Vodafone reacts to plunge in shares with £1bn buy-back

Vodafone has reacted swiftly to the biggest sell-off of its shares in its history with a £1bn share buy-back programme designed to boost confidence in its flagging valuation.

The mobile phone giant said yesterday it would ask shareholders to approve the buy-back at next Wednesday's annual meeting, after a 14 per cent fall in its share price on Tuesday. That plunge was prompted by a warning from Vodafone that it anticipated revenues to be lower than expected this year, with an economic slowdown in many of its key markets depressing sales.

"Vodafone has considered the market reaction to the group's interim management statement and has decided to introduce a £1bn share repurchase programme with immediate effect," the company said. "This action reflects the board's belief that the share price significantly undervalues Vodafone." Senior executives at Vodafone were taken aback by the savage market reaction to its warning, particularly since many areas of the business, especially in emerging markets, are continuing to perform well.

source : http://www.independent.co.uk/

Apple's IPhone Faces First Test in Fickle Japan Market

In many countries the latest version of the iPhone represents the epitome of high-technology but the picture is different in Japan, which gets its first-ever taste of the iPhone with the Friday launch. Consumers here are used to advanced handsets that handle digital TV, e-money and replace their subway and rail cards for travel, so the reaction the iPhone -- which does none of these -- will get in Japan is being watched with interest.

The original iPhone never went on sale here because the country doesn't use the GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications) standard on which it was based. But with the new phone's embrace of the WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) standard, it's been snapped up for sale by Softbank, Japan's number three carrier with about 19 million subscribers.

"When the Apple iPhone was announced, I watched Steve Jobs' keynote and thought it looked like a great product and I've wanted one ever since," said Hiroyuki Sano, a student from Nagoya in central Japan.
Source : http://www.pcworld.com