Another see-saw week ahead in US October 18, 2009 AFTER a week in which we saw US earnings good and not so good stimulate the Dow to both push through the 10,000 level and then close below it, this week could well see the see-saws continue as the corporate results keep on coming. Expect to be swamped with almost half of all the stocks [...]
Microsoft shop set to challenge Apple outlets October 18, 2009 MICROSOFT is set to open its first-ever store in the next few days, as the software maker takes its first step to match rival Apple’s successful venture into retail. Expectations are running high that the store, in an upscale Arizona city, will open this week, to coincide with the launch of Microsoft’s Windows 7 operating [...]
FSA under fire over its hiring rules October 15, 2009 CRITICISM continued to mount yesterday over plans by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to vet senior appointments in the Square Mile, with one law firm calling it “a considerable expansion of its powers”. Reynolds Porter Chamberlain (RPC) said the FSA made the proposals without any consultation. A letter to 5,000 institutions, sent out earlier this [...]
Energy pushes the Dow to 2009 highs October 15, 2009 The Dow industrials and the S&P 500 climbed yesterday to 2009 closing highs, buoyed by energy stocks as oil prices jumped, but financials retreated as investors panned results from Goldman Sachs and Citigroup. The Nasdaq eked out a slim gain, but shares of big-cap tech companies, including Apple and Google, dragged. Google lost 1 per [...]
SKY SONGS LAUNCHES October 11, 2009 BSkyB is set to launch Sky Songs, a digital music service it hopes will challenge Apple’s iTunes and Spotify. BSkyB, headed by Jeremy Darroch, (above) said yesterday the service, which will go live on 19 October, offers users unlimited streaming, plus download-to-own tracks and albums from £6.49 a month. Music from all four major music [...]
Hotel Arts October 11, 2009 THIS 44-floor skyscraper hotel was built for the 1992 Olympics in Barcelona, but wasn’t finished in time. Nevertheless, it soon became a symbol of the city’s early Nineties lifestyle renaissance and remains one of Europe’s largest paeans to avante-garde contemporary luxury, despite being owned by the Ritz Carlton group. It’s all hustle and bustle in [...]
Amazon’s Kindle could annoy the publishing trade October 8, 2009 AT last, Amazon’s much-hyped Kindle is upon us, with a Europe-wide release date scheduled for 19 October. For anyone who doubts just how big e-books are going to be, consider this: the Kindle version of Dan Brown’s latest book, The Lost Symbol, is outselling the hardcover edition on Amazon. Earlier this week, Forrester Research upped [...]
WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING October 8, 2009 FINANCIAL TIMESCME HEAD BACKS DERIVATIVES REFORMA powerful exchange chief has brushed aside concerns in the US and Europe over the regulation of over-the-counter derivatives, in comments likely to bolster support for the proposed reforms. Regulators on both sides of the Atlantic are insisting that most OTC derivatives be shifted onto formal exchanges and processed through [...]
Take yourself out for a lovely dinner alone October 7, 2009 IT’S not just about where you eat, but who you eat with. Nothing says quiet confidence like dining alone. Indeed, Suzanne Pirret, the pin-up chef, wrote a whole book called The Pleasure’s All Mine, about the joys of dining alone. If the thought of sitting at a table for two on your own puts you [...]
Hopes for earnings see Wall Street rise October 6, 2009 WALL Street stocks rose yesterday amid signs the global economy was recovering and optimism that corporate earnings reports will beat expectations. The economic optimism spurred gains in energy and other commodities, lifting shares of oil and resource companies. Shares of Exxon Mobil rose 1.6 per cent to $68.66 and were among the top gainers on [...]