Online advertising has hit a 'huge milestone' with the news that it has overtaken television advertising for the first time. Many questions will be asked and many answers will be analysed as to just why campaigns are moving online but to me the answer is simple. The access to market intelligence and media monitoring is, without doubt, emphatically stronger.
Companies can track specifically just how successful a campaign has been, can track the progress in key, targeted areas and can monitor just where their consumer is coming from. Whilst television can offer big exposure to a stereotyped audience, the Internet can offer precise answers and enlightening results, allowing future marketing strategies to be even more focused.
And it's not only access to information that's important, it's the access a consumer gets to the product that also makes online advertising so appealing. A television advert might leave a phone number, maybe even a website but that is still another stage for a consumer, another action they must actively seek out. Online you're always a click away from a product, a very powerful tool for those looking to sell.
So this gap will continue to increase, and as developments improve the online advertising model, the power will well and truly shift to websites who can prove notable traffic, and willing consumers.
A very interesting article by Soren Gordhamer on Mashable yesterday looked at the ways Social Media is changing the business model. The main conclusions stated that businesses have gone:
1. From "Trying to Sell" to "Making Connections" 2. From "Large Campaigns" to "Small Acts" 3. From "Controlling Our Image" to "Being Ourselves" 4. From "Hard to Reach" to "Available Everywhere"
Whilst I agree with points 2,3 and 4, the constant harassment of companies telling me I can 'vastly increase my traffic' and 'save hundreds on back linking techniques' suggests to me that selling is well and truly alive even if the salesman is selling connections. That said, it has certainly given businesses another strategy and another view point.
One point I feel is missed from the list however is that of internal communications. Social media has provided a platform for departments to share and liaise without the hassle of email. Here at Artesian the software we use, allowing consumers to create forums relating to online articles, makes for better sales intelligence and vastly improved corporate research results. Personally, I've found this process to not only be a real time saver, but also a way of keeping everyone on the same page when keeping up to date with relevant news and insight.
Today's announcement that Mobile phone giant Orange has reached an agreement to sell I Phones to their customers means a near national sweep for Apple in the UK market. Providing Orange get the go ahead to merge with T mobile, I Phones will be readily available to three quarters of all potential UK consumers.
This obviously has a knock on affect to online use. With mobile Internet now the norm as opposed to the novelty, I Phone apps will increase personalisation and user expectations. The access of data will be readily available no matter where you are, which, for a traveling sales executive or a hastily arranged meeting could be exceptionally useful.
But as anyone who's tried to search the Internet properly on the I Phone will know, the user friendliness is still sloppy and sometimes time consuming. This is where semantic 'no search' technology could really come into it's own. Data arriving at your fingertips, no matter where you are, suddenly becomes a very interesting proposition.
If you went onto the NHS website would you expect to see articles from medical students posting confidential details about patients? If the answer was no (which it should have been) then tell me why people feel like they can write absolutely anything on sites like Facebook and Twitter? They're still in the public domain, they're still globally available documents and yet users appear to get this sense of personal privacy from them, like it's an untouchable area.
Recently criticised medical students tweeting away private medical records aren't the only ones who have fallen into this trap. High profile politicians and sports stars have also found themselves in trouble over their inability to curve what is said on their Twitter feed. Where does this sense of security come from? It's like gossiping down the pub but having someone taking minutes of what was said.
Still, it's incredibly useful for those wishing to track business activity, it's like being able to peer through a blacked out window, so long may it continue I say. Keep on gossiping, you crazy, crazy people!
Latest figures showing Bing's increase in market share from 8.9% to 9.3% may seem rather small and quite frankly they are. Having spent 100 million on advertising (why does that figure not seem too much anymore? All those government debt stories I suppose) they are likely to be disapointed with such little progress.
But it's not the short term that should be of concern to Bing. Of course, it's going to take more than an advertising campaign to topple Google, you can't displace the King without building a pretty strong army first. Bing should take heart that their dedication to innovation should stand them in pretty good stead.
Because let's be honest here, whilst Google continue to dominate, they must be a little bit concerned with the number of fluffy projects which have led to very little. Bing can at least show some progress for their hard graft, and continuing to exploit semantic angles can only stand them in good stead. Google may well be winning the battle, but the war is far from over.
Yahoo's new web portal has cottoned onto the fact that users are now more and more looking for a personal experience on the web. The integration of third party web services like Facebook and Ebay on the homepage is basically saying 'start your day here and work from there.'
It's a fairly interesting concept, trying to create an online map for daily users but at the same time why use the middle man? People want personal, not unnecessary. Why check your Facebook on Yahoo when you can check your Facebook on Facebook?
It's the equivalent of placing a door in front of another door. Personalisation is certainly something that will become increasingly important with semantic web, but I can't help but feel Yahoo have merely scratched the service, and probably won't even leave a mark.
In a time where businesses purchasing Facebook friends is not seen as even the slightest bit unusual, you can't really argue against the fact that social networking is playing a more substantial role in modern markets. But one site has decided that social media deserves even more power.
The Whuffie bank have turned online networking reputation into currency, with the ultimate ambition being deals based upon the new virtual dollar. Reputation is built upon connections on Twitter and Facebook amongst others, and the users salary goes up based upon interactions with these sites.
A 'Whuffie' is "issued based on a reputation algorithm that blends information from different social networks. As we develop and refine the algorithm that tracks public user activity over the net, the Whuffie will become an accurate reflection of your web reputation."
If the idea takes off, it will add yet another string to the bow of the web's already increasing business importance. I intend to sign up and be a Whuffie millionaire in time for Christmas.
It can never be a good thing when the US justice Department throws its weight against your proposals. Google are going to really have to fight to push through their plans for the right to publish millions of books online.
Their offer to compensate authors for every read does not currently seem to be enough to satisfy critics and the recent comparison from the Newspaper industry referring to Google as 'parasites' eating away at the spine of the Internet can not have helped the cause.
Personally, I can't see the problem with the proposals. Having a database of online literature is just another way of selling rather than a competitive challenge to the current model (as is the situation with Newspapers). Few will read an entire book online but having the data there to find what the consumer wants will only help sales. Books are in no way like news. Whilst some people like to quickly scan the news and move on, literature is something to take time over and enjoy in leisurely situations, like holidays and evenings.
The Internet is all about finding information quickly, and whilst this model can affect those who previously relied on their ability to deliver news first, literature is timeless and therefore immune to the fast paced model. Expanding access to the source can only help the industry.
An important point I missed from yesterday's post regarding the success of Spotify was the fact they are incorparting 'media on the move' in their business model. Their premium account allows you to access music anywhere anytime and this is fast becoming a nessicity rather than a bonus.
The Internet is no longer a sit still activity, it's something aiming to blend into everyday life and aid in as many situations as possible (Just look at I Phone applications for example).
If you want to make a success of an online venture now, it's imperative your product is available on the move, because just like technology, the message is very clear right now - life simply does not stand still.
With all this controversy over online newspaper payments and the fors and againsts of both sides of the story, a thought occurred to me yesterday which I've yet to find an argument against (this is usually quite rare).
Are newspapers learning lessons from the rising success of Spotify - the online service that allows you to listen to endless songs for free if partnered with advertising space, or alternatively pay a monthly premium to wipe those adverts out completely? Because to me this seems like a perfect solution to please all parties.
Yes, you can read the news online for free, but advertising space is going to be bigger, more intrusive and more forceful (a 5 second add before each article for example) but if you want to clear all that and focus just on the news then pay the premium to wipe it out. Advertisers get greater scope to promote, papers get a more secure subscription fee and consumers can choose their preference without being put off by one or the other.
In a way, the model already exists in the case of the 'freebie' local papers that are ram packed with ads so why could this not be transferred online? Of course, the obstacle of free content from sites like the BBC still remains and the product the papers deliver would still have to improve but Spotify are proving that this model is a perfect way to sit on the fence and please everyone. If nothing else, it's certainly one to consider.
UK Coal runs Kellingley and Thoresby in Yorkshire, Welbeck in Nottinghamshire, and Daw Mill in Warwickshire. (full story)
Recession may be over, says Bank of England chief Mervyn King - The recession could be over, according to Mervyn King, the governor of the Bank of England.
There are signs that economic growth "has resumed" between July and September, Mr King told the influential House of Commons Treasury Select Committee. (full story)
Next lifts forecasts a second time on sales growth - Next, the high street fashion chain, today raised its full-year profit forecast for a second time after reporting better than expected interim growth.
Profits for the six months to July 31 rose by 7 per cent to £185.5 million and total sales rose £1.5 billion, up 0.7 per cent. Shares in Next rose 3.2 per cent, or 55p, to £17.54. (full story)
Climate Exchange swings to profit - Carbon emissions exchange operator Climate Exchange (CLIE.L) swung to a first-half profit as trading volumes almost doubled, but said it expected growth rates to moderate in the second half.
"Whilst we are delighted with the growth achieved in the first half of 2009, political and regulatory uncertainty may moderate our rates of growth during the second half of the financial year and we have observed lower volumes in August," the company said on Wednesday. (full story)
Ministers fear recovery will fail to reduce unemployment - Ministers are urgently drawing up measures to try to prevent a "job-lite recovery" in which unemployment continues to rise even when the economy starts to grow again.
Official figures due out today are expected to show that unemployment has risen to about 2.5 million. There are growing fears that it will remain above two million by the end of 2010. (full story)
Store Space Reshuffle Hits Debenhams Sales - Department store group Debenhams has reported a 3.8% drop in like-for-like sales in the last six months compared to the same period last year.
The group blamed the decline, which saw sales for the full year slip 3.6%, on disruption caused by a major store revamp. (full story)
Bank crisis lessons 'not learned' - A year after Lehman Brothers collapsed, a think-tank has warned the lessons of the crisis have not been learned.
The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) says the rapid return to the City's bonus culture shows real reform has been "very limited". (full story)
Drugs market uncertainty costs 5,500 Eli Lilly jobs - President Obama’s controversial healthcare reforms have made a swift impact on Eli Lilly, the pharmaceuticals group, which believes that the programme could depress the price of drugs. Faced also with the loss of key patents, the company said yesterday that it was to cut 5,500 jobs, or 13.6 per cent of its global workforce.
Eli Lilly, which employs 40,500 staff worldwide, of which 1,600 are based in Britain, plans to cut $1 billion (£600 million) from its annual costs in the face of what it describes as the “most challenging period” in its history. (full story)
MG Rover £100,000 'bribe' under investigation - A quango that was invoiced for a £100,000 alleged "bribe" relating to the redevelopment of MG Rover's Longbridge site has launched an investigation into the payment.
Taxpayer-funded Advantage West Midlands (AWM), a Regional Development Agency, was invoiced for the money by St Modwen Properties, the listed company, when it bought the site for redevelopment from a third company. (full story)
Warning over holiday sick leave ruling - A landmark legal ruling allowing workers to claim back holiday time lost to illness will expose employers to exploitation, it was warned today.
The CBI said the European Court judgment, in a case involving a Spanish council worker, was "open to abuse". (full story)
As the interview states, Ask are miles ahead of Google in terms of semantic ideas - a concept which is sure to become more and more relevant in the market place - but miles behind them in terms of market share. Their problem remains differentiating themselves from their competitors and explaining their purpose to less educated online users (thus attracting advertisers who quite rightly prefer to go where the numbers go). For example, if you were to question the difference between Google and Ask to a passer by on the street, you wouldn't be startled to hear the answer 'they're both just search engines aren't they?'
Of course, semantic ideas are not enough, it's the application of insight, explaining relevance and connections that really is the next step but Ask's approach is certainly an interesting one. I can't help but feel Mascaraque is selling Ask a little bit short when he says he's happy being 'number three in the market place.'
In a speech to mark one year since the collapse of Lehman Brothers bank, he will also mount a vigorous defence of his administration's economic policies. (full story)
ITV product placement 'is worth millions' - Troubled ITV stands to reap tens of millions of pounds in new revenue under Government plans to allow US-style product placement on television.
In a watershed week for the struggling broadcaster, the Competition Commission is also poised to publish its provisional findings into the contract rights renewal (CRR) system that dictates how much the company can charge advertisers, while Tony Ball , the former chief executive of BSkyB, is likely to be confirmed as ITV chief. (full story)
Cadbury seeks to bolster investors against Kraft - Cadbury will this week bolster its defences against a £10.2 billion takeover offer from America's Kraft Foods as management prepare to urge shareholders on Wednesday to reject the deal.
In a robust letter published in full today, Roger Carr, chairman of the Dairy Milk-maker, tells Irene Rosenfeld, chairman and chief executive of Kraft, the proposal is “unappealing” and a threat to Cadbury's plan of becoming the world's preeminent pure play confectionery and chewing gum company. (full story)
Union Boss: Hands Off Public Sector Jobs - A union leader is expected to tell colleagues that a true economic recovery will only be evident when public services are safe from cuts.
A key battleground has opened up ahead of the next General Election - and all sides seem to agree it is public spending that will decide the winner. (full story) London retail sales tumble to cast doubt on the sector's recovery curve - London's retailers will today create shockwaves by posting their worst monthly sales for four years, ahead of results this week from some of the UK's biggest store groups that will provide a health check for the high street leading up to the critical Christmas trading period.
The department stores Debenhams and John Lewis, the fashion retailers Next and French Connection, the DIY group Kingfisher, and the furnishings chain Dunelm will all update the market this week. Further August sales data will be unveiled by the Office for National Statistics on Thursday. (full story)
What a busy week it's been for the online world, I think all I can do is provide a catch up service, summing up some of the highlights, because to comment on just one thing would seem extremely blinkered, so:
In response to Rupert Murdock's plan to charge for online news content Google has admitted it is working on technology to help newspapers make money from their website readers. Twitter however have gone against the tide completely and decided their going to rely on advertising revenue 'leaving the door open' to advertisers to access the 45 million tweeters out there.
Facebook have decided to expand further by coming up with 'Facebook Lite' a new site that cuts down on unnecessary applications to provide quicker speed for those with slow or poor Internet connections. Although currently only available in the US and India if it cuts out things like the 'what kind of vegetable are you?' application I personally can't wait to ditch the old and bring in the new.
The PM has apologised to WWII code breaker Alan Turning over the terrible treatment he received from the British government, a statement long overdue and Steve Jobs is back to a standing ovation after his recent liver transplant.
On the lighter side of things Google Maps have announced they are launching the World's 'biggest' game of online Monopoly which will see gamers being able to purchase real streets (does that mean you really have to go to jail too?) and apparently in South Africa a carrier pigeon has beaten the countries ADSL service in the delivery of data. 'Winston the pigeon' took just two hours to fly a memory stick 60 miles, in the time the ADSL had sent 4% of the data.
Right, time for a lie down I think, must fly (that's for you Winston)
Wetherspoon sales stabilise amid profit fall - JD Wetherspoon, the pub owner, reported a 17 per cent fall in full-year profits after the company was forced to write-down the value of pubs that traded badly in the depths of the recession.
Pre-tax income totalled £45 million in the year to July 26, down from £54.2 million, following exceptional charges of £21.1 million. Those costs included £6.5 million of pub write-offs, and a further £9.4 million knocked off the company's fixed assets. (full story)
Rover bosses took £42m from firm - A report into the collapse of carmaker MG Rover will say that five executives took £42m in pay and pensions from the troubled firm, the BBC has learned.
Independent inspectors said the men behind the takeover and the executive they appointed enriched themselves as Rover headed for insolvency. (full story)
Twitter expands rules to allow advertising - Twitter, the fast-growing microblogging site now seeking ways to make money, expanded its terms for users on Thursday to allow advertisers to reach the Internet site's more than 45 million monthly visitors.
Twitter, the two-year-old venture capital-backed company that lets people send an unlimited number of 140-character messages, is just now beginning to ramp up efforts to monetize, or gain revenue from, its popular site. (full story)
No Change: Bank Keeps Interest Rate On Hold - The Bank of England has - as expected - opted to keep the interest rate unchanged at 0.5%.
The Bank of England has - as expected - opted to keep the interest rate unchanged at 0.5%. (full story)
Sports stores face fraud inquiry into claims of price-fixing - The Serious Fraud Office has launched an investigation into alleged anti-competitive activities and fraud involving the sportswear retailers JJB Sports and Sports Direct that could lead to significant fines and even jail sentences if such practices are found to have occurred.
Following a referral from the Office of Fair Trading, the SFO confirmed that it had beguns proceedings after JJB approached the OFT in exchange for immunity in January. Yesterday, the offices of both companies were raided as part of a wide ranging investigation into alleged "cartel activity" between the chains to lessen competition in the sportswear sector. (full story)
Britain's fourth-biggest grocer, which had raised earnings expectations in an unscheduled trading update in July, said on Thursday it made profit before tax and one-off items of 359 million pounds in the six months to August 2. (full story)
Bank set to hold interest rates - The Bank of England is widely expected to hold interest rates at 0.5% for the sixth month in a row, when it announces its decision later.
It is also likely to maintain its programme of pumping money into the economy - called quantitative easing - but is not tipped to extend it. (full story)
FTSE soars through 5,000 mark for first time in a year but Mandelson warns of second economic dip - The FTSE 100 index of Britain's top companies surged through the 5,000 mark today for the first time since October, as City investors leapt on increasing belief that an economic recovery is under way.
Investors also piled back into shares after being encouraged by the recent revival in takeover activity, such as Kraft's £10.2bn bid for Cadbury and the mega-merger between T-Mobile and Orange's UK. (full story)
Apple Boss Back In Charge With New iPod - Apple's CEO has returned to the spotlight after lifesaving surgery to announce the new iPod Nano range will have in-built video cameras.
Steve Jobs received a standing ovation when he took to the stage at a news conference in San Francisco. (full story)
Dixon leads M&S race after board promotion - Marks & Spencer reignited speculation about who will be its new chief executive by promoting John Dixon, its head of food, to the board yesterday.
Mr Dixon was only appointed director of food in July 2008, but has emerged as the main internal contender to succeed Sir Stuart Rose. The retailer's executive chairman, who has been lambasted for his dual role – which breaches best practice on corporate governance – will step down as chief executive no later than July 2010. (full story)
The Chancellor sought to draw the battle lines for the next election, suggesting Labour will cut costs but not services once the economy is growing again. (full story)
UK is Europe's 'easiest economy' - The UK is the fifth easiest economy in the world in which to conduct business, according to the World Bank.
It has moved up one place from last year in the bank's annual "Doing Business" survey, making it the best placed country in Europe. (full story)
China's Geely eyes bid for Ford's Volvo cars - China's Geely Automotive (0175.HK) said on Wednesday its parent wants to bid for Ford's (F.N) Volvo Car Corp, becoming the latest Chinese automaker to chase a foreign brand in a global industry overhaul.
The move could boost the profile of Geely, a small, home-grown car maker and, more importantly, give it access to Volvo technology it needs to upgrade its cars, analysts said, though some doubted it could manage an international brand. (full story)
Sports Direct upgrades profits on sales boost - Sports Direct today revealed revenues rose 10 per cent in the early summer and upgraded its profit forecasts as the retailer began to lift itself out of the recession.
Ahead of the company's annual meeting today, turnover at the sports retailer, owned by entrepreneur Mike Ashley, rose from last year’s £336 million to £375 million in the 13 weeks ending July 26. (full story)
Orange and T-Mobile merger could see 1,000 jobs cut - More than 1,000 British jobs could be lost as a result of Orange and T-Mobile's merger to create the UK's largest mobile phone company.
The companies confirmed on Tuesday that they are planning to merge their British operations to create a new jointly-owned business with more than 28.4m customers. (full story)
Artesian were delighted to appear in the Tech Media invest Top 100, in association with the Guardian.
Tech Media Invest Top 100 is a list of the hottest emerging and most innovative companies in the ever converging tech and media industries right now.
"The Tech Media Invest 100 aims to showcase young entrepreneurial companies that are developing innovative new ways to serve business and consumers, and have the potential to radically change the shape of the technology and media industry, Some companies may go on to be the leaders of tomorrow and others may falter but we certainly think these companies have potential and look forward to seeing how they monetise their innovation."
The top 100 list comprises the following:
Tech Media Invest 2009 – Top 10 (ranked)
1. SeatWave 2. SoundCloud 3. Playfish 4. Handmade Mobile Entertainment (Flirtomatic) 5. MOO Print 6. Mendeley 7. Plastic Logic 8. Light Blue Optics 9. Mind Candy 10. Spotify
Tech Media Invest 2009 – The rest of Top 100 (alphabetical) Adconion Media Group AdJug AdPay.tv Aerelink Limited Affect Labs Ltd AlwaysOn Anarkik3D Anthropics Technology Ariel Communications Aroxo Artesian Solutions Limited AudioBoo BeatThatQuote.com Broadbean Technology BView Ltd Celona Technologies Clash Media Codilink UK Ltd Comufy (Chootta Ltd.) Cybersports Datmedia Ltd Demotix Digital Goldfish Dopplr Entanet International Ltd Eutechnyx Limited Everyclick Ltd Frontier Silicon LTD GetJar Golden Gekko Hubdub Huddle (Ninian Solutions) iDesktop.tv Introversion Software iPLATO Healthcare Ltd IVCMedia Limited KeyPoint Technologies (UK) Ltd Livebookings Holdings Ltd Loc8 Solutions Ltd. Madgex Medio Systems MeetingZone Mimecast Mippin MirriAd Limited Mixcloud Mobango Mobile Commerce Mobiqa Music Glue mydeco.com (By Design Ltd.) Mydeo Ltd. Nativ NearGlobal New Concept Gaming NX Vision OnRelay PacketExchange PharmiWeb Solutions Pixsta Quick.tv Real Time Content Realtime Worlds Saffron Digital ScanSafe Scene Systems Secerno Ltd Sharpcards Shazam Entertainment Skimbit Slicethepie Slingshot Songkick.com Splash Damage Struq Limited Supajam Ltd The Cloud The Hut Triopsis Truphone Tweetmeme UMU Ltd Upad viagogo Vpar We7 Webjam Wesupply Ltd. WikiJob Zemanta ltd.
Tech Media Invest 2009 – Trailblazers (alphabetical) Autonomy Betfair Gamesys Jagex LOVEFiLM UK Midasplayer.com (King.com) Miniclip Mobile Interactive Group (MIG) Moneysupermarket.com Skyscanner
T-Mobile and Orange may merge in JV - Deutsche Telekom (DTEGn.DE) and France Telecom (FTE.PA) are in exclusive negotiations to combine their UK mobile operations into a new 50-50 joint venture, the German company said on Tuesday.
The move follows an announcement by Deutsche Telekom earlier this year that it was considering its options for the UK unit, which has struggled in the highly competitive market, in which five operators and several smaller players compete. (full story)
Google facing European challenge to digital library - Google was forced to offer concessions to European publishers yesterday as it came under pressure over its plans to digitise the world’s books.
The internet search engine said that it would remove all books still on sale in Europe from its US online market, which offers millions of titles currently out of print in the United States. Google instead plans to negotiate agreements with European publishers and authors. (full story)
High Street sales fall back again - Retail sales fell in August after two months of increases, casting doubt on a prolonged recovery in High Street consumer spending.
UK like-for-like sales - which do not include new stores - fell 0.1% compared with the same month last year, said the British Retail Consortium (BRC). (full story)
'Zombie' insurer Pearl to appoint Ron Sandler as executive chairman - Northern Rock chairman Ron Sandler has been lined up as the new executive chairman of insurance group Pearl, The Daily Telegraph has learned.
Mr Sandler, who was appointed to oversee the bank's rehabilitation last year, will join the "zombie" insurer – so-called because it consolidated closed life businesses – to oversee its restructuring. (full story)
Aquascutum returns to British ownership - Fashion brand Aquascutum is to return to British ownership after entrepreneur Harold Tillman today announced a deal to buy the business.
Mr Tillman, who is best known for the transformation of upmarket retailer Jaeger, has acquired the Aquascutum brand from Japan's Renown. (full story)
Whitbread hires ex-Boots boss as sales slide - Whitbread has hired Richard Baker, the former chief executive of Boots, as a non-executive director, sparking speculation he may succeed John Parker as boss.
The company announced Mr Baker’s appointment as it revealed a 2.6 per cent fall in like-for-like sales during the first half of the year, following a steep 7.7 per cent slide in revenue at Premier Inn, the budget hotel chain. (full story)
Cadbury shares soar after £10.2bn takeover approach from Toblerone maker Kraft Foods - Cadbury, the company behind Dairy Milk, has rejected a £10.2bn takeover offer from Toblerone-maker Kraft Foods, which the US company says would create jobs in Britain.
Shares in Cadbury soared more than 30pc after the surprise statement from Kraft this morning. The American company said that it had approached the board of Cadbury's with an offer to pay 745p a share, split between 300p in cash and 0.2589 of Kraft's shares for each of Cadbury's. (full story)
Rivals 'in battle for T-Mobile' - Vodafone and O2 have both tabled bids of about £3.5bn to buy T-Mobile UK from owner Deutsche Telecom, the Sunday Times has reported.
The report says a decision was likely to be made within weeks. (full story)
Discount web vouchers prove big hit - Recession-scarred consumers are embracing a thrifty habit that is likely to outlast any economic recovery: the use of online discount vouchers to save money on retail, food and other purchases. (full story)
AB Foods ups forecast on strong Primark - Associated British Foods (ABF.L) nudged up its full-year earnings forecast on Monday thanks to a strong performance at its Primark discount fashion chain and its sugar business.
The London-based group, 55-percent-owned by the family of Chief Executive George Weston, said it now expected "some progress" in adjusted earnings for the year ending September 12, compared with its previous forecast for a flat outcome. (full story)
You could argue it's long over due really. After all, out of all the arts you'd put your house on literature beating music and film into the online environment and although there have been several tame attempts to publish online, this new effort from Google will surely be the one that allows the art to really take off.
The fact that the concept is drawing in much more media attention than Spotify's rapid rise to web dominance or Youtube's big deal to bring back music videos to their site suggests that online literature is something that people truly care about.
The power you could get from an online library is potentially staggering. The Internet is a storage space for data and the idea of being able to search, not just for specific books but specific paragraphs, maybe even sentences is quite incredible.
Here at Artesian, we are proving the value of pinpointing specific information for specific needs. As more material is added to the web, this value will only increase. Whilst many are debating the pros and cons of putting literature online, there's no debating that it could well revolutionize the art, providing it with a new lease of life, as well as offering opportunities to a greater number of writers than printed literature ever could. This could well be an exciting new chapter for publishers, authors and readers a like.
Finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of 20 developed and emerging nations are meeting in London on Friday and Saturday to discuss the next steps in fighting the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. (full story)
Google China chief leaves company - The man who led Google's expansion into China is leaving the company to start his own business.
Lee Kai-Fu, who joined from Microsoft in 2004, will step down as president of Google in greater China in September, the company said. (full story)
easyJet to close base and cut flights after Air Passenger Duty row - A row over landing fees and the Government's "blunt holiday tax" in the form of Air Passenger Duty (APD) have prompted easyJet to cut 20pc of its flying programme at Luton and close its small East Midlands base.
Andy Harrison, the low-fare airline's chief executive, said he would be diverting the aircraft to lower-cost continental airports as he attacked Luton's failure to "recognise the commercial realities of the recession" and the Government's inability to see that £10 APD on short-haul flights "costs jobs". (full story)
Financial customers deliver 9 million complaints - The UK financial services industry has been hit by nine million formal customer complaints in the past three years, new figures revealed yesterday.
The Financial Services Authority figures, which have not been published before, reveal the scale of customer dissatisfaction within the UK and indicates that it is worsening. Complaints in the second half of 2008 grew by 5.8 per cent compared with three years ago to 1.48 million — equivalent to more than 8,000 every day — with banks on the receiving end of two out of every three complaints. (full story)
Oracle’s Sun deal snagged in Brussels - Oracle’s $7.4bn acquisition of Sun Microsystems hit an unexpected and potentially damaging obstacle in Brussels on Thursday as European antitrust officials opted to break with Washington in order to scrutinise the deal more closely.
The more stringent stance in Brussels breaks with recent efforts by competition authorities on either side of the Atlantic to align their investigations, and is particularly notable since the deal has already been given the green light by a new US administration that has taken a tougher line on competition issues, particularly in the tech industry. (full story)
HMV strikes deal to grab digital music sales - HMV is attempting to become a major player in the downloadable music market by taking a 50 per cent stake in the technology specialist, 7digital.
The retail chain said that the deal would boost sales at HMV and Waterstone's, the book store which it also owns. (full story)
Bovis unveils placing for land buys - House builder Bovis Homes (BVS.L) unveiled a placing to raise 60 million pounds on Thursday to take advantage of opportunities in the residential land market.
Bovis said it is placing up to 12.1 million shares, which represent approximately 10 percent of the group's share capital. (full story)
Jobs boost with new Mini models - Two new models of the Mini are to be built at BMW's plant in Oxfordshire creating up to 1,000 jobs, sources suggest.
Two concept cars - one a coupe - will be unveiled on 15 September and will be produced at the company's factory in Cowley, near Oxford. (full story)
Strike 'Could Threaten Choccie Supplies' - Chocolate supplies could come under threat if 1,200 Cadbury workers go ahead with their threat to strike.
Unite union officials said industrial action was "certain to hit supplies of some of the most popular chocolate products in the country". (full story)
Tax haven attempts to stave off crisis - The Cayman Islands, the Caribbean territory that is home to most of the world’s hedge funds, on Wednesday pledged to protect its financial sector in spite of considering harsh measures to stave off a budget crisis.
The overseas territory, which is facing a ballooning deficit in the wake of the economic downturn and rising public spending, suffered a setback last week when Britain refused to allow it to take on more debt. (full story)
When Ebay took on Skype four years a go they had big plans to revolutionize their marketplace platform, plans which never really took off. The idea was to provide video trading to users, allowing them to bargain and negotiate more openly. In amongst the finer detail of these outlines, close comparisons with the aforementioned News Corp can not be ignored.
Although they probably wouldn't admit it, the ultimate ambition of the project was to rake in endless advertising money through "pay-per-call" services which could see advertisers paying between $2 and $12 per telephone call each time someone clicked on their link." This business model (relying on advertising) is all too close to the reason why Rupert Murdock has taken the bold decision to start charging for online content.
The new investors in the online communication service can only have parallel ambitions (you don't pay $1.9 billion for something unless you plan to make a lot of money). With 481 million registered users the potential is endless. But, as Ebay have shown, without a successful way to monetize, the investment is doomed to failure. Although, of course, there may be differing plans in the minds of the investors, I don't think it'll be too long before charges start creeping into the Skype network somewhere along the line.
Murdock has cushioned the blow for everyone else thinking along the same lines and once a trend has started, it's not to long before everybody jumps on the bandwagon. With their staggering number of users, Skype's demands can afford to be small, but the ring fence has been hurdled, and I suspect it's only a matter of time before there's no ring fence at all.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown will make the announcement at a Backing Young Britain summit in Birmingham. (full story)
DSG first-quarter sales fall less than expected - DSG International, Europe's second-biggest electrical goods retailer, posted a smaller-than-expected quarterly sales drop on Wednesday and said it had agreed to sell its Polish operations.
The group, which runs Currys and PC World in Britain, Elkjop in the Nordic region and UniEuro in Italy, said sales at stores open at least a year fell 6 percent in the 16 weeks to August 22, as double-digit percentage falls in UK electricals and computing sales were partly offset by strong sales in Nordic countries. (full story)
eBay Raises Billion Pounds In Skype Sale - Internet auction site eBay is selling a 65% stake in its online phone business Skype for £1.2bn.
A group of private equity investors have agreed to buy the controlling shareholding in the company. (full story)
Sony plans to put 3D TVs in homes by end of 2010 - Sony will announce today that it is aiming to put 3D televisions in homes by the end of 2010.
Sir Howard Stringer, its chief executive, is due to announce that consumers will be able to buy 3D Bravia television sets, Vaio laptops, Playstation3 games consoles and Blu-Ray disc players that are compatible with 3D technology. (full story)
Make mine a half: Majestic cuts minimum purchase of wine - Majestic Wine, the chain of warehouse outlets, hopes to raise the spirits among its customers by halving their minimum purchase to six bottles per visit.
The move, which was introduced yesterday, follows a successful year-long trial in its Newcastle and Darlington stores, where "customer feetback has been very positive". (full story)
Brown calls for cap on bankers' bonuses - Gordon Brown has turned up the heat on bankers by calling for an international debate on a possible cap on bonuses in the financial sector.
Mr Brown said that the countries attending the G20 meeting in Pittsburgh this month would debate whether "bonuses are, in general, too high a proportion of company revenues and profits". (full story)
Disney to buy Marvel in $4bn deal - Entertainment giant Walt Disney is to buy Marvel Entertainment in a shares and cash deal valued at $4bn (£2.5bn).
The deal means Disney will take over ownership of 5,000 Marvel characters, such as Spider-Man and the X-Men. (full story)
Manufacturers Worried By Lack Of Credit - Low interest rates and efforts by the Government to free up liquidity in the banking system have failed to significantly improve credit conditions, new research says.
A survey of 560 companies by the Engineering Employers Federation (EEF) found that credit conditions remain "very tight". (full story)
EBay to sell Skype to private investors - Internet auction and services company EBay Inc (EBAY.O) has reached a deal to sell its online telephony unit Skype to a group of private investors, the New York Times said, citing two people briefed on its plans.
Andreessen Horowitz, a new venture capital firm headed by the Netscape co-founder Marc Andreessen, is likely to be among the investors in the group, the paper cited the people as saying. (full story)
Losses at Jaguar Land Rover send parent Tata into red - Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) suffered from the continued slump in the automotive industry in the three months to the end of June, which drove parent company Tata Motors into a loss for the quarter. Yet the group is confident that with new funding and aggressive cost-cutting, it will be in a good position when the market returns to growth.
Tata, which bought JLR from Ford last year in a deal worth $2.3bn (£1.4bn), swung to a 3.2bn rupee loss (£41.6m) in its first financial quarter after posting net profits of 7.2bn rupees in the corresponding period in 2008. (full story)
