Apple hires Dixons boss as retail chief January 31, 2012 APPLE has poached John Browett, the boss of Dixons Retail, to take charge of its burgeoning network of retail stores. He will join the US technology giant in April as senior vice president of retail, replacing Ron Johnson, who resigned from Apple last November to join the US department store chain JC Penney as chief [...]
A new challenge for Browett January 31, 2012 WE learnt yesterday that Apple had poached John Browett, former chief executive of Dixons, to head their worldwide retail operations. A look at YouGov’s BrandIndex, which tracks public perception of brands, suggests that this could be a good move for both Apple and Browett. Apple have secured themselves a man who kept Dixons as the [...]
Fears of profit wipeout dent Amazon stock January 31, 2012 SHARES in Amazon plunged more than nine per cent last night after the world’s largest online retailer warned it could make a first-quarter loss. The firm forecast quarterly operating performance ranging from a loss of $200m (£126.9m) to a profit of $100m, below Wall Street expectations. The figures include $200m for stock-based compensation and other expenses. [...]
FTSE ends best month since October as oil provides boost January 31, 2012 BRITAIN’S top share index got a boost from strong corporate results, higher oil prices and improved risk appetite yesterday, enabling it to post its best performance in three months in January. After a gloomy 2011 – when the FTSE100 lost 5.6 per cent – the new year has heralded a cautious return to risk, with [...]
RAPID RESPONSES January 31, 2012 California dreams Although I wish Alan Bristow and David Miller were right in predicting that UK companies will be able to compete with the likes of Apple and Google (UK tech industry is positioned for a global challenge, yesterday), in reality we are woefully unprepared to take on the behemoths of Silicon Valley. Autonomy – [...]
FTSE rises as Greece closes in on deal January 31, 2012 The FTSE 100 rose in early trading on hopes Greece was nearing a debt swap deal required to salvage the nation’s finances while European leaders agreed on stricter budget discipline measures to help prevent further debt disasters in the region. Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos said negotiators had made “significant progress” in talks to strike [...]
Dixons chief Browett quits to join Apple January 31, 2012 Dixons chief executive John Browett has quit to join Apple. He will be responsible for Apple’s retail strategy and the continued expansion of the technology giant’s stores and will be based in California. Browett has been at the helm of Dixons Retail since 2007 and is in the middle of a turnaround plan for the [...]
Apple accounts for a quarter of smartphones shipped globally January 30, 2012 APPLE has regained its place at the top of the global smartphone shipments table with almost a quarter of the market share, booting Samsung to second place, according to Juniper Research. Of the 149m smartphones shipped in the fourth quarter, 37m were iPhones, while Samsung followed a few million handset shipments behind. Juniper puts Apple’s [...]
UK tech sector is positioned for a global challenge January 30, 2012 BY THE end of this year, the US technology company Apple could see its cash reserves outstrip those of the US government. While the UK hasn’t yet produced an equivalent, there are signs that technology might be the key sector in Britain’s future. Last year, the sector outperformed the broader equity markets, with investors being [...]
THE TIPSTER OMAHA’S ORACLE FEASTS AT THE BARGAIN BUFFET January 30, 2012 THE shares of Tesco plunged in mid-January after the retail giant announced an unexpected fall in Christmas sales. The sell-off took the price down through support at 350p and also broke the long-term up-trend. News that Warren Buffett increased his holding to 5 per cent from 3.2 per cent helped to lift the shares, but [...]