Image copyright Getty Images Royal Mail has apologised after announcing a price rise which breaches a cap designed to make the postal service “affordable” for all consumers. From 25 March, the price of a second-class stamp will rise by 3p to 61p – breaching Ofcom’s current price cap of 60p which is in place until …
Image copyright EA Image caption In Anthem, players are freelancers who use flying exosuits to take on alien enemies Highly-anticipated video game Anthem launches on Friday. The squad-based shooter challenges players to complete a variety of missions to defeat a series of enemy aliens or “exos”. The online game is made by Bioware, which is …
BBC Click’s Paul Carter looks at some of the best tech news stories of the week including: Microsoft says it has discovered hacking attempts against democratic institutions, think tanks and non-profit organisations across Europe Google admits it made a mistake in not disclosing one of its home alarm products contained a microphone Tesla rolls out …
Image copyright Getty Images The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has dropped its investigations into aerospace firm Rolls-Royce and drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline. The SFO said there was “either insufficient evidence” or it was “not in the public interest” to continue. Rolls was being investigated over concerns about bribery and corruption, which led the firm to enter …
Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Honda’s Swindon factory is due to close in 2021 A task group at Swindon Borough Council wants to begin talks with Honda bosses in Japan to convince them not to close down the town’s plant. The motion was put forward on Thursday evening to try and save 3,500 jobs. …
Image copyright Getty Images BMW and Daimler have unveiled a joint venture to invest in new-generation services such as driverless vehicles, ride-hailing and parking services. The German firms are investing €1bn (£880m) in the project, which will also look into pay-per-use car schemes. The move comes as traditional manufacturers face competition from mobility services provided …
In this quick history of the British car industry, economist Dan Coffey explains how a once thriving British-owned car manufacturing industry, largely disappeared. From its heyday in the 1960s when only 10% of cars were imported into the UK, to the European imports and arrival of foreign car manufacturers, welcomed by Margaret Thatcher in the …
Image copyright Getty Images Troubled airline Flybe has agreed a deal to continue operating, despite criticism of the arrangement. Connect Airways, a consortium led by Richard Branson’s Virgin Atlantic, paid a total of £2.8m for Flybe’s assets and operations. At least one earlier approach for Flybe was rejected. The Exeter-based regional airline put itself up …
Image copyright Getty Images Sub-prime lender Non-Standard Finance (NSF) has made a £1.3bn takeover offer for rival Provident Financial. NSF boss John van Kuffeler was previously chief executive and chairman of Provident, a doorstep lender with a history of financial troubles. He said the deal would “create a market leader in non-standard finance”. NSF said …
Image copyright Dairy Crest Dairy Crest, whose brands include Cathedral City cheddar and Country Life butter, has agreed to be bought by a Canadian company in a near-£1bn deal. Saputo, one of the biggest dairy processors in the world, will pay 620p a share for Dairy Crest, valuing the company at about £975m. The Canadian …