Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles can teach us more than economics textbooks October 2, 2012 CHRISTMAS is coming and retailers are beginning to push their offers hard. The first page of a Google search for “Christmas Toys 2012” is full of sites announcing the hot must-haves of the year. In total, there are over 75m results to be perused. Last year it was Mishling Tree Monsters and Doggie Doo that [...]
Manufacturing data gives Wall Street a boost October 1, 2012 WALL Street started a new quarter with a modest rally yesterday, lifted by a surprising expansion in US manufacturing in September. After rising more than one per cent by midday, the major US stock indexes came off their highs, with the Nasdaq the hardest-hit. Market participants said Wall Street has shown signs of fatigue as [...]
The business of winning a smile from a sceptic September 30, 2012 THE French policeman, or gendarme, didn’t look happy as he got off his motorbike. He had waved over my car after seeing me talking on my phone, and driving around a roundabout twice. However, his expression changed to one of utter disbelief when I greeted him with “Thank God you are here!” Before he could [...]
Spain’s reform plans help ease Wall St’s pain September 27, 2012 THE S&P 500 snapped a five-day string of declines in a broad-based rally yesterday, as Spain’s plans for economic reform eased some worries about one of the Eurozone’s most troubled countries. The benchmark S&P 500 rose one per cent, its biggest percentage gain since the Federal Reserve announced its plan for a third round of [...]
The iPhone 5 – is it more than a 4SS? September 26, 2012 Connectivity One of the biggest selling points for the iPhone 5 is its 4G technology, which will make mobile browsing far, far quicker. Unfortunately, it hasn’t been switched on yet in the UK. Tthe newly rebranded “EE” (formerly Everything Everywhere), plans to launch the first 4G network in London within “weeks”. If you’re on another [...]
Why Apple is playing the long-game with its Maps app September 26, 2012 An Apple user walks into a bar. Or a church. Or a field. He’s not really sure. Ha! A joke at Apple’s expense! That’s not something you hear every day. If you believe the hype, problems with Apple’s in-house Maps app could be the iPhone 5’s equivalent of the antenna troubles that dogged the launch [...]
What the other papers say this morning September 25, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES Total warns against Arctic oil drilling Total SA says energy companies should not drill for crude in Arctic waters, marking the first time an oil major has publicly spoken out against offshore oil exploration in the region. Christophe de Margerie, the oil giant’s chief executive, said the risk of an oil spill in [...]
BlackBerry outage hampers RIM’s bid to bounce back September 25, 2012 IF Research in Motion could have chosen a day to have a second BlackBerry outage in less than a year then last Friday, when Apple’s record-breaking iPhone 5 hit the shelves in the UK, would probably not have been first choice. Yet that is what transpired. Last year RIM suffered an outage that went on [...]
Foxconn China plant reopens September 25, 2012 Apple-supplier Foxconn Technology Group’s plant in Taiyuan in northern China resumed production yesterday morning after a riot that involved 2,000 workers had forced the company to close the factory on Monday. Foxconn spokesman Louis Woo said he saw no impact on supply to clients after the closure. “We have 79,000 people working in Taiyuan campus, [...]
Earnings woes push Wall St into the red September 25, 2012 THE S&P 500 suffered its worst day since June yesterday, pulled lower by Caterpillar after it cut its profit outlook, the latest high-profile company to warn about profit growth. Technology shares came under pressure after a second day of weakness for Apple, the world’s most valuable public company. Shares fell 2.5 per cent to $673.54 [...]