WINDOWS 7 SCORES A GOAL WITH ANALYSTS October 21, 2009 MICROSOFT’S long-awaited new operating system (OS) launched last night, as the software giant hoped to fend off competition from Google and mend a reputation damaged by the failures of Windows Vista. Analysts welcomed the arrival of Windows 7, which Microsoft executive Ashley Highfield dubbed “the pivotal turning point” for the firm. Julie Larson-Green, Microsoft vice-president [...]
How Apple is stealing the limelight from Microsoft October 21, 2009 WHEN Microsoft releases Windows 7 today, it will be closing a troubled chapter in its history. The previous version of its operating system, Windows Vista, has been cut adrift by massive changes in the PC market since its launch in 2007; a resurgent Apple, soaring sales of netbooks that run free alternatives to Windows and [...]
LET THEM EAT CAKE October 21, 2009 THE diet police seem to be losing. For nothing, these days, is chicer than a fresh baked goodie. The cupcake has taken us by storm, and the allure of the soft-baked cookie, or moist piece of cake containing anything from beetroot to peanut butter has seduced us entirely. So slinky have baked goods become, that [...]
Don’t be afraid to dip your toe in the volatile forex waters October 20, 2009 OVER recent years one market type more than any other seems to have grabbed the attention of spread betting clients – foreign exchange. At the beginning of 2009, as equity markets continued to plumb the depths and were shunned by investors, our spread betting firm saw forex overtake equities in monthly trading volume. Of course [...]
A poor economic backdrop will see UK stocks trail their overseas peers October 20, 2009 IT’S hard to be optimistic about Britain’s economy. It lags behind both France and Germany in exiting recession and a sharp contraction in industrial output in September cast doubt over how positive third quarter GDP data – released this Friday – will be. A slow and protracted recovery lies ahead, according to the Bank of [...]
Weaker dollar means central banks more likely to enter forex markets October 20, 2009 WATCHING for central bank intervention has once again become a critical part of following the currency markets. The Swiss National Bank has been the most active and open in its interventions, decidedly entering the forex markets whenever the Swiss franc approaches the SFr1.5 level against the euro. Equally, countries such as Singapore and Taiwan are [...]
HAWKISH FED IS BEST HOPE FOR DOLLAR October 20, 2009 BORIS SCHLOSSBERGDIRECTOR OF CURRENCY RESEARCH, GFT THIS Monday, during CNBC’s “Squawk Box” in the US, I remarked that these days it is easier to find a poor Goldman Sachs banker than to meet a dollar bull on Wall Street. But when everyone is so bearish on the currency and the trade becomes tremendously crowded, we [...]
Outlook for major currency pairs to depend on world economic recovery October 20, 2009 DURING the economic crisis, many central banks cut interest rates to near-zero and introduced further monetary expansion through asset purchase policies. With all major economies suffering from recession and little interest rate differential, currency traders looked to daily fluctuations for their profits. But with the global economy showing signs of a more entrenched recovery and [...]
Hargreaves’ asset values soar October 20, 2009 Stockbroker Hargreaves Lansdown said yesterday that it saw a 22 per cent increase in asset values in its first quarter, as the stock market rally encouraged investors. The firm said that total assets under administration stood at £14.5bn at 30 September, compared to £11.9bn at the end of June, while quarterly operating revenue rose 13 [...]
Autonomy shares drop amid margin concerns October 20, 2009 Shares in Autonomy dropped yesterday after the software firm said that the costs of meeting demand for its new database search product had hit its gross margin in the third quarter. Autonomy – which makes software that searches e-mail, telephone calls and documents for government departments – posted revenue of $191.6m (£116.4m) for the three [...]
