Underwater cities and 3D printed homes – Here’s how houses of the future will look in 100 years’ time February 15, 2016 Prepare yourself for underwater cities, super-tall skyscrapers – and homes simply printed out on-demand thanks to 3D printing technology: these are just some of the ways we will live in a century's time. There'll also be colonies on the moon and eventually Mars and beyond, while personal drones will let us transport our home to any holiday spot. The [...]
Storm Imogen is playing havoc with drivers – but companies like Samsung, Google and Bosch are showing how technology can make roads safer February 8, 2016 Storm Imogen has landed and, as with the other storms this winter, is already causing problems for many road users, with strong winds hitting London and the rest of the UK. When the weather’s harsh, conditions for pedestrians and cyclists get worse and there’s no let-up in particular for those whose job depends on being on the [...]
Warren Buffett values companies with strong brands: Should you? February 5, 2016 Coca-Cola, American Express, Heinz, Warren Buffett is a well-known advocate of buying and holding familiar companies with strong brands. “The dynamics of capitalism guarantee that competitors will repeatedly assault any business ‘castle’ that is earning high returns,” he wrote in 2007. “Therefore a formidable barrier such as a company being the low-cost producer or possessing [...]
Nokia’s fall after the patent license arbitration with Samsung shows investors overreact wildly to intellectual property news February 4, 2016 When Nokia released information about the outcome of its patent licensing arbitration with Samsung, its share price fell by over 10 per cent within hours. This is not the first time that stock prices have reacted in an unpredictable fashion to intellectual property (IP) news. The poster child for this mispricing was when GoPro stock [...]
Made In Taiwan: As China’s growth slows, promising stocks lie across the Formosa Strait February 2, 2016 As China's earthquake rumbles on, the regional trading partners which have depended on its double digit growth for three decades are feeling the shocks. The Malaysian and Indonesian economies have suffered, but the manufacturing sectors in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan are also inextricably tied to that of Asia’s largest economy. Exports account for 70 per [...]
Sony is in line for its biggest profit in eight years thanks to revenues from PlayStation Four and Spectre January 29, 2016 Strong PlayStation 4 (PS4) sales helped Sony to beat expectations in its third quarter results, for the three months ending December. The figures Sales in the three months to the end of December were ¥2.58 trillion (£14.9bn), up 0.5 per cent, and ahead of analysts' expectations of ¥2.53 trillion. Operating profits also beat expectations of ¥173.6bn, coming [...]
This is how much money Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Twitter make every second January 28, 2016 Earnings season is upon us, and it's been a mixed bag: Facebook announced its revenues increased 51.7 per cent in the three months to the end of December, while Apple said its sales growth had slowed for the first time in a decade. It can be hard to keep track of it all, cutting through the hype [...]
These were the biggest selling smartphone brands of 2015: How Apple and Samsung’s growth was overtaken by Huawei, Lenovo and Xiaomi January 28, 2016 Three smartphone brands grew at a faster pace than Apple and Samsung last year as sales across the world hit a record 1.4bn. Chinese smartphone makers Huawei, Lenovo and Xiaomi grew more than the world's two biggest smartphone brands as shipments increased by 10 per cent across the board. The rise of device makers in China signals increasing [...]
Best UK companies to work for in 2016: Jaguar Land Rover, AstraZeneca and Harrods top the list January 14, 2016 Jaguar Land Rover, AstraZeneca and Harrods are the top three UK companies to work for, according to a ranking by Statista, which was compiled for Bloomberg. Other household names comprising the top 10 included Adidas, Dyson, Microsoft, Estee Lauder, Sky, Frankie and Benny's and Rolls-Royce. Those working in the professional services were most likely to recommend their employer, while employees in [...]
Deceptive demographics: Attitude matters more to marketers January 11, 2016 Here's a shocker for you. There are actually 19 year-old guys who watch Dance Moms, and 73 year-old women who watch Breaking Bad and Avengers,” Netflix’s Todd Yellin told the SxSW conference in Texas last year. Marketers have long recognised the limitations of segmenting consumers demographically. Finding out a customer’s age and gender data, Yellin argued, [...]