Microsoft pulls plug on first venture into lucrative smartphone market July 1, 2010 Microsoft has pulled the plug on a new generation of smartphones less than three months after it unveiled the devices in an attempt to catch-up with Apple and Google in the fast-growing mobile market. Microsoft said it had cancelled plans to sell its “Kin” phones in Europe later this year. The company added the internal [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING June 30, 2010 FINANCIAL TIMES ARCELORMITTAL FINED €276M FOR PRICE-FIXING ArcelorMittal, the world’s biggest steel producer, has been fined €267.5m ($339m) for the part that its companies played in one of the most wide-ranging and long-running cartels to come to light in Europe. In all, 17 steel manufacturers were involved, and were given fines totalling €518.5m yesterday, with [...]
INSURERS STRAP IN FOR BLUNT’S MILE-HIGH RECORD-BREAKING GIG June 30, 2010 EVER wanted to watch James Blunt sing his heart out – live – at 42,000 feet? No, neither have we, but let’s not diminish Royal Sun Alliance’s (RSA) achievement in breaking the Guinness World Record for the world’s highest altitude live music show. The insurance group has kicked off its 300th anniversary celebrations with gusto [...]
Amazon declares war on Apple in e-reader market June 29, 2010 AMAZON has come out all guns blazing in its war against Apple’s all conquering iPad. The Kindle reader producer yesterday slashed the price for its hand-help ebook reader in the US from $259 (£172) to $189 and reductions are expected to reach the UK soon. Amazon is reeling from news that Apple’s new device, which [...]
Bullish outlook this season for US tech stocks June 28, 2010 WHEN it comes to reporting earnings, companies appear to have had a relatively easy time of it. For more than a year now, the vast majority of firms have beaten analysts’ consensus estimates, sending their share prices shooting skyward. All they have needed to do to win the market’s favour is to report figures that [...]
iPhone outsells the Apple iPad June 28, 2010 Apple’s iPhone 4 launch has been its most successful ever, shifting 1.7m units worldwide by Saturday, the company said. Sales of the touchscreen smartphone, which competes with devices from Nokia, Research In Motion and Motorola, surpassed some analysts’’ expectations, as well as those of Apple itself, which has been having trouble keeping up with demand. [...]
Tesla offers more shares in flotation June 28, 2010 ELECTRIC carmaker Tesla Motors has raised the number of shares it will sell in its initial public offering by 20 per cent, an early sign that investor interest in the start-up is strong. The increase yesterday, a day before shares are expected to begin trading, brings the number of shares being offered to 13.3m from [...]
TASTING NOTES June 28, 2010 1) PREPARATION is everything when throwing a summer party. Since cold dishes are the order of the day, definitely have food ready in the fridge that can be pulled out as your guests arrive. Dishes such as frittatas and salads will fit the bill perfectly. You should enjoy the evening as much as your guests [...]
FOOD & BOOZE NEWS June 28, 2010 ANTUNES SETS UP SHOP ON SOUTH BANK French chef Joel Antunes built a laudable reputation for himself back in the Eighties and Nineties working around France, Asia and the UK before launching Les Saveurs in Mayfair, where he picked up a Michelin star. After that he went to the States, but his latest venture is [...]
iPad revolution hits boardroom June 27, 2010 City-based insurance firm Torus says it has become the first company in the UK to hold paperless board meetings following a trial of Apple’s iPad. Directors of this $1bn (£663m) insurance company used iPads to review documents during the board sessions instead of the usual print-outs. Bosses say prior to using iPads, the firm was [...]