AMS plans Dialog deal for €3.4bn chip empire June 26, 2014 AUSTRALIAN semiconductor firm AMS yesterday said it was in discussions to buy Frankfurt-listed Dialog Semiconductor in a deal valuing the combination at around €3.4bn (£2.7bn). “These discussions are at a very preliminary stage and there can be no certainty that a transaction will be forthcoming,” the companies said in a joint statement. According to takeover [...]
Apple’s Beats Electronics deal to face EU antitrust regulator ruling by 30 July June 25, 2014 Apple’s $3bn (£1.8bn) takeover of Dr Dre and Jimmy Iovine’s Beats Electronics will be scrutinised by European Union antitrust regulators who will decide by 30 July whether to OK the deal. The European Commission said it had been notified of the deal on Tuesday and that it would take 25 days to consider whether it [...]
Google I/O 2014: Expect Google TV, Google Glass, Android Lollipop and wearables June 25, 2014 Google’s I/O conference brings together developers from across the world to see the latest breakthroughs, products and software created by the internet giant. The event kicks off later today, but speculation is rife about the announcements due to come out of San Francisco. Here’s what’s expected (in addition to guests pulling up in Google's driverless [...]
Chip royalties send Imagination shares soaring in spite of losses June 24, 2014 SHARES in Imagination Technologies, the British graphics and microprocessor maker that counts Apple among its customers, jumped 7.7 per cent yesterday after the firm reported a smaller than expected loss for the year. Licensing revenue soared 32 per cent to £38.3m, hitting the upper end of Imagination’s forecast. Royalty revenue, which it receives on each [...]
London Report: FTSE drops on worrying data on the economy June 24, 2014 BRITAIN’S top share index slipped slightly yesterday, led lower by mining stocks, as signs of economic weakness in Europe and growing tension in Iraq made investors cautious. The FTSE 100 closed down 0.2 per cent, or 13.49 points, at 6,787.06 points following gains in early trade. The UK mining index, down 0.8 per cent, was [...]
iPhone 6: New handset to be thinner, rounder and have a bigger screen June 24, 2014 Apple could be set to begin production of new, larger iPhones next month according to Bloomberg. The new devices are said to boast screens of 4.7 and 5.5 inches in size, a significant increase on the four inch display currently used by the iPhone 5s. The Bloomberg article, which cites people familiar with the company, [...]
We take the Aston Martin Vanquish to Dartmoor June 23, 2014 It’s the tail-end of dusk in Devon and silence is broken. Thundering down the twisting A382 from Exeter to Chagford, an ancient tin-mining town set on the upper reaches of southern England’s most rugged terrain, Dartmoor, the Aston Martin darts into a private road. Its V12 echoes through a dark tunnel of trees, skimming the [...]
Google and Microsoft to introduce ‘kill-switch’ to make stealing a phone pointless June 20, 2014 Anti-theft features will be introduced to phones using Google and Microsoft operating systems, as smartphone makers attempt to crack down on device theft. Essentially, the proposed 'kill-switch' feature should make stealing a handset pointless and follows the lead set by Apple and Samsung in tackling the surge in phone thefts. According to a report by [...]
Apple’s smartwatch: 8 rumours about the “iWatch” June 20, 2014 Apple’s smartwatch is a step closer to becoming reality with widespread reports that Taiwanese company Quanta Computers will begin making the product in July. The commercial launch of the “iWatch”, as it’s been dubbed but not officially named, could launch as early as October, according to sources. Details of Apple’s first foray into the much-hyped [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 19 June 2014 June 18, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES US share dividends hit record US share buybacks and dividend payments climbed to a record level in the first quarter of 2014, as companies chose to boost shareholder returns in the absence of robust revenue growth. Members of the S&P 500 index – led by Apple, IBM, ExxonMobil and FedEx – spent $241bn [...]