Business

In an emotional response to the National Centre for Public Policy Research (NCPPR), Apple CEO Tim Cook soundly rejected the politics of the group and suggested it stop investing in Apple if it doesn’t like his approach to sustainability and other issues.

Mr Cook’s comments came during the question and answer session of Apple’s annual shareholder meeting, which the NCPPR attended as shareholder. The self-described conservative think tank was pushing a shareholder proposal that would have required Apple to disclose the costs of its sustainability programs and to be more transparent about its participation in “certain trade associations and business organizations promoting the amorphous concept of environmental sustainability.”

As I covered in depth yesterday, the proposal was politically-based, and rooted in the premise that humanity plays no role in climate change. Other language in the proposal advanced the idea that profits should be the only thing corporations consider.

That shareholder proposal was rejected by Apple’s shareholders, receiving just 2.95 percent of the vote. During the question and answer session, however, the NCPPR representative asked Mr Cook two questions, both of which were in line with the principles espoused in the group’s proposal — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Melbourne IT announced today that it has entered into an agreement with competitor Netregistry to purchase the company in a deal worth AU$50.4 million.

The payment for the purchase will be made in two parts, with 4.99 percent to 9.99 percent of outstanding Melbourne IT shares offered to Netregistry shareholders, and the remainder paid in cash. This will see Melbourne IT part with 4.3 million to 9.3 million shares and between AU$38 million to AU$45 million in cash, subject to regulatory approval.

The proposed transaction will bring together two of Australia’s leading web services businesses, generating significant benefits for customers, employees, and shareholders of both companies, said acting CEO of Melbourne IT Peter Findlay — via redwolf.newsvine.com

The continuing inability of Myer and David Jones to deliver customers a decent online brand experience disqualifies them from complaining about digital competitors eating their lunch, argues Tim Burrowes.

All credit to Myer. It’s not many retailers who can make a Boxing Day sale last for three weeks.

But thanks to comments from unhappy customers on the company’s Facebook page, it is possible to monitor in real time the continuing erosion of brand value.

I must declare an interest here. I am myself an amused and bemused consumer of that online experience. Not that Myer’s main rival David Jones has done much better, but more on that later.

Being something of a misanthrope when it comes to bricks and mortar retail sales, I actually decided to give the stores’ online sales a shot.

As it will have been hard to miss, Myer’s site crashed within hours of its Christmas night launch and remained offline for the next eight days.

In a world where Google being down for eight seconds would be remarked upon, Australia’s biggest retail brand was down for eight days.

But most curious was how unconcerned Myer boss Bernie Brookes seemed.

The nice folk at partner IBM were hard at work fixing it, he told the market.

And online was, he reassured his investors, only responsible for about one per cent of the company’s revenues. Which doesn’t sound too bad until you wonder whether the fact that it’s only at one per cent is because the store hasn’t been doing enough to catch up with its competitors.

Still, when the Myer site came back, and lured by the offer of free delivery, I gave it a shot — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Telecom New Zealand is set to sell off AAPT at a fraction of the price it paid for the company back in 1999, with TPG stepping out to buy the company for AU$450 million.

Telecom NZ this morning confirmed to the Australian Securities Exchange that TPG would pick up the business telecommunications and cloud company by the end of February 2014.

The transaction was said to be free of conditions precedent.

It had been reported that Telecom NZ had been looking to sell the Australian business since at least October, with Goldman Sachs recruited to manage the transaction.

Including the AU$60 million iiNet paid for AAPT’s consumer division in 2010, the total value for AAPT is significantly lower than the AU$2.2 billion that Telecom New Zealand paid for it in the peak of the dot com boom in 1999.

AAPT’s revenue has declined over the last few years, with the company this year reporting earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation of AU$57 million, down by AU$10 million on the previous financial year — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Australian consumers are embracing digital commerce, but Australian retailers are failing to build long-term relationships with their customers online, according to new research.

More than 50 per cent of Australians have been described as digital buyers who prefer to buy online where possible, a statistic that puts Australians among the top digital consumers in the world.

But the Australian retail sector is late to the party. A recent Deloitte survey found that Australian retailers are going digital at a snail’s pace.

More than 50 per cent of respondents expect to generate less than 2 per cent of their Christmas sales online.

And while David Jones’ 1000 per cent quarterly increase in online sales recently made headlines, this increase comes from a very low base, with digital commerce now accounting for a mere 1% of the retail giant’s total sales figure — via redwolf.newsvine.com

An identity theft service that sold Social Security and drivers license numbers — as well as bank account and credit card data on millions of Americans — purchased much of its data from Experian, one of the three major credit bureaus, according to a lengthy investigation by KrebsOnSecurity.

In November 2011, this publication ran a story about an underground service called Superget.info, a fraudster-friendly site that marketed the ability to look up full Social Security numbers, birthdays, drivers license records and financial information on millions of Americans. Registration was free, and accounts were funded via WebMoney and other virtual currencies that are popular in the cybercriminal underground — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Nokia’s fate would have been a lot different today if it had taken the Android route, and this is what freshly minted company — aptly named Newkia — plans to do by acquiring as much of Nokia’s know-how as possible.

Speaking to ZDNet in an interview Thursday, Thomas Zilliacus, executive chairman and founder of Mobile FutureWorks, did not mince his words when asked about his views on Microsoft’s US$7.2 billion deal to buy out Nokia’s devices and services unit. The deal reflects the complete failure of the Windows strategy Stephen Elop chose when he was appointed Nokia CEO some two years ago.

Nokia, which only three years ago was the world’s runaway market leader in mobile phones, is today a small and insignificant brand, he said, noting that the purchase price announced yesterday represented just 2 percent of Nokia’s market cap over 10 years ago — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Microsoft announced on Monday it will acquire Nokia’s devices and services unit in a bid to accelerate the software giant’s Windows ecosystem.

The deal is set to go ahead for about $5 billion (€3.79bn), with an additional $2.17 billion (€1.65bn) to be spent on licensing Nokia’s patents.

Boards of both companies agreed the transaction, which will see the Redmond, Wash.-based software giant purchase the Espoo, Finland-based company’s phone making unit, patents, and license and use its mapping services — via redwolf.newsvine.com