10 problems with the French embassy’s economic analysis January 14, 2014 After a recent editorial from City A.M. editor Allister Heath (France’s failed socialist experiment is turning into a tragedy) the French embassy wrote a piece in response. Here are 10 points on which we disagree over the French economy. 1. Growth prospects The European Commission’s growth forecast for France stands at 0.2% for 2013 and [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 13 January 2014 January 12, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Treasury debt pledge on Scotland The UK Treasury will today assume full responsibility for Britain’s £1.2 trillion debt stock in the event of Scottish independence, in an attempt to head off market jitters ahead of September’s referendum. Danny Alexander, Treasury chief secretary, fears gilt investors could start demanding a risk premium in the [...]
Apple’s mobile sales in Europe grow in strength January 12, 2014 APPLE’S smartphone sales continue to increase month-on-month, making up 18.1 per cent of the smartphones sold in Europe’s five biggest markets during the three months to November, data from Kantar Worldpanel showed today. In October Apple’s share was 15.8 per cent. November’s strong sales are linked to high levels of customer satisfaction of its iPhone [...]
The dovish consensus is wrong: It is time for interest rate hikes January 9, 2014 ECONOMISTS seem to lurch from one dangerous fad to another. In the late 1980s, most supported the European exchange rate mechanism, which blew up spectacularly; in the 1990s, many supported UK membership of the euro, which would have been a disaster; during the 2000s, few saw the bubble coming and most missed the credit and [...]
Apple and Samsung chiefs agree to mediation in US patent fight January 9, 2014 APPLE and Samsung Electronics have agreed to attend a mediation session to be held on or before 19 February, as they prepare to clash in court in March over smartphone patents. Apple chief executive Tim Cook and his Samsung counterpart Oh-Hyun Kwon will attend the session with in-house lawyers only, according to a Wednesday court filing. [...]
Laird soars on Asia plans and trading update January 9, 2014 SHARES in electronic parts maker Laird soared over 12 per cent yesterday, after the FTSE 250 firm said trading was in line with expectations and unveiled its Asian expansion plans. The company – which makes components for Apple and Samsung – is building a new manufacturing facility in Vietnam and expanding a design centre in [...]
CES: the very best of the show so far January 8, 2014 The annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas is like Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory for geeks. It sees several gigantic aircraft hangers packed full of the biggest releases from some of the world’s top tech firms. This year saw 3D printers move further towards the mainstream, while manufacturers of high-end TVs once again pulled out [...]
Bumper December helps Apple top $10bn in app sales in 2013 January 7, 2014 APPLE said yesterday that its customers spent $1bn (£610m) on purchases in its applications store in December, leading to a total of $10bn worth of apps sold in 2013. Apple reported that almost three billion apps were downloaded in December, making it a record month for the store, which offers one million apps for the [...]
Samsung warns of falling profits in mobile group January 7, 2014 SAMSUNG Electronics’ fourth quarter profits are expected to be hit by falling smartphone shipments and the impact of a special employee bonus estimated to be worth nearly 1 trillion South Korean won (£570m). Yesterday the world’s largest smartphone maker said it expects to fall short of analysts’ expected earnings of 8.8 trillion won by 18 [...]
Google’s Android software to ship on over 1bn devices in 2014 January 7, 2014 DEVICES shipped using Google’s Android operating system will number over a billion in 2014, according to research group Gartner. The number of new Android users is set soar 26 per cent to 1.1bn over the course of the year. Gartner forecasts that the strongest demand for devices will come from emerging markets. In contrast, Apple’s [...]