Bloomberg Daimler AG bought a majority stake in French private-hire limousine operator Chauffeur Prive, accelerating the luxury-car maker’s expansion into ride-hailing turf occupied by firms such as Uber Technologies Inc. The German maker of Mercedes and Smart automobiles plans to acquire full control of Chauffeur Prive in 2019 once it gets regulatory clearances, Stuttgart-based Daimler said. The parties wouldn’t disclose ...

Bloomberg Ever wondered how much time millennials spend staring at a screen? UK statisticians have come up with some answers. Young people spent more than a third of their leisure time, 14 hours per week, using devices such as mobile phones, tablets, e-readers and laptops in 2015, the Office for National Statistics said. The figure for men aged 25 and ...

Bloomberg All over Europe, companies are wishing their workers a happy holiday and looking forward to a productive New Year when they return to work in 2018. In Brexit Britain, there’s a catch. Businesses that rely on EU countries for labour are concerned that employees will return to their families in continental Europe for Christmas—and stay there. The pound’s decline ...

Bloomberg Apple Inc.’s iPhone and iPad introduced a novel way of interacting with computers: via easy-to-use applications, accessible in the highly curated App Store. The same approach hasn’t worked nearly as well on Apple’s desktops and laptops. The Mac App Store is a ghost town of limited selection and rarely updated programmes. Now Apple plans to change that by giving ...

Bloomberg Apple Inc. is developing an advanced heart-monitoring feature for future versions of its smartwatch, part of a broader push by the company to turn what was once a luxury fashion accessory into a serious medical device, according to people familiar with the plan. A version being tested requires users to squeeze the frame of the Apple Watch with two ...

Bloomberg Deliveries by drones took a step closer to being allowed in the US after a federal advisory panel agreed on a framework for allowing law enforcement to routinely track the small devices. The committee’s report to the Federal Aviation Administration is a significant step towards widening drone flights to allow them over people, urban areas and over long distances. ...

Bloomberg Facebook Inc. is introducing new facial recognition features that will automatically notify users when their photo is posted on the social network, the company said. The new features are being rolled out in the face of growing pressure on the company from regulators in Europe, the US and elsewhere who have criticised Facebook for spreading fake news, fostering hate ...

Bloomberg Didi Chuxing has scored another investment from SoftBank Group Corp. in a massive funding round that will bankroll the Chinese ride-hailing leader’s exploration of new markets and technologies. Didi said it’s secured new financing of more than $4 billion. That pushed its valuation to about $56 billion and lifts cash reserves to $12 billion, people familiar with the matter ...

EMIRATES BUSINESS Mumbai-based Omkar Realtors & Developers, one of India’s leading brands in redevelopment, boutique and luxury housing has obtained 150 plus EOIs (express of interest) from NRIs in the GCC for its 1200-plus apartments residential project, launched recently. This boutique inventory offering is the biggest realty launch across pan-India, post-RERA, by a branded realty player with Dubai-based NRIs leading ...

Bloomberg Alipay is chasing Chinese tourists to Japan, where it’s signing up a growing number of retailers and eyeing the long-term potential of the nation’s $45 billion digital payments market. The volume of payments processed on Alipay in the country swelled about eight times in the 12 months to September, said Genki Oka, Japan chief executive officer of Ant Financial, ...