HP breaking in two: Is this good for the brand? October 13, 2014 So, Hewlett Packard is splitting its brand in two, HP on the consumer side and Hewlett Packard on the B2B side. From a corporate structure / investor perspective it's a clever move, but from a branding side it is fraught with challenges. When building a strategy and positioning for a brand, one of the [...]
Tweet money transfer: Twitter and French bank BPCE will let users transfer cash via twitter October 13, 2014 Twitter is partnering with French bank BPCE to launch a new service that lets people transfer money between them by simply tweeting. Details of the plans are due to be unveiled tomorrow by BPCE’s mobile payment off-shoot S-Money. The French bank said those using the free peer-to-peer transfer service would need just a bank card and [...]
U2’s Bono backs Ireland over corporation tax: How does the UK compare? October 12, 2014 In an interview with the Observer, Bono, the lead singer of U2 defended Ireland's corporation tax approach, even as the war with the EU intensifies. Ireland's corporation tax, at 12.5 per cent, is one of the lowest rates going. Companies like Apple and Google have been quick to identify the benefits of operating out of the [...]
Carl Icahn says Apple share price could double as tech giant rebuffs demand for buyback October 9, 2014 Activist investor claims the iPhone-maker will soon be worth $1.2 trillion Billionaire investor Carl Icahn urged Apple’s board yesterday to use its $133bn (£82.5bn) cash mountain to buy back more shares, claiming the tech giant’s stock could soon double in value. “We believe Apple is dramatically undervalued in today’s market, and the more shares [...]
Dow plummets over 330 points on global fears – New York Report October 9, 2014 THE DOW Jones industrial average yesterday plunged 334 points as falling energy stocks and worries about the global economy sent investors fleeing from the market. The blue-chip index rose 275 points the day before. By the end of the day, the Dow had lost 334.97 points, or two per cent, to 16,659.25. The Standard & [...]
Negotiations at work: Avoid the common errors October 9, 2014 Don’t get caught out by “fixed pie” thinking, and always stay calm. Contrary to the dozens of high-octane confrontation bibles lining the “business” shelves of most bookshops – with titles like Negotiate your Way to Riches, and Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In – life isn’t one long stream of standoffs leading up to a [...]
Amazon could be opening physical store in New York in time for Christmas October 9, 2014 Amazon is entering a brave new world. In an unusual move for an online company, the retail powerhouse is reportedly setting up a shop. That’s right – a real, physical store that sits on the street and has its doors open to the public. It’ll never catch on. The Wall Street [...]
iPad Air 2: UK price, release date, spec and rumours about Apple’s 16 October launch event October 9, 2014 Apple may only just have released the iPhone 6 into the wild but already Tim Cook is moving on to the next thing with a launch event next week. It's all top secret of course. An invite has been sent out to the press for 16 October teasing "It's been way too long" and revealing [...]
Carl Icahn tells Tim Cook: Apple share price dramatically undervalued October 9, 2014 Infamous activist investor Carl Icahn has published in full a letter to Apple urging Chief Tim Cook and board executives to buyback shares. Icahn tweeted yesterday about the letter to Cook hinting "Believe it will be interesting." In the letter, Icahn said Apple was "dramatically undervalued in today's market" and that "the more shares repurchased [...]
Apple share price rises after Carl Icahn tweets about letter to Tim Cook October 8, 2014 Billionaire investor Carl Icahn boosted Apple’s share price again yesterday after publishing a cryptic tweet signalling further agitation towards the US tech giant Icahn, who boosted the value of Apple’s market cap by $17bn in August 2013 after tweeting about his holding in the company, said he would publish more details in a letter [...]