Amazon, Google cut speaker prices

SAN FRANCISCO: Amazon.com Inc and Alphabet Inc’s Google have cut prices for the smallest version of their speakers, the Amazon Echo Dot and Google Home Mini, to $29 from $50 for the US holidays. Midlevel versions cost a bit more than twice as much.

Apple aims to make a profit on the device itself and bolster sales of its $9.99 per month Apple Music subscription, analysts said. Apple’s voice assistant Siri likely will focus on recommending new songs.

Amazon and Google, meanwhile, are eager to give consumers a taste of their respective digital assistants, Alexa and Google Assistant, at impulse-buy prices, hoping to lock in customers and profit from later sales of goods and data about buying habits.—Reuters

RBS sells $270m worth of Lombard loans

LONDON: Royal Bank of Scotland has sold offshore loans held by its Lombard Finance subsidiary to specialist lenders Investec and Shawbrook Bank, said an Investec spokesman.

State-backed RBS put around 200m pounds ($271m) worth of Channel Island assets up for sale in October in order to comply with new ring-fencing rules coming into force in 2019.

The rules require UK banks to separate retail operations from other riskier businesses such as investment banking to protect depositors money.

Together, Investec and Shawbrook will take over the loans, which were provided to businesses to buy assets such as machinery, ships or aircraft.

Published in Dawn, January 4th, 2018