Apple gains again despite Wall St slide March 27, 2012 US stocks retreated from near four-year peaks yesterday, while a batch of large-cap shares hit new highs, with the help of portfolio managers snapping up top performers near the end of the quarter. With the first quarter ending on Friday, portfolio managers adjusted holdings by buying some of the best performers to dress up their [...]
Making things is not a soft option in the UK today March 26, 2012 IN THE last twenty years, I have watched the decline of British manufacturing, particularly in my own textile sector. While prices for food and luxury goods have risen steadily, high street clothing prices have become so cheap that UK manufacturers cannot be competitive in the mass market. According to the Working Futures report, which analyses [...]
A verdant land of high gastronomy March 26, 2012 The Greenhouse 27a Hay’s Mews, W1 W1J 5NY, tel: 020 7499 3331 www.greenhouserestaurant.co.uk FOOD **** SERVICE ***** ATMOSPHERE **** Cost per person without wine: £90 LONDON is abuzz with noisy, no-reservations joints, opening in droves in Soho. The best barbeque in town, the best burger in town, the best ceviche in town…but you’ll have to [...]
BATS founder calls for fresh flotation plan March 25, 2012 BATS Global Markets, the US exchange operator that withdrew its public offering Friday after a computer glitch sent its newly-issued stock into a tailspin, should develop a “credible IPO plan” and go through with it in the second quarter, its founder and current director has said. BATS’ own stock was to be its first listing. [...]
John Lewis sales rise March 23, 2012 John Lewis sales boosted by sun, mum, and iPads Kendal Gapinski John Lewis reported that last week’s volume of trade was a March record due to sunny weather, Mother’s Day, and the launch of the new iPad. Its sales jumped 20.9 per cent year-on-year to £63.1m. Britain’s biggest department store chain said that a sales [...]
Battle Royal comes to America in this terrifying post-apocalyptic thriller March 22, 2012 Film THE HUNGER GAMES 12A **** Every year in post-apocalypse North America, the Capitol of the nation of Palem forces the outer districts to send two teenagers as “tributes” to The Hunger Games. Half punishment for a failed up-rising, half reality show, The Hunger Games are an annual televised fight to the death where the [...]
iPad, I saw, I conquered March 21, 2012 1080P HD VIDEO The new iPad’s camera is capable of shooting quality high definition video. If you’re filming in good light, the results can be pretty astonishing. It has an image stabiliser to reduce “wobble”. The new screen also makes video playback noticeably better “THAT” SCREEN The new iPad’s biggest selling point is its retina [...]
Bank: low rates keep dud firms on life support March 20, 2012 HISTORICALLY low interest rates have delayed the rebalancing of the economy by keeping troubled firms afloat, the Bank of England’s chief economist warned last night. In an unusual warning of the downside risks of ultra-loose monetary policy by a Bank official, Spencer Dale said Threadneedle Street’s stance could have “slowed the reallocation of capital and labour [...]
Tablet boom gives a boost to gaming March 20, 2012 GAME revenues from tablets are expected to grow from last year’s $491m (£309.6m) to $3.1bn by 2016, said Juniper Research, as Apple announced it had sold three million new iPads since last week’s launch. Report author Charlotte Miller said: “Tablet owners tend to have a larger disposable income… Higher user satisfaction with games and a [...]
Ideological companies are not the way to go March 20, 2012 APPLE has accumulated a “cash pile” of about $100bn. Until yesterday, when its chief executive, Tim Cook, announced a plan to pay out $45 billion in dividends, there was speculation about how the money might be spent. Some suggested philanthropy. Cook should be proud of resisting the temptation. “Corporate philanthropy” is one of those expressions [...]