Ebusiness Source

LONDON – European shares and the euro gradually recovered on Monday from early losses triggered by the mass downgrade of euro zone sovereign ratings last week, but they still looked vulnerable amid rising fears of a disorderly Greek debt default.

Markets had already reacted to the downgrades on Friday, and European assets steadied by Monday afternoon, but activity was limited with U.S.

Get full post…

The first thing you see to the left upon passing the large stone “Welcome to Cupertino” sign is Apple Inc.’s world headquarters, on the playfully named One Infinite Loop. For fans of Steve Jobs, there is no greater Mecca than this sleepy San Jose suburb. There’s his childhood home, a simple suburban ranch at 2066 Crist St., the garage of which served as Apple Inc.’s birthplace. Less than a mile up a road where one could easily imagine a young Jobs biking is his junior high. And a mile beyond that practically within sight of Infinite Loop is his high school. Jobs led the world into the computing era, but physically, he rarely left a 20-mile radius that centered around his boyhood home. “Apple is a company that has grown up with our city,” says Rick Kitson, Cupertino’s public and environmental affairs director. “The city was only incorporated 55 years ago and for 35 of those years we’ve been home to Apple. It’s only 11 square miles, so Apple really put our town on the map.”

Cupertino was named for Joseph of Cupertino, an Italian saint who, though dim-witted, was known for his miraculous ability to levitate.

Get full post…

Dozens of former MG Rover workers are being made redundant for the second or third time as council cutbacks take their toll on the Northfield area, it has emerged.

Gemma Cartwright, whose community work since the collapse of Longbridge led to her receiving the MBE, said the area was facing a new jobs crisis in the wake of cuts in public spending.

She said many former car workers had retrained for roles in the public sector after losing their jobs at Longbridge and were now facing the axe again.

Ms Cartwright, who chairs the Rover Community Action Trust, which has 4,000 former Longbridge workers on its computer database, said poverty was still an issue for the community.

People that were made redundant in 2005 when Longbridge closed are now being made redundant again.

“When Rover went down, there were packages available to retrain and a lot of workers took NVQs and became care workers. Some went to work in day centres or with OAPs but, with all the city council cuts, they are now being made redundant again.

I do not know of any ex-worker who is earning the same money they were on at Longbridge.

Get full post…

Share on: Facebook | Twitter | Google +1 | Stumbleupon

We’re talking Angels Den ones of course. Below you can find the most popular blog posts read during the year so far.

1. Top 5 Reasons for Starting A Business – 5.22%
2. Business Angels On Hand For Budding Entrepreneurs – 4.22%
3. 14 Reason To Love Being An Entrepreneur – 3.21%
4. 10 Darn Good Reasons For Becoming a Business Angel – 2.86%
5. How To Write An Executive Summary – 2.43%
6. Raising Funds To Buy A Business – 2.37%
7. What Not To Put In Your Business Plan – 1.51%
8. Small Business Lending Has Halved – 1.39%
9. The Four Second Rule On Ice Cream Chimes – 1.32%
10. So What Are Your Plans After University? – 1.29%
11. Ca

Get full post…

(BRUSSELS) – The EU executive Wednesday reiterated its continuing concern over Hungary’s controversial constitutional reforms and warned of legal action should the new laws not comply with EU treaties.

Our concerns remain and will remain until the (European) Commission has completed its legal assessment of these new laws adopted by the Budapest parliament last week, Commission spokesman Olivier Bailly told a news conference.

Legal experts in the Commission were poring over official translations of Hungary’s controversial constitutional reform bills to see if the legislation was compatible both with EU law as well as basic EU values, he said.

Once the analysis is over, the Commission will decide on the next step, he added.

After tens of thousands of Hungarians poured into the street to protest Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s reforms, Brussels has been under pressure to determine whether the new constitution, as its detractors say, undermines vital checks and balances on the power of the centre-right government.

Adopted thanks to a two-thirds parliamentary majority enjoyed by Orban’s Fidesz party, critics say it tightens his grip on state bodies meant to be independent, including the judiciary and the central bank.

Bailly said the Commission had been the first to express its concerns over the planned reforms and went into lengthy detail on potential infringement proceedings should Budapest have failed to take EU notifications into account.

Infringement proceedings, that can include action before the European Court of Justice as well as fines, would take several months if initiated.

In December, the Commission and the International Monetary Fund broke off preliminary talks on a financial aid package of between 15 and 20 billion euros ($20-25 billion).

Brussels also called Wednesday on the Hungarian authorities to respect media pluralism after the country’s sole opposition radio, Klubradio, had its broadcasting licence withdrawn in December.

Neelie Kroes, the Digital Agenda Commissioner, encourages the Hungarian government to consider issuing additional radio licences and hopes that any non-successful bidders from recent and future bidding processes will find success as internet radio stations.