Samsung has predicted a 30% drop in profits for the first quarter of 2015.
It expects its operating profit between January and March to be around £3.6bn on revenue of around £29bn.
That means the struggling smartphone maker has suffered a year-on-year profit fall of 30%.
The latest blow to the company was the popularity of iPhone 6 and 6 Plus, which helped Apple to become the most valuable company in the world.
Samsung has responded by redesigning its Galaxy S6 flagship smartphone which is due to launch this week.
Samsung is also hunting new revenue streams from the so-called Internet of Things - connectivity with everyday electronic items - to reduce its reliance on smartphones.
It has said that within two years all Samsung televisions will be internet connected.
Samsung's Galaxy smartphones led the market in 2012 and 2013, pushing past Nokia, Motorola and Apple.
But growth stalled last year as new models disappointed and it was squeezed on price in the low and mid-end phone markets by Chinese smartphone makers.
Britain's energy companies have launched an extraordinary attack on one of the country's most respected business groups amid calls for the Government to scrap an £11bn scheme that will see smart meters installed in every UK home.
Sky News has obtained a copy of a private letter from Lawrence Slade, the chief executive of EnergyUK, in which he accuses Simon Walker, director-general of the Institute of Directors (IoD), of producing a "flawed", "damaging" and "ill-informed" analysis of the issue.
Mr Slade's attack follows an IoD report late last month which said that the UK-wide rollout of smart meters should be "halted, altered or scrapped" to avoid an "unjustified, over-engineered and expensive mistake".
The Government initiative is due to be completed by the end of the decade and could cost as much as £11bn, although some analysts suggest that consumers could ultimately save a far greater sum from the installation of the new technology, which will replace estimated meter readings.
It is the latest conflagration to engulf the energy sector at a time when the supply of gas and electricity is at the centre of a political crackdown and a wide-ranging probe by competition regulators.
Mr Slade's letter to Mr Walker is far more robust than EnergyUK's public response to the IoD report, which said only that: "The national roll-out of smart meters is one of the most significant infrastructure projects the energy industry has seen for years.
"It will make estimated bills a thing of the past, help improve energy efficiency and be of great value to consumers.
"As with any project of this size there are many challenges to overcome and Government support is essential.
"However, the industry is committed to facing these challenges and delivering cost effective, practical solutions for consumers."
Mr Slade's private letter, however, represents an extraordinary salvo against the IoD, whose members include tens of thousands of company directors from across the UK, including many who work in the energy industry.
In the letter to Mr Walker, he wrote: "My members will be responsible for the rollout so I was surprised and concerned that, particularly as I am an IoD member, Energy UK was neither asked for information or comment. I cannot stress enough that ill-informed comment, such as contained in your report, is extremely damaging.
"Smart metering has already been shown to help improve trust between energy suppliers and their customers, bringing an end to estimated billing and giving consumers much greater understanding and control on their energy usage.
Mr Slade labelled the IoD report as being "flawed throughout" and slammed a proposal that consumers should take a photograph of their meter reading an text it to their supplier as an alternative to smart meters as being "to say the least, misguided".
He went on to say: "Leaving aside the essential need to upgrade the UK energy sector if we are to harness the full benefits of a competitive market, your report risks undermining this major programme which aims to give customers greater control over their energy costs.
"Without buy-in to adopting new technology the UK risks losing its leadership in flexible energy markets, essential to meet our future energy challenges.
"The roll out is also supporting thousands of jobs across the country and encouraging significant new investment in UK plc."
The IoD's call for the smart meter programme to face the axe reflects an increasingly interventionist approach in key business issues adopted by Mr Walker.
Since taking the helm of an organisation traditionally known for its reserve, he has mounted attacks on pay at Barclays and the transparency of the City's top fund management institutions.
An IoD spokesman declined to comment on Mr Slade's letter.
By Poppy Trowbridge, Consumer Affairs Correspondent
Major changes to pension rules come into effect today which will allow savers to have more control over their money when they retire.
People aged over 55 are now able to cash in their pensions and spend them as they wish.
The changes were announced by Chancellor George Osborne in his Autumn Statement and were expanded in last month's Budget.
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Retirees are no longer required to use their pension pot to buy an annuity when they retire.
Video:What Advice Is Available?
They can now take their pot in one go, or use it like a bank account to withdraw money in slices.
The changes will apply to the 320,000 people who retire each year with a defined contribution (DC) pension.
Around 540,000 people will be able to take control of their savings from today, according to estimates from the Government.
And from next year, as many as six million pensioners who already have an annuity will be allowed to sell them for cash.
Critics of the new system say savers will be tempted to go on a spending spree, leaving the state to pick up the tab later on.
But Pensions Minister Steve Webb told Sky News: "We're not going to have two million people making decisions this week or this month.
Video:How Will People Use Their Money?
"We certainly think there will be many thousands of people who have planned very carefully and put the capacity in place.
"But I think lots of people, although they in theory could use these new freedoms, in fact if you're in your late 50s and still working, you may go on saving into a pension for many years to come."
Government advisor and pension expert Ros Altmann said: "This is a radical departure from the past. I would trust people with their own money.
"Now it's up to the industry to offer better products and more choice."
The freedoms come at a price: those who choose to tap their defined contribution pension pots for cash should be aware of income tax thresholds.
Some 25% of a person's savings can be taken tax free. Any extra that is withdrawn is liable for income tax at 40% if the total exceeds £42,386 when added to annual income.
Video:SNP Leader Launches Pension Plan
The revenues from this could raise an extra £1bn for the Treasury, according to the Institute for Fiscal Studies.
The Government's free, impartial, Pension Wise service has been established to offer guidance to everyone eligible for the freedoms.
Pensions minister Steve Webb said: "It is right that people should have the power to make their own decisions about how they spend their own money after decades of careful saving - ending the effective obligation to buy an annuity will give people back control of their financial affairs."
It came as SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon launched her party's plan for pensioners, listing "the kind of policies" they will pursue if they secure a significant number of seats in the General Election.
"We will maintain the 'triple lock' on pensions, we'll set the single-tier pension at £160 a week, we'll resist any further increases in the state retirement age in Scotland until we have tackled and closed the life-expectancy gap (and) we will absolutely oppose any attempt to take away the winter fuel allowance."
Labour has accused the Conservatives of plotting a secret tax cut for millionaires after the General Election, as political parties launched a battle over economic statistics.
Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls predicted a Conservative government would hike VAT - something David Cameron has ruled out - and slash the top rate of income tax for earnings over £150,000 from 45p to 40p.
The allegation was among a series of claims and counter claims as Labour, the Conservatives and the Lib Dems all claimed their rival parties would make people worse off.
Mr Balls said: "We know that is their secret plan - another big tax cut for millionaires.
"How can it be fair when families here in Leeds and across the country are struggling and £1,100 a year worse-off?
Video:Labour: Tories Plan Secret Tax Cut
"How can it be fair to have a tax cut for the very richest when our NHS is in crisis and going backwards?
"How can this be fair when we need to get the deficit down and the Tories are now planning deeper cuts in the next three years than the last five?"
Speaking in southwest London, Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg told Sky News the Conservatives had sought further tax cuts for millionaires in government but were only stopped by his party.
"I was very amused yesterday to hear George Osborne and David Cameron saying with earnest sincerity that they had no plan of giving further tax cuts to people at the top because, I tell you, they had exactly that plan in government and it was something that we said we would not go along with."
While Chancellor George Osborne has said there are "no plans" for a cut to the 45p rate of tax, he refused to rule it out definitively four times on Sky News.
Video:6 April - The Faisal Files
But Tory Treasury minister David Gauke hit back by claiming Labour has a secret plan to boost revenues by dragging more workers into the 40p higher rate of income tax and increasing national insurance contributions.
"Ed Balls and Ed Miliband must set out the details of their secret plan for £3,028 of tax rises on every working family - the British people have a right to know what these tax hikes are.
"The choice at this election is clear. Lower taxes under David Cameron. Or higher taxes under Ed Miliband and the SNP."
Speaking in Bristol, Chancellor George Osborne echoed Mr Gauke's remarks, adding: "Income taxes are being cut today. We have taken 4 million of the low paid out of tax, and cut tax for 30 million working people. The personal allowance has risen from £10,000 to £10,600 in the last few hours.
"When I became Chancellor, the personal allowance was just £6,475. I have increased this every single year, in every single budget – and made sure it's paid for with savings in the cost of government, not money borrowed from the next generation.
Video:Lib Dems: Tories Taking Our Ideas
"Today the higher rate threshold has also gone up, and in the next parliament, we will take the threshold up again so people can earn £50,000 before paying the higher rate of tax.
"These tax cuts this April are a stark contrast to the tax rises you'd get next April if Ed Miliband is in Downing Street. He would suck many more middle-income people into the higher rate of tax.
"Overall, their plans will hit those hard-working families with £3,000 more to pay in taxes – and whereas Ed Miliband wants to put up your taxes, we will carry on cutting them."
:: Full Coverage Of General Election 2015
While the Conservatives are highlighting figures that indicate people are better off, Labour claim the opposite.
Video:Election Day Seven: Milking It
Meanwhile, Lib Dem Chief Secretary Danny Alexander, has shared embarrassing details of a meeting from 2012.
Speaking to The Independent, Mr Alexander said: "The Tories' priority at the time was the top rate of tax.
"I remember one meeting with a group of senior Conservatives and one of them - I'm not going to say who - said: 'Listen, you take care of the workers and we'll take care of the bosses'."
Easter Monday also marks an overhaul of the pensions system, when for the first time pensioners will be able to cash in their savings rather than buy an annuity.
Liberal Democrat Pensions Minister Steve Webb said: "As a Liberal I believe people should have the freedom to do what they want with the money they have saved up throughout their working lives.
Video:Tax Rate Row: Labour Accuse Tories
"Our pension reforms will mean millions more people will have a better retirement."
Charities should do more to target young people and men who do not give to charitable causes, according to a report into the UK's giving habits.
The survey conducted by the Charities Aid Foundation found that nearly half of men do nothing for charity in a typical month.
In contrast, three fifths of women support good causes and are twice as likely to donate to charity shops.
While older people, women and those from higher socioeconomic groups are the most likely to give to charity, those earning the least have been found to be the most generous.
The survey found people earning under £9,500 per year donated an average of 4% of their pay-packet.
Donations to the UK's 160,000 registered charities are estimated to have reached around £10.6bn despite tough economic times.
The report's authors suggest that to ensure optimum future funding, charities should do more to communicate how funds help to support their beneficiaries as well as targeting young people.
Ben Russell from the Charities Aid Foundation said: "One of the things that we really want to do is to work with schools, with universities, with employers to get people in the habit of giving early in their lives so that's a habit they carry on and take through all the way through the rest of their lives."
Currently, just 43% of those aged 16-24 reported donating to charities in the four weeks prior to questioning.
This compares with 63% of those in the 45-64 age group.
Last year, 70% of people said they donated to charities directly or sponsored someone for a charitable event. The average charitable donation was £14.
Others were found to donate their time. Some 14% of respondents reported volunteering for a charity.
Margaret Clarke is a registered blind guide dog owner.
Speaking to Sky News about her work as a volunteer with the Stevenage and District fundraising group of Guide Dogs in Hertfordshire, she said: "I feel as though I've grown as a person.
"I would never have thought five or six years ago that I could physically stand up in front of a room of twenty plus people and talk for at least an hour. I feel very passionate about it and I just love doing it."
FedEx has announced a €4.4bn (£3.3bn) takeover of Dutch rival TNT Express in a deal aimed at boosting its presence in Europe.
The companies said they had "reached conditional agreement on a recommended all-cash public offer of €8 per ordinary TNT Express share.
"The transaction represents an implied equity value for TNT Express of €4.4bn."
FedEx, which employs 325,000 people worldwide, said its offer represented a 33% premium on the closing share price of 2 April.
Dutch mail service PostNL, which owns a 14.7% stake in TNT Express, said it had agreed to the bid, which remained subject to full shareholder agreement and regulatory approval.
FedEx said it did not expect competition concerns to arise.
A United Parcel Service (UPS) offer for TNT was blocked by regulators on competition grounds two years ago but UPS, unlike FedEx, already had a strong European operation.
TNT Express boss Tex Gunning said the unsolicited offer came at a time of "important transformations" for the company.
He said: "Our people and customers can profit from the true global reach and expanded propositions, while with this offer our shareholders can already reap benefits today that otherwise would only have been available in the longer run."
His FedEx counterpart, Frederick W Smith, said: "This transaction allows us to quickly broaden our portfolio of international transportation solutions to take advantage of market trends - especially the continuing growth of global e-commerce - and positions FedEx for greater long-term profitable growth."
TNT Express operates in more than 200 countries and maintains a leading role in the road freight network in Europe.
It currently employs some 65,000 people including 8,500 staff in the UK at headquarters in Warwickshire and at 54 depots across the country.
The joint statement said the combined companies would "co-operate to avoid any significant redundancies in the global or Dutch work forces."
Royal Mail shares rose by 2% today as a result of the latest consolidation in the European parcels sector.
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Video:Charge Your Phone In One Minute?
Scientists have developed a battery that could allow a mobile phone to be charged and ready for use in one minute.
The new aluminium power cell is also much safer than existing lithium technology, can be bent and damaged, and does not catch fire.
The researchers at Stanford University in California say the battery can be recharged more often than usual batteries without losing its effectiveness.
It has the potential to be a major breakthrough as electricity storage becomes increasingly important in tandem with renewable energy.
Hongjie Dai, professor of chemistry at Stanford, said: "We have developed a rechargeable aluminium battery that may replace existing storage devices, such as alkaline batteries, which are bad for the environment, and lithium-ion batteries, which occasionally burst into flames.
1/15
Gallery: Mobile Battery Charges Phone In One Minute
Aluminium-ion battery developed at Stanford fully recharges in one minute
Battery consists of two electrodes. Aluminium anode and graphite cathode
]]>
Anode and cathode placed in pouch of ionic liquid which conducts current
]]>
The liquid component makes the battery more flexible and less breakable
]]>
These batteries last 7,500 charge cycles without any loss of capacity
]]>
"Our new battery won't catch fire, even if you drill through it. Lithium batteries can go off in an unpredictable manner - in the air, the car or in your pocket."
Besides safety, he said the team had transformed battery performance with "unprecedented charging times" of down to one minute being reported.
Unlike previously developed aluminium batteries, which have been reported to die after just 100 charge-discharge cycles, the Stanford prototype has been found to withstand up to 7,500 charges.
The typical lithium battery lasts for 1,000 cycles.
In an article in this month's edition of the journal Nature, the authors wrote: "This was the first time an ultra-fast aluminium-ion battery was constructed with stability over thousands of cycles."
Ming Gong, co-lead author of the Nature study, added: "Another feature of the aluminium battery is flexibility.
"You can bend it and fold it, so it has the potential for use in flexible electronic devices. Aluminium is also a cheaper metal than lithium."
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The Mobile Battery That Charges In One Minute
We use cookies to give you the best experience. If you do nothing we'll assume that it's ok.
Video:Charge Your Phone In One Minute?
Scientists have developed a battery that could allow a mobile phone to be charged and ready for use in one minute.
The new aluminium power cell is also much safer than existing lithium technology, can be bent and damaged, and does not catch fire.
The researchers at Stanford University in California say the battery can be recharged more often than usual batteries without losing its effectiveness.
It has the potential to be a major breakthrough as electricity storage becomes increasingly important in tandem with renewable energy.
Hongjie Dai, professor of chemistry at Stanford, said: "We have developed a rechargeable aluminium battery that may replace existing storage devices, such as alkaline batteries, which are bad for the environment, and lithium-ion batteries, which occasionally burst into flames.
1/15
Gallery: Mobile Battery Charges Phone In One Minute
Aluminium-ion battery developed at Stanford fully recharges in one minute
Battery consists of two electrodes. Aluminium anode and graphite cathode
]]>
Anode and cathode placed in pouch of ionic liquid which conducts current
]]>
The liquid component makes the battery more flexible and less breakable
]]>
These batteries last 7,500 charge cycles without any loss of capacity
]]>
"Our new battery won't catch fire, even if you drill through it. Lithium batteries can go off in an unpredictable manner - in the air, the car or in your pocket."
Besides safety, he said the team had transformed battery performance with "unprecedented charging times" of down to one minute being reported.
Unlike previously developed aluminium batteries, which have been reported to die after just 100 charge-discharge cycles, the Stanford prototype has been found to withstand up to 7,500 charges.
The typical lithium battery lasts for 1,000 cycles.
In an article in this month's edition of the journal Nature, the authors wrote: "This was the first time an ultra-fast aluminium-ion battery was constructed with stability over thousands of cycles."
Ming Gong, co-lead author of the Nature study, added: "Another feature of the aluminium battery is flexibility.
"You can bend it and fold it, so it has the potential for use in flexible electronic devices. Aluminium is also a cheaper metal than lithium."
Recommended by Outbrain Recommended by Outbrain
Top Stories
Breaking News: Prince Andrew Sex Claims Struck From Court
HSBC faces an additional bill running to several hundred million pounds under Labour plans to increase a tax on the balance sheets of Britain's biggest lenders.
Sky News understands that HSBC would face the heaviest incremental tax burden under a future Labour Government, which has pledged to generate an additional £800m annually by raising the yield from the Bank Levy.
The hike would be likely to come on top of an increase announced in last month's Budget by the Chancellor, George Osborne, who said the tax was "here to stay".
Mr Osborne's comments, and Labour's plans to increase the Bank Levy still further, are fuelling disquiet among some of HSBC's largest shareholders, who are pressing its board to re-evaluate the growing cost of its UK domicile.
One investor, who asked not to be named, said the growing tax burden on the bank meant that the case was becoming "unanswerable" for HSBC to conduct a further formal review of the location of its headquarters.
Video:BBA: Banks Being Driven Overseas
"We don't expect the bank's management to make decisions on issues as far-reaching as its domicile on a five-year basis," the investor said.
"But we do think that with the Bank Levy now regarded as a permanent fixture of the tax system and the burden on HSBC only likely to increase, that we have a responsibility as shareholders to ask management to do what they can to protect the returns that accrue to the bank's owners."
HSBC, which did not rely on direct taxpayer support to come through the 2008-09 banking crisis, has already shouldered the heaviest financial burden since the Bank Levy was introduced in 2010.
Analysts expect that it will have to pay a substantial increase in 2015 on the $1.1bn (£740m) it paid last year after Mr Osborne's latest move, the ninth increase since the tax's introduction.
In the last two years alone, it has paid $2bn (£1.34bn) to the Treasury through the levy, .
Labour's policy of raising an extra £800m through the Bank Levy to pay for expanding free childcare for working parents of three- and four-year olds was unveiled in 2013.
Ed Balls, the Shadow Chancellor, repeated the commitment in a speech on Tuesday.
Sources close to the party said on Tuesday that the party was minded to press ahead with a further hike to the tax, which would mean that it could raise in total more than £3.5bn annually under a Labour Government.
HSBC historically conducted a review of its UK domicile every three years, but has departed from that timetable because of the scale of uncertainty about post-crisis banking reforms.
Rules to require the separation of UK lenders' retail and investment banking arms prompted HSBC to announce last month that its ring-fenced operation will be based in Birmingham.
Douglas Flint, HSBC's chairman, last year wrote to the Chancellor and Bank of England Governor Mark Carney urging them to delay the implementation of ring-fencing until the outcome of a competition probe into parts of the industry.
HSBC, which has faced a firestorm of criticism in the last two months over historical tax evasion at its Swiss private bank, would find the relocation of its legal headquarters fiendishly complex and expensive.
Investors in Standard Chartered, the London-based emerging markets lender, have called on its new management to look again at the issue.
Britain's biggest banks have collectively racked up a £39bn bill as a result of financial scandals over just three years, a report has found.
A study by auditors KPMG covered financial results from Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), Lloyds, Barclays, HSBC and Standard Chartered from 2011 to 2014.
It found that more than 60% of their total profits were wiped out by customer remediation, conduct failings and fines over the period, with costs totaling £38.7bn.
Conduct costs last year stood at £9.9bn, just 8% down on 2013, with almost half of the cash relating to the continuing cost of Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) and interest rate hedging mis-selling.
However, the report showed the banks were "in a healthier shape and returning to profitability" in 2014.
Video:BBA: Banks Being Driven Overseas
Their combined pre-tax profits reached £20.6bn, up £7.9bn or 62%.
The boost in profits was against a backdrop of total income falling by 12% to £127.2bn, as banks focused on less riskier activities in the wake of the financial crisis.
It meant, the study said, that shareholders were still getting a low return on equity.
Head of financial services at KPMG, Bill Michael, said: "Banks are undergoing a once-in-a-lifetime change, as they face evolving regulation, technology and society's expectations.
"At the same time, competition is increasing as new challenger banks and peer-to-peer platforms offer customers new ways to borrow and deposit and technology-led services such as PayPal and e-wallets change the way money is transferred and goods and services paid for.
"Domestically focused banking arms are focused on restructuring their business. Those with active investment banking arms face significant challenges around ring-fencing their retail and investment banking activities, which will become mandatory in 2019.
"The UK as a financial centre has largely been built on non-retail banking. If further regulation creates too many strictures on non-retail banking, the industry risks losing its global relevance."
One of Europe's leading technology investors is to begin vetting buyers for a £100m takeover of MedicAnimal, an online supplier of petcare products.
Sky News understands that Balderton Capital has engaged bankers at Altium Capital to prepare an auction of the company, which it took control of in May 2012.
MedicAnimal describes itself as the UK's leading online pet health retailer, having seen sales and profitability grow rapidly in recent years amid a boom in consumer spending on animal-care.
Insiders said that MedicAnimal could fetch a price of between £60m and £100m just three years after Balderton and fellow investment firm Iris Capital paid £10m for a controlling stake.
Balderton is one of the most successful investors in European technology businesses, counting Nutmeg, the wealth management business, and payday lender Wonga among the companies in which it has held stakes.
Analysts suggested that Pets At Home, the publicly listed retailer, could examine a potential offer for MedicAnimal.
A formal sale process, which is expected to get under way in the coming months, will follow last week's sale of Partner in Pet Food, a Hungarian own-label manufacturer which supplies retailers including Tesco, for approximately £300m.
MedicAnimal is chaired by David Giampaolo, a leading figure in the UK's private equity industry and the chief executive of Pi Capital, an invitation-only networking and investment club.
In August 2012, the company expanded with the acquisition of Petmeds.co.uk, a rival online store for animal medicines, food and grooming products.
Mintel, the market research firm, forecast in 2012 that the UK petcare market, which was valued at £2.7bn in 2011, would grow by 20% by 2016.
Based in London, MedicAnimal was launched in 2007, and now employs more than 200 people.
Speaking after its takeover of Petmeds, Ivan Retzignac, the MedicAnimal founder and chief executive, said: "The average lifetime cost of owning a dog or cat can easily exceed £17,000 and so MedicAnimal is committed to offering the best products at the lowest prices.
"On average our products are 40% cheaper than those sold by vets or high street retailers and, as we scale our business internationally, we can make first class pet care more affordable than ever."
Balderton and Altium both declined to comment on Tuesday.
