British inventor of first laptop computer Bill Moggridge dies September 10, 2012 THE BRITISH inventor of the laptop computer, Bill Moggridge, has died aged 69 after a battle with cancer. The industrial designer created the Grid Compass computer in 1979. It was the first device of its kind to marry a screen and a keyboard connected by a pair of hinges, a design which revolutionised the portable [...]
Figures reveal GDP decline in France and Italy September 10, 2012 THE FRENCH economy shrank in the third quarter of the year, according to updated estimates released yesterday, while the pace of Italy’s economic decline appears to be worse than previously believed. France, the second largest economy in the Eurozone, will lose 0.1 per cent of GDP in the three months to September, its central bank [...]
Fresh calls for asset purchases after US consumer debt shrinks September 10, 2012 US CONSUMER credit shrank in July, the Federal Reserve revealed last night, the first fall for nearly a year. The change surprised analysts and gave yet further impetus to the calls for another programme of asset purchases. Driven by Americans paying off credit card debt, consumer credit shrank by nearly $3.3bn (£2.1bn) in July, compared [...]
South Korean stimulus fails to stir markets September 10, 2012 SOUTH Korea will engage in additional fiscal stimulus, in order to carry its export-driven economy through the world slowdown, it announced yesterday. Policymakers in Seoul cannot do anything about their beleaguered export markets directly, and are therefore adding nearly £3.3bn worth of stimulus to the near-£4.5bn announced in June. But markets were disappointed by the [...]
Sluggish demand at home and abroad knocks Chinese trade September 10, 2012 CHINESE export growth disappointed last month according to trade data released yesterday, increasing the prospect of more monetary and fiscal stimulus from Beijing authorities. Exports were up 2.7 per cent compared to August last year, yet growth is being weighed down by weak demand in areas such as the Eurozone. And imports shrank by 2.6 [...]
Pokemon chooses Chiswick as its new headquarters in the UK September 10, 2012 THE COMPANY behind the Pokemon gaming phenomenon has chosen Chiswick as its new UK base, it confirmed yesterday. The Pokemon Company International will move its London offices westward to the Blackstone-owned Chiswick Park from its previous base in Fulham as part of a ten-year lease deal. The gaming group plans to take almost 10,000 square [...]
Hindmarch bags global spread as luxury goods sales increase September 10, 2012 BRITISH luxury handbag maker Anya Hindmarch is set to start selling in the US, Middle East and Asia. Hindmarch’s brand, which acquired a new investor last month, will open a concession in Harvey Nichols Kuwait and a flagship store on Madison Avenue in New York next year. South Korea, Hong Kong and Japan are also [...]
Small firms say they lack faith in official stats September 10, 2012 SMALL FIRMS have little faith in official forecasts, preferring instead to rely on information from their own business or their peers, a survey from Axa has revealed. A whopping 92 per cent of respondents said they did not use official government economic predictions in planning their business strategy, the survey showed. Of those disregarding the [...]
Londoners upbeat as the city again defies housing downturn September 10, 2012 LONDON bucked a national downward housing trend once again in August, according to a report released today by RICS. The rosy figures appear to justify Londoners’ optimism, compared to the gloom in the rest of the country, which was recorded yesterday by a YouGov poll. The net house price balance was -19 in August, up [...]
Recruiter says jobs boom will continue to the end of the year September 10, 2012 THE UK’S jobs boom, which has continually surprised analysts and defied the double-dip recession, will endure through to the fourth quarter of the year, recruiter ManPower said today. The outlook for employment in the UK stands at +3 per cent, its strongest level since 2008, the group said, implying employers will continue to hire new [...]
