Law and business: commercial news round-up 06.03.15
updated on 06 March 2015
Another week, another set of business stories to keep on top of. Here are just some of the stories that you should lavish your attention on:
- Bill Gates has secured the top spot in the world’s richest person list - for the 16th time - with an estimated net worth of $79 billion.
- Apple has overtaken rival Samsung as the world’s biggest smartphone manufacturer, selling 74.8 million phones in the Christmas quarter (compared to Samsung’s not insignificant 73 million). Demand from Chinese consumers for Apple products is said to play a big part.
- The Serious Fraud Office is investigating the way that the Bank of England lent money to banks during the financial crisis; expect to hear more about “liquidity auctions” as the investigation progresses.
- The impending takeover of insurer Friends Life by Aviva is proving beneficial for both companies already; each has reported better-than-expected annual profits, with a 6% rise for Aviva and a whopping 38% for Friends.
- Chinese conglomerate, Fosun International, has bought 5% of travel company Thomas Cook for £92 million.
Be sure to check the News section every Friday afternoon for this weekly commercial news round-up. Follow @LawCareersNetUK and @CityLawLIVE on Twitter for instant business news updates.
