Sales & Marketing news

• PAUL RYAN: The CBO report 'actually exceeded my expectations'

  13-03-2017 23:40 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  House Speaker Paul Ryan said on Monday that he was "encouraged" by the Congressional Budget Office's report on the American Health Care Act, the GOP's bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.
  In an interview with Fox News' Bret Baier, Ryan sought to downplay that the report showed 24 million more could be uninsured under the AHCA.
  The Wisconsin Republican said the estimates were better than he expected.
  "If you read this entire report, I'm pretty encouraged by it, and it actually exc
  
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• One stock helped decimate Bill Ackman's hedge fund performance (VRX)

  13-03-2017 23:40 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  Bill Ackman just announced that he has sold out of his hedge fund's Valeant stock holding, a position that has cost the fund dearly.
  Ackman's firm, Pershing Square Capital, invested in Valeant two years ago. Later that year, the drugmaker started to run into a spate of problems that wiped more than 90% off of its market value. Reuters estimated that the investment caused Ackman to suffer roughly $3 billion in losses. 
  Pershing Square isn't the only hedge fund that had made a big bet on
  
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• A war of words between 2 of America's stock exchanges has taken a strange twist

  13-03-2017 23:18 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  The war of words between the New York Stock Exchange and IEX, America's newest stock exchange, just took a strange turn.
  Back in January, NYSE announced plans to introduce a 350-microsecond delay in trading on its market for small-cap companies. The delay would apply only to NYSE American, the small market previously known at NYSE MKT, and would be similar to the so-called speed bump introduced by IEX.
  These speed bumps are intended to slow trading down and level the pla
  
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• 'We disagree strenuously': Trump team attack CBO's unflattering 'Trumpcare' report

  13-03-2017 22:51 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price and Office of Management and Budget Director Mick Mulvaney attacked to the Congressional Budget Office's report analyzing the effects of the American Health Care Act. 
  The report estimated that 14 million more people would be uninsured in 2018 under the AHCA compared to the current Affordable Care Act — and that number could increase to 24 million by 2026.
  "We disagree strenuously with the report that was put out," Price sai
  
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• A massive number of flights have been canceled ahead of this week's expected blizzard in the Northeast

  13-03-2017 22:27 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  A huge winter storm is expected to slam the US Northeast this week, bringing a foot or more of snow to Washington, DC; New York City; Boston; Philadelphia; and other cities.
  According to FlightAware.com, airlines have cancelled more than 1,500 flights today with another 5,000 or so flights cancelled for Tuesday as a preemptive measure.
  For passengers ticketed for travel into or out of the Northeastern US this week, please visit your airline's website for more information on cancellations and re-
  
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• The GOP's Obamacare replacement is going to disproportionately affect one group

  13-03-2017 22:06 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  The Congressional Budget Office on Monday released its report on the American Health Care Act, the healthcare bill proposed by House Republicans.
  The CBO estimated that under the Republican healthcare bill as many as 24 million more people could be uninsured and the federal budget deficit would shrink by more than $300 billion over the next decade.
  As part of the report, the nonpartisan agency also detailed its estimates for what premiums might look like under the proposed legislation.
  The net p
  
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• The head of HR at a top investment bank explains the importance of soft skills on Wall Street

  13-03-2017 21:55 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  The ongoing digitization of the financial services industry has increased the demand for workers with hard technical skills on Wall Street.
  But Liz Lieberman doesn't think this spike in demand for tech skills will make soft skills less important.
  Lieberman recently joined RBC Capital Markets in October 2016 as managing director and Head of US Human Resources. And before that she held top HR roles at a number of high-profile Wall Street firms including the Royal Ban
  
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• Bill Ackman is selling his entire stake in Valeant Pharmaceuticals

  13-03-2017 21:29 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  Bill Ackman is leaving Valeant Pharmaceuticals.
  The billionaire founder of hedge fund Pershing Square, who was once the company's biggest cheerleader, has sold his investment and will step down from the Valeant's board until its upcoming election.
  The stock has fallen about 9% in after-hours trading on this news.
  Jefferies will be handling the transaction for Ackman, selling 27.2 million shares valued at $306,400,000, or $11.10 to $11.40 per share. Sources tell Business Insider that Jefferies i
  
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• $1.2 billion security startup Okta files for its long-awaited IPO

  13-03-2017 21:27 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  Okta, a security startup valued at $1.2 billion, has filed registration papers for its long-awaited initial public offering, the latest in a string of tech startups looking to tap the public markets following an IPO drought. 
  The company said on Monday that it plans to list shares on the Nasdaq exchange under the ticker "OKTA," but did not disclose how much money it plans to raise or the valuation at which it is seeking to go public. 
  Okta's S-1 filing reveals that the company has
  
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• $13 billion tech titan Citrix is reportedly looking for a buyer again (CTXS)

  13-03-2017 21:23 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  Citrix, the $13 billion cloud computing tech company, is working with Goldman Sachs to negotiate a possible sale, reports Bloomberg, citing anonymous sources.
  This isn't the first time that Citrix has shopped itself around: in late 2015, and under pressure from activist shareholder Elliott Management, Citrix was said to have unsuccessfully tried to find a buyer.
  This time out, reports Bloomberg, Citrix is also open to making a deal with private equity firms — but because the comp
  
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• Party City is defying the odds in an abysmal environment for retail (PRTY)

  13-03-2017 21:14 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  Party City has a reason to celebrate. 
  A note out March 13 by a group of Credit Suisse analysts led by Seth Sigman says the firm should expect numerous growth opportunities in 2017 thanks to "healthy underlying trends" and a unique business model. 
  The bank's target price for Party City (PRTY) stands at $19.00, above its current $13.98.
  That might sound surprising considering the numerous pressure points that have cut into the bottom line of many brick-and-mortar stores. 
  
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• The CBO says as many as 24 million more Americans could be uninsured under 'Trumpcare'

  13-03-2017 21:09 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  The Congressional Budget Office on Monday estimated that as many as 24 million more people would be uninsured and that the federal budget deficit would shrink by more than $300 billion over the next decade under the Republican healthcare bill.
  The findings came in a much-anticipated report detailing the possible effects of the American Health Care Act, the GOP leadership's plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act.
  The report estimated the effects of the AHCA in several areas, including
  
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• Natural gas spikes as a blizzard bears down on the Northeast

  13-03-2017 20:10 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  After a rough start to the year and a brutal 2016, natural gas prices are making a comeback. Since hitting a low around $2.65 per million Btu in late February, gas has rebounded to $3.04.
  The jump has been attributed to more usage than expected and revised weather predictions. Although much of the United States enjoyed a much warmer than usual end of February, a massive blizzard is projected to strike the East Coast Monday night and Tuesday morning.
  Some commenters, like for
  
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• It's time to start paying attention to the dot plot

  13-03-2017 19:52 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  The Federal Reserve has been infamously overoptimistic about the US economy in recent years, prompting them to frequently revise down their forecasts for economic growth as the year progresses.
  Yet Wall Street will let bygones be bygones this week as the Fed looks set to raise interest rates by another quarter point. That’s because, with the widely-telegraphed rate increase all but baked into expectations, the market’s attention is now turning to the projected path of interest rates
  
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• BUCKLE UP: The stock market could get crazy

  13-03-2017 19:05 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  We could be headed for a spike in volatility, according to UBS.
  For the majority of the last 100+ trading days, the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) has hovered around 11, a very low level.
  UBS sees a perfect storm of factors converging that will end this unusually long period of subdued volatility, according to a note circulated to clients.
  UBS believes that the Federal Reserve's likely rate hike on March 15 and expected weak economic data in the first quarter of 2017 will drive
  
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• 53 photos of Russia's decade after the collapse of the Soviet Union

  13-03-2017 18:57 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  In 1991, Boris Yeltsin stood atop a tank in front of the parliament building in Moscow and called on the people to resist the communist hardliners in the August coup.
  Several months later, at the end of the year, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev resigned, leaving Yeltsin as the president of Russia.
  Fast forward to December 31, 1999: Yeltsin grabbed the world by surprise once again when he resigned during a live televised address.
  In between those shock events, Russia went thro
  
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• 5 killer stats to start your week

  13-03-2017 14:25
  
  The post 5 killer stats to start your week appeared first on Marketing Week.
  
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• Sign up to our webinar on the true value of personalisation

  13-03-2017 12:45
  
  Most marketing clouds cannot deliver on the promise of personalisation because of siloed organisations, disconnected data and the reality of personalising offers and next best actions with separate rules and technology. Many marketers have yet to see how truly powerful personalisation can be, or how limited they really are when trying to tailor communications and messages for each customer. Until now. What if the number of options you had for responsive personalisation wasn’t two or three
  
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• Improving transparency ‘is not just down to Google’, says new UK boss

  13-03-2017 12:10
  
  Google managing director for UK and Ireland Ronan HarrisGoogle’s new boss for the UK and Ireland Ronan Harris has defended the company’s record on ad viewability and insisted that other stakeholders in the digital economy must play their part in improving standards.
  Harris faced a direct challenge over ad safety from WPP CEO Sir Martin Sorrell during an IPA event last week. Sorrell claimed that Google was being evasive about how its algorithms and advertising technology works, despi
  
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• Improving digital transparency ‘is not down to one company’, says Google’s new UK boss

  13-03-2017 12:10
  
  Google managing director for UK and Ireland Ronan HarrisGoogle’s new boss for the UK and Ireland Ronan Harris has defended the company’s record on ad viewability and insisted that other stakeholders in the digital economy must play their part in improving standards.
  Harris faced a direct challenge over ad safety from WPP CEO Sir Martin Sorrell during an IPA event last week. Sorrell claimed that Google was being evasive about how its algorithms and advertising technology works, despi
  
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• Unilever, M&S and Ikea: Everything that matters this morning

  13-03-2017 08:30
  
  Unilever set to make more aggressive cost cuts
  Unilever is considering making medium-sized acquisitions and more aggressive cost cuts as part of a sweeping review. The assessment was done following the attempted Kraft Heinz’s $143bn (£117bn) takeover bid, which could have seen the Anglo-Dutch company swallowed up by the US group.
  Graeme Pitkethly, Unilever’s CFO, told an industry conference a week after the approach: “This has certainly been a trigger moment for Unilever.
  
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• Unilever, Facebook, Ikea: Everything that matters this morning

  13-03-2017 08:30
  
  Unilever set to make more aggressive cost cuts
  Unilever is considering making medium-sized acquisitions and more aggressive cost cuts as part of a sweeping review.
  The FT says the results of which will be announced next month. The review was done following the attempted Kraft Heinz’s $143bn (£117bn) takeover bid, which could have seen the Anglo-Dutch company swallowed up by the US group.
  Graeme Pitkethly, Unilever’s CFO, told an industry conference a week after the approach: &l
  
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• Sainsbury’s, Apple and Nike: Everything that matters this morning

  13-03-2017 08:30
  
  Sainsbury’s sales fall at start of year
  Sales have fallen at Sainsbury’s in the first nine weeks of the year.
  Like-for-like sales fell by 0.5% in the period to 11 March.
  However, newly-acquired Argos reported strong growth, as its sales rose 4.3%, resulting in a 0.3% increase across Sainsbury’s group as a whole.
  The Supermarket’s chief executive, Mike Coupe, said the impact of rising cost pressures “remains uncertain”.
  READ MORE: Sainsbury’s sales
  
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• Google, The Guardian and Amazon: Everything that matters this morning

  13-03-2017 08:30
  
  The Guardian pulls its ads from Google
  The Guardian has removed all of its online advertising from Google and YouTube after ads for its membership scheme were placed alongside extremist material.
  It is said an agency acting on the media group’s behalf used Google’s AdX ad exchange to place the ads, which appeared alongside content including YouTube videos of American white nationalists, a hate preacher banned in the UK and a controversial Islamist preacher.
  The Guardian’s chie
  
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• Facebook, M&S and Mad Men: Everything that matters this morning

  13-03-2017 08:30
  
  Facebook clamps down on developers using it for surveillanceFacebook says it will ban developers from using its user data for surveillance purposes.
  According to the social media giant, a series of new updates, which also apply to other Facebook-owned platforms such as Instagram, will “more clearly explain” its policies against surveillance tools developed for law enforcement purposes.
  In a post on Facebook, its deputy chief privacy officer Rob Sherman cited
  
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• Costa, The Body Shop & fake news: Everything that matters this morning

  13-03-2017 08:30
  
   
  Web inventor targets fake news
  Tim Berners-Lee has issued a stark warning about the future of the world wide web in an open letter to mark the 28th anniversary of his invention.
  His three main concerns centre on the control of personal data, the rise of ‘fake news’ and the need for tighter regulation around political advertising.
  He said: “We must push back against misinformation by encouraging gatekeepers such as Google and Facebook to continue their efforts to co
  
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• The shrinking and emerging demographics marketers need to know

  13-03-2017 08:00
  
  The life trajectories of different demographics across the UK are changing. The challenge of securing a foothold on the property ladder has transformed Britain into a country of renters, spending their money on cars and holidays rather than investing in their houses.
  Over the past decade over one million people who would previously have bought houses, have been forced to rent instead, according to a five-year study of UK consumer financial habits by Experian.
  The research shows a significant pol
  
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• Zoomin.TV sees Asia's digital potential

  13-03-2017 01:00
  SINGAPORE: Zoomin.TV, the video content provider headquartered in Amsterdam, already has a small team operating in China, but plans to expand into other Asian markets because of the region's embrace of mobile and digital.That's according to...
  
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• WhatsApp tests business messaging tool

  13-03-2017 01:00
  SAN FRANCISCO: WhatsApp, the messaging service owned by Facebook, is reportedly testing a system that would allow businesses to talk directly to its one billion users.According to communications about the project
  
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• Scott McDonald is new ARF President/CEO

  13-03-2017 01:00
  NEW YORK: Scott McDonald, who spent 14 years as Condé Nast's SVP/Research and eight years as Time-Warner's Director of Research, has become President/CEO of the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF).The organization has been supporting the...
  
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• Scott McDonald is new ARF President & CEO

  13-03-2017 01:00
  NEW YORK: Scott McDonald, who spent 14 years as Condé Nast's SVP/Research and eight years as Time-Warner's Director of Research, has become President/CEO of the Advertising Research Foundation (ARF).The organization has been supporting the...
  
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• It's time for brands to invest in Cuba

  13-03-2017 01:00
  HAVANA: Although the US trade embargo on Cuba still exists, a new report from Kantar Millward Brown advises international brands to take a serious look at the opportunities the country presents.WPP's global research agency, which produces the...
  
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• Education can cut video piracy

  13-03-2017 01:00
  BRUSSELS: Education could play an important role in reducing video piracy, according to a global survey that found nearly half (48%) of consumers would stop or watch less pirated content after learning the damage it causes to the media industry. ...
  
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• Digital payments flourish post-demonetisation

  13-03-2017 01:00
  MUMBAI: New research from Kantar has revealed that both Indian retailers and consumers are moving toward digital payments in the post-demonetisation era, particularly for food purchases and transportation.In Kantar's survey of Indian retailers,...
  
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• Best practice for programmatic native ads

  13-03-2017 01:00
  LONDON: Programmatic native advertising has many advantages, but it has also been criticised for blurring the lines between content and ads, says a leading industry figure who recommends five core principles to keep consumers engaged.Ruth Zohrer,...
  
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