European Commission Vice-President, Joaquín Almunia, has adopted revised criteria for EU state aid in favour of films and other audio-visual works. The new Cinema Communication allows aid for a wider scope of activities, highlights Member States’ discretion in defining cultural activities worthy of support, introduces the possibility to give more aid to cross-border productions and promotes film […]
World Quality Report from Capgemini, HP and Sogeti
As the importance of application quality increases, average spending on quality assurance as a %age of the total IT budget, has grown from 18% in 2012 to 23% in 2013. Still, many organizations struggle to demonstrate to the wider business the true value of their testing function. These are the findings reported in the fifth […]
Sodastream – Fizzing Up, Or Bubbling Over?
Establishing that the concept has been around for quite some time does not help answer the question that many investors have in mind about Sodastream: ‘Is this a fad, or could this be a disruptor of long established bottlers such as Coca Cola & Pepsi?’ A few retail investors-oriented research firms touting Sodastream stock seem […]
Tesla Motors – Roaring Apple-Style Hype or a Ground-Breaking Car Maker?
For Tesla Motors’s CEO & founder Elon Musk, 2013 will be a year to remember. This is the first year since the company was founded in 2003 that Tesla Motors has reported a quarterly profit. Mainly for this reason, Tesla shares have taken off this year, breaking through the barrier of $10bn market cap as […]
Eurozone Credit Crunch: a disease still waiting for stronger remedies
The debate on how to tackle the SME credit crunch should not deflect EU focus from resolving structural imbalances and weaknesses within the Eurozone banking system. The calm EU debate over how to improve the economies in the Eurozone does not reflect a sense of urgency, an urgency which dire economic conditions throughout Europe would […]
Real-i-ty Check – USA & UK Investment Outlook for Online Real Estate Stocks
Online real estate websites such Zillow, Trulia and Move in the USA, just like Rightmove PLC in the UK, have been on a tear for almost the entire first quarter of 2013. To say that share price appreciation for these stocks has been remarkable would be an understatement, as these stocks have respectively climbed by […]
Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, Victim Of Its Own Success?
Berkshire Hathaway is the well-known holding company run by its famed CEO Warren Buffett, regarded by many as the most successful investor of all time. Buffett is also famous for holding court with his many aphorisms about money and investing, such as ‘investing is easy but not simple’ or ‘Wall Street is the only place […]
Bank of Japan, New Policy Implications – The Reverb
The decision of the Bank of Japan last week to up the ante on asset purchases and to extend the maturity of purchases was a truly remarkable surprise to the financial markets. From many perspectives it could be considered an unprecedented monetary policy decision with deep repercussions to being felt around the world. Market expectations […]
Bend It Like… Corning?
The idea of making a type of flexible glass that does not break easily is centuries old and already in the Ancient Roman age the idea of creating such glass was mentioned in several accounts. According to historian Petronius, a glassmaker was granted an audience with Emperor Tiberius to showcase his invention. Unfortunately, the emperor […]
Apple – Don’t Show Me The Money… But The Products!
Apple Inc. is not only one of the largest and most iconic corporations in the world. To my eyes, it is also a stockholders’ darling trying to regain its shining reputation. Seems only yesterday that the Apple share price was ripping through new highs for several years in a row, reaching an all-time high of […]