Better weather means B&Q owner sees profit up in second quarter September 11, 2013 Retail group Kingfisher, who own companies including B&Q and Screwfix, have seen a statory pre-tax profit increase of 10.2 per cent in the 26 weeks up to 3 August (up £401m from £364m for the same period last year) (Release). CEO Ian Cheshire puts the increase down to better weather, commenting on the effect of [...]
Snapchat turns down $3bn offer from Facebook November 15, 2013 FOR THOSE under 25, the phrase, “Send me a snap!” needs no explanation. For those a little older, I’ll explain. Sending a “snap” means sending an image (most likely a selfie) to your friends using the app Snapchat. You can draw on the image or add a caption, and even decide how long friends can [...]
What the other papers say this morning – 27 November 2013 November 26, 2013 FINANCIAL TIMES RBS faces possible criminal probe The Serious Fraud Office is considering a criminal investigation into allegations Royal Bank of Scotland defrauded companies by forcing them out of business, amid growing pressure on the bank over its treatment of SMEs. The SFO has conducted interviews with former executives of UK firms affected by RBS’s [...]
Snapchat turns down $3bn offer from Facebook November 14, 2013 FOR THOSE under 25, the phrase, “Send me a snap!” needs no explanation. For those a little older, I’ll explain. Sending a “snap” means sending an image (most likely a selfie) to your friends using the app Snapchat. You can draw on the image or add a caption, and even decide how long friends can [...]
Aston Martin drops supermini Cygnet vehicle from its range October 8, 2013 BRITISH luxury sports car maker Aston Martin has ended its foray into the supermini segment by dropping its Cygnet city car from the range after poor sales, a source close to the company said. The source said Aston Martin’s two-door Cygnet, which was based on the Toyota iQ, had been dropped from the company’s line-up [...]
Media groups seek improved service from BT Openreach September 22, 2013 BT OPENREACH, the infrastructure arm of the telecom giant used by BSkyB, TalkTalk and others to run their home phone and broadband offerings, has been labelled “consistently poor” by those who rely on the service. Ofcom, which is closing a consultation on BT Openreach’s performance on Wednesday, has been inundated with complaints from the industry. [...]
The Long View: UK leadership of the international space race isn’t entirely out-of-this-world November 14, 2013 WHO SAYS the sky has to be the limit? Britain’s space industry has ambitions to become a global leader. The sector’s new growth plan, announced this week, includes establishing a British spaceport within five years. It wants our 6.5 per cent share of the global space market in 2010 to be 8 per cent by [...]
Sky Broadband customer numbers pass five million but profit drops October 17, 2013 Sky has announced this morning that it has seen 50 per cent growth in new paid-for subscriptions, with 800,000 in the three months to 30 September. Profit before tax for the period stood at £245m – down from £288 for 2012/13. (Release) The BSkyB Group has said it has seen nine per cent growth in [...]
Twitter frenzy as investors rush in November 7, 2013 TWITTER held one of the most highly-anticipated public debuts of the year yesterday at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) with intense investor interest that caused the company’s stock to jump 92 per cent at the start of trading. The social media darling eventually settled at $44.90 (£27.90) a share, up 73 per cent from [...]
Wes Anderson’s Hotel is well worth a stay March 6, 2014 FILMTHE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTELCert 15 | By Steve DinneenFour Stars OF ALL the directors working in Hollywood today, Wes Anderson has the surest grip on his material. Every frame bears his unmistakeable indie stamp; he owns every costume, every carpet and cushion, every trundling tracking shot, every expression and intonation. His films feel like they’ve [...]