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 [...]
How businesses can make their staff happier – saying “thank you” more often will help February 4, 2015 Did any of your staff take advantage of National Sickie Day this week and pretend to be unwell while secretly going to a job interview? The first monday of February saw an estimated 350,000 workers in the UK take the day off under the pretence of illness, with a quarter of the month’s job interviews [...]
Apple overtakes Android in US smartphone sector for first time in three years February 4, 2015 Apple is on a roll. After posting record profits that put it in the history books and following that up with an all-time high share price, you might be thinking so what. But much of Apple's success in the three months to December 27 came from China, where revenues grew 70 per cent, [...]
The tricks you need to secure that promotion February 3, 2015 Be clear on your priorities and don’t push for too much at once. If you weren’t one of the 37 per cent of UK workers who were hoping to leave their job at the start of the year, you may well be looking for a promotion from your current role. The Institute of Leadership [...]
Mix it up: Raise your glass to London’s best rooftop cocktail bars with a view February 3, 2015 Architects and engineers are at war with the sky. While they battle it out, the rest of us can sit back and raise a glass to the men and women who are realising humanity’s inexorable urge to break the heavens. Each skyscraper will have its day – but there can be no winners. Just consider [...]
Apple taps US bond market for $5bn to fund its share buyback February 2, 2015 APPLE was last night issuing new bonds thought to be worth $5bn (£3.3bn) to fund a host of “general corporate purchases,” including share repurchases. Despite its record quarterly profits of $18bn, the tech giant is making the most of historically-low costs of corporate borrowing. In its Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing Apple said the [...]
Four things we know about China’s luxury consumers: Apple is most desirable but British brands rate among wealthy shoppers February 2, 2015 Chinese spending on luxury goods may be faltering as the economy slows down and the government clamps down on gift-giving of luxury items, but consumer spending is still expected to help carry the country’s economy ahead of the US as the world’s largest over the next decade. The rise of the luxury brand in Asian [...]
Apple plans to issue $5bn worth of bonds February 2, 2015 Apple is issuing new bonds thought to be worth $5bn (£3.3bn) to fund a host of “general corporate purchases,” including share repurchases, dividends, capital expenditures and acquisitions, and repayment of debt. Despite a record quarterly earnings of $18bn, the tech giant is making the most of the record-low costs of corporate borrowing. Seven, 10 and [...]
From Greek elections and Apple’s record-making profits to Thameslink floods and Afren’s misery: Here’s what got us talking this week January 30, 2015 News was dominated by results from the US this week, but it was Apple that really made waves with its history-making profits of $18bn in one quarter. Here are five things that put that into perspective. (Hint: It's huge). Meanwhile as the results of the Greek election began to sink in, investors started reacting. [...]
Apple’s share price just hit a record high of $120 following huge post-iPhone 6 quarterly earnings January 30, 2015 Not content with smashing records when it comes to profit and iPhone sales, Apple's share price just hit $120 per share, its highest price ever. Shares jumped almost a percentage point on yesterday's $118.90 close, taking it above a previous all-time high of $119.75 which it touched back in November. After revealing a stellar set [...]