Russia cuts interest rates from 17% to 15%

Russia has cut its main interest rate from 17% to 15% because inflation "is stabilising".

The rouble fell by more than 2% against the dollar following the central bank announcement.

Russia's economy has been suffering for a range of reasons, including economic sanctions by the West over its involvement in the crisis in Ukraine.

This week the government said it would put measures in place to try to stave off an economic crisis.

The measures included investing at least 2.34 trillion roubles ($35bn, £23bn) in the economy, following a collapse in oil prices and the rouble.

Rouble trouble

The Bank of Russia said the interest rate could be cut "due to the shift in the balance of risks of accelerated consumer price growth and cooling economy."

The rouble fell around 2.4% against the dollar on the news, leaving the dollar worth more than 70 roubles.

Against the pound, the rouble was trading around 3% lower.

Honda cuts annual profit forecast after recall

The Japanese carmaker Honda has cut its profit forecast and seen third quarter earnings drop sharply following a vehicle recall linked to airbags.

Honda, whose products include Civics and Accords, is forecasting full year net profits of 545bn yen ($4.6bn, £3bn) 3.5% less than it previously hoped.

Third quarter net income was down 15% at 136.5bn yen.

Honda has had to recall millions of vehicles amid an exploding airbag crisis in which five people died.

Honda has already been fined $70m by the US authorities, a record civil penalty for a carmaker, for not telling regulators about 1,700 complaints about deaths and injuries caused by its vehicles, and for not reporting warranty claims.

The airbags are supplied by fellow Japanese company, Takata.

Aside from that crisis, sales in its home market were dented by a recently introduced sales tax.

Overall, though, sales for the past nine months were up by 6.3%.

The weak yen flattered repatriated profits for the whole nine-month period, leaving net profits for the period 5.3% higher.

The move will help it set aside more cash to pay for an expanded recall of its cars to replace potentially faulty air bags made by supplier Takata.

Amazon posts modest profits despite healthy sales

The online retail giant Amazon has reported weaker profits for the busy Christmas period, but a 15% rise in sales has cheered investors.

The company made a net profit of $214m (£142m) for the last three months of 2014, which is a drop of $25m on the same period in 2013.

However, it was an improvement on the previous quarter, in which Amazon made a net loss of $437m.

The company's shares rose by nearly 8% in after-hours trading.

But despite net sales of $89bn, Amazon made a loss of $241m for 2014 as a whole.

The firm also warned that its finances were "inherently unpredictable".

It sounded a note of caution for the next few months, saying it could make an operating loss of up to $450m.

The web giant added that profits may be "materially affected by many factors, such as fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, changes in global economic conditions and consumer spending, world events, the rate of growth of the Internet and online commerce".

Google profits up but revenue misses expectations

Internet giant Google reported fourth-quarter profits of $4.76bn (£3.16bn), up nearly 30% from the same period a year before, but revenue missed Wall Street expectations.

The company's revenue increased by 15% to $18bn - nearly the same amount as Apple's profit last quarter.

Google, like other US firms, was hurt by the strength of the US dollar.

It said revenues would have been $541m higher had foreign exchange rates been more favourable.

The cost-per-click - or the amount Google can charge advertisers for placing ads on its network - decreased by 3% over the quarter, indicating that Google is still having difficulty raising the price it charges for mobile ads.

The metric is closely watched by investors, who worry that the firm's mobile ad business is not as strong as its desktop search business - which is troubling, given that consumers are increasingly switching to accessing the internet on their smartphones and mobile devices.

Google shares dipped nearly 2% in trading after markets had closed, but recovered later in the evening.

Amazon Japan 'co-operating' with police after raid

Japanese police raided Amazon's Tokyo offices as part of an investigation into alleged sales of images of child sexual abuse.

Amazon said it was "co-operating fully" with police after the raid.

The raid is part of a continuing operation against people believed to be selling books featuring abuse images via Amazon's Japanese store.

The operation began in September 2013 with the arrest of two men selling illegal photo books via the site.

The raid on 23 January was the second mounted against Amazon in Japan. A separate distribution centre in Kanagawa was raided in November last year as part of the same operation.

The crackdown by police follows a change to Japanese laws enacted in June last year that criminalised the possession of real images of child sexual abuse. The creation and distribution of such images has been illegal since 1999.

The latest raid targeted Amazon's head office in Tokyo and one of the firm's distribution centres outside the city. It was mounted after police discovered more people attempting to sell books of illegal images via Amazon, local newspapers reported.

"We take this investigation seriously and we are co-operating fully with the authorities," Amazon said in a statement.

"We don't permit illegal items on our site, and we have systems and processes designed to prevent and remove illegal items from being listed," it added.

Microsoft profits fall on reorganisation charge

Microsoft profits fell more than 10% in the three months to the end of December, from a year earlier.

The software giant reported a net income of $5.86bn, down 10.6% on the same quarter in 2013.

The results included a $243m charge for reorganising the firm partly due to purchase of Nokia's phone business, which it bought in September 2013.

At $26.5bn, Microsoft sales for the quarter were better than financial analysts had expected.

Microsoft was helped by strong sales of its Xbox games console over the holiday season.

The company sold 6.6 million consoles during the quarter.

Microsoft is hoping the latest version of its Windows computer operating software will boost its software division.

Revenue from the licensing of Windows fell 13% in the quarter compared to the previous year.

"We are taking bold steps forward across our business, and specifically with Windows 10, to deliver new experiences, new categories and new opportunities to our customers," chief executive Satya Nadella said.

Windows 10 will work on smartphones, tablet computers and desktop machines.

Microsoft MVP tweets support for Windows 10 from Mac!

A Microsoft worker tweeted his excitement about the company's new operating system Windows 10 from a Mac made by rival Apple

                             

A Microsoft employee tweeted his excitement at the launch of new operating system Windows 10 - from a Mac.

Dan Ardelean, MVP for client development, sent the tweet from an Apple Mac in the run up to Microsoft's announcement on Wednesday, which also saw the unveiling of augmented reality headset HoloLens.

Mr Ardelean's mishap comes weeks after BlackBerry's official Twitter feed was caught tweeting from an iPhone instead of one of their own handsets. Former global creative director of BlackBerry Alicia Keys also tweeted from an Apple device while working for the company.

Windows 10 will be available as a free upgrade for Windows 7, 8, 8.1 and Windows Phone customers in the first year the software is available, and has been designed to work across all Microsoft platforms, including Windows phones, desktops, laptops, tablets and Xbox One.

The company chose to skip using the name Windows 9 to mark a departure from the much-maligned previous system, which was much criticised for its tablet-optimised interface.

Microsoft placed great emphasis on both privacy and personalisation during the event in Redmond, Washington. The integration of digital assistant Cortana into PC and tablets has been designed to personalise basic functions such as search as much as possible, while speeding up the process.

Apple's apps economy 'as big as Hollywood'

Some app developers earn more than Hollywood stars, according to Asymco analyst Horace Dediu

Apple's app developers earned as much collectively as Hollywood did from US box offices in 2014.

Apple recently revealed that apps generated over $10 billion (£6.6bn) in revenue for developers in 2014, while Hollywood also took $10 billion in box office revenues, according to Box Office Mojo.

While Hollywood’s revenue stream is made up of more than just US box office takings, Horace Dediu, founder of analyst firm Asymco, pointed out that the app economy is also made up of more that Apple’s App Store billings.

"The Apps economy includes Android and ads and service businesses and custom development. Including all revenues, apps are still likely to be bigger than Hollywood," he said.

Related Articles

•  
• Microsoft MVP tweets support for Windows 10 from Mac 
  22 Jan 2015
• iPhone reaches 100,000ft under helium balloon 
  21 Jan 2015
• Apple buys UK music start-up Semetric 
  21 Jan 2015
• Britons mistrust the pace of technological change 
  20 Jan 2015

^{Graph: Asymco}

The app industry is also healthier than Hollywood, sustaining many more jobs (627,000 iOS jobs in the US versus 374,000 in Hollywood). It is easier to enter, has a wider reach, and offers a higher median income (many actors earn less than $1,000 a year).

Mr Dediu noted that apps are now a bigger digital content business than music, TV programmes, movie rentals and purchases put together. Apple passes 70 per cent of app revenues directly to developers – a much larger proportion artists in other formats get.

"The curious thing is that even though the medium of apps is swamping other forms of entertainment in all measurable ways, comprehension of the phenomenon is lagging," he said. "Information asymmetry is a wonderful thing."

Hyundai profit falls to lowest since 2010

South Korean carmaker Hyundai has said its net profit fell 15% last year to 7.65tn won ($7bn; £4.6bn).

The figure was worse than expected and its lowest profit since 2010, sending shares in the company down 2%.

Net profit in the fourth quarter was down 22% from a year ago - marking Hyundai's fourth consecutive quarterly decline.

The carmaker blamed stiff international competition and currency headwinds for the disappointing results.

"We expect competition to intensify in overseas markets, while makers of imported cars step up sales, boosted by tariff cuts and currency effects in the domestic market," Hyundai said.

The weaker yen made car's from Hyundai's Japanese rivals cheaper in the US, which is Hyundai's second biggest market.

In addition, the falling value of the Russian rouble also hurt its earnings in another major market.

Hyundai is the world's fifth largest automaker when combined with local affiliate Kia Motors.

eBay to cut 2,400 jobs this quarter

US e-commerce giant eBay is planning to cut 2,400 jobs in the first quarter, the company said on Wednesday.

The move to slash about 7% of its workforce comes ahead of a plan to split from its online payment PayPal business this year.

EBay made the announcement in its fourth quarter earnings report, which had topped expectations on Wall Street.

It said in a statement it wanted to refocus the businesses and ensure it was "set-up to compete and win".

The job cuts will range across its eBay Marketplaces, PayPal, and eBay Enterprise units.

Business shake up

The tech giant also said it has made an agreement with activist investor, Carl Icahn, to give investors a greater say in its PayPal business once it is spun off in the second half of this year.

The billionaire investor had been trying to gather support for the proposed split before the firm's annual shareholder meeting in May last year.

EBay also announced that it was considering a sale or public offering of its enterprise unit.

Amid the business shake up, the firm forecast earnings between 68 cents and 71 cents a share in the first quarter, while revenue was expected to hit $4.35bn (£2.87bn) to $4.45bn. Both forecasts fell short of market expectations.

Its profit in the fourth quarter rose to $936m on $4.9bn in revenue.

But, the company's New York listed shares rose 2.6% in after-hours trade.

Windows 10 to get 'holographic' headset and Cortana

Microsoft has revealed that Windows 10 will bring its voice-controlled assistant Cortana to PCs.

It also unveiled a headset that it said would one day project the operating system over views of the real world.

In addition, the firm announced that the OS upgrade would be offered free of charge for devices running Windows 8, Windows 7 and Windows Phone.

The offer, which is limited to the Windows 10's first year of release, may aid its adoption.

It marks a change in strategy from Microsoft's previous policy of charging for major updates, and could help avoid a repeat of the relatively slow uptake of Windows 8.

One analyst suggested the firm had needed to renew interest in its ecosystem.

"Overall, we know that about only about 10% of computers are running Windows 8 and the adoption rate among companies is similar or lower," said Frank Gillett, an analyst at the Forrester consultancy.

"Developers are not paying much attention to Windows for mass market consumer apps, and you could even argue that for enterprise software most of the energy is going into mobile apps for iPad and Android tablets.

"Windows 10 is in effect a huge invitation to software developers to write exciting, powerful applications that will draw consumers.

"My hunch is that they can succeed in getting a new generation of PC and tablet applications. The challenge is getting people interested in its phones."

Holographic helmet

Microsoft's chief executive Satya Nadella said the HoloLens headset represented a "magical moment" of "category creation" that developers lived for.

The wearable tech's augmented reality see-through lenses represent a major leap forward over Google Glass and other existing eyewear - assuming the machine lives up to its on-stage demo, in which computer-generated elements appeared in the world surrounding the wearer.

The company said that the final version of the machine would not need to be linked to other devices to work, and should be released within Windows 10's "timeframe".

It revealed Nasa was already working with the kit, and said the US space agency hoped to start controlling its Mars rovers with a prototype version as soon as July.

The HoloLens system features a see-through lens, which the firm said would provide a more "personal" experience than other devices

Other demos involving the machine included the wearer:

• playing Minecraft with the video game's graphics appearing over living room furniture
• seeing a Skype video appear as if it was taking place on a building wall
• creating a model of a drone, which she saw in front of her face while shaping it by moving her hands and giving voice commands

"The true innovation HoloLens delivers will be determined by developer commitment in the months and years to come," commented Geoff Blaber from the CCS Insight consultancy.

"Windows 10 is a defining moment for Satya Nadella early in his tenure as CEO.

WhatsApp Plus users suspended by official app for 24 hours

WhatsApp is imposing 24-hour lock-outs on people trying to access its service via an unauthorised Android app.

The Facebook-owned messaging service said that it had acted against users of WhatsApp Plus because of concerns that the program might cause private data to be leaked to third-parties.

The unofficial app offers extra ways to customise how conversations appear.

Experts say Android users should be cautious about where they download apps from.

WhatsApp recently reported it had 700 million users sending an average of 30 billion messages a day. It currently charges a $0.99 (65p) annual fee to users who sign up to the service after their first 12 months of using it.

China's Economy Suffers 'Painful' Slowdown

Growth slowed to 7.4% in 2014 as China's continuously expanding property sector proved a big drag on its economy.

China's economy has expanded at its slowest pace in 24 years.

Statistics published by the Chinese government show that the world's second largest economy grew by 7.4% in 2014 compared with 7.7% in 2013.

The government target of 7.5% was missed but the level was still above market predictions as low as 7.1%.

The slowdown comes as China attempts to rebalance its economy from an export-led market to one which must rely on domestic consumption.A global slowdown means China can no longer rely on its "Made in China" exports.

Chinese government officials see the slowdown as inevitable and say the delicate rebalance represents the 'new normal'.

However it will cause nervousness around the world with economies globally tied into China. Bilateral trade between China and the UK stands at £53bn – a record high.

IMF Cuts Growth Prospects Despite Oil Prices

                              

The forecast has been slashed for global economic growth this year - with the UK's outlook also taking a hit.

The International Monetary Fund's World Economic Outlook update said that apart from in the US, the economic performance of all major economies had fallen short of expectations.

It also appeared to back further stimulus measures that look likely to be unveiled in the eurozone this week.

The IMF estimated that gross domestic product (GDP) in Britain grew by 2.6% in 2014 compared to a previous forecast of 3.2%.

It still expects the UK to grow by 2.7% this year while it has cut its forecast for 2016 by 0.1% to 2.4%.

Global growth is expected to be 0.3% weaker - at 3.5% for 2015 and 3.7% for 2016.

Chancellor George Osborne said: "Today's IMF forecast shows Britain is pulling ahead, while global growth is being downgraded.

"But there are risks out there in the global economy.

"It's a timely reminder of that and we've got to go on working through our long-term economic plan if we want to stay ahead."

The IMF said the cut in estimates reflected prospects in China, Russia, the eurozone and Japan.

There had also been weaker activity in some major oil exporters - with oil prices having dropped by more than half since September.

Twitter Buys Indian Mobile Start-Up ZipDial

                          

Twitter is buying Indian start-up ZipDial, seeking to expand in the world's second-biggest mobile market.

The microblogging service did not disclose terms of the purchase, but TechCrunch put the deal at $30m to $40m (£20m to £26.5m).

ZipDial, based in the tech hub of Bangalore in southern India, has capitalised on a local tradition of communicating through so-called missed calls.

A person may give a friend a missed call to signal arrival at an agreed destination, for instance, without having to pay the cost of a phone call.

Valerie Wagoner, founder and chief executive of ZipDial, told the Wall Street Journal that the company managed to reach Indians who do not have an internet connection, saying that a portion of those who have smartphones still cannot afford data access.

ZipDial gives clients phone numbers for use in marketing campaigns.

Consumers call the numbers and hang up before connecting and incurring charges, and then receive promotion-related text messages.

Its clients include International Business Machines Corp, Yum! KFC and Gillette.

"This acquisition significantly increases our investment in India, one of the countries where we're seeing great growth," Twitter said in a statement.

Facebook 'worth $227bn to global economy in 2014'

Facebook was worth $227bn (£150bn) to the global economy in 2014, and supported 4.5m jobs worldwide, according to a new report by professional services firm Deloitte, commissioned by Facebook.

The United States saw the biggest economic impact from Facebook in 2014, amounting to $100bn (£66bn) and over 1m jobs. Europe saw $51bn (£34bn) worth of economic impact and 783,000 jobs – $11bn (£7bn) and 154,000 of which were attributable to the UK.

The report, entitled Facebook’s Global Economic Impact, reveals that the social network, which has 1.35bn users and an $8bn cost base, stimulates economic impact by providing tools for marketers, a platform for app developers and demand for connectivity.

As a marketing platform, Facebook provides tools such as Pages and targeted advertising, which help businesses grow sales nationally and globally, reduce barriers to marketing and support entrepreneurship, according to Deloitte.

It is estimated that the marketing effect of Facebook in 2014 enabled $148bn (£98bn) of economic impact and 2.3m jobs globally.

As a platform for app developers, Facebook offers development tools that encourage the creation of new features, services and apps, facilitating content distribution and stimulating innovation and new jobs.

It is estimated that the Facebook as an app development platform enabled $29bn (£19bn) of economic impact in 2014 and 660,000 jobs globally.

Finally, as driver of demand for connectivity, Facebook motivates purchases of devices and internet connections in both developed and developing countries. These improvements in connectivity then spill over into the rest of the economy and stimulate economic growth.

It is estimated that the connectivity effects of Facebook in 2014 enabled $50bn (£33bn) of economic impact and 1.6m jobs globally.

“Across the world there is a greater urgency about creating jobs," said Facebook’s chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg, commenting on the report.

“The good news is that the tech industry is powering the economy and creating jobs within and beyond its own campuses. Every day, businesses of all sizes, sectors, and skill sets are using the Facebook platform to grow and expand.”

However, some independent economists have questioned the numbers, claiming that Deloitte based its calculations on questionable assumptions and "bad reasoning". For example, the company assigned Facebook credit for roughly one-sixth of smartphone sales worldwide.

"The results are meaningless," Stanford economist Roger Noll said in an email to The Wall Street Journal. "Facebook is an effect, not a cause, of the growth of Internet access and use."

Broken Windows? Microsoft’s crucial week

                                      

The chances are, you’re not reading this on a computer running Windows 8. Despite billions of dollars of investment from America’s original computer giant Microsoft, less than 10 per cent of PCs run Windows 8, in a world where tablets and phones running software made by Apple and Google is of growing importance.

To put that number into context, one in five PCs still runs Windows XP, now 14 years old, and the majority run Windows 7. With Windows 10, Microsoft has to prove not just that computer users need a better operating system, but also that Microsoft remains as vital as ever.

The symbolic importance could not be greater – hence the company is jumping straight from Windows 8 to Windows 10 – because for all its strengths, consumers did not love the uniquely stylish, new interface that was introduced in August 2012 and dubbed that Start screen.

Microsoft’s original idea was probably the right one: it wanted Windows 8 to take advantage of the growing number of touchscreens, with Windows 8 designed for touch with big buttons and moving away from the traditional desktop model. But it was – charitably – ahead of its time. Most users still want a traditional way to get to Excel, Word and the web, which remain the core uses for Windows. In Windows 8, the desktop environment felt little better than Windows 7, divorced from the main OS, and if you weren’t using it on a touchscreen then the first version was maddening. On machines designed for Windows 8, the software was superb and elegant; on a conventional PC, where most users encountered it, the software drew howls of protest. The update, Windows 8.1, offered imporvements but it was too little too late.

So, just like Windows 7 rescued Windows Vista from a PR disaster, now Windows 10 faces the same challenge. It will seek to offer a single platform for all Microsoft products, from phones to the Xbox, as well as tablets and PCs, with a single store to buy software from and developers only needing to write it once for all devices.

Sir Terry Leahy: Tesco 'eroded customers' trust'

Tesco allowed the trust of its millions of customers to be "eroded", Sir Terry Leahy has said in his first detailed comments on the crisis at the retailer.

The former chief executive said it had lost its reputation for low prices.

Sir Terry told BBC Panorama there was a "failure" of leadership under his successor, Philip Clarke.

The programme also found that cosmetics giant L'Oreal threatened legal action over a disputed payment of about £1m demanded by Tesco.

Sir Terry was the man widely credited with building Tesco into one of the world's largest and most successful retailers, presiding over 14 years of growth in profits and sales.

'Shopped around'

He said losing the reputation for low prices was very damaging for Tesco - Asda is now 6% cheaper.

"Tesco is the biggest, people expect it to have the best prices and know they can trust Tesco to deliver that and not have to shop around and check that they're getting the best deal.

"I think that some of that trust has been eroded, which has meant that people have shopped around."

On the failure of Tesco and the departure of Mr Clarke, Sir Terry said: "People tried very hard to do the right thing, it clearly has not worked.

"In the end that's a failure of leadership, not a failure of the business, not a failure of the people who work hard every day in the business.

"When you're the CEO, if it goes well, you get credit, if it doesn't go well, you must take responsibility and Phil Clarke has taken that responsibility and paid the price with his job."

Former Saudi oil boss says it can cope with low price

Saudi Arabia can cope with low oil prices for "at least eight years", Saudi Arabia's minister of petroleum's former senior adviser has told the BBC.

Mohammed al-Sabban said the country's policy was to defend its current market share by enduring low prices.

"You need to allow prices to go as low as possible in order to see those marginal producers move out of the market," he said.

Mr al-Sabban advised the ministry for 27 years, leaving last year.

Saudi Arabia, the largest producer within the Opec oil producers' cartel, has repeatedly said that it will not cut output to try to boost the oil price.

Mr al-Sabban said Saudi Arabia's "huge financial reserves" would enable it to cope with the low oil price.

The country is now in the process of cutting government spending.

Without these cuts, Mr al-Sabban said, Saudi Arabia could not cope with low oil prices for more than four years.

Google Glass sales halted but firm says kit is not dead

Google is ending sales of its Google Glass eyewear.

The company insists it is still committed to launching the smart glasses as a consumer product, but will stop producing Glass in its present form.

Instead it will focus on "future versions of Glass" with work carried out by a different division to before.

The Explorer programme, which gave software developers the chance to buy Glass for $1,500 (£990) will close.

The programme was launched in the United States in 2013. It was then opened up to anyone and was launched in the UK last summer.

It had been expected that it would be followed reasonably quickly by a full consumer launch.

From next week, the search firm will stop taking orders for the product but it says it will continue to support companies that are using Glass.

EE customers to receive £1m refund after VAT mix-up

A "small" number of EE customers will share a refund of roughly £1m after they were wrongly charged VAT.

Customers who went outside of the EU and used internet data between October 2012 and October 2014 are affected - about 0.5% of EE's total customers.

The company told the BBC the money "was never EE's" and that the overcharge, blamed on a system-configuration error, went directly to Revenue & Customs.

Refunds will range from about £2 to £80 per customer.

"Due to a configuration error in our billing system, made following a system change, a small number of customers were wrongly charged VAT on the Data Roaming bundle outside of Europe," spokesman David Nieberg said.

He added: "We've claimed that money back from HMRC, and then it goes back to the customers.""This was a mistake, and we are now refunding these charges and contacting affected customers to apologise for the error."

Uber taxi firm promises 50,000 jobs under 'new' Europe deal

The chief executive of the online taxi-sharing firm Uber has said he wants to make 2015 a year of rapid expansion in Europe.

Travis Kalanick told a conference in Munich that Uber could create 50,000 jobs as part of a "new partnership" with European cities.

Fast-expanding Uber has drawn criticism across the world from regulators and established taxi operators.

Mr Kalanick's comments were seen as a bid to build bridges with critics.

Uber, which helps users summon taxi-like services on their smartphones, started four years ago and now operates in 250 cities worldwide.

The San Francisco start-up is valued at $40bn (£25.5bn), based on the latest fundraising from investors.

But critics have accused Uber of flouting competition rules and of not carrying out sufficient safety checks on drivers and their vehicles.

Uber has been hit with court injunctions in Belgium, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Spain, and has faced protests from taxi firms in major cities, including London.

A woman in India who was allegedly raped by an Uber taxi driver is suing the company in the US courts.

Some of the criticisms of Uber have provoked a combative response from the company, with Mr Kalanick a frequent critic of the red-tape and regulation that he says cities use to protect the interests of entrenched taxi firms.

Swiss franc soars as Switzerland abandons euro cap

The Swiss franc has soared as much as 30% in chaotic trade after the central bank abandoned the cap on the currency's value against the euro.

The Swiss National Bank (SNB) said the cap, introduced in September 2011, was no longer justified.

At the same time it reduced a key interest rate from -0.25% to -0.75%, increasing the amount investors have to pay to hold Swiss deposits.

Following the SNB move the Swiss franc went from 1.20 to the euro to 0.8052.

It later recovered in mid-morning trade close to 1.05.

Swiss shares fell some 6% and stock markets around Europe fell with investors buying "safe haven" assets such as gold and German bonds.

Blackberry shares soar 30% on Samsung offer report

A report that Korean smartphone giant Samsung had offered to buy struggling rival BlackBerry for as much as $7.5bn (£4.92bn) saw the Canadian firm's shares rise 30% in US trade.

According to Reuters, executives from both firms met last week to discuss a potential deal.

Blackberry's share price surge was the firm's biggest gain in about a decade.

Samsung said in an email it could "confirm media reports of the acquisition are groundless".

Earlier Blackberry had said in an email that it was "aware of certain press reports" about an offer from Samsung but confirmed it had "not engaged in discussions with Samsung with respect to any possible offer to purchase".

The Canadian's firm's shares later retreated in late trade in the US on Wednesday.

In December, Blackberry reported a larger-than-expected drop in revenue during the third quarter.

The firm's revenue fell to $793m (£507m) from $1.19bn a year earlier, missing analyst expectations.

At the time, the firm's chief executive John Chen said the revenue figure was "not satisfying".

However, he added then that he thought Blackberry might be able to stabilise and grow its revenues by 2016, but that he could not promise profitability.

Blackberry once claimed about 50% of the smartphone market in the US.