Microsoft faces fight to keep sales in Europe April 28, 2014 MICROSOFT may have completed its €5.44bn (£4.48bn) takeover of Nokia’s smartphone arm on Friday, but the software giant is facing an uphill battle in Europe as its share of smartphone sales stumbles in its historic stronghold. Microsoft’s Windows Phone, which in the last quarter of 2013 ran on 10 per cent of smartphones sold across [...]
Dixons chief is appy with his sons’ creation April 28, 2014 SHOULD being the chief exec of electronic giant Dixons ever fail Sebastian James, the retail boss has some incredibly enterprising progeny to step in and support him. Despite being just 14 and 13, James’ teenage sons, Arthur and Alfie have just launched their first app on the Apple store, called Zorg Jump. “I’m so proud [...]
How Britain can nurture the next generation of super-entrepreneurs April 27, 2014 THOMAS Piketty’s Capital in the 21st Century is setting the bestseller charts alight in a way that economics tomes usually cannot. For those insistent upon the importance of economic equality, it is the most anticipated release since Kate Pickett and Richard Wilkinson’s The Spirit Level. But is the accumulation of wealth inherently bad? In research [...]
Four new rules for writing your CV April 27, 2014 While perfection is impossible, there are simple ways to improve your career prospects YOU’LL never have a perfect CV. Should it fit on a single page, include a list of objectives, should you tell a potential employer why you have gaps in your employment history? These are contentious issues, even among recruiters. And given the [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 25 April 2014 April 24, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Google+ chief out ahead of shake-up The Google executive who led its attempt to challenge Facebook in social networking is leaving the company, ahead of changes to the service. Vic Gundotra, a former Microsoft executive who has spent almost eight years at the search firm, launched Google+ in June 2011, with the stated [...]
New York Report: Nasdaq lifted by Apple sales April 24, 2014 THE NASDAQ rose modestly in a choppy session yesterday, lifted by a rally in Apple shares a day after the iPad maker’s strong results, though tensions in Ukraine held the broader market in check. Shares of Apple, the most valuable US company by market capitalisation, jumped 8.2 per cent to $567.77, the biggest gain since [...]
What you need to know before the US open April 24, 2014 US markets are expected higher today, buoyed by the tech results released last night. Apple’s jumped 8.3 per cent in pre-market trading. Data wise, orders for durable goods rose 2.6 per cent in March, above expectations and pointing to a lift in business investment. Initial jobless claims, however, increased by 329,000 last week, reflecting the [...]
What you need to know before the open April 24, 2014 A higher open’s expected for European markets this morning, following the strong results from Apple and Facebook and despite yesterday’s negative finish. Germany’s latest IFO business survey is expected to be slightly weaker for April, although the positive manufacturing data seen yesterday could also mean a stronger-than-expected surprise. That said, ongoing weakness in China and [...]
Asian markets slide after US housing slowdown April 24, 2014 Asian markets are in retreat after the US posted worse than expected home sales and Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe confirmed that a trade deal with the US had not yet been agreed. It was hoped that a successful free trade deal between the US and Japan would be precursor to the completion of the [...]
Facebook and Apple defy the tech critics April 23, 2014 TECHNOLOGY giants Facebook and Apple silenced talk of a tech bubble last night as they trumped all expectations, both delivering record earnings for the first quarter of 2014. Facebook’s booming mobile advertising business led the social network to revenues of $2.5bn (£1.5bn) in the quarter, above the expected $2.36bn, and profit of $642m, up more [...]