K., in the company's first expansion overseas. Founded in 2012, Affirm is an American fintech firm that offers flexible pay-over-time payment options. Affirm, which is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority, said its U.K. offering will include interest-free and interest-bearing monthly payment options. Among the first merchants offering Affirm as a payment method in the U.K. are Alternative Airlines, the flight booking website, and payments processing firm Fexco. Max Levchin, CEO of Affirm, told CNBC that the company had been working on its launch in the U.K. for over a year.

Persons: Max Levchin, Levchin Organizations: PayPal Inc, Enercare Center, LONDON, Financial, Authority, Walmart, Airlines, CNBC, Affirm's Locations: Toronto, Canada, American

☆ Higher taxes will make it harder for Britain to build 'the next Nvidia,' tech execs say
▼ + stars: | 2024-11-01 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

The lower capital gains tax rate was increased to 18% from 10%, while the higher rate climbed to 24% from 20%. Reeves said the increases will help bring in £2.5 billion ($3.2 billion) of additional capital to the public purses. Still, Reeves said the U.K. would still have the lowest capital gains tax rate of any European G7 economy. watch nowReeves announced that the rate of tax on carried interest, which is charged on capital gains, would rise to 32%, up from 28% currently. She nevertheless urged the government to look seriously at mandating that pension funds diversify their allocation to riskier assets like venture capital — a common ask from VCs to boost the U.K. tech sector.

Persons: Rachel Reeves, Reeves, BADR, Paul Taylor, Taylor, Haakon Overli, Dawn Capital, Overli, Anne Glover, Glover, Clarity, Steve Hare, Sage, Sean Reddington, Reddington Organizations: Labour Party Conference, ACC Liverpool Convention Center, Anadolu, Getty, LONDON, Labour, CGT, National Insurance, Unicorn Council, Nvidia, Dawn, NVIDIA, Amadeus Capital, Wealth, Norway's, Fund Global, Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund Locations: Liverpool, British, Britain, VCs

☆ Jack Dorsey's payments company Block expands corporate card service to the UK
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-31 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

LONDON — Block, the payments company owned by tech billionaire Jack Dorsey has launched its corporate card service in the U.K. in a bid to deepen its expansion into the country and take on big incumbents like American Express . In the U.K., Square Card will come up against local banking giants like Lloyds and NatWest . Hussain-Letch highlighted The Vinyl Guys as an example of an early adopter of its corporate card offering. The vehicle branding and signage printing shop based in Stafford used the corporate card as part of a testing phase with domestic U.K. customers. Once an employee is onboarded onto the Square Card program, they can begin using within their own digital wallet apps.

Persons: Jack Dorsey, Samina Hussain, Hussain, Letch, We've, Rachel Reeves, Reeves Organizations: American Express, CNBC, Citigroup, U.K, Lloyds, NatWest, Entrepreneurs, Tax Locations: Britain, North America, U.S, Canada, Stafford

☆ Sigh of relief for UK tech founders as Labour hikes capital gains tax by less than feared
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-30 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

On Monday, British tech lobby group Startup Coalition warned in a blog post that there was a risk Reeves' tax plans could result in a tech "brain drain.". (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images)LONDON — Britain's Labour government on Wednesday announced plans to raise the rate of capital gains tax on share sales, news that offered some relief for technology entrepreneurs who feared a more intense tax raid on the wealthy. Finance Minister Rachel Reeves on Wednesday hiked capital gains tax (CGT) — a levy on the profit investors make from the sale of an investment — as part of her far-reaching budget announcement. The lower capital gains tax rate will be increased to 18% from 10%, while the higher rate will climb to 24% from 20%, Reeves said. She stressed that this still represented a "significant gap compared to the higher rate of capital gains tax."

Persons: Reeves, Oli Scarff, Rachel Reeves, quashing Organizations: Startup Coalition, Labour, Wednesday, Finance, National Insurance Locations: British, BADR

☆ Wise's billionaire CEO fined £350,000 by UK regulators over failure to report tax issue
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-28 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

In this article WISE-GB Follow your favorite stocks CREATE FREE ACCOUNTKristo Kaarmann, CEO and co-founder of Wise. Eoin Noonan | Sportsfile | Getty ImagesLONDON — Kristo Käärmann, the billionaire CEO of money transfer firm Wise , was slapped with a £350,000 ($454 million) fine by financial regulators in the U.K for failing to report an issue with his tax filings. "We continue to build a product and a company that will serve our customers and owners for the decades to come," Käärmann added. The chair of Wise, David Wells, said that the company's board of directors "continues to take Wise's regulatory obligations very seriously." In a note Monday, analysts at British investment bank Peel Hunt boosted their expectations for Wise's full-year profit before tax by 15%.

Persons: Kaarmann, Wise, Eoin Noonan, Sportsfile, Käärmann, Taavet Hinrikus, Forbes, Therese Chambers, David Wells, Peel Hunt, Gautam Pillai, Barun Singh Organizations: WISE, Getty, Financial, Authority, FCA, Customs, Peel Locations: Estonian

☆ Air taxi firm Lilium plunges 45% after saying main subsidiaries will file for insolvency
▼ + stars: | 2024-10-24 | by ( Ryan Browne | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Shares of Lilium tanked Thursday after the air taxi firm said in a filing that its two main subsidiaries will file for insolvency in the coming days. The German aerospace startup's shares plunged more than 60% before paring losses to 45% following the news. Lilium was seeking to raise 50 million euros ($54 million) of loans from the state coffers, however its request was rejected by lawmakers. In all, Lilium was trying to raise a convertible loan of 100 million euros. The subsidiaries' planned insolvency filings could result in Lilium ultimately delisting from the Nasdaq Global Select Market, or having its shares suspended.

Persons: Lilium, KfW Organizations: Nasdaq, Lilium GmbH, Lilium, Company Locations: Germany, Bavaria, Bavarian, foreclosing

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