The new front in the mobile phone wars August 15, 2011 THE future for companies like Nokia and Motorola, once the great pioneers of the mobile phone industry, has been bleak for some time. The likes of Apple and RIM have eaten away at their share of the high-end smartphone market for several years now, while cheaper Asian manufacturers will soon do the same in the [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING August 11, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES LI & FUNG UPBEAT OVER THE GLOBAL ECONOMY Li & Fung, the Hong Kong-headquartered sourcing company for retailers such as Walmart and Debenhams, sounded an upbeat note on Thursday, asserting that business conditions were “not at all” like those in 2008”, despite the current uncertainty over prospects for the global economy. Bruce Rockowitz, [...]
Mortgage lending rises in June August 10, 2011 Mortgage lending jumped in June according to figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). The total number of new home loans to house buyers jumped by 22 per cent from May, to 46,700. Loans to first-time buyers reached a 10-month high, up 24 per cent from May to 18,100. Although the level of lending [...]
ABERDEEN SETS SAIL FOR COWES IN STYLE August 4, 2011 THE RECEIVED wisdom about sailing is that it is equivalent to “standing under a cold shower tearing up £20 notes”. Make that “standing under a fire hydrant tearing up £50 notes” and the description is spot on, said double gold-winning Olympian Sarah Gosling, as she sheltered from the rain in Bow Churchyard outside Aberdeen Asset [...]
Northern Rock narrows loss August 3, 2011 Nationalised lender Northern Rock posted a first-half loss of £78.8m and said it continues to work on plans for an eventual sale of the company back to the private sector. Last year it made a first-half loss of £140m, and the company said it now expects to start trading profitably some time in the second [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING August 2, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES LIVING SOCIAL SET TO BUY TICKET MONSTER LivingSocial, the world’s second biggest group discount website by customers after Groupon, has agreed to buy Ticket Monster, a South Korean equivalent site, to strengthen its presence in Asia. It is the latest acquisition by the US company, which has this year announced three deals to [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING August 1, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES FOXCONN LOOKS TO AN AUTOMATED FUTURE WITH 1M ROBOTS BY 2013 Foxconn, the world’s largest contract electronics manufacturer by revenue, plans to have as many robots as workers in its China factories within three years, according to Terry Gou, chairman and chief executive. Foxconn, China’s biggest employer, produced Apple’s iPad and other electronic [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING July 28, 2011 FINANCIAL TIMES BHP BILLITON DIGS IN AGAINST STRIKING MINERS BHP Billiton has declared force majeure on exports from the world’s biggest copper mine, as a mineworkers’ strike entered its eighth day. The strike at BHP’s Escondida mine in Chile, which supplied 7 per cent of the world’s copper last year, comes in a month of [...]
PROPERTY NEWS July 28, 2011 FAIRY TALE CASTLE FOR SALE Castello di Scerpena, a five-bedroom mediaeval castle in Tuscany, is now on the market for €16.5m. There are two villas, a guardian cottage, a deer park and 190 hectares of land with 7,000 olive trees attached to the property’s sale. Contact Savills International on 0207 016 3754 or go to [...]
Six parties in Lloyds talks for branches July 24, 2011 LLOYDS is in talks with six interested parties over the sale of its 632 branches, City A.M. understands, despite only two of them having submitted formal bids so far. However, some of those involved are only interested in chunks of the £68bn in assets on sale, which could prove a headache for regulators who want [...]