Google says disputes hurt progress November 7, 2011 Google’s lawyer has accused Microsoft of using its patent portfolio to capitalise on the success of Android, and that legal disputes are hindering innovation in the technology industry. Google’s patent counsel Tim Porter told the San Francisco Chronicle that Microsoft is trying to use its extensive patent portfolio to make money after its Windows Phone [...]
End the stigma that surrounds stress in the City November 7, 2011 LLOYDS Banking Group has announced that Antonio Horta-Osorio is expected to return before the end of the year, but City sources have been saying there is no way that he will be able to come back as chief executive after taking time off for physical and mental exhaustion. The persistent stigma is that after any [...]
Apple hands out millions to key executives November 6, 2011 APPLE has dished out hundreds of millions to its senior executives in a bid to keep hold of its top staff in the wake of Steve Jobs’ death. Key men including marketing boss Phil Schiller, chief financial officer Peter Oppenheimer and operations director Jeff Williams will each receive packages worth $60m (£37.4m). The packages are [...]
Greek affairs so labyrinthine even Theseus would struggle November 6, 2011 INVESTORS and traders alike spent most of last week dazed and confused. Equity, bond, commodity and FX markets swung around wildly as they responded to headline news out of Greece and G20. There was no time available for detailed analysis, and even Theseus would have struggled to navigate the labyrinth that is Greek politics. While [...]
THE TIPSTER November 6, 2011 IT HAS been a tough year for retailers, in particular clothing retailers, who’ve been subjected to not only weakening consumer demand, but also higher cotton prices. With the share price down some 15 per cent so far this year, investors will be hoping that Tuesday’s numbers might spark something for Marks and Spencer. Capital Spreads [...]
In which I star in my very own video game November 6, 2011 Being inside your own video-game sounds like fun. Unless that game is Tetris; then you’d be locked inside an endless cycle of rotating blocks, falling towards you at ever increasing speeds. I had a dream about it once. The Tetris music still brings me out in a cold sweat. So when I was asked to [...]
Quitting at the top is a very rare occurrence November 2, 2011 CHIEF executives stepping down for health reasons are a rare breed, despite their gruelling schedules and the intense pressure mounted on them. Andy Hornby’s departure from Alliance Boots less than a year after accepting the job shocked the business world. Executive chairman Stefano Pessina later revealed Hornby was suffering from stress and had probably returned [...]
Keep a cool head – put a lock on greed November 2, 2011 AS ANY elite athlete will tell you, timing is everything. It is just as true for investing. When you get in and out of a market is often vital for returns. As Warren Buffett – before his foray into advising the US government on taxation policy – said in a sage piece of advice: “Be [...]
Q&A November 2, 2011 Q.WHAT IS THE CLOUD? A.Instead of accessing files from your hard drive, you are accessing files remotely. Cloud email is simply the way you’ve always accessed your webmail or Hotmail or Gmail. Cloud computing is taking that idea and extending it to everything you traditionally keep on your hard drive such as documents and pictures. [...]
Houellebecq’s bizarre new novel is (almost) brilliant November 2, 2011 THE MAP AND THE TERRITORY BY MICHEL HOUELLEBECQ Heinemann , £17.99 THE arcane title of this book should serve as a fair warning to the reader familiar with Atomised, Platform and other cult Houellebecq novels. While those books are driven by sexual desperation and erotic tragedy (alongside the usual heaping helpings of profound dystopia), The [...]