Rising sun set to shine again September 28, 2011 THERE is a strong argument that Japanese equities are undervalued. Although the macro situation remains bleak, this doesn’t preclude companies from turning a profit – particularly on the back of Chinese demand. A GOOD DEAL Ben Seager Scott of Bestinvest says “Japan is looking like a fairly attractive investment opportunity at the moment, with cheap [...]
FIVE OF THE BEST MONEY-SAVING SMARTPHONE APPS September 28, 2011 RED LASER Ever wondered if you can buy something cheaper online? Now you can know. Red Laser is a barcode scanning app that allows you to compare like-for-like products on shopping websites such as TheFind, Google Product Search, eBay and Half.com. Free, available on iPhone and Android. SPOTIFY That good old money-saving classic for your desktop [...]
Economically reckless tax championed September 28, 2011 THOUGH most ought to have ceased to be surprised by off-the-wall Eurozone policy announcements and scapegoating speeches, you can always rely on European ministers to pull something out of the bag. And yesterday, Jose Manuel Barroso, the European Commission president, did not disappoint. As the Eurozone quakes in its boots at the prospect of Greek [...]
How to get the answers right at interview September 28, 2011 THE vast majority of interviews are “competency-based” these days. This means they use a method of questioning that aims to find out whether or not you can do the job. It also means that the same questions come up time and time again. This is great news for interviewees because it’s easy to prepare when [...]
Putting women on boards will not help September 28, 2011 CATASTROPHIC errors of judgment” by company boards are blamed in Alistair Darling’s memoirs for the spectacular corporate failures over the last few years. Bringing more women into the boardroom to shake up behaviour is being touted as at least part of the answer and Lord Davies has called for at least a quarter of the [...]
Life in your hands: smartphone apps September 28, 2011 RIGHT, you’ve got the latest kit, the iPhone 4, iPad 2, BlackBerry Bold Touch perhaps, but your smartphone’s home screen is looking ever-so bare. Remedying this involves a trawl through app stores and user reviews without even knowing what you’re looking for. Fear not. We look beyond the social necessities of Facebook and Foursquare, and [...]
OUT OF OFFICE September 28, 2011 LONDON RESTAURANT FESTIVAL Celebrate the London Restaurant Festival this October as it sweeps through the capital once more. Highlights include the gastronomic roadtrip Gourmet Odyssey, (that is, a restaurant crawl on a Routemaster bus), which hops from course to course including restaurants such as the Michelin-starred Arbutus to Dishoom on Upper St Martin’s Lane. 3 [...]
Domino’s on track thanks to new ranges September 28, 2011 Pizza delivery firm Domino’s Pizza said it was on track to meet full year expectations after sales growth accelerated, benefiting from the launch of new stuffed crust and ‘Gourmet’ ranges. The company, which runs the British and Irish franchises of the global delivery brand, said its stuffed crust range had proved popular after being launched [...]
Misys revenue up but orders fall September 28, 2011 Misys, the British banking software firm courted by a US rival in the summer, posted a four per cent rise in first-quarter revenue, helped by customer wins in Asia and the Middle East. But delayed sales to three new and upgrading customers in Asia and Europe in its Sophis unit, which serves capital markets, meant [...]
Watchdog gives SABMiller green light for Foster’s deal September 28, 2011 Australia’s competition watchdog has given the go-ahead to SABMiller’s $10bn (£6bn) friendly acquisition of brewer Foster’s Group as expected, saying the bid would not lessen competition. SABMiller and Foster’s last week agreed on a sweetened A$9.9bn takeover deal. “The proposed acquisition is not likely to result in a substantial lessening of competition for the supply [...]
