Addison Lee is taking the fight against Uber to the Big Apple February 7, 2016 To an outsider Addison Lee might look like a company that’s losing momentum. Disruptive rival Uber has burst on to the scene, and defied recent attempts (in the UK, at least) to use the strong arm of regulators to clip its wings. But Addison Lee insists that it had a great Christmas, and the minicab giant [...]
Apple confirms iPhone 6 killing “Error 53” was intended as a security measure February 5, 2016 Thousands of outraged Apple users claim their iPhone 6 handsets have been rendered permanently useless by a dreaded “Error 53” message, locked down because of third-party repairs to the TouchID system. Apple has confirmed that the “Error 53” issue, reported by the Guardian this morning, was purposefully developed as a security measure. It’s struck users [...]
Apple expands “Reuse and Recycle” programme to let people trade in their broken iPhone February 5, 2016 Apple is finally letting iPhone owners cash in their broken models to upgrade to the latest version. The tech giant is expanding its so-called “Reuse and Recycle” programme to allow customers to sell their broken phones for credit they can then use to upgrade to a new phone. Previously, this programme was limited to phones [...]
Transport for London’s plan to make all Black Cabs accept card payments is great news – but the details tilts the playing field against them February 5, 2016 We all love simplicity and speed. Last weekend I popped into my local Apple Store at Bluewater to get a new charging cable. Instead of queuing, one of the staff came over to me and I purchased the cable via her handheld mobile payment device. The VAT business receipt was automatically emailed to me. What a [...]
Warren Buffett values companies with strong brands: Should you? February 5, 2016 Coca-Cola, American Express, Heinz, Warren Buffett is a well-known advocate of buying and holding familiar companies with strong brands. “The dynamics of capitalism guarantee that competitors will repeatedly assault any business ‘castle’ that is earning high returns,” he wrote in 2007. “Therefore a formidable barrier such as a company being the low-cost producer or possessing [...]
The seven weird habits of highly successful people, from Bill Gates to Marissa Mayer and Warren Buffett February 4, 2016 Bill Gates has revealed that he used to keep tabs on his employees' movements to assess when they were and were not in work – and if, like him, they were diligently in on the weekend. But he's not the only business leader with a quirky obsession or two – here we take a look at some [...]
Nokia’s fall after the patent license arbitration with Samsung shows investors overreact wildly to intellectual property news February 4, 2016 When Nokia released information about the outcome of its patent licensing arbitration with Samsung, its share price fell by over 10 per cent within hours. This is not the first time that stock prices have reacted in an unpredictable fashion to intellectual property (IP) news. The poster child for this mispricing was when GoPro stock [...]
How the Jaguar F-Type bagged us an invite to party with Kendall Jenner February 3, 2016 There are four bungalows situated behind the high walls of the notorious Chateau Marmont, each one the location of countless rock n’ roll parties. Mine has a particularly macabre claim to fame; the master bedroom was where comedy icon John Belushi checked out permanently. It’s a modernist LA pad, with floor-to-ceiling windows, whitewashed brick walls, [...]
The best restaurants in Reykjavik, Iceland reviewed February 3, 2016 Egill Skallagrímsson, one of Iceland’s most beloved folk heroes, wrote his first poem aged three, was an alcoholic by six and a murderer at seven. He’s famed for his acerbic wit, vicious temper and handiness with an axe, which he was more than willing to drive through the skull of friend or foe alike. His [...]
The efficiency paradox: How to improve every part of your business February 3, 2016 "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” Managers today would do well to remember Aristotle’s teaching. In modern businesses, efficiency is often falsely equated with success, or over-emphasised as a means for achieving it. But the success of a business as a whole depends on more than beefing up, stripping down, or optimising [...]