WHAT THE OTHER PAPERS SAY THIS MORNING January 4, 2012 FINANCIAL TIMES SPANISH BANKS FACE EXTRA HIT OF €50BN Spain says it expects its banks to set aside up to €50bn in further provisions on their bad property assets as part of a new round of reforms for the country’s financial sector. Luis de Guindos, economy minister in the centre-right government that took office two [...]
GAMES December 1, 2011 NINTENDO 3DS, FROM £120 Nintendo’s 3DS is the best portable console on the market – and with new titles including the latest Mario adventure, it’s well worth a look. nintendo.co.uk ACER 5600G LAPTOP, £700 A wickedly powerful laptop that will have Modern Warfare 3 running in crisp HD. www.website.co.uk SONY PLAYSTATION SLIM £120 PlayStation fans [...]
HMV’s last stand has new toys but not much future December 19, 2011 SIX years ago, David Cameron famously taunted Tony Blair in the House of Commons by saying “He was the future once”. And at that point, ahead of Christmas 2005, the HMV Group seemed to have a future. Annual profits were still well over £100m, the age of digital downloading seemed a distant threat and HMV’s [...]
THE TIPSTER November 21, 2011 Utility stock Severn Trent reports interim results on Thursday and investors will be hoping to hear that their bumper dividend payout is safe. A typical defensive play, the shares have performed well in 2011 gaining over 7 per cent. With uncertainty continuing, equity investors may well continue to seek the safe haven properties of the [...]
THE TIPSTER November 21, 2011 Utility stock Severn Trent reports interim results on Thursday and investors will be hoping to hear that their bumper dividend payout is safe. A typical defensive play, the shares have performed well in 2011 gaining over 7 per cent. With uncertainty continuing, equity investors may well continue to seek the safe haven properties of the [...]
Retailers add cheer to gloomy high st December 11, 2011 DEPARTMENT store John Lewis has offered some hope to the ongoing high street gloom by revealing record sales last week as the Christmas shopping season gained momentum. Sales rose by two per cent to £123.5 in the week to December 10, rising 12.5 per cent on a two-year basis as customers snapped up winter clothes [...]
Retailers add cheer to gloomy high st December 11, 2011 DEPARTMENT store John Lewis has offered some hope to the ongoing high street gloom by revealing record sales last week as the Christmas shopping season gained momentum. Sales rose by two per cent to £123.5 in the week to December 10, rising 12.5 per cent on a two-year basis as customers snapped up winter clothes [...]
The good, the bad and the ugly from Las Vegas January 18, 2012 The dust is settling after what turned out to be something of a damp squib at the Consumer Electronics Show. The ultrabook (read: thin laptop) was king, with most manufacturers launching rivals to Apple’s lauded MacBook Air. Mobile had a big presence but hero releases were thin on the ground – perhaps waiting for Mobile [...]
Netflix and Lovefilm battle for UK market January 9, 2012 US video streaming service Netflix began its attempt to take over the UK market yesterday, ruffling the feathers of home competitors such as Lovefilm and Sky Movies. British customers can pay £5.99 per month for unlimited access to Netflix’s online emporium of films and TV programmes that can be streamed on a range of gadgets [...]
Amazon’s profits slip by a third April 26, 2011 AMAZON, the world’s largest online retailer, revealed a 33 per cent profit slump last night, as its investment in new businesses ate into earnings. The US internet giant has ploughed millions into the promotion of its Kindle electronic-book reader, as well as into a new app for Android smartphones. The costs hit its pre-tax profits, [...]