Countdown to Christmas 2015: Best meltdowns of the year December 17, 2015 Big, important news events often engenders spectacular meltdowns in response and 2015 certainly saw its fair share of strops. From politicians' car-crash interviews, political parties descending into civil war, the collapse of champions or assaults over a steak, there were plenty of run-for-the-hills type moments. And more than a few where we enjoyed the show. Here are some [...]
Apple broke antitrust laws by working with publishers to increase e-book prices, US court rules June 30, 2015 A federal appeals court in the US has ruled that Apple conspired with publishers to increase the prices of e-books. Read more: Apple antitrust case on brink of collapse It said today that the technology giant broke antitrust laws when it worked with the likes of Hachette, HarperCollins, Penguin, and Simon & Schuster to [...]
Amazon Local Services will allow customers to order plumbers and mechanics alongside books and boxsets November 28, 2014 In the midst of this week’s Black Friday madness, Amazon quietly launched a brand new site for service providers. Instead of cut-price plasma screen TVs, Amazon Local Services puts you in touch with those who can put one back together again following a ruckus at Tesco in Edmonton. Amazon Local Services was launched in [...]
Amazon and Hachette give up their pricing war – just in time for Christmas November 13, 2014 It's a brave brand that takes on the might of Amazon – but US publisher Hachette gave it a good go, arguing that it should have control over the price of its ebooks. The battle was keenly observed by fellow publishers, not least because underneath, they were grumbling about the same thing. But it looks [...]
Wall St snags biggest gains in four years – New York Report August 26, 2015 WALL STREET racked up its biggest one-day gain in four years yesterday as fears about China’s economy gave way to bargain hunters emboldened by expectations the US Federal Reserve might not raise interest rates next month. Led by Silicon Valley stalwarts Apple, Amazon and Google, the surge put the brakes on a six-day losing streak [...]
Argos owner Home Retail Group hits back at claims it could be the next Comet October 21, 2015 Home Retail Group’s boss hit back at claims that Argos was at risk of becoming the next Comet, the collapsed electronics chain, after a profit warning sent shares crashing yesterday. The FTSE 250 retailer, which also owns Homebase, said investment in its new same day delivery service, weak sales of electrical goods, and uncertainty around [...]
Amazon renews film deal with Studiocanal October 8, 2014 Studiocanal, the production company behind films such as Paddington and The Hunger Games, said yesterday it had extended an agreement with Amazon to supply the online retailer with movies for its streaming service in the UK and Germany.
Amazon debuts Post Office pick-up service in new deal with Royal Mail November 24, 2014 Shoppers will soon be able to collect products ordered on Amazon at their local Post Office branch in a new deal announced today by the online retail giant and the Royal Mail. Amazon said it has signed up Royal Mail’s Local Collect service, giving its customers the option of collecting goods from any one of [...]
Poor Fire Phone sales take their toll on Amazon October 24, 2014 Poor sales of the Fire Phone are taking their toll on Amazon's business. In a conference call the company said it would take a $170m write down “primarily related to Fire phone inventory valuation and supplier commitment costs.” Amazon’s phone was said to be the “iPhone killer” ahead of its release, but even its [...]
Will British house buyers learn to love apartments? June 25, 2015 With space running out in the city’s most prestigious districts, developers are desperate for Londoners to embrace the apartment building. But buyers have clung to their period townhouses around neat garden squares for centuries and not everyone is finding the transition to lofty glass towers so easy. But the team behind this penthouse at [...]