John Lewis and Argos Christmas adverts 2015: Sentimental or rational? The Christmas campaign conundrum November 8, 2015 Brands have long used sentimentality to draw custom at Christmas. John Lewis has been a standard-bearer for emotional Christmas placements, and this year's offering, which encourages donations to Age UK, is no different. Last year's "Monty the Penguin" spot has received 24m YouTube views, and the retailer's like for like sales grew by 4.8 per [...]
Vladimir Putin tops Forbes’ list of the most powerful people in the world again, beating the Pope, Barack Obama, Xi Jinping, David Cameron and Bill Gates November 4, 2015 Russia's president Vladimr Putin has done it again, and topped Forbes' Most Powerful People List for 2015. It's his third year at the top of the table. He's ahead of Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor who's second (and one of only nine women on the list), having jumped three places, while Obama has fallen from number two to [...]
Samsung share buyback pleases investors after third quarter profit beats expectation October 29, 2015 Samsung has revealed a 4.2 trillion won (£6.5bn) share buyback after its third quarter profit beat expectations, sending shares in the South Korean tech company to their highest in nearly six months. Operating profit jumped 82 per cent on the same quarter last year to 7.4 trillion won on revenue of 51.7 trillion won which also grew [...]
What do Londoners want most from their jobs? The option to work from home comes in first place October 23, 2015 It isn't a good pension plan or having free access to a gym that appeals to Londoners the most – what they really want from their job is the flexibility to work from home. By asking a sample of people in the capital what they considered to be the most important perks that come with [...]
Arm Holdings share price jumps as revenues rise 24 per cent October 21, 2015 Arm Holdings, the UK chip designer – and one of the darlings of Cambridge's burgeoning tech scene – said pre-tax profits jumped almost a third in the three months to the end of September. The figures The company said revenues had risen 24 per cent to £243.1m in its third quarter, pushing profits before tax up 27 per cent to £128.4m. The [...]
Apple faces £595m patent bill after losing lawsuit over microchip used in iPhone 5S, 6, 6S and iPad October 14, 2015 It looks like Apple has borrowed its microchip design from a university. The University of Wisconsin-Madison just successfully sued the tech giant over a chip patent that it developed in 1998, and Apple has been using in devices like the popular iPhone 6 without permission. Apple now faces a £595m patent bill after losing the [...]
The best iPhone 6S alternatives: The latest range of Android phones are worth ditching Apple for October 9, 2015 Fingerprint scanners belong on the back of the phone. That’s the loud and clear message from the latest slew of Android hardware to hit the shelves. Google’s own Nexus 5X and 6P have shifted the ‘print-sensor round the rear, as has the latest Huawei phone, the Honor 7. And it makes a whole lot of [...]
Samsung reassures customers after hack of Samsung Pay provider LoopPay is uncovered October 8, 2015 Samsung has reassured customers after it was revealed that the company’s new mobile payment system’s provider was hacked for months. LoopPay, the company that provides integral technology to Samsung’s mobile payment system, was infiltrated by Chinese hackers in February, the New York Times revealed yesterday. The hackers had access to the network since at least [...]
2015 Shonky awards: Samsung and Ikea have the shoddiest products, according to consumer group Choice October 7, 2015 Big name brands Coca-Cola, Ikea and Samsung have walked away with a new award – but it might not be one they boast about to their customers. The 2015 Shonky Awards go to companies "that have flouted consumer protection laws, sold products that were faulty by design, and shown blatant disregard for consumer safety", according to [...]
Samsung’s share price leaps as it unveils profit boost October 7, 2015 Korean electronics giant and Apple arch-nemesis Samsung said today that it expects sales of 50-52 trillion won (£28.1bn-£29.2bn) in the third quarter of this year. Shareholders reacted with enthusiasm to the trading update, pushing the company's Korean-listed shares up 8.7 per cent. The company added that it expects operating profit for the quarter to be in the [...]