McDonald’s made bubblegum flavoured broccoli to get kids to eat healthier November 16, 2014 How to get children hooked on healthy food? McDonald’s attempted to solve that conundrum by making it taste like unhealthy food. The company's chief executive, Don Thompson, has been quoted as admitting that the restaurant tried to get kids to eat healthier by designing broccoli that tasted like bubblegum. According to reports [...]
Apple is now worth more than the entire Russian stock market November 14, 2014 An interesting viewpoint from Bloomberg this afternoon, whose chart of the day shows how Apple is now bigger than the whole of the Russian stock market. (Source: Bloomberg) Thanks to various factors, including sliding oil prices and sanctions from Western economies against Russian companies, the value of Russian shares has fallen $234bn (£150bn) this year, reckons Bloomberg. [...]
Energy stocks slide with oil – New York Report November 13, 2014 ENERGY shares fell their most in a month, as crude prices slid, dragging on Wall Street despite gains in Wal-Mart and consumer and tech stocks. Brent crude prices fell below $78 a barrel, leaving the S&P 500 little changed yesterday despite gains in Wal-Mart, which closed up 4.7 per cent, and other bellweathers. The Dow [...]
Dow and S&P fall on oil drop – New York Report November 12, 2014 THE DOW and S&P 500 ended slightly lower yesterday, breaking their five-day streak of record closing highs as energy and utility shares lost ground, while the Nasdaq climbed. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 2.7 points, or 0.02 per cent, to 17,612.2, the S&P 500 lost 1.43 points, or 0.07 per cent, to 2,038.25 and [...]
The Nokia is dead: We look back at the best of the Finnish brand’s phones from the last 30 years November 12, 2014 It's been a long time coming but Microsoft has today killed the Nokia brand. The software giant, which bought the Finnish mobile phone group for around £4.4bn last year, unveiled its low-end Lumia 535 smartphone this morning. Those in the know claim that dropping the name is part of a “lofty” strategy that will enable [...]
Apple design chief Sir Jony Ive had fun with Lily Allen and Daisy Lowe at Sushi Samba anniversary party November 11, 2014 Apple’s notoriously quiet design chief Sir Jony Ive may have only been back in the UK for a few days, but he took time to rub shoulders with the likes of Lily Allen and Daisy Lowe at Sushi Samba’s second anniversary party last night. Ive and PR guru Matthew Freud propped up the bar [...]
Taylor Swift’s withdrawal signals trouble for Spotify – Brand Index November 11, 2014 To the dismay of fans the world over, in the last week Taylor Swift decided to remove all her songs and albums from the music streaming service Spotify. But what does this say about the future of the service, the way we engage with music, and the industry itself? The numbers leave us in no [...]
Apple’s missing iMessage headache continues as tech giant forced to face class action lawsuit November 11, 2014 Apple has been forced to face a US federal lawsuit which claims the tech company failed to inform its customers that their messages could be blocked if they switched to Android phones. A class action lawsuit was brought against the tech giant in May by Californian Adrienne Moore, who alleged that Apple had interfered [...]
Transferwise in $1bn valuation for fundraising valuation November 10, 2014 LONDON money transfer startup Transferwise is on track to raise $50m (£31.5m) from US venture capital firm Sequoia Capital, in a deal that values the business at nearly $1bn. The investment, first reported by the Financial Times, would be Transferwise’s largest to date. The startup has so far raised $33m in the three years since [...]
Tesco wins court battle against Sainsbury’s over Price Promise November 10, 2014 SAINSBURY’S claim that Tesco’s Price Promise campaign was unlawful and like comparing “apples with pears” has been thrown out by a High Court judge. Sainsbury’s complained that, when applied to Tesco’s own label products and fresh food, the price comparisons were misleading, unfair and unlawful. The promise involves a pledge to match Sainsbury’s, Asda and [...]