Sony starts fightback against Apple with launch of tablets April 26, 2011 SONY yesterday launched its first tablet computers, with the Japanese firm desperate to recapture the initiative from Apple’s all conquering iPad. The devices have a wider significance for Sony, which has slipped from its pedestal as the world’s most popular electronics manufacturer to be widely seen as an also-ran, chasing the tail of rivals such [...]
FTSE closes at two-month high despite light volumes April 26, 2011 aBRITAIN’S FTSE 100 closed at its highest level in over two months yesterday, albeit in light volumes, as earnings from the US and Europe supported gains ahead of results from UK companies such as ARM and BP. The blue-chip FTSE 100 closed up 0.9 per cent at 6,069.36, with volumes still thin after the four-day [...]
FTSE buoyed by upbeat corporate results April 26, 2011 Strong corporate results and positive broker research buoyed the FTSE today, leading the market to its highest close in more than two months. The FTSE 100 closed 0.9 per cent higher at 6.069.36 in low volumes following the long Easter weekend and ahead of a second four-day weekend to celebrate the Royal wedding and Mayday. [...]
China may be larger than US by 2016 April 25, 2011 IF the International Monetary Fund is right, whoever is elected President of the United States next year will be the last American to preside over the world’s largest economy. By 2016, the IMF believes, China will have overtaken the US as the biggest economy – the first time it actually pins a year on this [...]
Nintendo will launch new Wii to reverse slump in its profits April 25, 2011 NINTENDO has said it will launch a successor to its ageing Wii game console in 2012 as it struggles to win back users from rivals Microsoft and Sony and seeks to reverse a slump in profits. Nintendo said yesterday that it expects profits to remain almost flat in the current financial year, despite the launch [...]
THE TIPSTER April 25, 2011 SHARES in Apple hit an all time high of $364 back in February, but its first quarter results have smashed forecasts. Profits were up 90 per cent to $5.99bn from $3.07bn in the same period last year. Some investors thought Steve Jobs’s illness had encouraged a slowdown in growth, and they were wrong. His recent [...]
Nokia warns over phone profit margins April 21, 2011 Nokia warned operating profit margins at its key phone unit would slip in coming quarters after reporting better than expected January – March earnings. January-March underlying earnings per share fell to €0.13 from €0.14 euro a year earlier, but beat analysts’ average forecast for €0.10 euro. Nokia’s market share fell to 29 per cent from [...]
Apple triumphs as sales rocket April 20, 2011 APPLE smashed market expectations with another blockbuster set of results yesterday as soaring demand for its gadgets caused profits to almost double. Record sales of iPhones and Mac computers pushed its profits up 95 per cent to $5.99bn (£3.7bn) in its second quarter results, from $3.07bn in the same period in 2010 – while revenues [...]
Sony Ericsson stuns market with a profit April 19, 2011 SONY ERICSSON shocked the market yesterday by announcing a small profit despite hemorrhaging market share and having its supply chain rocked by the Japanese tsunami. The firm was buoyed by surging demand for smartphones but missed analysts’ revenue forecasts by only shifting 8.1m units, giving it a lowly market share of just two per cent. [...]
Seagate buys Samsung division April 19, 2011 US firm Seagate has bought Samsung’s hard disk unit for $1.4bn (£860m). The acquisition of the loss-making hard disk drive (HDD) business pits it head-to-head with Western Digital Corp in an industry that has been dogged by price wars. The sector is battling persistent sales growth declines and faces a longer-term threat from wireless tablet [...]