Financial Times Comment 12/28

Financial Times - Comment

Seismic events will shape the Middle East

America may wish to pivot towards Asia and Europe may be turned inward, but the Middle East offers no respite, writes David Gardner http://link.ft.com/r/DHGUVV/PNP0ST/A7ZW81/KQZMP6/T16WN5/GX/h?a1=2012&a2=12&a3=28

In an economy not so far, far away

That the Sith end up controlling the patent rights to the ultimate technology in the galaxy the Death Star is hardly surprising, says Izabella Kaminska http://link.ft.com/r/DHGUVV/PNP0ST/A7ZW81/KQZMP6/9MYU2X/GX/h?a1=2012&a2=12&a3=28

US must see other countries have laws too

Rather than pick fights with everyone, US regulators should learn to see the wood from the trees, writes Ann Lee http://link.ft.com/r/DHGUVV/PNP0ST/A7ZW81/KQZMP6/NRLAQL/GX/h?a1=2012&a2=12&a3=28

A year in a word: Country supper

(Eng. UK) An evening meal eaten by affluent metropolitans only at the weekend, only in their second homes, at least 50 miles from the capital in which they normally live, and in which the food is unimportant http://link.ft.com/r/DHGUVV/PNP0ST/A7ZW81/KQZMP6/LSUVIG/GX/h?a1=2012&a2=12&a3=28

FT.com - Technology

Cook’s total Apple pay package falls

Technology giant argues in its SEC filing that its chief executive’s cash pay was ‘significantly below’ the median for peer companies http://link.ft.com/r/DHGUVV/PNP0ST/A7ZW81/KQZMP6/3C5J8W/GX/h?a1=2012&a2=12&a3=28

Android apps put pressure on Apple

Maker of iPhone is in danger of losing one of its key competitive advantages over Android as developers warm to Google’s smartphone platform http://link.ft.com/r/DHGUVV/PNP0ST/A7ZW81/KQZMP6/4V4R6K/GX/h?a1=2012&a2=12&a3=28

HP – wealth destruction

HP’s signal failure has been its inability to convert the ample cash flows that its core businesses generate into shareholder value http://link.ft.com/r/DHGUVV/PNP0ST/A7ZW81/KQZMP6/DX9HMT/GX/h?a1=2012&a2=12&a3=28

Marvell hit with $1.2bn patent verdict

Jury awards damages against semiconductor maker for infringing hard drive-related patents owned by Carnegie Mellon University http://link.ft.com/r/DHGUVV/PNP0ST/A7ZW81/KQZMP6/Z8AET2/GX/h?a1=2012&a2=12&a3=28