September 15, 2021 TORONTO (Reuters) – Canada’s annual inflation rate accelerated to 4.1% in August, the highest since 2003, up from a year-over-year increase of 3.7% in July, Statistics Canada said on Wednesday. Analysts polled by Reuters had expected the annual rate to rise to 3.9% in August. STORIES: Market reaction: CAD/ Link: https://ift.tt/3zefrt8 COMMENTARY […]
Guinea junta starts transitional government talks following coup
September 15, 2021 CONAKRY (Reuters) -Guinea’s new military rulers began consultations with political, religious and business leaders on Tuesday which they say will lead to the formation of a transitional government following the coup that ousted President Alpha Conde on Sept. 5. In a short address, coup leader Colonel Mamady Doumbouya, a special forces commander […]
EU chief vows no let-up in democracy battles with Poland, Hungary
September 15, 2021 By Gabriela Baczynska BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The European Union’s chief executive on Wednesday vowed no let-up in battles with Poland and Hungary over democratic standards, threatening to take more legal action and block off funds. The EU has been at loggerheads with the eurosceptic, nationalist rulers in Budapest and Warsaw for years […]
Hong Kong security chief steps up pressure on city’s main press group
September 15, 2021 By Sara Cheng HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong’s security chief called on Wednesday for the city’s main press association to disclose to the public who its members work for and how many of them are students, a day after he accused the group of infiltrating schools. The comments by Secretary for […]
U.S. condemns North Korea missile launch – State Department spokesperson
September 15, 2021 WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States condemned North Korea’s missile launch on Wednesday, saying it is in violation of multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions and posed a threat to its neighbors and the international community, a State Department spokesperson said. Both North Korea and South Korea test-fired ballistic missiles on Wednesday, the […]
Ascend raises $5.5M to provide a BNPL option for commercial insurance
Ascend on Wednesday announced a $5.5 million seed round to further its insurance payments platform that combines financing, collections and payables. First Round Capital led the round and was joined by Susa Ventures, FirstMark Capital, Box Group and a group of angel investors, including Coalition CEO Joshua Motta, Newfront Insurance executives Spike Lipkin and Gordon […]
Index Ventures launches web-app to help founders calculate employee stock options
The ability to offer stock options is utterly essential to startups. They convince talented people to join when the startup is unlikely to be capable of matching the high salaries that larger, established tech firms can offer. However, it’s a complex business developing a competitive stock option plan. Luckily, London-based VC Index Ventures today launches both a […]
Two years after launching, Inspired Capital has finished raising its second fund
Inspired Capital, the New York-based early-stage venture firm that was founded in 2019 by entrepreneurs Alexa von Tobel and Penny Pritzker, is today announcing the close of their second fund with $281 million in capital commitments, an amount that brings the firm’s total assets under management to nearly half a billion dollars. (Inspired raised $200 […]
Matillion raises $150M at a $1.5B valuation for its low-code approach to integrating disparate data sources
Businesses and the tech companies that serve them are run on data. At best, it can be used to help with decision-making, to understand how well or badly an organization is doing, and to build new systems to run the next generation of services. At its most challenging, though, data can represent a real headache: […]
Sustainable e-commerce startup Olive now ships beauty products, in addition to apparel
Earlier this year, a startup called Olive launched its new shopping site and app with the goal of making e-commerce more efficient, convenient, and sustainable by offering a way for consumers to aggregate their orders from across retailers into single shipments that arrive in reusable packaging, not cardboard. If items need to be returned, those […]
SmarterTravel sheds HopJump name, begins a new journey with $9.5M round
Travel startups continue to rake in venture capital dollars as more people become comfortable traveling amid the global pandemic. The latest is SmarterTravel, which brought in $9.5 million in Series B funding co-led by Link Ventures and Second Alpha, with existing investors also participating. In addition to the fundraise, the company, a provider of personalized […]
Afghan women’s soccer team arrives in Pakistan – information minister
September 15, 2021 ISLAMABAD (Reuters) – Afghanistan’s women’s soccer team has left for neighbouring Pakistan, the information minister in Islamabad said on Tuesday, as questions linger over the status of female athletes under Taliban rule. “We welcome Afghanistan women football team, they arrived at Torkham Border from Afghanistan,” said Fawad Chaudhry, Pakistan’s information minister, in […]
Goldman Sachs to buy lender GreenSky in $2.24 billion deal
September 15, 2021 (Reuters) – Goldman Sachs Group Inc said on Wednesday it will buy GreenSky Inc, a fintech platform that provides consumer loans for home improvement, in an all-stock deal valued at $2.24 billion. (Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur) Source Link Goldman Sachs to buy lender GreenSky in […]
Ex-U.S. intel operatives admit hacking American networks for UAE
September 15, 2021 By Joel Schectman and Christopher Bing WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Three former U.S. intelligence operatives who worked as cyber spies for the United Arab Emirates admitted to violating U.S. hacking laws and prohibitions on selling sensitive military technology, under a deal to avoid prosecution announced on Tuesday. The operatives – Marc Baier, Ryan Adams […]
Ford, Walmart and Argo AI team up to launch autonomous vehicle delivery service
September 15, 2021 (Reuters) – Self-driving startup Argo AI, automaker Ford Motor Co and Walmart Inc will together launch an autonomous vehicle delivery service in Miami, Austin, and Washington, D.C, the companies said on Wednesday. Initial integration testing is expected to begin later this year, the companies added. The move comes as consumer expectations shift […]
Irish budget plans ‘at the limit of what is prudent’-watchdog
September 15, 2021 DUBLIN (Reuters) – The Irish government’s plans to reduce its budget deficit more gradually than planned to fund spending increases is “at the limit of what is prudent”, the country’s fiscal watchdog said on Wednesday. Ministers in June scrapped plans to close the budget deficit opened up by one of Europe’s strictest […]
Nikola, Iveco sign MoU to deliver 25 e-trucks to Hamburg port
September 15, 2021 ULM, Germany (Reuters) – Electric-truck maker Nikola and Iveco, the commercial vehicles brand of Italy’s CNH Industrial, on Wednesday said they had agreed to test and deliver up to 25 vehicles to the port of Hamburg, one of Europe’s largest. The memorandum of understanding, which was signed during the inauguration of the […]
UK watchdog unveils blueprint to turn tide of financial scams
September 15, 2021 By Huw Jones LONDON (Reuters) -Britain’s financial watchdog set itself targets on Wednesday to help consumers by 2025 cut their losses from a growing number of scams and steer clear of investment products that are too risky. Financial fraud has rocketed during the pandemic as more consumers search on the internet for […]
EU Commission wants to know when spectrum is available in digital push
September 15, 2021 By Foo Yun Chee BRUSSELS (Reuters) – EU countries will have to provide more clarity on the use and availability of radio spectrum to help the bloc meet its digital targets, the European Commission said on Wednesday, accelerating a push to reduce reliance on U.S and Chinese technologies. The EU executive also […]
S.Korea says it successfully tests submarine-launched ballistic missile
September 15, 2021 By Hyonhee Shin SEOUL (Reuters) -South Korea successfully tested a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) on Wednesday, becoming the first country without nuclear weapons to develop such a system as it aims to better counter North Korea’s growing capabilities. South Korea’s missile test came the same day as North Korea fired a pair […]