The question about ‘grand strategy’ that made Tim Cook unhappy was based on theory that makes uncomfortable reading for Apple October 27, 2016 Last night, Apple CEO Tim Cook gave a terse, unhappy answer to this question from UBS analyst Steven Milunovich: "Does Apple today have a grand strategy for what you want to do?" Milunovich asked the question two different ways, and Cook gave two non-answers, one of which was "as usual, we're not going to talk [...]
Samsung posted quarterly earnings that were at an eight-year low but in line with expectations October 27, 2016 Samsung posted its worst quarterly results for almost eight years in the wake of the Galaxy Note 7 debacle, but promised that it would rebound in the fourth quarter. Earnings plummeted 98 per cent in comparison to the previous year and languished at their worst level since the final quarter of 2008. Although this was [...]
Leading the charge: How to invest in the nascent, but lucrative, electric power storage sector October 27, 2016 One word captures the holy grail for the energy industry: storage. A Carbon Trust report from March found that better energy storage could save £2.4bn a year by 2030 in the UK. If certain regulatory hurdles are overcome, this could rise to £7bn a year. New developments and innovations are coming to market all the [...]
Tesla posts shock profit October 26, 2016 Tesla Motors has trumped analysts' expectations and posted its first profit in eight quarters on the back of record car deliveries. The electric carmaker said its net income for the third quarter ending 30 September was $21.9m (£17.9m). A year earlier, Tesla made a loss of $229,9m. Tesla's revenue more than doubled, reaching $2.3bn. Analysts had been expecting [...]
Apple display supplier LG Display says it expects a strong final quarter, boosted by shipments to key customer October 26, 2016 LG Display, the South Korean firm that supplies components to Apple, said that it expects strong final quarter earnings due to the growth in shipments to a key customer. The firm said that the revenue boost would be generated from sales of medium to small-sized panels. Read more: Apple posts first annual revenue drop for over a decade [...]
What will it take for the online lending industry to hit profitability? October 26, 2016 Online lending has been having its Uber moment. “Platforms spend as much as they physically can to dominate, with VCs behind them pushing for that growth. But now, a lot of VCs have left. Platforms will have to go out for funding again, and we’ll see massive down rounds,” says one platform founder, speaking on [...]
Apple posts first annual revenue drop for over a decade October 25, 2016 Apple has announced its first year-on-year decline in revenues for over a decade as iPhone sales suffer. Revenue fell nine per cent to $46.85bn (£38.44bn), the third quarterly decline in a row. Analysts were expecting revenue to come in at $46.94bn in the quarter, according to Thomson Reuters. Read more: Shares in this Apple supplier [...]
Ofcom to slap Vodafone with multimillion pound fine October 25, 2016 Vodafone will be slapped with a multimillion pound fine for how it deals with complaints and how it handles its pay-as-you-go service. Ofcom will announce the outcome of two investigations tomorrow. Sky News has reported that the two 18-month probes have both found significant failings in Vodafone's UK business. Read more: Vodafone and Inmarsat team up [...]
America is embracing the opportunities of AI while the rest of the world frets October 25, 2016 The rise of artificial intelligence (AI) continues to generate concerns. The latest furore emerged at the start of this week. Researchers in the top ranked University College London computer science department claimed that an AI algorithm correctly predicts the outcome of 79 per cent of cases heard at the European Court of Human Rights. The current fear [...]
Amazon Echo review: Or how I started talking to a little black cylinder every day October 25, 2016 How often do you trust Siri to do much besides setting a timer when you’re cooking pasta, or telling you whether or not it’s going to rain? Since they crept into our pockets, virtual assistants haven’t progressed much past the point of pseudo-capable helpers, who are unreliable in most roles beyond fancy egg-timers and meteorologists [...]
