Toyota may regain top spot in car market

TOKYO, JAPAN: Japan's Toyota group forecast Wednesday (26 December) a 22% jump in worldwide sales this year to 9.7m units. The sales are driven by surging demand which may help it regain the top spot in the global car market. 27 Dec 2012 10:25

iPhone violated MobileMedia patents

SAN FRANCISCO, USA: A federal jury last week found Apple guilty of infringing smartphone call handling and camera patents held by a licensing firm in which rivals Sony and Nokia hold stakes. 16 Dec 2012 11:34

Tablets forcing PCs to evolve says Forrester

SAN FRANCISCO, USA: The shift to smartphones and tablets became a landslide this year, crushing the desire for laptop computers and pressurising manufacturers to adapt to the mobile Internet era. 13 Dec 2012 08:54

Apple will make Macs in the USA

NEW YORK USA: Apple plans to stop making some models in China and bring back manufacturing to the United States next year according to chief executive Tim Cook. He said the move may help to ignite domestic high-technology production. 7 Dec 2012 10:46

Durable goods orders increase in the US

WASHINGTON, US: A jump in aircraft orders drove new orders for durable manufactured goods sharply higher in September, but not enough to offset the previous month's plunge, the Commerce Department reported last week. 7 Nov 2012 09:16

SABLE Accelerator launched to tap SA brainpower

PALO ALTO, US: South Africa's untapped brains trust and knowledge network of expatriate assets around the world will soon be activated to help the country be more competitive in realising a better return on innovation and entrepreneurship across both the private and public sectors. 8 Aug 2012 09:32

Boeing forecasts US$4.5 trillion market for 34 000 new aircraft

SEATTLE, US / LONDON, UK: Boeing projects a US$4.5 trillion market for 34 000 new aircraft over the next 20 years as the current world fleet doubles in size, according to the Boeing 2012 Current Market Outlook (CMO) just released. The company's annual forecast reflects the strength of the commercial aviation market. 5 Jul 2012 09:10

US camera pioneer Kodak files for bankruptcy

NEW YORK, US: Camera pioneer Eastman Kodak, which brought photography to the masses over a century ago, filed for bankruptcy on 19 January 2012, after years of failing to keep pace with the digital age. 20 Jan 2012 07:49

Samsung, Sharp in LCD price-fixing settlement

NEW YORK, US: South Korea's Samsung, Japan's Sharp and five other Asian firms have agreed to a US$553m settlement for illegally fixing liquid crystal display prices, New York state's attorney general said on Tuesday. 28 Dec 2011 14:03

Hybrid and EV manufacturers not courting Black consumers

[Mintel Oxygen reports] CHICAGO, US: The hybrid and electric vehicle market is having a tough year in 2011 in the US. Sales for hybrid vehicles are down 2.7% through August 2011, despite the fact that US vehicle sales are up 10.5%. 10 Nov 2011 10:11

Shared battery technology may up demand for electric cars

The McGill Daily reports that Hydro-Québec, a Montreal-based, government-owned public utility that is responsible for the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity across Quebec, and Technifin, a subsidiary of the South African Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), have agreed to share the intellectual property (IP) rights to their respective lithium-based technologies. 2 Nov 2011 07:05

Younger car buyers not as brand loyal as older counterparts

NEW YORK, US: During the past decade, automobile manufacturers have experienced a steady decline in customer loyalty for specific brands. This change signals the need for a new approach to marketing automobiles in the future, according to a new survey conducted by GfK Automotive. 1 Nov 2011 10:44

Apple reports fourth quarter results

CUPERTINO, US: Apple has announced financial results for its fiscal 2011 fourth quarter ended September 24, 2011. The company posted quarterly revenue of US$28.27 billion and quarterly net profit of US$6.62 billion, or US$7.05 per diluted share. These results compare to revenue of US$20.34 billion and net quarterly profit of US$4.31 billion, or US$4.64 per diluted share, in the year-ago quarter. 19 Oct 2011 11:25

USA consumer confidence drops in Q2 2011

NEW YORK, US: Global online consumer confidence declined to its lowest level in six quarters as economic recovery hit a stumbling block and recessionary jitters again reverberated around the world, according to second quarter findings of Nielsen's Global Online Consumer Confidence Survey. 26 Jul 2011 12:46