Wall St quietly awaits plans from Europe – New York Report February 11, 2015 THE S&P 500 index finished unchanged yesterday as investors were reluctant to make big bets while they waited for the outcomes of major talks involving Greece and Ukraine, but Apple helped boost the Nasdaq after an activist investor’s bullish comments. Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis began tense talks with Eurozone finance ministers yesterday after his [...]
Five things you could buy for the same price as the Premier League TV rights: 325 Balotellis, 2.2m travelcards, 65m Apple shares and more February 11, 2015 Buying up the rights to broadcast Premier League matches to avid football fans across the UK doesn't come cheap. At a total of £5.2bn, a record price paid by Sky and BT, that’s some serious spending power. Here’s what else that sort of cash could be splashed on. 1. 2.2m travelcards How about buying [...]
Apple smashes $700bn valuation: Three charts that perfectly sum up just how massive Apple is February 11, 2015 As markets closed in New York last night, Apple officially became the first company in US history to record a valuation of more than $700bn at close of trading. If there had been any doubt as to whether Apple was the biggest company in the world (and there had been – last year, Apple was [...]
Apple becomes most valuable publicly traded company ever February 10, 2015 Apple has become the first ever publicly traded company to exceed a total value of $700bn (£459bn). Shares in the technology giant went up by two per cent to $122.02 (£79.99) at close on Tuesday, giving the company a valuation of $711bn (£466bn). This was $13.4bn (£8.8bn) higher than on Monday, and makes Apple [...]
Microsoft issues 40-year bond for the first time in its history February 9, 2015 MICROSOFT launched $10.75bn (£7.05bn) in new bond offerings yesterday. Of that sale, $2.25bn was raised by the issuance of 40-year bonds – loans to Microsoft that do not have to be repaid for 40 years. It is the first time the company has sold bonds with a maturity as long as 40 years. Reports suggest [...]
Imagination picks former Sony Mobile chief Bert Nordberg as next chairman February 9, 2015 British microchip designer Imagination Technologies yesterday appointed Bert Nordberg as its new chairman. Nordberg, the former president and chief executive of Sony Mobile communications, will succeed Geoff Shingles, who is retiring on 20 March. “It is a great pleasure to welcome Bert to Imagination,” said Imagination’s Senior independent director David Anderson in a statement. “His [...]
Alibaba moves into smartphone market with £400m investment February 9, 2015 Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba has bought a $590m (£388m) minority stake in Chinese smartphone maker Meizu. The move signals Alibaba’s first major foray into smartphone hardware as it looks to build a platform for its YunOS mobile operating system. In a joint statement, the two companies said they will collaborate “to achieve [...]
Arm buys into the Internet of Things with acquisition of Dutch firm Offspark February 9, 2015 It looks like UK chip designer Arm Holdings sees its future in internet-ready fridges. The company has just announced the acquisition of Offspark, a Dutch firm which specialises in security software for the Internet of Things. There are signs the Internet of Things is finally making headway, with headline grabbers like Google's $3.2bn (£2bn) acquisition [...]
From banking to barista: Meet Notes director Edward Halfon February 8, 2015 Mass-produced coffee is out: new, hip speciality cafes are in. Former financier Edward Halfon tells Annabel Denham how the founders of food and wine “destination” Notes plan to indulge our ever-evolving taste buds. Recent research from the small business website Startups.co.uk found that “cult cafes” will become the hottest business opportunity over the next 12 [...]
Is Apple just milking the cow? I have an awful feeling it might be… February 6, 2015 $18 billion of profit in one quarter. More than three times the quarterly profit of Microsoft and Google and according to the World Bank, on a par with the annual GDP of Yemen. What is it that keeps Apple at the top? Why do we all rush down to the Apple store to bag the [...]