Omnicom beats forecasts as its merger nears October 15, 2013 OMNICOM Group, the largest US advertising company, reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit as ad spending strengthened in its home market, reinforcing expectations of strong growth for the industry in the second half. The firm also said its $35.1bn (£22bn) merger with French-based Publicis is on track to close early next year, chief executive John Wren [...]
SoftBank to buy Finnish mobile games maker in a £960m deal October 15, 2013 JAPANESE tech and telecoms group SoftBank is to buy a majority stake in Finnish mobile game maker Supercell, sharing the ¥150bn (£960.09m) price tag with subsidiary GungHo Online Entertainment. SoftBank said yesterday that the funding for a 51 per cent stake would be split 80-20 with GungHo, with the deal valuing the Finnish company at [...]
London Report: FTSE 100 rises to October high amid debt talks October 15, 2013 THE UK’S top share index rose to its highest level so far in October yesterday, buoyed by signs of a deal on the US budget and debt ceiling stalemate that has weighed on stock markets. Miners and banks were lifted after US Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, a Democrat, said Senate leaders had made “tremendous [...]
Apple event announced for next Tuesday – New iPads and Macs expected October 15, 2013 A widely speculated Apple launch event will take place next Tuesday, 22 October. Among the devices we're expecting are the new MacBook Pro and Mac Pro, as well as the iPad 5 and iPad 2 mini. None of that's certain, but recent events have made the promise of Apple chief Tim Cook look rather silly. [...]
Shares drop as Burberry announces CEO Ahrendts’ exit October 15, 2013 Shares have dropped five per cent this morning as fashion heavyweight Burberry announces its chief executive officer (CEO) Angela Ahrendts will step down by the middle of next year to take up a new position with Apple. It has also reported, in a separate statement, total revenue for the six months to September of £1,031m [...]
Retailers set for best Xmas sales since pre-crisis October 14, 2013 BRITISH retailers are set to enjoy their best growth in Christmas sales since the financial crisis, according to a report published yesterday that forecast consumers would spend at least £2bn more than in 2012. Market research specialist Verdict predicted that spending in the fourth quarter would rise 2.2 per cent from the same period in [...]
Bottom Line: This odyssey might just be a step too far October 14, 2013 DESPITE having been around since 1968, when Arthur C Clarke first envisioned “the newspad” in 2001: A Space Odyssey, tablets still feel pretty fresh. Apple’s sector-defining iPad may have landed in 2010, nine years late for Clarke, but it’s not taken long for everyone to want a piece of the action – from natural competitors Samsung [...]
Blackberry founders consider rival bid for mobile firm October 10, 2013 BLACKBERRY’S co-founders are considering a rival bid for the company after increasing their holdings in BlackBerry, a securities filing revealed yesterday. Former chief executive Mike Lazaridis – who ran BlackBerry from 1984 until last year when shareholder pressure and product delays forced him out – and co-founder Douglas Fregin are considering an offer for the [...]
Samsung launches world’s first smartphone with curved screen October 9, 2013 SAMSUNG Electronics yesterday launched a variant of the popular Galaxy Note smartphone with a curved display, moving a step closer to introducing wearable devices with flexible screens. The Galaxy Round’s 5.7-inch display has a slight horizontal curve and weighs less than the Galaxy Note 3, allowing a more comfortable grip than other flat-screen models on [...]
Designers of the future October 9, 2013 Yesterday it was revealed that Jony Ive designed a Leica camera for a charity auction that’s expected to fetch up to $750,000. Increasingly, designers are the stars of the tech world. We pick six of the whizzes shaping the way we live Jony Ive The son of a silversmith, Jony Ive was born in London [...]