Apple borrows €2.8bn at lowest euro rate on record November 4, 2014 APPLE tapped European bond markets yesterday borrowing €2.8bn (£2.2bn) in the cheapest euro bond sale ever with investors clamouring to lend to the iPhone-maker. The US tech giant offered its first- ever European debt in two tranches with eight and 12-year maturities, with record-low yields of 1.082 per cent and 1.671 per cent respectively. While [...]
After magnificent year Primark shakes off retail’s winter blues November 4, 2014 PRIMARK’S “magnificent” performance over the past year caught the imagination of investors yesterday as shares in owner Associated British Foods (ABF) jumped 4.2 per cent on news of the discount retailer’s trading. Only last week, Next warned that the impact of the unexpectedly warm autumn was set to hit most high street retailers. However, ABF [...]
Alibaba share price rises to record high as company now worth over $100bn more than Amazon November 4, 2014 Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba saw its shares rose to a record high yesterday of $106.07 after it reported strong second-quarter results and said it would invest for the long term to expand its customer base. It was Alibaba’s maiden quarterly results since its $25bn (£15.6bn) float on the New York Stock Exchange in September, when [...]
PhotoBox picks up Spanish rival Hofmann to boost EU expansion November 4, 2014 Europe’s largest online photo processing company PhotoBox further expanded its reach yesterday with the acquisition of Spanish photobook firm Hofmann. The deal, which is understood to take full advantage of the £50m revolving credit facility PhotoBox secured with RBS and Barclays in June, is part of the firm’s strategy to accelerate international expansion. “We’re keen [...]
UK retailers expect bumper Christmas: John Lewis advert announced and Fortnum & Mason seasonal window revealed November 3, 2014 Nearly three quarters of UK retailers (70 per cent) believe this Christmas will bring better trading than last year due to an improving economy and following a healthy year of trading. Read: A short history of John Lewis' Christmas ad success The figures compare favourably to the 52 per cent of retailers [...]
Apple readying first European bond offering November 3, 2014 APPLE’S share price rose 1.3 per cent yesterday on reports that it is planning to sell more bonds. A tranche are thought to be in euros marking the iPhone-maker’s first European bond offering. Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs were said to be calling up investors yesterday, stoking demand for such an offering, according to The [...]
War of words as Publicis defends Sapient buyout November 3, 2014 French advertising giant Publicis Groupe will buy US digital ad specialist Sapient for $3.7bn (£2.3bn) in cash as it seeks to accelerate growth after a botched merger earlier this year. While Publicis chairman and chief executive Maurice Levy labelled Sapient a “crown jewel” in the announcement, the chief executive of rival ad group WPP, [...]
EU broadcaster RTL in $100m deal with YouTube fashion platform StyleHaul November 3, 2014 European broadcasting group RTL said yesterday it has taken control of StyleHaul, a YouTube fashion platform, for $107m (£67m) as it beefs up its online presence to keep younger viewers who it risks losing from its traditional TV channels. The deal increases RTL’s holdings in StyleHaul from 22.3 per cent to 93.6 per cent [...]
Ask.fm to boost safety as part of move to Ireland November 3, 2014 Social network Ask.fm is relocating from Latvia to Ireland, joining the headquarters of parent company Ask.com, in a move to boost “operational efficiency” and double down on the safety of the website. In August Ask.fm – the anonymous question and answer network which has been linked to teenage suicides after bullying on its site – [...]
Virgin Galactic SpaceShipTwo crash: Year-long investigation to push back commercial flight launch November 3, 2014 An investigation into the crash of Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo in California’s Mojave Desert on Friday, that resulted in the death of one pilot, will take up to a year and could delay plans for the start of commercial space flights next year. Billionaire entrepreneur and Galactic’s founder Richard Branson vowed on Saturday to find out [...]
