Taiwan phone maker HTC announces plans for £144m of share buybacks February 9, 2010 The world’s fifth-largest smartphone manufacturer, High Tech Computer Corporation (HTC), yesterday said it was planning to buy back up to 15m shares in a deal worth £144m Analysts said the buyback was intended to halt its slipping share price. Taiwan based HTC said that the buyback plan would “maintain the company’s credibility and safeguard shareholders’ [...]
Wolfson in loss after Apple contract ends February 9, 2010 BRITISH microchip maker Wolfson Microelectronics yesterday reported its first full-year loss since its 2003 flotation, after losing a major contract with Apple. The Edinburgh based company was hit after Apple started switching contracts for its iPod Nano and iPod Touch in 2008 to other electronics firms. It is not expected to feature in the iPad [...]
Prius hybrid callback continues to hit brand February 9, 2010 YOUGOV’s BrandIndex shows a steep fall in Toyota’s reputation with consumers following a series of recent recalls of their vehicles. The company has been plagued by a number of problems concerning the reliability of their brakes, accelerator pedals and floor mats. PRIUS HYBRID RECALL EXTENDS Yesterday’s announcement of further recalls of the Prius Hybrid is [...]
Rise of Texas is a lesson for London February 8, 2010 HERE is an intriguing question which says a lot about modern America but which everybody here in London always gets wrong. Which US state is home to most big companies? New York, surely, host to Goldman Sachs, News Corporation and Pfizer? Or could it be California, home of Apple, Intel and Walt Disney? Wrong, on [...]
Vodafone is a big gainer on revenue rise February 4, 2010 VODAFONE’S sales jumped 10 per cent in the final quarter of last year, causing its shares to soar to the top of the FTSE 100 gainers list yesterday. Group revenue rose to £11.5bn – up from £10.47bn the year before. UK revenue was down by 4.9 per cent, compared to the 5.7 per cent decline [...]
Italian reservist Colao must hold his nerve February 4, 2010 VODAFONE boss Vittorio Colao is a renowned cost cutter, but yesterday’s results were all about the top line. The world’s largest mobile operator by revenues has to prove that it is still a high-growth company and not a dependable utility. For that reason, investors will be relieved that the group booked revenues of £11.5bn, up [...]
02 in talks with Apple over iPad February 3, 2010 02 is in talks with Apple over providing mobile access for the iPad. However, it is not believed an exclusive deal like the one in place for the launch of the iPhone will exist and it will almost certainly be available on several carriers when it hits the UK 02 yesterday said it was watching [...]
Arm Holdings boosted by chip demand February 2, 2010 A surge in demand for smartphones helped chip designer ARM Holdings win market share and beat analysts’ expectations in the fourth quarter, but the economic downturn still trimmed pre-tax profit by four per cent. “(Chipmakers) are designing more ARM technology into an increasingly broad range of end-markets applications, with mobile computing, smartphones and microcontrollers being [...]
Hype of Apple’s iPad is better than the reality February 2, 2010 The launch of the Apple iPad at the end of last week led to a strong increase in the buzz score for the general Apple brand as measured by BrandIndex. That might have been expected, but graph one shows a more mixed story: at the start of 2010, with excited consumer chatter about the imminent [...]
Exxon and factories light up Wall Street February 1, 2010 US stocks rose yesterday as better-than-expected data on the manufacturing sector and earnings from ExxonMobil revived bullish sentiment after stocks closed out their worst month in almost a year. Exxon’s stock gained 2.7 per cent to end at $66.18 after the largest US oil company reported natural gas products boosted results at its exploration arm. [...]