Cirrus snaps up British rival Wolfson for £291m April 29, 2014 AUDIO semiconductor-maker Wolfson Microelectronics has agreed a £291m takeover by Texas rival Cirrus Logic. Announced yesterday, the cash deal will see Wolfson’s shareholders receive 235p per share, a 76 per cent premium to the share’s value prior to the deal. The valuation still marks a significant drop from Wolfson’s peak in 2006 when the Edinburgh-based [...]
Apple hoping to raise up to $12bn from bumper bond sale April 29, 2014 APPLE is planning to tap US markets for up to $12bn (£7.13bn) as part of a seven-part bond offering to help the tech giant finance the $90bn share buyback it announced last week. The offering, rated Aa1 by ratings agency Moody’s yesterday, is split across notes with maturities from three to 30 years according to [...]
What you need to know before the US open April 29, 2014 US stocks futures pointed to a higher opening today, following some better-than-expected corporate results. European markets have continued to received a lift from positive earnings reports and news of mergers. A two-day Fed policy meeting begins later today, with expectations that a decision will be taken to taper for a fourth time. The increase in [...]
Panasonic returns to profit after three years due to weaker yen April 28, 2014 JAPANESE electronics giant Panasonic reported its first full year profit in three years yesterday, with sales boosted by the weaker yen. The maker of Lumix cameras posted profits of 120.4bn yen (£710m) for the year to March, up from the 754.3bn yen loss the previous year. Panasonic has been withdrawing from loss-making operations such as [...]
New York Report: US stocks are volatile as tech stocks sold off April 28, 2014 THE S&P 500 ended higher yesterday after a volatile session, as gains in Apple and Pfizer helped offset another round of selling in some high-growth tech shares. The Nasdaq ended slightly lower but rebounded late in the session from a fall of over one per cent. Leading the Nasdaq down was Amazon, which extended Friday’s [...]
What you need to know before the open April 28, 2014 European markets are expected lower this morning, hit by further sanctions being set out by G7 nations against Russia. Officials have accused Russia of deliberately exacerbating the current situation in Ukraine. Further travel restrictions and asset freezes on a further 15 individuals are expected to be imposed by the EU today. The lift markets got [...]
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 [...]