One of the top candidates for Microsoft CEO just got snapped up by Qualcomm December 13, 2013 A day after rumours circulated that Steve Mollenkopf could be one of the top picks for the Microsoft CEO job, Qualcomm has announced that he'll be its CEO and president. Mollenkopf will take the lead from 4 March 2014 at the chip giant. He's been at the company for nearly 20 years, and replaces Dr. [...]
Bitcoin under attack as Norway introduces new tax December 13, 2013 Bitcoin users have been dealt a blow as Norwegian authorities have announced that they will be placing a tax on the virtual currency. Hans Christian Holte, director at the Norwegian tax administration said in an interview: Bitcoin don’t fall under the usual definition of money or currency. We’ve done some assessments on what’s the right [...]
Iron ore prices are set to crash by 40pc. Here’s why December 13, 2013 Demand for major commodities was strong this year, but supply topped it. When it came iron ore, demand outweighed supply on a relative basis because it was stronger and there was marginal shortage in the market, but many analysts don't expect that to remain the case. By 2015, Goldman forecasts "major oversupply" of iron ore, [...]
Turns out Friday 13th isn’t such an unlucky day for investors December 13, 2013 Friday the 13th might be lucky for some after all. Brian Lucey, professor of finance at the School of Business, Trinity College Dublin has posted some of the academic literature on how stocks perform on days like this. Turns out it's not too bad. Lucey found in his 2000 paper "Friday the 13th: International Evidence" [...]
Venture capital gets bullish on Bitcoin December 13, 2013 Bitcoin start-up Coinbase has raised $25m (£15m) in venture capital funding – the largest investment ever seen by a Bitcoin start-up. Founded in June 2012 by software engineer Brian Armstrong, Coinbase allows customers to buy and store Bitcoin. The funding came from the venture capital fund Andressen Horowitz. Chris Dixon, who led the deal, highlighted [...]
What you need to know before the open – 13/12 December 13, 2013 Concerns over Fed action next week rumble on, with US stocks hitting a for-week low yesterday and things look little brighter for European bourses this morning. No respite for investors at European opening – So little joy, as fear of the unknown (QE) undermines confidence – FTSE -9, DAX -8, CAC -2 — David [...]
RSA Insurance chief Simon Lee quits amid Irish problems December 13, 2013 RSA Insurance have said this morning that group chief executive Simon Lee has stood down with immediate effect. His resignation comes with the news that the beleaguered firm needs to inject a further £130m of capital into its Irish business, in addition to the £70m previously announced. The statement released by RSA today said that [...]
Forget a Bitcoin bubble: A wider crypto revolt is challenging everything | City A.M. December 13, 2013 FOR ALL the talk of a Bitcoin bubble, it’s easy to miss the real significance of what is currently happening. The rise of Bitcoin is just the beginning. Cryptocurrencies are no longer the domain of activists and grassroots movements, they are nothing less than “new money”. Many are waiting for the moment when a central [...]
UK division of Leica sees slower sales despite new camera launch December 13, 2013 THE UK division of Leica Cameras, the iconic camera brand used by celebrated photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson, reported a slowdown in sales last year despite rolling out a new flagship camera. Leica Camera, which is owned by German parent company Leica AG and distributes cameras in the UK, reported a 12 per cent dip in turnover [...]
It’s going to take the UK “some time” to get its AAA rating back December 12, 2013 Fitch's chief sovereign analyst, James McCormack, has told Reuters that "it is going to take some time" for the UK to get its AAA rating back. Ratings agency Fitch followed Moody's in downgrading Britain's sovereign rating to AA+ in April. "At the time I think that was the right call to make," McCormack told Reuters. [...]