T-Mobile USA Posts Loss in its Q1 Financials

                                     

T Mobile USA has reported its first quarter results and recorded net customer additions of 2.4 million marking its first quarter ever with more than 2 million net additions.

T-Mobile ended the first quarter of 2014 with approximately 49.1 million customers, a significant improvement on the 33.97 million a year ago, although that increase includes the MetroPCS acquisition of 8.92 million customers.

Total revenues for the first quarter of 2014 increased by 47% year-over-year, principally due to the inclusion of MetroPCS results in the first quarter of 2014. On a pro forma combined basis, total revenues for the first quarter of 2014 increased 15.3% year-over-year due to higher equipment sales and growth in service revenues.

Revenues came in at USD6.88 billion.

However, adjusted EBIDTA fell sharply to US$1.09 billion fromUSD1.47 billion a year ago. The company blamed higher sales of smartphones and costs for the decline.

The company's net loss deepened to USD154 million, compare to a profit of USD106 million a year earlier

Motorola to Announce New Smartphone on 13th May

Motorola Mobility has sent out invites to a dual launch press event in two countries that is expected to announce a new phone probably the last before China's Lenovo completes its purchase of the company.

The dual press event is due to take place on the 13th May and will be taking place in both India and London.

The choice of the two countries could suggest a range of models for both the Indian and European markets.

Generally, the successor to the Moto X is not thought to be ready yet, so this ould be a revamp of the G or E range of phones.

Pyramids' Biggest Mystery Finally 'Solved' (Still a theory)

It's the question that has baffled historians for centuries - how did the ancient Egyptians move the 2.5-tonne stones used to create their iconic pyramids across the desert sands?

Now, researchers at the University of Amsterdam in The Netherlands have come up with a theory - they simply wet the sand then slid the stones over it on large sleds with upturned edges.

The damp sand stopped a ridge of sand from building up, the researchers said, and made it easier for the thousands of slaves used to carry out the transportation.

There are 138 pyramids across Egypt, which were built as long ago as 2,630BC. The most famous Egyptian pyramids are found at Giza, on the outskirts of Cairo.

A statement from the university said: "The physicists placed a laboratory version of the Egyptian sledge in a tray of sand.

"Experiments revealed that the required pulling force decreased proportional to the stiffness of the sand.

"A sledge glides far more easily over firm desert sand simply because the sand does not pile up in front of the sledge as it does in the case of dry sand."

The study has been published in Physical Review Letters.

The paper’s synopsis read: "Everyone who has been to the beach will know that dry sand doesn’t make good sandcastles - the grains slump into a puddle when the bucket is lifted.

"Adding water can solve this problem: the grains stick and the castle holds its shape.

"This is great for sandcastle building, and also, it turns out, for sand transportation."

The researchers pointed out that the amount of water added to the stand was crucial, as too much or too little would not have the desired effect.

It is not explained where construction teams would have obtained enough water for the task.

Average House Prices To Hit £1m In 20 Years (In the UK)

House prices are set to quadruple over the next two decades reaching over £900,000 and forcing millions to stay in their childhood bedrooms well into their thirties, a study has warned.

The report from KPMG and Shelter claims that over half of all 20 to 34-year olds will be living with their parents by 2040.

Others - also locked out of the housing market by spiralling prices - will have to rent long-term.

A separate report from Nationwide reported property prices had leapt by 10.9% year-on-year in April - the first time in four years that annual growth has hit double figures. It is the biggest annual price increase since 2007.

It comes as Ed Miliband promises to drive up the standard of the private rented sector, introducing a cap on private sector rent increases, as landlords become his latest "vested interest".

The Labour leader will warn of "terrible insecurity" for those renting because of poor standards in the sector, and the threat of sudden increases in price.

"The next Labour government will legislate to make three-year tenancies the standard in the British private rented sector. Tenants can't be surprised by rents that go through the roof."

US economic growth slows sharply to 0.1% in first quarter

US economic growth slowed sharply in the first quarter of the year, growing at an annual rate of 0.1%.

The rate is the slowest for a year and a large fall on the 2.6% increase in gross domestic product (GDP) in the final quarter of last year.

An unusually cold and disruptive winter, coupled with tumbling exports, contributed to the decline, the US Commerce Department said.

But it said economic activity already appeared to be bouncing back.

Business investment fell by 2.1%, with spending on equipment plunging by 5.5% at an annual rate compared with a year earlier.

Residential construction, which was inevitably hit by the unusually cold winter fell by 5.7% although it was also hit by higher house prices and a shortage of available homes for sale.

The US trade trade deficit deficit widened, thanks to a sharp fall in exports which shaved growth by 0.8 percentage points in the first quarter. Businesses also slowed their restocking, with a slowdown in inventory rebuilding reducing growth by nearly 0.6 percentage points.

But consumer spending - which drives 70% of growth in the US economy - grew by 3%, although the increase was dominated by a 4.4% rise in spending on services, reflecting higher utility bills during the bitterly cold winter.

Facebook launches mobile ads Audience Network

Facebook is to start serving ads to third-party mobile apps via a new advertising network.

It announced the move at the start of its F8 developers conference, which is being held in San Francisco.

The decision to launch the Audience Network has the potential to disrupt the ad sector thanks to the depth of knowledge the firm has about its users.

But one company watcher said the social network would need to be wary of privacy concerns.

"Facebook will have to make sure from the outset that it sets some stringent guidelines as to exactly the type of data that it shares with advertisers," Lara O'Reilly, senior reporter at MarketingWeek magazine, told the BBC.

"This is moving away from the Facebook platform, where people feel a little bit more comfortable with targeted advertising, onto mobile app screens, which people can feel are very personal."

Facebook's software can be used to place ads at the top of the screen or within the apps

The platform could become a huge money spinner. An industry study suggested more than £1bn was spent on mobile ads in the UK alone in 2013, a rise of 93% on the previous year.

Facebook suggested it would deliver better click-through rates than its rivals because it had a better chance of delivering "relevant and interesting" material to the public.

"The mobile ecosystem needs a way to deliver these kind of native, personalised ads to people, and I'm glad that we can deliver more than one million active advertisers to your apps," said Facebook's chief executive Mark Zuckerberg at the conference.

Google halts student Gmail advertisement scans

Google has stopped scanning millions of Gmail accounts linked to an educational scheme, after it targeted users for advertising purposes.

The decision includes email accounts associated with Google Apps for Education (GAE).

This initiative provides teachers and students with access to free apps and storage, as well as customised @schoolname.edu email addresses.

The U-turn follows reports the scans might have breached a US privacy law.

Google highlighted its use of such scans when it updated its terms and conditions last month.

"Our automated systems analyse your content (including emails) to provide you personally-relevant product features, such as customised search results, tailored advertising, and spam and malware detection. This analysis occurs as the content is sent, received, and when it is stored," the terms read.

However, the Education Week website said this data-mining activity might place the firm in breach of the US Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.

The firm had already been sued over the matter in California by two students who said they had been required to use Gmail by their university, it added.

The UK's largest teachers' union greeted the change in policy.

"Commercialisation seeps into all corners of children's lives," said Christine Blower, general secretary, of the NUT.

"The targeting of children with advertising ranging from fast food to designer clothes is relentlessly pursued by commercial companies. This is a welcome move."

Scan switch-off

More than 30 million students, teachers and administrators use GAE, Google says.

The University of Westminster, the University of St Andrews and Southampton's Oakwood Junior School are among its UK customers.

Other clients include Nigeria's Ladoke Akintola University of Technology and the American University in Cairo.

Google had prevented adverts from being shown from within GAE's own apps, but the scans could have been used to tailor what appeared when users visited a website using the firm's AdSense platform.

"We've permanently removed all ads scanning in Gmail for Apps for Education, which means Google cannot collect or use student data in Apps for Education services for advertising purposes," wrote Google for Education director Bram Bout on a company blog.

The change is also promised for users who signed up to Gmail as part of the service while at school or university, but have now moved on.

In addition, Mr Bout said, it would also be rolled out to current and legacy users of Google's Apps for Government and Apps for Business services.

However, other Gmail users will still have their accounts scanned.

"It is certainly telling that a company like Google, which is so reliant on data driven advertising, is taking steps to act on people's concerns about their privacy," said Emma Carr, deputy director of the campaign group Big Brother Watch.

"Scanning emails is clearly intrusive, so any step to protect children is a positive one. However, Google could certainly go further by introducing the same controls for users of all ages and for all of its services."