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I have stalled buying an Apple iphone 3GS for a while knowing that the 4th generation phone would be released in June. However, since it’s been released problems with the phone have caused Apple to schedule a news conference to lay fears about the alleged problems with the phones internal antennae.
At the conference on Friday Steve Jobs, Apple’s chief executive, tried to suppress consumer discontent by offering free iphone cases to help troubleshoot the malfunction. This will cost Apple an estimated $180m if they were to supply one to each of the three million customers.
Despite this shares in the technology company held their price and some analysts predict Apple will still sell up to 71m iphones in 2011 and third quarter sales will beat expectations of $14.6bn.

It looks like BP might have actually stopped oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico at last.
The oil was stopped yesterday for the first time since 20th April thanks to the 48 hour testing of a new cap.
This isn’t the only good news for BP because as news spread about the new cap being initiated, shares in the company also rose. The shares almost halved in the first two months but now they’ve bounced back to six week high.
They’ve increased by 4 percent to 417 pence at 1237 GMT after the U.S. shares closed up 7.6 percent on Thursday.
US President Obama gave a cautious welcome saying: “It is important we don’t get ahead of ourselves.” and that

Despite the horrific oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico there might be some good news BP executives and shareholders. Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahayan, of Abu Dhabi, is reported to be considering an investment in the troubled company.
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), of which the Crown Prince is Chairman, has been partners with BP and is now considering investment across the board.
Tony Hayward, BP’s chief executive, has been seen with a senior official from another Abu Dhabi fund, and a report said Saudi investors were looking to buy 10 percent to 15 percent of the British oil company.

I came across an interesting story today regarding the 4th of July celebrations in the United States.
It’s been reported that many towns and cities throughout the States have had to cancel any planned firework celebrations due to the current financial situation that is still gripping the nation.
The difficult decision is facing many local governments who are having to weigh up the cost of a banging celebration against the realities of today financial crisis.
However, there is at least good news for the residents of Vallejo, California who have got together with local business people to raise $18,000 for their pyrotechnics display.

If you are a musician and your only sources of income are the bookings you receive and the lessons you teach then it is a good idea to consider your work a business. When you think of yourself as actually running your own business it helps you to approach things a little differently.

Like all business ventures, musicians need to put themselves out there. They need to promote themselves in order to secure more bookings. Of course, playing music is not necessarily about the money, but it is far better to earn a living doing what you love if it pays enough for it to be sustainable.

Some of the ways you can promote yourself effectively include having an online presence and printing off business cards.

It is likely that you secure most of your business through word of mouth and the internet simply facilitates the flow of communication about you. Set up a Facebook page and a Myspace page if you haven’t already. It is also a good idea to set up your own website.

Having a few business cards that you can carry around with you helps people to contact you if they like what they hear. You can also leave free business cards in music bars where you appear regularly. Use them on a trial basis to begin with. You will find websites that offer business cards of your choice. If they bring in more bookings, consider buying more batches to drive business.

Supermarket giant Tesco has announced it would like to see curbs on the sale of cheap alcohol. It was welcome coalition government promise to outlaw loss leading sales of alcohol sales in England and Wales. A recent survey carried out by Tesco revealed that the public felt particularly strongly about excessive drinking and the inevitable anti-social behaviour it causes. The impending World Cup is likely to see alcohol receive significant discounts from retailers and Tesco stated that due to the lack of legislation they have no choice but to compete on price. The swift decision to support the ban was welcomed by Andrew Lansley, the new Health Secretary.

Continuing the downward trend for European airlines, British Airways today reported its biggest ever annual loss. The poor results are being blamed on lower passenger numbers due to the recession, spiralling costs and the impact of strike action. The carrier lost £531m in the 12 months to March 2010, compared to £401m to the previous year. However, the city expected the loss to be much higher and shares rose on the opening of trading. British Airways faces more industrial action from cabin crew. Another 15 days of strikes are due to begin next Monday. BA’s chief executive Willie Walsh said that the company was optimistic about the future despite the huge losses. Cost savings amounted to nearly £990m with the majority of this from lower fuel costs.

Signs that the aviation industry is still struggling to recover from the worldwide recession were made stark in the latest figures released by Air France-KLM who have posted a record loss of £1.33 billion. The loss is nearly double the 811m-euro loss reported for the previous financial year. The Dutch airline merged with its rival European counterpart in 2004. The loss is being blamed on huge fall is air traffic, particularly cargo, and the rocketing cost of fuel. The airline also suffered a tragic fatal loss when an Air France Airbus A330 from Rio – Paris crashed in the Atlantic Ocean. Air France-KLM is particularly popular with long haul budget travellers living in the UK regions due to the frequent flights to their Paris and Amsterdam hubs and onwards to the rest of the world.

Typically costing between £300 and £350, Home Information packs have provoked much anguish and debate from house sellers over the past few years. Introduced in England and Wales in 2007, their aim was to provide potential buyers with conveyancing information and to speed up the process of selling a house. They contain property information, local searches and title deeds and are paid for by the seller. From the 21st May 2010 the requirement for packs will be suspended and legislation is expected to be passed for them to be outlawed completely. House buyers will now have to carry the burden of paying for searches from local authorities and search companies.

VAT is expected to rise under the new Conservative & Liberal Democrat coalition government, according to a survey of influential economists. 24 of the 28 independent economists surveyed by the Treasury, 24 expected the rate to rise.

Raising VAT to 20% would bring in an extra £11.5bn a year according to Analysts. VAT was temporarily cut in 2009 to 15% to aid the recovery of the economy. It is now expected to rise from the existing 17.5% to 20% before the end of 2011.

An emergency budget is expected in the next 50 days which is expected to include any changes to VAT and other taxes. VAT on consumer good is seen as an effective way of boosting the government’s tax income.