Chinese media giants rivalling US dominance December 7, 2014 CHINA is gaining ground on America’s dominance of the world’s biggest digital media companies with the Asian powerhouse now accounting for two of the six largest online media firms, by revenues generated. Baidu, the Chinese internet search firm, and Tencent, the Chinese online services giant, both reached the top six with revenues of $3.4bn (£2.2bn) [...]
As Premier Foods is criticised, should the state take action against “pay and stay” practices? December 7, 2014 Toby Perkins is shadow business minister, says Yes. If we are to build a strong economy which works fairly, we need businesses of all sizes to thrive. Unfair business practices threaten the recovery by undermining free and fair markets. Firms always have a right to negotiate for better prices, but the Premier Foods approach takes [...]
Apple antitrust case on brink of collapse December 6, 2014 An anti-trust lawsuit brought against tech giant Apple could soon fall apart thanks to last-minute objections raised by the company's lawyers. The case is to decide whether Apple misused its position in the digital music market between 2006 and March 2009. Apple used software that meant only music bought from iTunes could be played the [...]
Autumn Statement 2014: Google Tax set to raise £1bn from companies shifting profits overseas December 3, 2014 Starbucks, Apple and Google will pay higher UK taxes under a new tax that looks to stem the tide of multinational companies shifting profits to overseas tax havens. The Diverted Profits Tax, already dubbed the Google Tax, is set to raise over £1bn over the next five years by applying a 25 per cent tax [...]
2014 Christmas gift ideas: Must-have gadgets from Bose speakers to Dyson fans and the iPhone 6 Plus December 2, 2014 Our pick of the must-have gadgets this festive season. Bose SoundTouch 20 Excellent sound quality and an easy-to-navigate app makes this wireless speaker system – now with Spotify connectivity – one of the best on the market. £349.95 currys.co.uk iPhone 6 Plus Love your iPhone but wish it were a few sizes bigger? [...]
Intelligent Energy boss Henri Winand cheery in face of dismal numbers December 1, 2014 Despite the company’s numbers showing a decidedly downward trend, Intelligent Energy chief executive Henri Winand remains very positive on the future of the business. The energy technology firm yesterday posted its preliminary full-year results, the first Intelligent Energy has published since floating on the main market in July. They revealed a £7m decline in revenue [...]
Dow falls on weak figures – New York Report December 1, 2014 US STOCKS fell in a broad decline yesterday, with the S&P 500 suffering its biggest one-day drop in more than a month, as economic data indicated weakness across the globe and the holiday shopping season got off to a tepid start. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 51.44 points, or 0.29 per cent, to 17,776.9, [...]
$35bn got wiped off Apple’s value today and no one knows why December 1, 2014 Apple shares experienced their largest fall in three months during one minute this morning, with a huge, mysterious spike in volume. Shares opened at $118.80 at 9.30am EST, before suddenly experiencing a one-minute rush at 9.51am, with 6.7 million shares traded. During that minute, shares lost more than three per cent, and eventually fell as [...]
FaceTime with your bank? Barclays is venturing into video banking for busy customers in major online move November 30, 2014 Barclays is making another major move into digital with the launch of a video banking service that will let customers speak face to face with advisers instead of visiting a bricks and mortar branch. The bank will offer a round the clock service to better fit in with people’s lives in what it says is [...]
Apple’s $700bn smash, Black Friday misery: 10 things we learned this week November 28, 2014 1. In the future, cats will change colour when they go near radiation (maybe). Someone’s already written a nursery rhyme about it 2. Londoners take “painting the town red” rather more literally than you might think: by a vast majority, they prefer red wine to any other type, reckons Naked Wines 3. Aviva [...]