Samsung profits fall 60 per cent as it moves its smartphones downmarket October 30, 2014 Samsung, the world's largest electronics manufacturer by sales, posted disappointing third-quarter figures showing profits fell 60.1 per cent to 4.1tn won (£2.4bn) in the three months to the end of September. The company, whose share of the smartphone market declined for the third straight quarter, announced plans to focus on the lower end of the [...]
Plasma TVs are officially dead as LG is the last major company to end production October 28, 2014 LG is the latest, and last, major electronics maker to end production of the screen which was once the height of super-size TV technology – the plasma screen. This time last year LG, Samsung and Panasonic were the only major manufacturers still in the plasma market after seventeen years. Panasonic earlier this year stopped making [...]
Just one UK company ranked among the world’s top 50 innovative firms in BCG report October 27, 2014 Britain's biggest firms are lagging behind US and Asian firms in terms of innovation, according to a new report that lists just one UK firm among the world’s 50 most innovative companies. The single British firm was multinational Unilever, which owns brands such as Lynx, Ben and Jerry’s and Dove. The firm finished in 49th [...]
Curb “patent privateers” to protect intellectual property October 24, 2014 Effective intellectual property protections are imperative to maintaining a robust economy and promoting innovation—and patents are an important facet of this regime. Unfortunately, bad actors are exploiting loopholes for personal gain and threatening the health of the current system—one that is generally working well. Lurking in murky legal waters, “Patent Privateers” are abusing protections and [...]
UK smartphone sector saturated says Samsung October 23, 2014 Samsung’s UK president says a recent slowdown in smartphone sales is a sign that the market is saturated, and believes now is the time for the South Korean giant to double down on quality to continue its growth in a mature market. The comments come ahead of a forecasted 60 per cent fall in quarterly [...]
Huawei doubles its premium smartphone shipments globally October 23, 2014 HUAWEI said third-quarter smartphone shipments jumped 26 per cent year-on-year, doubling the number of devices it shipped in the high-margin premium market dominated by Samsung and Apple. The Shenzhen-based firm, which is also the world’s second-largest telecoms equipment maker – and the third largest smartphone maker – shipped 16.8m units globally in the quarter ending [...]
Family-run firms aren’t arcane: They help populate the City with women October 23, 2014 In the past few weeks, two women took on powerful positions in the financial services. First, Ana Botin became chairman of Spanish bank Santander, following the death of her father Emilio. Then Abigail Johnson replaced her father Ned as chief executive of US fund management firm Fidelity. Botin is the sixth generation of her family [...]
Publicis Groupe share price falls as communications giant misses growth expectations October 23, 2014 The only way is digital for French communications giant Publicis Groupe, as digital increasingly makes up a bigger slice of the company's overall revenue. In its third-quarter results released today, Publicis Groupe missed expectations for organic growth, yet claimed the fact that 42% of its overall revenue came from digital operations (a nine per [...]
Samsung picks British startup Bango for billing October 22, 2014 CAMBRIDGE-based carrier billings startup Bango has signed a deal with Samsung to preload its software on the South Korean tech giant’s smartphones, letting consumers charge games, music and videos directly from their mobile phone bills. Shares in the Aim-listed company jumped 5.76 per cent on the news to 101p in London, valuing Bango at over [...]
Apple Pay launches: Why mobile payment is about take off October 21, 2014 Apple Pay, the tech giant's mobile payment service, has launched in the US offering users the ability to pay for items using just their mobile phone. It kicks of the most high-profile launch in the nascent mobile payment space, which could finally push it into the mainstream. A mobile wallet is perhaps the best way [...]