Sony and Disney all at sea as they clash over mega movie sales.
31 May 2007 [0 Comments | 52 views]
2007 has a been a record year for the Box Office. First it was Spider Man Three, then it was Pirates of the Caribbean Three. What they both have in common, aside from the number three, is that they set the all time record takings for the first six days of a new film’s release. [...]
Apple prepares way for iPhone
31 May 2007 [0 Comments | 55 views]
It’s slated for launch next month (June) but many just can’t wait. The Apple iPhone is now just weeks away, and yesterday, Apple supremo Steve Jobs was strutting his stuff. He emphasised the three aspects of the product – phone, video player and internet browser – and waxed lyrical about the software generated keyboard. But [...]
But US sees new hope sparkle
31 May 2007 [0 Comments | 60 views]
And yet, while markets in China fell like a dragon that lost its wings in mid-flight, markets in the US hit new highs yesterday. Okay, for the Dow that’s not new. It was the 29th time this year the index has finished the day with an all time high. It’s now 1170 points up on [...]
Fear and greed – the true catalysts to stock market boom and crash
31 May 2007 [0 Comments | 53 views]
Sir Isaac Newton got it wrong, big time. He poured his money into the South Seas. But he feared that, just like apples, markets that go up must come down, and so he got out. Phew! But then the great man started to question his own maxim. The speculative bubble continued, gravity appeared to exert [...]
Markets shake off Chinese fall to break new records
31 May 2007 [0 Comments | 70 views]
Back in February, when the Chinese stock market experienced a sharp fall, markets across the world fell in its wake. For a while it seemed as if the good times were over, and that the stock market crash of 2000 had resumed. But yesterday saw another Chinese collapse, but this time the rest of the [...]
And Brits with SMEs see confidence rise too
30 May 2007 [0 Comments | 47 views]
The ship has been steadied. 12 months ago, the UK’s small and medium-sized businesses or SMEs, – (classed as having turnover of between £5 million and £500 million) were under the kosh. Fuel was up, energy costs were rising across the board and the UK’s SMEs looked at ways of improving efficiency. Forward wind the [...]
But, US consumers shake off woes, as confidence grows
30 May 2007 [0 Comments | 56 views]
Our cousins from North America are a confident lot. House prices are falling; the price of gas is staying far too high for comfort; the car industry is facing ever-deeper woes; and yet their optimism seems barely affected. In fact, according to the latest poll from the Conference Board, US consumer confidence rose from 106.3 [...]
The house that Uncle Sam built sees first annual fall since 1991
30 May 2007 [0 Comments | 47 views]
Talking of house prices, but this time on the other side of the Atlantic, evidence emerged yesterday that house prices across the US fell slightly over the last 12 months. According to the SP/Case-Shiller national home price index, house prices across the 20 metro areas it monitors fell by 1.4 per cent in the year [...]
Buy-to-let or buy to lose money?
30 May 2007 [0 Comments | 50 views]
“The rate of interest goes up, but are they bothered? “We just up the cost of rent to cover the interest rate rises, and in any case most of us are on fixed rate mortgages,” say organisations representing landlords. “Look at us,” they say, “are we bothered?” Buy-to-let mortgage provider Paragon puts it this way: [...]
While Bush shows confidence in his new man
30 May 2007 [0 Comments | 54 views]
Paul Wolfowitz was never a popular choice. When a man who had been described as an architect of the war in Iraq gets the top job at the World Bank you just know heckles will rise. And when it appeared Mr Wolfowitz had been giving unfair advantage to one of the banks’ employees, a young [...]
