The Business Matrix: Wednesday 8 January 2014

Intel earphones to monitor hearts

Doctors have long been able to check your heartbeat through a stethoscope but soon you could listen in yourself. Intel's Brian Krzanich has unveiled earphones that measure your heartrate while you exercise, and play music. It is powered by the audiojack of phones and changes the music to speed or slow the heart.

Christmas breaks help easyJet soar

More Britons flying out of the country for Christmas helped the budget airline easyJet fly more than 61 million passengers last year. In total, the orange airline flew 61.33 million passengers in 2013, up 3.6 per cent on the previous 12 months. In December it carried 4.49 million passengers, 3.5 per cent more than in the same month a year.

Costain tunnels its way to success

Major deals on London's Crossrail project and the new £1bn nuclear power station at Hinkley Point in Somerset have seen Costain's orders jump by a quarter to £3bn. The contractor, which expects profits in line with City hopes, is to build three 11km tunnels to recycle water from the Severn Estuary to the nuclear reactor.

Topps marks for tiling firm

The UK's biggest tile shop Topps Tiles had City analysts scrambling to upgrade profits forecasts yesterday after it unveiled a 9.3 per cent rise in underlying sales in the 13 weeks to 28 December. The Help to Buy scheme and the Funding for Lending initiative have eased up the mortgage market and are feeding into sales.

EE makes the right connection

EE's new super-fast 4G service won 2 million customers by the end of last year – double the target the mobile giant set itself when it launched 4G in October 2012. The owner of T-Mobile and Orange, which is eyeing a £10bn UK stock market float this year, said demand is accelerating.

Big payday for Daily Mail chiefs

Viscount Rothermere, the chairman and controlling shareholder of Daily Mail & General Trust, saw his remuneration rise to £2.3m in 2013 from £1.97m, according to the publisher's annual results. The Daily Mail's editor, Paul Dacre, took no bonus but pocketed £1.85m, up from £1.79m.

Barclays snaps up ex-FSA Thieke

Barclays has bolstered its board by drafting in the banking and risk-management veteran Stephen Thieke as a non-executive director, and as a potential successor to Sir David Walker as chairman. He is a former non-executive at the Financial Services Authority.

BAE finds new face for US arm

BAE Systems has named Jerry DeMuro as the incoming president and chief executive of its US arm. He will take over from Linda Hudson, who retires from the board on 1 February. Mr DeMuro previously worked at BAE's US rival General Dynamics.

TV ads help put Dunelm on map

Homewares retailer Dunelm saw sales jump 2.9 per cent in the three months running up to Christmas after it launched its first television ad campaign. New stores helped to boost sales 4.8 per cent to £356m in the six months to 28 December.

JPMorgan settles over ponzi case

JPMorgan Chase has agreed a $1.7bn (£1bn) settlement with federal authorities for its role in the Bernie Madoff ponzi scheme fraud. The New York Attorney's office said that a deferred prosecution agreement had been reached.