AZ Electronic to all but double IPO stock on offer October 27, 2010 AZ Electronic Materials is set to hike the amount it will raise in its London listing. The specialist technology company, led by boss Geoff Wild, which produces chemicals used in Apple’s iPad and iPhone, was planning to offer $400m (£254m) of new shares and $100m of existing stock. However, this will now rise to $490 [...]
Google and Carphone in mobile deal October 25, 2010 THE SECOND Google-branded mobile phone will hit the UK in time for Christmas through an exclusive deal with Carphone Warehouse, City A.M. has learned. Its predecessor, the Nexus One, is the flagship device for the search giant, which is desperately trying to wrest market share from Apple’s iPhone. The deal with Carphone represents a major [...]
Defensive luxury October 24, 2010 DESPITE talk of a flight to quality, received wisdom tells us that consumers should cut back on fripperies in hard times. Yet luxury firms of all hues are doing remarkably well. Take Apple, the tech giant that only sells high-end products: it has continued to post ever-rising profits and revenues throughout the recession, smashing its [...]
Apple cuts out Adobe Flash October 24, 2010 Apple has said it will no longer ship Mac computers with Adobe Systems’ Flash player pre-installed, as the company continues to erect barriers to the software. Apple’s decision does not ban Flash software from its computers – as it has from the iPhone and iPad. Users will still be able to download and install a [...]
Reduced real income will hit retail October 24, 2010 RETAIL sales fell in September for the second month in a row. Real incomes are suffering and consumer confidence is weak. Some are questioning whether Apple’s disappointing iPad sales figures last week are a sign of things to come. So should spread betters take the hint and shun the sector? Demand certainly looks like it [...]
1,800 jobs go at Nokia amid phone delay October 21, 2010 NOKIA’s new chief executive Stephen Elop put his stamp on the company yesterday by cutting 1,800 jobs, equivalent to three per cent of the company’s workforce, and delaying the launch of a key product after the mobile phone manufacturer posted stronger -than-expected results. It is not known whether UK workers will be affected by the [...]
Angry Birds firm snapped up by gaming giant EA October 21, 2010 THE birds may be angry, but their developers are certainly celebrating. Electronic Arts yesterday said it plans to buy the publisher of hit game Angry Birds, one of the most popular Apps on Apple’s iPhone, pushing the second largest US video game publisher deeper into the mobile games market. EA will pay $20m (£12.7bn) in [...]
Apple vies for Lion’s share of app market October 21, 2010 JUST two days after reporting yet another quarter of record revenues and profits, Apple wheeled out the latest version of its ultra-thin MacBook air. With the roaring success of the iPhone 4 and the iPad – which Apple still can’t produce quickly enough to meet demand – the release of a new ºlaptop, albeit the [...]
China’s first interest rate rise since 2007 drags FTSE down October 19, 2010 China’s first interest rate rise since 2007 hit mining shares and dragged the FTSE 100 lower yesterday, offsetting gains from banks after solid results from Bank of America and Goldman Sachs. At the close, the FTSE 100 index was down 38.63 points, or 0.7 per cent at 5,703.89, having earlier dipped below the 5,700 level [...]
Bank of America scare hits stocks October 19, 2010 U stocks posted their biggest loss in two months yesterday on fears banks might be on the hook for billions of dollars in souring mortgage bonds. The afternoon selloff hit investors already reeling from an unexpected credit tightening by China and disappointing financial results from Apple and IBM. The biggest scare came on news that [...]