Amazon swings to loss as string of US firms miss July 25, 2013 AMAZON shares took a tumble last night, after disappointing financial results for the second quarter were announced, showing a surprise loss and shrunken operating income The online retail giant swung to a net loss of $7m (£4.56m), falling short of analysts’ forecasts of a small profit and last year’s quarterly earnings of $7m. Operating income [...]
From prison cells to helter-skelters September 11, 2013 Office design has come a long way since the days of windowless boxes THERE’S a point, around half way through university, when all the conscientious students put down their pints of lager, cease their earnest conversations about Middle-Eastern geo-politics and begin applying for jobs. My housemate was one of those students. Concerned at my relative [...]
Ledley King: English coaches must learn to embrace the little guys or risk missing out on our own Lionel Messi September 17, 2013 Exclusive: Ex-Spurs captain on trouble with our academies, Bale and managing. HAD Lionel Messi been born in England the football world could have been robbed of one of its greatest ever stars. That is the belief of former Tottenham defender Ledley King, who fears the 5ft 7in Argentina forward, hailed by some as the best [...]
Alliance Boots buying stake in Chinese firm September 16, 2012 ALLIANCE Boots, the owner of Europe’s largest pharmacy chain, announced yesterday it will buy a 12 per cent stake in China’s Nanjing Pharmaceutical at a cost of around £56m. The deal, initially announced more than a year ago, will strengthen Alliance Boots’ ties with China’s government and regulators. Alliance Boots executive chairman Stefano Pessina, who [...]
Alliance Boots buying stake in Chinese firm September 16, 2012 ALLIANCE Boots, the owner of Europe’s largest pharmacy chain, announced yesterday it will buy a 12 per cent stake in China’s Nanjing Pharmaceutical at a cost of around £56m. The deal, initially announced more than a year ago, will strengthen Alliance Boots’ ties with China’s government and regulators. Alliance Boots executive chairman Stefano Pessina, who [...]
A Range Rover that is truly sporty August 19, 2013 It’s the fastest, most agile SUV the manufacturer has ever built. We put it through its paces… in a jumbo jet They’re known for coming up with imaginative off-road courses, but the Land Rover Experience guys have outdone themselves this time. It’s fantastically silly. I’m driving the new Range Rover Sport SDV6 model up an [...]
Britain’s education revolution is now bearing fruit but still has further to go August 15, 2013 TEENAGERS across the country will today be suffering from a day of celebrations, following the release of A-level results yesterday. This time every year TV screens and newspapers are plastered with the joyful faces of students who have finally found out how they did, and whether they’ve got the place at university they were after. [...]
The startup spicing up Britain’s wealth management industry September 8, 2013 Annabel Palmer meets Nick Hungerford, who switched the Valley for Vauxhall to found the online investment management firm Nutmeg THE British public has long been accustomed to depositing their earnings in a bank account, or investing through an established stockbroker. But Nick Hungerford wants to disrupt the centuries-old wealth management industry, in precisely the same [...]
Fiat’s 500L gets a rugged makeover July 29, 2013 With its practical appearance and off-road promise, the 500L Trekking is a town car that likes to get dirty The Mini Countryman doesn’t look much like the Mini hatchback, but customers don’t seem to mind. Mini’s SUV crossover is selling very well in the UK, appealing to a family market that wants something practical, with [...]
Fly away to the fantastical mountains of St Lucia September 26, 2013 There’s a lot of local charm beyond the idyllic beaches, azure waters and postcard sunsets, says Oliver Pickup WHAT connects Superman, Amy Winehouse, Oprah Winfrey, Blackbeard and Napoléon Bonaparte? No, it’s not my ultimate dinner party guest list – although that would be some karaoke line up. The link is that they have all been [...]