Apple facing $840m fine for ebook pricing February 2, 2014 APPLE faces a fine of up to $840m (£511m) from US state and consumer antitrust claims after last summer’s lawsuit, in which the tech giant was found to be guilty of conspiring with publishing companies to increase the price of ebooks. The class action lawsuit, comprised of customers from 33 states and led by attorney [...]
Lululemon to open first UK store February 20, 2014 Canadian clothing heavyweight Lululemon is to open its first UK store in London's Covent Garden on 28 March. That 3,100 square foot store will have separate menswear and womenswear sections. Community relations manager Amanda Casger told Drapers that Lululemon is "in the process of understanding what the [UK] market is like" and that the company [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 22 May 2014 May 21, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Monte dei Paschi to give state €4bn Shareholders of Monte dei Paschi di Siena, Italy’s third-largest bank by assets, have given the go ahead to a €5bn (£4.05bn) capital raising in a step that effectively lifts the threat of nationalisation from the bank. In a turbulent meeting, Monte Paschi shareholders voted overwhelmingly to [...]
JP Morgan pays $1.45m to settle case February 4, 2014 JP Morgan Chase will pay $1.45m (£888m) to settle a government lawsuit that charged the company with maintaining a sexually hostile environment for women in an Ohio mortgage center more than four years ago. A commission said the work situation included sexually charged behaviour. “We fully agree with (the commission) that harassment and discrimination have [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 14 March 2014 March 13, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Zuckerberg attacks US surveillance Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook founder and chief executive, has strongly criticised the US government for dragging its heels on plans to reform its mass surveillance programme. In a post on the social network, Zuckerberg said he had called President Barack Obama to express his “frustration” over the damage the government [...]
Sentence passed on Swatch Group vs Tiffany & Co February 6, 2014 SHORTLY before Christmas, the Dutch Arbitration Institute passed judgement on a lawsuit between Swatch Group vs Tiffany & Co, sentencing the Fifth Avenue jeweller to pay the titan of Swiss watchmaking damages totalling CHF402m (£273.8m). This brings a lengthy dispute to an end, waged since September 2011 when Swatch terminated its collaboration for breach of [...]
Fat Face unveils London listing to pay off debt May 1, 2014 FAMILY friendly retailer Fat Face yesterday became the latest private equity-backed retailer to tee up a listing on the London stock market, after announcing plans to raise £110m to cut debt. The business, which has about 200 stores across the UK, will offer shares to City fund managers after private equity backer Bridgepoint moved to [...]
RBS pays £165m over mortgage sales in the US February 19, 2014 RBS SETTLED a class action case in the US yesterday, agreeing to pay disgruntled investors $275m (£165m) over mortgage-backed securities sold in the pre-crisis boom years. The bank also suspended a third foreign exchange trader this week as part of its internal probe into alleged abuse of the markets. Separately, RBS announced the sale of parts of [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 25 April 2014 April 24, 2014 FINANCIAL TIMES Google+ chief out ahead of shake-up The Google executive who led its attempt to challenge Facebook in social networking is leaving the company, ahead of changes to the service. Vic Gundotra, a former Microsoft executive who has spent almost eight years at the search firm, launched Google+ in June 2011, with the stated [...]
How tech can offer Tube strike relief April 29, 2014 New “sharing economy” apps could help commuters survive future union action MANY are extolling the virtues of the “sharing economy” – where people rent out underutilised assets from each other through the internet. Despite concerns over regulation and security (sharing companies Lyft and Uber have both recently faced lawsuits), collaborative consumption is catching on. Forbes [...]