There’s something in the Air October 23, 2013 Apple’s updated devices are slimmer and faster than ever. Here’s what to expect from this year’s Christmas essential BEZEL The first thing you notice about the new iPad Air is the size of the bezel surrounding the screen. It is far smaller (43 per cent) than the previous models, which makes it less intrusive when [...]
Internet sales boost results for Argos as Home Retail reports positive results October 23, 2013 Argos and Homebase parent company Home Retail has today announce a positive like-for-like sales performance, despite highlighting limited customer spending, owing to lessened disposable incomes. Profit before tax for the period was £14.2m in the 26 weeks to 31 August. (Release) Argos did particularly well when it came to sales via smart devices – internet [...]
Innovation Diary: British entrepreneurs aren’t lazy – but life could be getting easier for part-time small businesses October 22, 2013 NEW RESEARCH from Hiscox, the insurer, has turned some heads. Its fifth annual study into the entrepreneurial DNA has found that UK small business owners work an average of only 37.6 hours a week – down from 38.5 in 2012. Based on a relatively small sample of 3,000 business owners across six countries, the UK [...]
Postal service goes to the dogs October 21, 2013 THE POST-IPO spike in Royal Mail’s share price may have the newly-floated company feeling bullish, yet it must now beware an unexpected pack of four-legged competitors approaching its turf. With forecasters expecting a chilling winter, one courier firm has been trialling the use of trained huskies to deliver packages throughout the City. The zealous hounds were [...]
Pictures: Husky delivery service trialled in the City October 21, 2013 After Winter deliveries have been disrupted by adverse weather in previous years, same day courier CitySprint is now trialling a novel new delivery method in the City – packages via sled dog team. Trained huskies have been used in London today in an attempt to see if they could help minimise disruption caused by extreme [...]
Grafton keen on further growth after switching Irish roots for UK listing October 20, 2013 Gavin Slark, boss of the builders’ merchant, tells Kasmira Jefford what’s next for his company WHEN Gavin Slark was handed the toolbox and made chief executive of the Irish-based builders merchant two years ago, Grafton was in dire need of repairs. The global financial crisis had all but flattened the UK and Ireland’s construction market [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 17 October 2013 October 16, 2013 FINANCIAL TIMES General Electric to float Swiss arm GE Capital, the financial arm of General Electric, is to float a 60 per cent stake in its Swiss consumer credit operation, valuing the business at up to 1.5bn swiss francs (£1bn). The float of GE Money Bank, which will be renamed Cembra Money Bank, is expected [...]
Royal Mail staff to go on strike in November October 16, 2013 ROYAL Mail staff will go on strike next month, after postmen and women yesterday voted overwhelmingly for a national walkout over pay and conditions. Shares in the recently privatised postal service dipped slightly after the Communication Workers Union (CWU) confirmed that staff would down tools for a 24 hour strike on 4 November. Royal Mail said it was [...]
Ebay benefits from increased use of PayPal for transactions October 16, 2013 ONLINE shopping giant eBay last night announced a strong rise in quarterly revenue, largely thanks a strong performance by money transfer service PayPal. Although eBay is best known for its online auction site, almost half of the company’s revenue now comes from its PayPal division which has 137m active registered users. Many third party companies now [...]
Royal Mail staff to strike on 4 November October 16, 2013 Royal Mail staff will strike on 4 November after the Communication Workers Union's (CWU) ballot of around 115,000 members returned a 4-1 decision in favour of industrial action, it has been announced. In the midst of controversy around its sell-off, the CWU, the main postal union, balloted around its members for industrial action on privatisation, [...]