Sex, drugs and EU tolls: Why that £1.7bn bill is a gift to politicians November 4, 2014 Whichever way you look at it, the £1.7bn EU ‘toll-tax-bill’ is a fabulous win-win-win. The EU gets more revenue, the UK gets an increased rebate and the UK political parties have a PR gift from which to debate what the EU really means for the people and economy of the UK. The child in me [...]
Xiaomi is spending $1bn on Internet TV content to takeover China’s smart TV market and rival Alibaba, Baidu and Tencent November 4, 2014 Xiaomi, the Chinese smartphone maker, is planning to spend up to $1bn (£625m) on online TV content in an effort to dominate the smart TV market. The three-year-old company has already overtaken established players in the smartphone market to become the third largest in the world and is now setting its sites on the billion [...]
Qatar Air may replace Emirates as airline ends Fifa sponsorship November 3, 2014 AIRLINE Emirates has become the first top-tier sponsor to end its deal with football’s governing body Fifa following allegations of corruption surrounding bids for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. The world’s largest international carrier said it would not renew its four-year contract with Fifa, which expires at the end of the year, but did [...]
Samsung share price up but electronics firm seeks change in tactics as profits drop October 30, 2014 Samsung Electronics, the world’s largest electronics manufacturer by sales, posted disappointing third-quarter results yesterday showing profits down 60.1 per cent to 4.1 trillion won (£2.4bn) in the three months to the end of September. The South Korean firm, whose share of the smartphone market declined for the third straight quarter, said it planned to focus [...]
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 [...]