What Apple needs to do to become the world’s first trillion-dollar company January 11, 2018 It hasn’t exactly been a happy new year for Apple. The tech giant rang in 2018 apologising to customers for deliberately slowing the performance of older iPhone models in a bid to spur new purchases. And this week, Apple investors Jana Partners and CalSTRS – which together own about $2bn of the company’s stock – [...]
Warren Buffett thinks bitcoin will “come to a bad ending” as Berkshire Hathaway boss wades in on cryptocurrency craze January 10, 2018 The so-called Oracle of Omaha has become the latest high-profile investor to weigh in on bitcoin – as he gave an indication of his succession plans by promoting two potential heirs. Warren Buffett, the cherry Coke-swilling boss of investor Berkshire Hathaway, said “with almost certainty” that cryptocurrencies “will come to a bad ending”. During an [...]
Facebook will take on Amazon Echo with smart home device Portal set for May launch January 10, 2018 Watch out Amazon, it looks like Facebook is about to muscle in on smart home territory. The social networking giant is poised to launch a device for chatting via video, according to a report, similar to Amazon’s Echo Show which is a smart speaker with a screen powered by the Alexa voice assistant. Read more: [...]
Samsung posts record profits but investor hopes go up in flames January 9, 2018 Samsung revealed overnight it is in line to make record annual profits. But quarterly profits missed expectations as staff bonuses and a strong currency took some gloss off a buoyant chip market. The South Korean electronics giant said fourth-quarter operating profit would be 15.1 trillion (£10.4bn) won, a jump of 64 per cent, but below [...]
Dialog Semiconductor share price rises as Apple supplier reports record Q4 revenue ahead of forecast January 8, 2018 Dialog Semiconductor has reported record revenue for the fourth quarter, beating its own forecasts. The figures The preliminary figures for the quarter came in at $463m, a rise of 27 per cent on the same time last year. In November 2017, the chipmaker had forecast revenue of between $415m and $455m. Full-year revenue is now [...]
Royal Hideaway La Bobadilla review: The retreat offers a relaxing and sophisticated winter escape to Andalucia January 5, 2018 Royal Hideaway La Bobadilla, part of the Barceló Hotel Group, is true to its name; a five-star retreat set in 1,000 acres of private and protected grounds, nestled amongst the dramatic mountainous Mediterranean landscape between Málaga, Granada, Seville and Córdoba. Its privacy, discretion and distinctly unostentatious sophistication make for a relaxing and contemplative break at [...]
Too big to list? Why the international scramble for the Aramco IPO might prove a wild goose chase January 4, 2018 Last week, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) announced a delay to its proposed introduction of a new listing category for the London Stock Exchange. The proposal – which has already endured a six-month consultation – is widely seen as an attempt by the regulator to bend its own rules on stock market flotations… in ways [...]
What the advertising industry should watch out for in 2018 January 3, 2018 We ask advertising bosses what’s in store for the year ahead. Alex Hesz, chief strategy officer, Adam&eveDDB In the era of fake news, advertising has emerged as an unlikely standard-bearer for scrutiny. We have long embraced the necessity of third-party regulation to verify what is fact and what is fantasy. Our job is to tell [...]
Are markets too complacent about the US economy? January 3, 2018 The status of the US as the world’s most dynamic and important single country economy remains intact, not least among investors. Its strengths are now very much reflected in financial market valuations. This is evident in stocks, with the US having been at the vanguard of a multi-year bull run, while bond yields have reached [...]
Alibaba’s Ant Financial abandons $1.2bn MoneyGram takeover as US authorities refuse to back deal January 3, 2018 The proposed $1.2bn (£880m) sale of US company MoneyGram to a China-based group has been blocked. Ant Financial, the digital payments arm of Alibaba, had reached an agreement to buy MoneyGram after beating out competition from US firm Euronet. But government regulators on Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) have refused to [...]