Games offset music slump at Vivendi August 31, 2011 IN a sign of the changing entertainment landscape, a blistering performance by Vivendi’s video games division has offset a slump in its music business. Vivendi’s Universal Music, host to acts including Rihanna and U2, saw its first half underlying earnings fall 17 per cent to €132m (£117m), on revenues down 1.9 per cent at €1.86bn. [...]
FT app dropped from Apple store over fee and data row August 31, 2011 APPLE yesterday kicked the Financial Times from its App Store after the two failed to reach a compromise over subscription fees and user data. The Cupertino-based firm insists on taking a 30 per cent slice of ongoing subscription revenues as well as collating valuable customer information. There has been animosity between the FT’s publisher Pearson [...]
Japan tech trio tie up LCD arms August 31, 2011 JAPAN’S tech giants Sony, Toshiba and Hitachi will merge their liquid-crystal display operations using 200bn yen (£1.6bn) of government-backed funds to fend off growing competition from rivals in South Korea and Taiwan, the groups said yesterday. The firms were all making losses on small panels until last year so the merger will allow them to [...]
RBS inks deal for mobile apps August 31, 2011 ROYAL Bank of Scotland has penned a deal with mobile banking specialist Monitise to expand its phone banking and payments services. Monitise said the five year partnership will see it build new, more interactive mobile apps for RBS, NatWest and Ulster Bank customers, in an extension of existing ties between the two companies. Shares in [...]
Bwin.party surges 14pc despite loss August 31, 2011 Bwin.party surged 13.91 per cent yesterday after an upbeat forecast, despite slumping to a first half loss. The world’s biggest listed online gaming firm, formed by the merger of Austria’s Bwin and PartyGaming earlier this year, reported a pre-tax loss of €50.8m (£45m), down from a profit of €22.8m the year before. It was hit [...]
888 hits expectations despite writedown on acquisition August 31, 2011 Gaming firm 888 said it is performing well in a tough market as it unveiled a pre-tax loss of £15.5m for its first half, in line with expectations. Its accounts included a £20.2m writedown on its Mytopia social media business, which it acquired in 2010. Its revenue jumped 18 per cent from £130m in the [...]
Volvo in Siemens partnership August 31, 2011 German industrial group Siemens and Swedish carmaker Volvo have formed a partnership to develop technology for electric cars and ancillary equipment. The two companies said yesterday that an electric version of Volvo’s small C30 hatchback will serve as a test platform and will be on test tracks by the end of the year. Volvo will [...]
Orders up at comms group Vislink August 31, 2011 Secure communications specialist Vislink has posted its interim results for the six months ended 30 June, showing that underlying orders received in the period grew 19 per cent to £23.7m. Vislink said that it was cautiously optimistic that the second half of 2011 will show a further strong improvement in trading. However underlying revenue was [...]
London’s rent continues to edge upward August 31, 2011 STRONG demand and weak supply continues to hike up London rents, with many young people struggling to get a step onto the property ladder. “Rental growth in London and the south has outperformed the rest of the country, though all regions have seen a pickup in rents,” the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said [...]
How to solve the scourge of youth joblessness August 31, 2011 IT is not a good time to be young. Much has been stacked against them – poor job opportunities, rising house prices and tuition fees, collapsing pensions, and the burden of having to pay off the national debt. Last week, figures showed a shock rise in youth unemployment, with nearly one million under 25 year [...]
