Business

Who Buys iPhones, Who Buys Androids; Who Will Change And Who Is Loyal

Submitted by News Desk 2 on Sun, 09/23/2012 - 17:41

With the smartphone dominating phone sales by an overwhelmingly large margin, it has shaped up to be a battle between Apple's iPhone and Android based phones of various sorts, with a combined marketshare of 85% while Windows, Nokia and Blackberry collective accounting for a mere 12-15% of all sales combined.

But who is buying what, and how many people will switch to a competing platform?

According to a new study by AYTM Research, Android users are 2.4x more likely to switch to an iPhone than vice versa.

Yahoo Sells Half Its Stake In Alibaba For $7.6 Billion In Stock Buyback

Submitted by News Desk 2 on Tue, 09/18/2012 - 14:22

Alibaba, a Chinese based search engine similar to Yahoo, has bought back half of the stock Yahoo owned in the company for $7.6 billion. Alibaba also plans to buy back the remaining stock Yahoo holds in the company after its Initial Public Offering, or IPO.

After raising cash from taking on loans, sale of preferred stock and funding from a host of international investors, Alibaba paid Yahoo $6.3 billion in cash, $800 million in preferred shares and one-time cash payment of $550 million in connection with an amendment to their intellectual property license agreement.

Apple's Stock Passes $700 A Share

Submitted by News Desk 2 on Mon, 09/17/2012 - 17:45

News of record sales yet again for Apples newest iPhone, the iPhone 5, has pushed Apple's stock above $700 in after hours trading. The stock closed today at $699.78 per share.

At $700 a share, Apple is worth $656 billion and only four other companies have every crossed the $700 a share barrier; Priceline, Berkshire Hathaway NVR Inc. and Google.

Non-Partisain Congressional Research Service Say Lowering Taxes For Rich Does Not Create Jobs

Submitted by News Desk 2 on Mon, 09/17/2012 - 11:21

Washington, D.C. -

The Congressional Research Office, a nonpartisan policy research agency that works for congress, has come out with a new report that shows lowering taxes for the rich does not create jobs or spur the economy.

“There is not conclusive evidence, however, to substantiate a clear relationship between the 65-year steady reduction in the top tax rates and economic growth,” the CRS reported. “Analysis of such data suggests the reduction in the top tax rates have had little association with saving, investment, or productivity growth.”

365 Bank Atlantic Employees To Loose Thier Jobs After BB&T Acquisition

Submitted by News Desk 2 on Wed, 08/22/2012 - 17:59

Fort Lauderdale, Fla. -

Bank Atlantic will be laying off about 365 employees as part of it being bought by BB&T. The report comes from state filings from BB&T.

Most of the lay offs will come from back office positions and administrative positions at Bank Atlantic's current headquaters that overlap BB&T or are duplicate of existing BB&T positions at its Winston-Samlem, NC headquaters.

Best Buy Names A French Knight As Its New CEO, This Will be The 3rd CEO In 6 Months

Submitted by News Desk 2 on Mon, 08/20/2012 - 14:05

Best Buy has named Hubert Joly, a knight in the French National Order of Merit, as its third CEO in just six months, hoping to return the ailing electronics retailer to profitability. Joly is a French native and is awaiting a Visa to come to the U.S. and work.

Best Buy touted its choice citing Joly's past experience turning around companies like EDS and Vivendi’s video game business before it became part of Activision Blizzard.

Gas Prices Expected To Remain Steady For August

Submitted by News Desk 2 on Tue, 07/31/2012 - 15:17

Both economists and AAA have said they don't expect gas prices to rise during August, giving both consumers and businesses a chance to save some extra money or improve profits.

Retail prices at the pump rose 5.1% and was the first retail increase since March and the largest for the month of July since 2000. ”Higher global oil prices and increased demand for gasoline during the busy summer driving season were the primary factors that sent pump prices higher in July” said AAA spokesperson Avery Ash.

HSBC Expected To Set Aside $2 Billion In Anticipated Fines Over Lax Security Allowing Money Laundering

Submitted by News Desk 2 on Mon, 07/30/2012 - 14:10

HSBC Chief Executive Stuart Gulliver said it has set aside $700 million towards anticipated fines over lax security measures in Mexico and the United States that allowed the bank to be used in money laundering operations by drug cartels and other international crime organizations.

The bank also set aside another $1 billion for British consumers for misleading them on loan insurance and another $237 million to cover payouts to small UK businesses wrongly sold complex interest rate hedging products.

Apple Sales Forecasted To Be Lower Ahead Of iPhone 5 Release

Submitted by News Desk 2 on Tue, 07/24/2012 - 20:09

Analyst have been predicted sales of Apple's popular iPhone will be slower than originally expected as consumers await the release of the iPhone 5.

Sales of iPhones have slipped, down to 26 million compared with more than 35 million in the previous quarter. But some say it is typical ahead of an upcoming release as consumer put off buying a new iPhone, aiting for the newer one. According to IDC, up to 96% of iPhone users are putting of replacing their current one for the new one expected to be released in October.

AT&T Switching To Shared Data Plans; Getting More Complex And More Expensive

Submitted by News Desk 2 on Wed, 07/18/2012 - 20:16

AT&T has announce that it will be switching data plans to shared group plans, similar to what Verizon has recently done. But the move means those who predominately use data will see their wireless bill double or triple in many cases, while those who primarily talk and text only will see a small reduction in their monthly wireless phone bill.

Currently, AT&T offers a tiered data plan for each line of service, for both individual lines as well as family plans. That is going away in August, as the nations second largest wireless carrier rolls out its new group data sharing plans.