Five banks sign up for payment app Zapp January 15, 2014 FIVE UK banks yesterday said they’d signed up to a new mobile payment facility called Zapp, which allows real-time payments on customers smartphones and tablets through their existing mobile banking app. HSBC, First Direct, Nationwide, Santander and Metro Bank are the first lenders to announce they will adopt Zapp, ahead of its autumn launch. Together, [...]
Heading to Wolf of Wall Street in packs? January 15, 2014 LEONARDO DiCaprio is hitting our big screens this weekend in what is tipped to be the most memorable portrayal of a City bigwig since Michael Douglas brought us Gordon Gekko. And it looks like the City’s firms are keen to see if DiCaprio know his shorts from his securities. Picture houses in and around the [...]
Homes4U: Phone entrepreneur wins approval for mega-mansion January 15, 2014 CHAMPAGNE corks can probably still be heard popping from Phones4U founder John Caudwell’s house. The entrepreneur has won approval for a mammoth extension to his adjacent Mayfair properties which will see Caudwell join London’s ever increasing billionaire’s basement club. The plans will add an additional 938 square meters of space by connecting the two properties [...]
Co-operative comes out top in Stonewall survey January 15, 2014 THE CO-OPERATIVE has scooped top spot in a Stonewall study into how well private sector employers support gay, lesbian and bisexual staff. The research, which saw housing company Gentoo named overall top employer when including both the public and private sectors, also praised Accenture, EY and IBM for their engagement, support and attitude towards sexuality at [...]
Apple falls out of favour with UK consumers January 15, 2014 APPLE fell out of favour with UK consumers in 2013, losing its coveted spot last year as one of the UK’s top ten brands. In 2012 Apple’s iPad held the No 6 slot on YouGov’s BrandIndex report, but this year the technology giant is nowhere to be found. “Samsung has risen the most places as [...]
Laura Ashley raises £8m after selling entire stake in Moss Bros January 15, 2014 LAURA Ashley parted ways with suit-maker Moss Bros yesterday after selling its entire holding in the company and raising £8m. The womenswear and home furnishings store started building up its stake in 2008, which sparked talks of a possible takeover, but a bid never came to fruition. Laura Ashley is taking advantage of Moss Bros’ [...]
H&M reports good Christmas as starts making clothes in Africa January 15, 2014 SWEDISH budget fashion retailer Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) said yesterday its total sales rose 10 per cent in December, right in line with market expectations. H&M said it would no longer report comparable sales for stores open at least a year, saying total sales were more relevant. December is the first month of H&M’s fiscal [...]
Huawei expects 40pc jump in operating profit January 15, 2014 CHINA’S Huawei Technologies, the world’s second-largest telecommunication equipment maker, yesterday said revenue is likely to have risen last year by around eight per cent, less than its original target of 10 per cent. Huawei, which ranks behind Sweden’s Ericsson in telecom equipment sales, said unaudited global revenue reached around 238bn yuan to 240bn yuan (£24.16bn) [...]
Ex Co-op chief executive steps down from Thomas Cook board January 15, 2014 FORMER Co-op Group chief executive Peter Marks has announced his resignation from the board of Thomas Cook, according to the tourism firm. Marks will finish his time at the company after the group’s AGM in February, and be replaced by Emre Berkin, currently a non-executive director of Thomas Cook. “I would like to thank Peter [...]
EU commissioner ups pressure on Google in antitrust dispute January 15, 2014 THE EU wants Google to come up with more concessions within weeks if it is to avoid formal charges in an investigation into alleged anti-competitive behaviour, a top official said yesterday. EU competition commissioner Joaquin Almunia said he was still waiting to receive Google’s response to his opinion that concessions offered so far by the internet [...]
