Apple borrows €2.8bn at lowest euro rate on record November 4, 2014 APPLE tapped European bond markets yesterday borrowing €2.8bn (£2.2bn) in the cheapest euro bond sale ever with investors clamouring to lend to the iPhone-maker. The US tech giant offered its first- ever European debt in two tranches with eight and 12-year maturities, with record-low yields of 1.082 per cent and 1.671 per cent respectively. While [...]
Sex, drugs and EU tolls: Why that £1.7bn bill is a gift to politicians November 4, 2014 Whichever way you look at it, the £1.7bn EU ‘toll-tax-bill’ is a fabulous win-win-win. The EU gets more revenue, the UK gets an increased rebate and the UK political parties have a PR gift from which to debate what the EU really means for the people and economy of the UK. The child in me [...]
Xiaomi is spending $1bn on Internet TV content to takeover China’s smart TV market and rival Alibaba, Baidu and Tencent November 4, 2014 Xiaomi, the Chinese smartphone maker, is planning to spend up to $1bn (£625m) on online TV content in an effort to dominate the smart TV market. The three-year-old company has already overtaken established players in the smartphone market to become the third largest in the world and is now setting its sites on the billion [...]
GCHQ director: WhatsApp, Twitter and Facebook “facilitate” Isis terrorism November 4, 2014 GCHQ’s newly appointed director has suggested that Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp and other large US tech brands “facilitate” terrorism. In an opinion piece published in the Financial Times, Robert Hannigan writes that “the largest US tech companies…are the routes for the facilitation of crime and terrorism.” Hannigan’s article is published on the same day [...]
Watch: Russian Steve Jobs monument dismantled after current CEO Tim Cook comes out as gay November 4, 2014 A St Petersburg monument in memory of Apple co-founder Steve Jobs has been dismantled following the current CEO of the tech giant, Tim Cook, coming out as gay. The iPhone-shaped monument is two metres high and had sat outside the State University of Information Technologies, Mechanics and Optics. However, ZEFS, the Russian group [...]
Apple readying first European bond offering November 3, 2014 APPLE’S share price rose 1.3 per cent yesterday on reports that it is planning to sell more bonds. A tranche are thought to be in euros marking the iPhone-maker’s first European bond offering. Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs were said to be calling up investors yesterday, stoking demand for such an offering, according to The [...]
Taylor Swift pulls all her music off Spotify November 3, 2014 More in-fighting between artists and Spotify: Taylor Swift, the singer as much known for reaping revenge on a series of exes as hits such as Love Story and (ironically) Stay, Stay, Stay, has turned her wrathful eye to the music streaming service, pulling all her music off it. Spotify announced her departure on its blog [...]
Apple could be about to issue its first bonds in euros November 3, 2014 Apple's share price rose this morning on reports that it is planning to issue more bonds, with a deal – potentially its first in euros – thought to be on the cards as early as tomorrow. Investors are expecting a call from advisers Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs today, the Wall Street Journal reports, [...]
PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel talks quarter-life crises and how to tackle the state November 2, 2014 It's not every day that you get to speak to Silicon Valley royalty. And Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal, first outside investor in Facebook, fund manager, and leader of multiple firms, is a dynasty heavyweight. Having just published his new book, Zero to One, he’s keen to talk about some of his latest ideas. [...]
Apple CEO Tim Cook speaks out: I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me October 30, 2014 Apple chief executive Tim Cook made history yesterday when the 16-year veteran of the world’s most valuable publicly-listed company announced he was proud to be gay. In a letter to Bloomberg Businessweek, Cook wrote: “If hearing that the chief executive of Apple is gay can help someone struggling to come to terms with who he [...]