General Motors pulls out of Russia amid rouble volatility December 18, 2014 General Motors is the latest business to have stopped selling its products in Russia amidst the rouble's erratic movements. A spokesman for the car business told City A.M that GM Russia had “decided to temporaraily suspend wholesaling of vehicles to dealers in Russia” as of Tuesday this week (December 16). This decision had [...]
Rouble takes a beating as Apple halts sales in Russia December 16, 2014 Russia’s economic situation spiralled out of control yesterday as its central bank’s shock decision to raise interest rates to 17 per cent failed to prevent a further collapse in the rouble. The currency’s extreme volatility was reflected in a decision late last night by Apple – the world’s largest company – to suspend online sales [...]
Chatting to the Queen about the smartphone era December 16, 2014 The boss of Imagination tells Ollie Gordon how he discussed tech with Elizabeth II IT WASN’T something I was expecting, it was hugely humbling,” says Sir Hossein Yassaie of the knighthood he received from the Queen in the New Year’s Honours list last year in recognition of his services to technology and innovation. Yassaie, the [...]
US can’t rebuff the Russian hit – New York Report December 16, 2014 US STOCKS fell for a third day in a volatile session yesterday, led by declines in consumer discretionary and technology shares, while another drop in the Russian rouble added to worries about the global economy. Energy shares rebounded, keeping the S&P 500 and Dow mostly in positive territory until a bout of late-day selling took [...]
Apple wins billion dollar competition trial over rival music on iTunes December 16, 2014 Apple has won a billion pound court lawsuit after a US jury found updates to its iTunes service in 2006 weren't intended to kill rivals' music. Eight Jurors took just hours to find that Apple's iTunes 7.0, which had been released in late 2006, was a genuine product improvement meaning it could not be in [...]
The business that called “bulls***” on Black Friday December 16, 2014 Britons descended into Black Friday madness this year in the scrum to get a cheap telly, but in the States – where the phenomenon has been going much longer – one business called “bulls***” on the whole thing. Literally. Party game Cards Against Humanity – if you don't know, it is really not suitable [...]
Farewell corporate power: How the rise of the blockchain could change everything December 15, 2014 OUR WORLD is full of third parties – the people and organisations that regulate and manage our interactions. The financial world is particularly replete: conduct authorities, prudential bodies, central banks. Even commercial financial institutions themselves often operate as little more than giant third parties, co-ordinating the connections between millions of lenders and borrowers. However, a [...]
Britain will stagnate if we fail to address our digital skills shortage December 14, 2014 THE SCALE of technological advance over the last two decades has been staggering, and it looks set to continue. According to the World Economic Forum’s competitiveness report, there will be 30bn devices connected to the internet by 2020, roughly four times the size of the estimated global population. In recent years, several companies have been [...]
With Lending Club’s IPO capping off another string of tech floats, is the sector in a bubble? December 14, 2014 Jasper Lawler is market analyst at CMC Markets, says Yes. Tech stocks are not seeing the same excesses as in the dot-com boom. But there are some clear parallels to be drawn, and lofty valuations support exercising caution. The dot-com bubble was characterised by the boom and bust of Pets.com, and in 2014 we’ve seen [...]
William and Kate meet Jay-Z and Beyonce: How Brand Royal has finally entered the 21st century December 14, 2014 This week New Yorkers went mad for Will and Kate as they took a trip to the Big Apple for the first time. Crowds were out in force, media coverage blanketed the channels, hoards of people desperate to catch a glimpse. It was almost as if The Beatles had arrived once again. It’s incredible [...]