Investors queue up to hear from Zuckerberg ahead of Facebook IPO May 7, 2012 FACEBOOK kicked off a road-show to promote its $10bn (£6.17bn) float yesterday. Chief executive Mark Zuckerberg fielded questions about the social network’s slowing revenue growth and defended its $1bn purchase of Instagram, telling attendees he would do the deal again if he had to. Hundreds of investors had formed a line outside New York’s Sheraton [...]
Facebook IPO pricing values firm at $96bn May 3, 2012 FACEBOOK last night valued itself at up to $96bn as it set out the pricing range for its hotly anticipated IPO. In a new regulatory filing, the social network said it would seek to sell 337.4m shares at between $28 and $35 a share, raising up to $13.6bn in total, and netting founder Mark Zuckerberg, [...]
Lovefilm leads on streaming March 22, 2012 Online streaming overtook DVD rental for the first time last month at Lovefilm, the Amazon-owned film subscription service which has over two million members. Movies and TV shows streamed via the internet exceeded the number of physical rentals by 20 per cent – despite a 25 per cent rise in DVD rentals – showing a growth of [...]
Facebook must prove itself on ads and growth May 17, 2012 FACEBOOK will celebrate its flotation with an all-night “hackathon” at its Californian headquarters, a company tradition in which programmers work on side projects that sometimes turn into mainstream offerings. But after the party the firm will have to focus on proving to investors that it really is worth more than $100bn (£63bn). Despite being the [...]
Microsoft buys patents from AOL for $1.1bn April 9, 2012 AOL announced yesterday it is to sell 800 of its technology patents to Microsoft for nearly $1.1bn (£690m), sending shares in the internet firm soaring by 43 per cent. The company did not say what these patents cover but they are said to include rights from its current and former businesses, spanning from Netscape and [...]
Microsoft takes on Kindle with e-reader stake April 30, 2012 MICROSOFT yesterday took its first step into the e-reader game, taking on digital giants Amazon and Apple by joining forces with Barnes & Noble and its e-reader Nook. The news sent shares of the US book retailer rocketing by a staggering 90 per cent in early trading. Microsoft will invest $300m (£184.6m) in return for [...]
Vale profits are slashed in half by heavy rains April 26, 2012 VALE, the world’s largest iron ore miner, said that first-quarter profit fell by nearly half from a year earlier because rains limited exports, prices for its main products fell and spending on new mining projects rose. Net income in the three months ended 31 March fell 44 per cent to $3.83bn (£2.3bn) compared with $6.83bn [...]
Risk-takers rewarded as former Olympus boss Woodford wins March 20, 2012 AND SO we boldly go to the British Museum, where the fourth annual FT Boldness in Business Awards were held last night. The world’s risk-takers and whistleblowers mingled with athlete Christine Ohuruogu; Locog chief Paul Deighton; and Lakshmi Mittal, head of co-sponsor ArcelorMittal. Michael Woodford MBE (pictured), the man who exposed camera firm Olympus’s huge [...]
Waking up is never easy March 19, 2012 ZEN TIMEPIECE £95 now-zen.com By striking a subtle B-note on a brass bowl, the Zen Timepiece promises to “summon your consciousness with complex tones” to wake you up. The small hammer strikes the bowl every 5 seconds until it is turned off, and is meant to set a calming tone for the day. WAKEUP WORKOUT [...]
Stepping into summer with colour and verve May 2, 2012 Carven linen and patent leather slingbacks, £325, netaporter.com The fashion pack’s favourite new label, these multi-texture, multi-colour slingbacks are the perfect way to bring summer to work. Acne Ambrosia tasselled leather sandals, £330, brownsfashion.com A-listers love this Swedish brand, and these tasselled sandals are the latest must-have. Gorgeous earth tones make them versatile and elegant. [...]