Real Madrid Resort Island Coming to Ras Al-Khaimah (RAK)

Posted by Clive in Football, Real Estate

Real Madrid Resort Island is being planned for the Al-Marjan Island in Ras Al-Khaimah (RAK) for 2015.

Al-Marjan Island is a group of man-made islands in the Northern Emirate of Ras Al-Khaimah (RAK), park of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and about 45 mins drive from it’s more famous neighbor, Dubai.

Real Madrid and the RAK authorities are planning to take over one of the islands and turn it into a Real Madrid resort island, hoping it will become a mecca for Real Madrid and fooball fans alike.

Covering about 50 hectares, the Real Madrid Resort Island aims to attract 1 million visitors a year once it is completed at the start of 2015. The final cost is expected to be around $1 billion.

Real Madrid Resort Island Business

No one has ever accused Real Madrids President, Florentino Perez, of lacking ambition and so it is with the Real Madrid Resort Island project. He hopes that it will bring the sporting culture of Real Madrid closer to the now vital Arab and Asian markets.

There is sound business sense behind the Real Madrid Resort Island decision, RAK is located in the sweet spot between the old economic world of Europe, and the new economic powerhouses of Asia. Giving the resort access to a vast number of Real Madrid fans within a short(ish) flight, an estimated 300 million fans with over half located in Asia.

The likelihood too is that a fair chunk of the cost for the project will be picked up by the RAK authorities. They rightly see the PR value of having such a high profile brand lead the way in their drive to become a high profile tourist destination. RAK aims to have 20% of it’s GDP generated by tourist related activities within 10 years.

If the plans come off, sports fans will see an amazing resort come to life. A marina, amusement park, luxury hotels and sporting facilities such as an incredible soccer stadium opening up to the sea will await them.

His Highness Sheikh Saud Bin Saqr Al Qassimi of RAK said

“This is an exciting project developed with a world leading brand. We are proud for being chosen by Real Madrid. We appreciate their vision and we have a million reasons to be optimistic. I wish to congratulate Florentino Perez for his vision and for where he’s taken this club. This is going to transform the United Arab Emirates. We are ready to embrace progress and the millions of visitors who will come to Real Madrid Resort Island.”

Watch 30 Storey Building Go Up in 15 Days

Posted by Jeff in Business, Real Estate

Watch a 30 storey building get built in 15 days flat. Yes, China is the new Dubai.

The Chinese sustainable building company, Broad Group, managed to put building companies in the West to shame as they completed a 30 story hotel in 15 days.

Using prefabricated building techniques is part of their secret, the building was built over Christmas and finished before New Years Eve 2012.

Black Friday 2011 Signals Shopping Frenzy

Posted by Tracy in Business

Black Friday 2011 seems to be bigger than ever, in spite of… or perhaps because of the credit crunch.

With Thanksgiving over many people see the following Friday as an extension of the holiday and to the retail stores it is an opportunity to cash in.

For many stores Black Friday 2011 is aptly named, it marks the day that there accounts can move from the red to the black such is the amount that is spent on this single day.

For Black Friday 2011 it is easier than ever to find discounted deals, sites such as Find Shopping Deals trawl the internet to find the latest discounts from retail providers.

The online world may make it easier to find deals than ever before but it doesn’t stop thousands camping out overnight.

Macys department store in New York estimated that there were 9,000 people queuing up outside waiting for midnight opening. The people at the front of the queue had been waiting for about 4 hours.

Stores were also reporting that their layaway options were being taken up far more this year than last. A layaway option allows people to pay for purchases over a certain period of time.

In California it appears things were not so civil. At Wal-Mart there were reports of one customer using pepper spray on other customers who were competing to get their hands on the bargains.

It brings back memories of 2008 when a Wal-Mart employee lost their life after being trampled on when shoppers broke down the doors to the store and waded in.

Steve Jobs Resigns as Apple CEO

Posted by Jeff in Apple, Business

Steve Jobs has resigned his position as the Apple CEO with immediate affect leaving Tim Cook to take over his CEO duties.

The 56 year old Steve Jobs has been suffering serious health problems over the past year and has been on medical leave since January.

We have seen Steve Jobs return to the spotlight occasionally to help launch new Apple products and make company announcements.

Tim Cook will now officially take over the reigns at Apple just as the latest iphone 5 news suggests it is on it’s way soon. Although in practice this has been the case for some time as Steve Jobs has been away for health reasons. What those health problems are have, understandably, been kept private by his family and Apple themselves.

In a letter to the Apple board, and the world at large, Steve Jobs writes that he no longer feels that he can carry out his duties as Apple CEO in the way he would like. He is therefore handing in his resignation.

You can read Steve Jobs letter below.

To the Apple Board of Directors and the Apple Community:

I have always said if there ever came a day when I could no longer meet my duties and expectations as Apple’s CEO, I would be the first to let you know. Unfortunately, that day has come.

I hereby resign as CEO of Apple. I would like to serve, if the Board sees fit, as Chairman of the Board, director and Apple employee.

As far as my successor goes, I strongly recommend that we execute our succession plan and name Tim Cook as CEO of Apple.

I believe Apple’s brightest and most innovative days are ahead of it. And I look forward to watching and contributing to its success in a new role.

I have made some of the best friends of my life at Apple, and I thank you all for the many years of being able to work alongside you.

Steve

It is hoped that Steve Jobs will take on an advisory role in the company but Apple shares still dived on the surprise, although not unexpected, announcement.

Such is the force of Steve Jobs that shares in other competing mobile companies rose higher on the news.

Steve Jobs & Apple’s Achievements (Post 1997)

It is not surprising when you consider how much of an influence Steve Jobs has been, not only on the Apple company, but on the technology and music industries themselves.

In recent years it has been the Steve Jobs vision that has guided Apple, and where Apple has led everyone else has had to follow.

When computers were just bland grey boxes, Jobs redefined what they looked like with the launch of the colorful, all-in-one iMac.

Steve Jobs then redefined the portable music world with the iPod. There were certainly other MP3 players before hand, but none that looked this… well… sexy. It has challenged the Sony Walkman as the most influential music device in history.

iTunes then redefined a whole music industry, offering legal, downloadable tracks made up of just computer bits and bytes. It’s now the largest music retailer in the world.

Not satisfied with shaking up the music industry, the cosy world of the mobile phone manufacturers was about to get a wake up call.

The launch of the iPhone instantly changed what a mobile phone could be and do. Not to mention being incredibly desirable, merely as an object of design.

The app store created a whole new industry that other companies have struggled to match. It is not just Apple that have made a large fortune from that particular idea. Successful app makers are now worth $100′s millions in their own right.

Steve Jobs was not finished yet though. Other people had tried and given up making tablet computers. No one had been able to make it work.

Steve Jobs and Apple have never been just another manufacturer though. The launch of the iPad created another new industry virtually overnight. Tablet computing was back in a big way.

Steve Jobs and Apple

Steve Jobs co-founded the Apple company in the 1970′s with Steve Wozniak and it became one of the most successful technology companies of the fledgling computer industry in the 1980′s.

After leaving Apple in 1985, Steve Jobs returned to a company on it’s last legs in 1997 (after starting that little animation company called Pixar by the way!) and turned it into arguably, the biggest brand in the world today.

Many people are saying that Apple will be the first $trillion company ($1,000,000,000,000). Without Steve Jobs they may not now be so certain but still, who would bet against it ?

Photo: Apple Inc.

Google Buys Motorola Mobile Division

Posted by Clive in Business, Google

Google have announced that they are to purchase the Motorola mobile division known as Motorola mobility.

It’s a significant move for Google as up until now they have been a software provider (except for some speciality server technology and Google mugs & t-shirts!).

Google’s purchase of Motorola Mobility, for $12.5 billion subject to shareholder and regulator approval, marks a significant shift in their mobile business model.

They are now able to produce the mobile hardware that can host their mobile Android software. It also allows Google to become a full service business as Motorola produce tablets as well as mobiles.

How this will affect Google’s current Android partners is yet to be ascertained, although Google produced a document signed by several welcoming the news.

With Microsoft’s new mobile OS snapping at the heals of Apple and Google as far as features go, some manufacturers might feel it is time to look elsewhere.

Google Patent Problems

Google have also had problems with technology patents, Apple is very active in the courts challenging other phone manufacturers that it says are infringing it’s patents. The most successful Android based manufacturer, HTC has recently lost a court battle with Apple that affects all it’s handsets.

It’s possible that this was a driving force for Google as it wants to insulate itself as much as possible against this kind of action by purchasing a hardware supplier they can then control to ensure supply. It also won’t have passed their attention that Motorola mobility owns well over 20,000 patents themselves.

Shares in Motorola Mobility jumped 57% when the news was announced and troubled phone manufacturer Nokia also had a significant share rise as they are seen as ripe for takeover themselves.

Before Apple came along with their iPhone and redefined the market, Nokia were the no. 1 mobile manufacturer, but it has since seen it’s market share trampled on by the iPhone and Android handsets.

Various Nokia operating systems have failed to deliver the required stability, function and features shown by Google or Apple’s software and now required in today’s competitive market.

US Interest Rates Frozen for 2 Years

Posted by Clive in Business

US interest rates have effectively been frozen for 2 years by the US Federal Reserve.

US Federal Reserve chairman, Ben Bernanke, said the exceptionally low interest rates of 0.25% would stay in place until 2013.

The statement did enough to reassure investors after days of huge losses on stock markets around the world.

The Dow bounced back almost 4% and other stock markets around the world made similar gains as investors sought bargains in the turmoil.

The credit score scale slide by the US triggered a huge loss in confidence in the markets at the start of the week with shares losing millions off their market values.

Continuing problems in the Eurozone and depressed growth forecasts in many developed economies added to the general sense of malaise.

Apple briefly became the world’s most valuable company as the oil giants temporarily lost some of the their value and Apple became a safe haven for investors.

However, analysts believe that that Apple’s brief reign at the top is an indication of the future. The company that was on it’s knees just 15 years ago until the return of Steve Jobs, is now widely expected to become the first trillion $ company.

In the last month alone Apple’s value has gone up by $50 billion and is now valued at $346 billion. This compares to Exxon at $352 billion, even though Exxon earns 4 times the amount of revenue that Apple does, the future is seen in technology.

Apple Reports Record Earnings

Posted by Clive in Apple, Business

Apple have announced record earnings of $28 billion and a net profit of over $15 billion for the last quarter.

The profits are on the back of surging demand for the Apple iPhone and iPad products, sales of which have more than doubled.

It is interesting that this massive demand has occurred when competitors to both the iPhone and the iPad has become alot stronger. HTC, for instance, have started to match the iPhone for functionality and design with their Google Android based phones.

The results do mask however, a real downturn in the fortunes of the iPod product range which has slipped by 20%. It seams more and more of us now store our music collections on our phones.

Analysts had been concerned that the devastation caused by the Tsunami in Japan would have an negative impact of Apple‘s supply chain, but it seems that there were no adverse supply problems.

Shares in the company rose by over 5% on the financial news and the Apple CFO Peter Oppenheimer said that he expected revenue of about $25 billion in the 4th quarter of 2011. Predictions from Apple tend to be conservative so it will be interesting to see if they can improve on this performance.

Steve Jobs, Apple’s CEO said,

“We’re thrilled to deliver our best quarter ever, with revenue up 82 percent and profits up 125 percent. Right now, we’re very focused and excited about bringing iOS 5 and iCloud to our users this fall.”

They also have a new version of their operating system out this week, a new thunderbolt 27″ monitor and a rumoured launch of the iPad 3 and the iPhone 5 to come.

As you can see in our iPad 2 reader poll below, over 60% of you are waiting for the next generation iPad 3. Rumour has it that it will feature a display resolution that will make the Apple fans drool.

Are you waiting for the Apple Ipad 3?

Are you someone who is planning on getting / has bought the iPad 2 or are you willing to wait for the iPad 3 ? Cast your vote below.

Google Profits Soar to $2.5 Billion in 2nd Quarter

Posted by Clive in Business

The financial results of Google for the last quarter have been published and show net profit rising to $2.5 billion and revenue rising to $9 billion.

These gains are significantly higher than in the same period last year, 36% up on profit and 32% up of revenue. They are the first to be published after Larry Page took over as the Google CEO from Eric Schmidt in April after he had led the company for 10 years.

The results were well ahead of wall street market expectations and shares rose sharply on the news, they had feared that aggressive spending would curtail Google’s profit margin.

While it was true that operating expenses rose sharply, it was more than compensated for by large increases in sales.

Google is no longer just the internet’s search giant, it now has a large operating system presence with over 135 million smartphones and tablets running it’s Android OS.

It is the owner of YouTube, dominating the online video market which is growing year on year, and recently it announced the Google+ social networking platform which marks it’s intentions to draw users away from Facebook.

All of these services are free to use but allow them to get eyeballs to their revenue driving ad network which is a thriving business.

It is a business model that other sectors of business might want to look into, there is no doubt that the biggest players in the online world all follow this model, Facebook, YouTube, Google, Spotify, Android, Zynga etc. They all make their profit on the back end while giving away services and products on the front end.

Yet we constantly see resistance to this model from established businesses, see this article about the free music streaming service spotify. If you are thinking of starting a silicon valley project it is a business model that can succeed, if you can make it work, Google is proof that it will pay off handsomely.

BSkyB Bid Dropped by News Corp.

Posted by Clive in Business

The proposed bid to takeover the broadcaster BSkyB has been dropped by Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. after pressure mounts on the company following the fallout from the phone hacking scandal.

The fallout from the phone hacking scandal that has enveloped News Corp. in recent weeks has continued with the takeover of BSkyB being shelved. Although News Corp already owns 39% of the company it saw the takeover as vital to it’s company strategy.

David Cameron has already stated that a public inquiry will be held into media regulation, and the opposition leader had tabled a bid to discuss the proposed takeover in Parliament today when the announcement was made.

The companies share price dipped again on the news that the bid had been dropped, it has already tumbled by a substantial amount following the allegations made against it’s publishing empire.

Further accusations about other media organisations within the News Corp. empire have trickled out this week following the closure of the paper at the centre of the phone hacking allegations, the news of the world.

Rupert Murdoch has been in London this week to try and steady the ship as well as show support for Rebekah Brooks, the CEO of news international and one of the people at the centre of the row.

Meanwhile the problems for News Corp. have crossed the Atlantic with the Senate commerce committee chairman calling for an investigation as to whether any of News Corp’s employees broke US law.

What happens next in this drama is anyone’s guess. News Corp. is a public owned company that seems to have been run as a family business by the Murdoch’s and many are guessing that it will not stay that way for much longer.

Whatever happens it seems that those whose job it is to publish the news now have a story worthy of a publishing/book/film deal itself.

Photo: World Economic Forum