Advertisement

Opening Bell: Athen's last hurdle, Apple's slump, Microsoft's crash

Greek MPs will vote today on wether to pass two laws which are necessary for the countr...
Newstalk
Newstalk

07.37 22 Jul 2015


Share this article


Opening Bell: Athen's...

Opening Bell: Athen's last hurdle, Apple's slump, Microsoft's crash

Newstalk
Newstalk

07.37 22 Jul 2015


Share this article


Greek MPs will vote today on wether to pass two laws which are necessary for the country to continue the process of enacting its third international bailout.

To access the €86bn a banking reform law and an overhaul of the country's civil code must be agreed to.

These are the final measures which must be passed in Athens before Greece returns to the negotiating table to secure a new bailout.

Advertisement

This could be a testing day for the fractured Syriza-led coalition - PM Alexis Tsipras is expected to rely on the support of opposition parties to pass new laws.

______________________________________________________________

Record iPhone sales have helped Apple to report profits of $10.7bn (€9.78bn) on revenues of $49bn (€44.78bn) in the past three months - but these figures were still below market expectations.

Apple shares have taken a hit overnight - falling by 7 percent in after hours trading.

More than 47.5 million iPhones were sold between April and June. Sales normally slow in this period, as shoppers hold off in anticipation of a new model being released - a mid-cycle iPhone 6s is expected to be announced in September.

This figure is a 35 percent increase on iPhone sales for the same period last year - and more than double the number of handsets sold in the third quarter of 2011.

Apple said sales of its recently-launched Apple Watch were ahead of its own expectations but didn’t give any detail about sales which also caused investor concern.

______________________________________________________________

Microsoft registered its biggest ever loss last night - ending the quarter with loses of $3.2bn.

The company has failed to put its botched Nokia acquisition behind it, and it is also dealing with a drop-off in PC sales.

Sales of Windows for installation in new PCs fell by more than 20 percent during the quarter.

Microsoft is due to launch Windows 10, its latest and last version of the system next week on July 29th.

The company is switching much of its focus to cloud-based services and revenues from this sector almost doubled during the quarter

The firm was also negatively affected by currency fluctuations with growth in some commercial divisions being wiped out by the rising value of the dollar.

Investors were prepared for bad numbers, but the company's revenue figures were better than expected, this was due to strong Xbox and Surface Tablet sales - but shares still fell by 4 percent over night.

______________________________________________________________

The Banking Inquiry is meeting this morning, a day after the Houses of the Oireachtas Service announced the appointment of Senior Counsel Senan Hogan to investigate whistleblower allegations.

In a lengthy document, it was claimed that some bodies giving evidence received undue preferential treatment - and that the inquiry is being hampered by unnecessary redactions to some of its documents.

The Inquiry will continue its work while the independent investigation is carried out.

The investigation will report by the end of August, with inquiry hearings continuing in the meantime. It is back in session tomorrow morning.

______________________________________________________________

The Cabinet will begin preliminary discussions on the next Budget when it meets at Lissadell House in Co Sligo today. 

Michael Noonan is expected to bring a memo to Ministers on the package of tax cuts and spending increases promised by the Government in October. 

Ministers will also draft legislation giving adopted people the right to their own birth cert - and discuss a report on childcare costs.

 


Share this article


Read more about

Business

Most Popular