Europe’s liquidity tax will sacrifice innovation for a false promise of stability February 23, 2014 THINGS are finally looking up for Europe’s beleaguered economies. So it is incomprehensible that we are still taking the idea of implementing a European Financial Transaction Tax (FTT) seriously. Last week, the French and German governments pledged to continue pushing for a FTT, while Greece hosted a meeting of the 11 states working on the [...]
What you need to know before the US open February 21, 2014 US stock futures have edged higher as investors concentrate on the fortunes of tech companies, following some strong results. Better-than-expectated manufacturing data have continued boosted confidence across European and Asian markets, particularly after China’s equivalent results were weaker than forecast. Focus is on existing home sales, which are expected to have fallen slightly in January, [...]
Upwardly mobile technology February 19, 2014 Melissa York talks you through what to expect from the big-hitters at this year’s MOBILE WORLD CONGRESS THE TECH world will gather on Monday in eager anticipation as some of the biggest players in portable technology unveil their latest creations at the GSMA Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2014. The four-day conference in Barcelona, currently in [...]
The rumour mill | Other gadgets at MWC February 19, 2014 A new operating system for Samsung Samsung is kicking off the Mobile World Congress with a major event, Unpacked 5, taking place on the first day. Previously, the Korean tech giant has used these events to announce new smartphones, so we shouldn’t be too surprised if the Galaxy S5 is the thing that ends up [...]
Ferrari keeps a lid on sales but profit still soars February 18, 2014 FERRARI’S plan to cut the number of cars it sells in order to maintain its exclusive image has paid off, with revenue and profits both rising in 2013. The Italian marque sold 6,922 of its high-end cars last year, down 5.4 per cent. However, rising revenues from custom-made vehicles and Ferrari-branded souvenirs helped push turnover [...]
First Bitcoin shop opens its doors here in the City February 18, 2014 BITCOIN, Bitcoin, Bitcoin – not a day goes by when the pioneering cryptocurrency isn’t dominating headlines, but actually getting hold of the virtual coinage is still relatively difficult for most people (The Capitalist included). But that might be about to change. There’s now a Bitcoin shop (Europe’s first). And it’s in the City – [...]
Video: We take a look around Europe’s first Bitcoin shop February 18, 2014 Bitcoin had a pretty rough time of it last week. The Apple app store banned it, so did Russia, $2.7m worth of the cryptocurrency was nicked from Silk Road 2 and its value fell to half of what it was two weeks before. But here’s some good Bitcoin news. Europe’s first physical Bitcoin [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 18 February 2014 February 17, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Goldman retreats from bond platform Goldman Sachs has retreated from its electronic bond trading platform, in a move that highlights the challenges investment banks face in revamping their struggling fixed-income trading businesses. Banks including Goldman, Morgan Stanley and UBS had developed their own electronic corporate bond trading platforms in an effort to more efficiently [...]
Where’s Jony? Apple designer Ive goes offline February 17, 2014 APPLE’S chief design wizard Sir Jony Ive sent the tech world into a spin yesterday when he disappeared from the company’s online list of executives. The Apple rumour mill went into overdrive: “Has he been poached by Microsoft?” “Has he quit over the Flappy Bird clone ban?” “Has he moved back to the UK to [...]
Apple’s Jony Ive disappears from executives list February 17, 2014 Design guru Sir Jonathan Paul "Jony" Ive has disappeared from the tech giant's list of executives profiles. But don't worry too soon Apple afficionados – we suspect it's just a bug. The London-born designer has been responsible for the company's design team since 1996, and is widely thought to be one of the best minds [...]