BEST OF THE BROKERS January 5, 2012 ORASCOM After the company announced a demerger of its fertiliser and construction businesses, Morgan Stanley rates the Egyptian construction group as “overweight” with a target price of $49. The demerger will see OCI hold the fertiliser business, while the demerged company will hold the construction segment. Each shareholder will receive one share in the demerged [...]
Change at top can’t come too soon January 4, 2012 THERE will be few tears shed in the telecoms world if RIM’s Mike Lazaridis and James Balsillie are ousted from their roles as co-chairmen. The pair, who are also co-chief executives, have enjoyed a stranglehold over the company for too long, thanks to a bizarre boardroom structure that flies in the face of corporate governance [...]
Techno couture January 4, 2012 Gadgets and fashion are uneasy bed-fellows. Top designers tend to shun technology in favour of tradition: natural fibres are still the go-to materials – despite the progress of nano fibres – and an expert eye is favoured over the laser precision of a computer. Tom Ford went as far as locking out bloggers and banning [...]
Samsung edges Apple to top spot January 3, 2012 Samsung’s Galaxy S II handset fought off competition from Apple’s iPhone 4S to maintain its top spot in the mobile phone war over Christmas. The phone has now led tables for eight consecutive months, according to uSwitch.com’s tracker, which is based on internet searches as well as sales. The race appears to have been close-run, [...]
South Korean firms warn of difficult 2012 January 2, 2012 TECHNOLOGY giant Samsung and car manufacturer Hyundai, South Korea’s largest companies, rallied staff yesterday to brace themselves for a year of intense competition due to the weak global economy this year. The South Korean government also warned of tough times ahead in a new year statement as global demand for the country’s exports languishes. Finance [...]
Apple falls as Android leads smartphone sales December 22, 2011 APPLE’s crop is suffering in Europe due to increased competition and the troubled economy as Android nabs the top spot in the smartphone market, the researcher Kantar Worldpanel ComTech has revealed. While the iPhone 4S has been flying off British and American shelves, customers in continental Europe have been less enthralled by the company’s latest [...]
Nokia looks to launch another handset a month after Lumia December 15, 2011 NOKIA is preparing to launch a follow-up to its make-or-break Lumia 800 handset, less than a month after its launch, City A.M. has learned. The new smartphone, which may be called the Lumia 900, will be built into the same chassis as its predecessor but will feature a bigger screen and may be loaded with [...]
Samsung mobile sales best ever December 11, 2011 Samsung Electronics said yesterday its annual mobile handset sales this year had exceeded 300m units for the first time in the company’s history. The world’s second largest handset maker by volume said in a statement it had broken its sales record by the end of last month. Sales including 10m of the new Galaxy S [...]
French court denies iPhone ban December 8, 2011 A French court yesterday rejected Samsung’s request for an injunction to prevent Apple from selling its iPhone 4S in France, sought on the grounds it copied elements of Samsung’s Galaxy line of mobiles. Calling the request out of proportion, the court also ordered Samsung to pay €100,000 of Apple’s legal fees.
Samsung confident on 2011 target December 8, 2011 Samsung Electronics, the world’s top TV brand, said yesterday its television sales hit a record 5.7m units in November, helped by strong US sales during the long Thanksgiving weekend. November sales grew 14 per cent from the 5m units sold in October and Samsung is certain to keep its top global title for all of [...]