The new kids on the block October 2, 2013 The tablet market is no longer divided into “Apple” and “others”. With the release of Tesco’s budget Hudl and Microsoft’s revamped Surface 2, the market is hotting up in time for the Christmas splurge Microsoft Surface 2 From £359 Microsoft desperately wants to get a slice of the tablet market, surprising some observers by launching [...]
Potential delay on retina display for new iPad Mini October 2, 2013 A new version of Apple's iPad Mini with a high-resolution "retina" display will not be rolled out this month, reports Reuters. This puts the tablet at a disadvantage compared to rival products from Google's Nexus 7 and Amazon's Kindle Fire HDX. Sources said that Apple's supply chain is only now preparing to make retina diaplays [...]
City Moves for 2 October 2013 | Who’s switching jobs October 1, 2013 Ernst & Young The professional services firm has announced the appointment of Marc Middleton as a partner in its telecoms, media and technology transaction team. Middleton was most recently at Rothschild, where he was a partner and managing director. Investec Specialist Bank The specialist bank has appointed Joanna Turney to its growth and acquisition finance division. She [...]
Windows phones overtake Blackberry as UK’s third largest platform September 30, 2013 Windows based phone sales accounted for 12 per cent of units in the UK in the three months to August, and in the past year has surged past rival Blackberry to become the third largest platform by sales. New figures from the Kantar Worldpanel ComTech show that Windows has posted its highest ever sales share [...]
City Moves for 26 September 2013 | Who’s switching jobs September 25, 2013 Macquarie The financial services group has recruited Jeremy Dibb as a senior analyst in its metals & mining equity research team for Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Dibb was most recently at Canaccord Genuity, where he was a director in its metals and mining research team. Royal Bank of Canada Capital Markets RBC’s corporate and [...]
Bottom Line: Watsa’s bite of rotten fruit may be too big September 23, 2013 IT SHOULD have been obvious. Six weeks ago, as Blackberry launched a strategic review, Prem Watsa stepped down from the board. The Fairfax chief executive cited conflicts of interest, but said his investment firm had no intention of selling its shares. Yesterday he made good on that promise – and then some – offering $9 [...]
LoveFilm falls into the red due to investment September 22, 2013 ONLINE film and DVD service LoveFilm posted a loss of £21.2m in 2012, falling into the red due to an increase in costs. The company, which was acquired by US online retail giant Amazon in 2010, made a profit of £14m in 2011. But last year its earnings were hit by the cost of interest [...]
Blackberry pulls BBM app launch September 22, 2013 BLACKBERRY suffered yet another setback over the weekend with the launch of its mobile messaging platform BBM on rival iOS and Android platforms. The app was unceremoniously pulled from the respective online stores just hours after it launched yesterday morning. The company said 1.1m users had downloaded the app in the hours after it launched, [...]
Sharp is back on track as it hikes forecasts and plots fundraising September 18, 2013 JAPANESE electronics group Sharp said yesterday it will raise more than £1bn in share sales, marking a step forward in the TV and display maker’s turnaround. The company also raised its business forecasts as a reviving stock market aided its revival. The supplier of panels for Apple’s smartphones is clawing its way back to health [...]
Business of the year September 16, 2013 There’s been some really first-rate performances from some of the nation’s kargest and best known companies this year, making choosing a winner exceptionally hard. The most surprising entrant perhaps is Ocado, since many in the City had written the internet grocer off after its share listing. Thomas Cook is in there because in 2013 it [...]