So long, Siri: HSBC to launch voice and fingerprint recognition biometric system for up to 15 million users February 19, 2016 Always forgetting your password, have no idea what your grandmother's maiden name was or has that memorable place slipped your mind? HSBC thinks it has the answer: the bank is planning to launch voice recognition and touch security services in the UK. So long, Siri, this is all about "voice prints". First Direct customers will be [...]
The New Day but not a new dawn for Mirror owner February 19, 2016 It may lack the attention-grabbing quality of “Bus Found on Moon” and other red-top headlines, but “Publisher Unveils National Tabloid” has a similar ring of implausibility. In a national newspaper market characterised by perpetually declining annual sales, Trinity Mirror’s launch of New Day looks like an adventurous bet on the willingness of a dwindling band of [...]
Open outcry lives on at the London Metal Exchange February 19, 2016 The message the London Metal Exchange (LME) is sending with its new office, including a tech heavy open call trading ring, is clear: “we’re embracing the future, while retaining the tradition.” The 139-year-old London Metal Exchange closed the doors on its previous two-decade home in January, and has since moved to a purpose built space on [...]
High house prices and strong rent growth lift landlord returns February 19, 2016 Landlords' annual returns have reached their highest for over a year, according to figures released this morning. Considering both the growth in rents and increases in property prices, landlords’ annual rate of return in January was 12 per cent. The figures, from estate agents Your Move and Reeds Rains, show that the average landlord in [...]
Applied Materials share price jumps up in after-hours trading despite smartphone component supplier revealing fall in sales and income for first-quarter results February 18, 2016 Shares in Applied Materials rose in after-hours trading today, despite the electronics company revealing a fall in net sales and net income for its first quarter of 2016. The firm, which supplies chip equipment to several of the world's largest tech firms, reported net sales for the quarter ended January 2016 of $2.3bn (£1.6bn), down four [...]
Financial services productivity held back by over-regulation February 18, 2016 Productivity in Britain’s financial services sector has fallen significantly since 2009, official figures have revealed. The level of productivity in financial services, measured by output per hour worked, was higher in the UK than in Germany, Italy, France and the US between 2005 and 2009. However, since 2009 the sector has been going in reverse, with [...]
Nordstrom share price plummets in after-hours trading as retailer reports drop in profits in fourth-quarter results February 18, 2016 Shares in Nordstrom fell in after-hours trading today as the company revealed a rise in revenue but a fall in profits for its fourth-quarter results. The retailer reported net sales of $4.1bn (£2.9bn) for its three-months ended 30 January 2016, up 5.2 per cent from $3.9bn for the same period the year before, but net earnings of [...]
Assassin’s Creed, Just Dance and Tom Clancy’s The Division publisher Ubisoft share price up as company reveals less is more approach to games for revenue growth with focus on digital and DLC February 18, 2016 Share price in Ubisoft rose today as the software company unveiled a quality over quantity approach to video games to boost revenue. At an investor day, the French-headquartered company revealed that it intended to boost its revenue by 60 per cent over the next three years to reach €2.2bn (£1.7bn) by fiscal year 2018-19. To do this, the company said [...]
Four great books to super-charge your brain in 2016 – we review the best from commodities to effective investing and The Big Short February 18, 2016 THE SECRET CLUB THAT RUNS THE WORLD by Katie Kelly Commodity prices have crashed, with everything from oil and metals to grains at multi-year lows. It seems like the end of the “commodity supercycle”, the post-millennium boom when prices of all base goods were soaring. But how did they become so expensive in the first place? [...]
Accor Hotels sales and profits rise despite France slowdown following Paris attacks February 18, 2016 French hotelier Accor has posted a rise in full-year profits as a strong performance in the Middle East and Africa helped offset a sharp fall in sales in its home market following the Paris attacks. Accor is Europe’s largest hotel owner with nearly 3,900 hotels that it either operates or owns and 17 brands including [...]