AB InBev planning giant bond sale for SABMiller deal as San Miguel joins list of suitors interested in buying Grolsch and Peroni brands January 13, 2016 AB InBev is gearing up for the second-largest global bond deal ever, as it starts selling bonds to complete the first phase of backing its takeover of SABMiller. The deal looks set to be at least $25bn (£17.3bn) in size, making it the largest corporate sale since Verizon Communication's $49bn bond sale two years ago. [...]
Comeback currency of the year: Bitcoin beat the dollar by nearly 40 per cent last year to become the best performer of 2015 January 12, 2016 Bitcoin was the world’s best-performing currency in 2015, beating out the US dollar by nearly 40 per cent. The cryptocurrency has been on a roll lately, boosted to hit a 2016 high of $450 by recent turmoil on Chinese stock markets. In afternoon trading, the currency was at $446.31. “Bitcoin is living up to its [...]
Bloopers, jargon and cliches: The grammar and language errors businesses should avoid January 12, 2016 When you proofread for a living, as I do, you notice linguistic and grammatical faux pas instinctively. However, we are all influenced by the language in our lives more than we think. From fellow commuters on the train reading a newspaper, book, or smartphone, to you sitting at your desk reading emails, language is all [...]
Staff pay gap: Beating the Fat Cat Tuesday blues is about making bonuses work for everyone January 12, 2016 This week has seen a repeat of the now familiar outcry over bosses’ bonuses. Top bosses had earned more by last Tuesday than the average worker will earn in a year, in a phenomenon being termed “Fat Cat Tuesday”. And unsurprisingly, the size of chief executives’ bonuses is demotivational for UK employees, as recent CIPD [...]
Snoopers’ charter: Public support for government’s Investigatory Powers bill soaring despite criticism from Vodafone, Apple, Facebook and Google January 12, 2016 Britons are increasingly backing the UK government’s so-called snoopers’ charter, as a fresh survey shows support for the proposed legislation to monitor communication skyrocketing in the wake of recent terror threats. With some 63 per cent now in favour of the controversial Investigatory Powers bill, the survey from Broadband Genie shows a significant shift in [...]
Vodafone has won a £75m contract with Scottish Power Energy Networks January 12, 2016 Vodafone has won a £75m contract with Scottish Power Energy Networks to help the utility firm monitor its network delivering electricity to over 3.5m UK homes and businesses. The four-year contract announced today will require Vodafone to run performance monitoring and fault identification systems for over 110,000 kilometres of Scottish Power’s lines and cables. The [...]
Asahi eyeing up SABMiller’s Grolsch and Peroni January 12, 2016 Japanese brewer Asahi Group Holdings is eyeing up SABMiller’s premium brands Grolsch and Peroni as the UK drinks giant hopes to offload beer brands to ease regulatory scrutiny over its merger with AB InBev. Asahi confirmed today it was mulling over the deal, reportedly worth 400bn yen (£2.36bn), which would make it the largest overseas [...]
WhatsApp users targeted by cybercriminals in new malware attack January 7, 2016 A malware campaign specifically targeting businesses and customers using the WhatsApp messaging app has been uncovered. Cybercriminals are sending emails that spread malware when clicked. Craftily disguised as genuine WhatsApp content, the emails contain an attached zip file with malware. Comodo Antispam researchers first discovered the phishing scam, which uses a number of different email [...]
Apple just bought emotion-detecting startup Emotient as rivals Facebook and Google continue Silicon Valley’s push into artificial intelligence January 7, 2016 Apple just bought emotion-detecting startup Emotient, taking a deeper plunge into artificial intelligence. Emotient, founded in 2012, uses AI software to analyse facial expressions and detect people’s emotions. The firm’s primary audience has been advertisers hoping to evaluate viewers’ reactions to adverts. Exactly what Apple plans to do with it is unclear, but Apple has [...]
Wage gap blues: The gender pay gap is actually making women depressed, researchers find January 7, 2016 The fact that women are still getting paid less than men for the same work is quite literally depressing, according to a new study linking the gender pay gap to higher rates of depression in women. UK women earn around 80 pence for every £1 men take home, and change is happening at something of [...]
