Sales & Marketing news

• Trump's budget contains some glaringly simple math errors

  25-05-2017 22:51 via feedproxy.google.com
  The White House released its budget proposal for the 2018 fiscal year earlier this week, and it includes massive cuts to domestic programs and increased defense spending.
  The administration touted its projection that the budget would be on a path to balance within 10 years. But that assumption relies on a few basic errors that economists say undermine the entire document.
  Double-counting
  The budget, economists say, "double counts" how proposed tax cuts would affect its bottom line.
  The Trump adm
  
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• Under Armour is still paying for a mistake that will take years to fix (UA)

  25-05-2017 22:44 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  Under Armour is not out of the woods yet.
  The company, whose stock has tumbled 30% so far this year, reported its first-ever operating loss in the first quarter of 2017.
  Analysts following the company have been a bit harsh on the company, mostly criticizing the company for missing athletic apparel's shift to more fashionable clothing.
  Giving Under Armour a "neutral" rating, analyst Christopher Svezia wrote that the company's more technical clothing offerings were out of step with the lifest
  
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• STOCKS HIT ALL-TIME HIGHS, OIL TUMBLES: Here's what you need to know

  25-05-2017 22:00 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  The Nasdaq Composite and the S&P 500 indexes hit their all-time closing records on Thursday after another day of solid gains. The Dow Jones industrial average remained above 21,000, but still shy of its record. 
  Crude oil, on the other hand, tumbled after the conclusion of the meeting agreed to extend production cuts for nine months.
  We've got all the headlines, but first, the scoreboard:
  Dow: 21,082.64 +70.22, (+0.33%)
  S&P 500: 2,415.16, +10.34, (+0.43%)
  Nasdaq: 6,203.44,
  
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• THE BOTTOM LINE: A top Wall Street strategist says there's nothing to worry about and we examine bitcoin's surge

  25-05-2017 21:24 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  This week's topics include:
  Ford got a new CEO this week. We discuss what this means for Ford and what it says about the short-term incentives of US companies.
  Henry Blodget examines bitcoin's surge higher. The virtual currency has more than doubled in the past two months, and Blodget says it could go to $1 million just as easily as it could go to $0. Because it has no intrinsic value!
  We are joined by top Wall Street strategist Jonathan Golub, who debunks all your market fears. Golub is ch
  
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• Here are all the ways Trump's budget screws over young people

  25-05-2017 21:21 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  President Trump released his budget this week and, aside from seeming to be written for an imaginary country without our very real problems, it totally screws young people.
  We're going to talk about how.
  The way this White House writes it, we're back in the depths of a financial crisis. This time, though, we haven't a penny to spare on stimulating the economy and job growth — in this imaginary recession, we can only cut benefits for the sick, the poor, and the young people that will drive
  
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• Wilbur Ross has links to Russia that he won't answer questions about

  25-05-2017 21:17 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  The investigation into Russia's influence over Donald Trump's campaign has gained such momentum in recent weeks that full-throated arguments in the President's defense are starting to sound feeble.Consider the loud protests from Trump's commerce secretary — the 79-year old billionaire steel magnate Wilbur Ross —who chose to deliver a scathing assessment of the probe even as it kicked into higher gear with the appointment of a special prosecutor.
  "This investigation is a sideshow
  
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• A legendary hedge fund that raised $5 billion in 24 hours expects 'all hell to break loose'

  25-05-2017 20:29 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  A hedge fund led by an investing legend expects "all hell to break loose."
  Billionaire Paul Singer's Elliott Management, which raised $5 billion in less than 24 hours earlier this month, says it has been building up its cash reserve to deploy during future market turmoil.
  The hedge fund has been sounding the alarm for some time. But its most recent letter sets out why the fund decided to raise additional funds.
  "We think that it is a good time to build a significant amount of dry powder," Ellio
  
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• Paul Ryan gets grilled about latest unflattering CBO report on GOP healthcare bill

  25-05-2017 19:54 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  House Speaker Paul Ryan was bombarded with questions Thursday about the Congressional Budget Office's latest report on the GOP's healthcare bill.
  Ryan pointed to the good news about the American Health Care Act in the nonpartisan agency’s report, which estimated that premiums would decrease for healthy people and that the federal budget deficit would decline if the bill were to become law.
  "I'm actually comforted by the CBO report because it shows, yeah, we're going to lower premiums," Ry
  
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• Bitcoin blew past its record and soared to $2,800 in just a few hours — and now it's plunging

  25-05-2017 19:28 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  The bitcoin rally looks like it's finally running out of steam.
  The cryptocurrency blew past $2,500 and nearly touched $2,800 for the first time on Thursday, before giving all the gains back.
  It hit a high of $2,799, up $360, before surrendering its gains. The cryptocurrency is now trading down 9.2% at $2,230 a coin. It has gained in 26 of the past 29 sessions, tacking on more than 107% over that time.
  Bitcoin had climbed as much as 25% since Tuesday's close, propelled by news that the Digital
  
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• Bitcoin is going wild — here's what the cryptocurrency is all about

  25-05-2017 18:56 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  Bitcoin is a currency just like the US dollar or Mexican peso. It's also back in the headlines after soaring in value. One bitcoin was worth $2,800 on May 25, up from $1,200 at the end of April.
  In countries that accept it, you can buy groceries and clothes just as you would with the local currency. Only bitcoin is entirely digital; no one is carrying actual bitcoins around in their pocket.
  Bitcoin is divorced from governments and central banks. It's organized through a network known as a block
  
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• Amazon is on the verge of hitting $1,000 a share for the first time (AMZN)

  25-05-2017 18:54 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  Amazon's stock is a hair away from the $1,000 mark.
  The company's shares went public on May 15, 1997, at a time when it had no clear path to profitability and bookstores like Barnes & Noble — over a century older — threatened its business.
  Amazon has now turned a profit for eight straight quarters, largely because of the strength of its cloud-computing business, Amazon Web Services.
  Its more popular, less profitable retail segment has also forced established retailers like Walmar
  
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• Marketing is changing and agencies can’t keep pace

  25-05-2017 18:17
  
  Agencies are failing to evolve at the rate brands need. That is the clear conclusion of a new study into the client/agency relationship and how to make it fit for the future of marketing.
  The report, by UK-based market intelligence firm Creativebrief, questioned 50 agency CEOs and 50 brand CMOs about the changing role of agencies. It found that 68% of agency respondents and 72% of brands believe that ‘agency structures, processes and pace of delivery’ are not developing at the same r
  
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• How marketing is changing and why agencies are not keeping pace

  25-05-2017 18:17
  
  Agencies are failing to evolve at the rate brands need. That is the clear conclusion of a new study into the client/agency relationship and how to make it fit for the future of marketing.
  The report, by UK-based market intelligence firm Creativebrief, questioned 50 agency CEOs and 50 brand CMOs about the changing role of agencies. It found that 68% of agency respondents and 72% of brands believe that ‘agency structures, processes and pace of delivery’ are not developing at the same r
  
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• Oil is getting whacked even after OPEC agrees to extend production cuts

  25-05-2017 18:05 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  Crude oil tumbled on Thursday even after OPEC and its allies extended their agreement to lower production by nine months.
  The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries — a cartel of major oil producers — extended the deal that started in January to address the global supply glut that has subdued prices. Non-OPEC producers including Russia also agreed to cut production through March, said Bijan Namdar Zanganeh, Iran’s minister of petroleum, according
  
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• Corporate America investing in itself is going to be what powers stocks higher

  25-05-2017 18:02 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  When it comes to boosting stock prices, few things are more important than the willingness of companies to invest in themselves.
  With that in mind, bullish investors will be pleased to know that corporate capital expenditure is picking up.
  Non-residential fixed investment — spending on things like machinery, factories, and commercial real estate — is up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis, according to Strategas Research Partners.
  And while much has been made about the importanc
  
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• Another senior executive is set to leave Deutsche Bank (DB)

  25-05-2017 18:01 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  John Gallo, Deutsche Bank's US fixed income sales chief, is set to leave the bank after just 20 months in the role, according to people with knowledge of the situation.
  Gallo, a former senior Lehman Brothers executive, joined Deutsche Bank in September 2015 as head of the institutional client group debt Americas. He replaced Lou Jaffe, who left after a 20-year career.
  His departure would mark the latest senior-level change in fixed-income sales at Deutsche Bank. Dixit Joshi,
  
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• Walkers Crisps social media campaign backfires as trolls hijack competition

  25-05-2017 17:58
  
  Want to win tickets to the UEFA Champions League final*? Just reply with your selfie & #WalkersWave. *T&Cs apply: https://t.co/iNcmQAw9Zy pic.twitter.com/tKQqBPy9VN
  — Walkers Crisps (@walkers_crisps) May 25, 2017A Walkers campaign has been hijacked by consumers on social media, after the brand asked people to upload a selfie to potentially win tickets to the Champion’s League final.
  The #WalkersWave campaign allows consumers to tweet in a picture, after which a video is creat
  
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• Women CEOs earn big pay, but rarely get the top jobs

  25-05-2017 17:22 via feedproxy.google.com
  Women CEOs earned big bucks last year, but there's still very few of them running the world's largest companies.
  The median pay for a female CEO was $13.1 million last year, up 9% from 2015, according to an analysis by executive data firm Equilar and The Associated Press. By comparison, male CEOs earned $11.4 million, also up 9%.
  But the number of women in CEO roles has barely budged. Just 6% of the top paid CEOs in the US last year were women, according to the analysis, a slight increase from a
  
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• Stephen Colbert unleashes on Trump's $2 trillion budget mistake

  25-05-2017 16:55 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  Of course Stephen Colbert didn't give President Donald Trump a pass on the $2 trillion math error in his proposed federal budget.
  "Well, President Trump is still on his semester abroad, getting his extra credits," Colbert said on Wednesday's "Late Show," referring to the president's international trip this past week, which began in Saudi Arabia and ends in Italy this week. "He might want to stay over there for a little while until the firemen can put out his budget proposal. Not only does nobody
  
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• How one brand is retaining its challenger status

  25-05-2017 16:48
  
  Coconut water might be growing in popularity but it is still a relatively niche product. According to IRI, household penetration has nearly doubled over the past two years, but still only stands at 7.5%. Compare that to other soft drinks, such as juice, where penetration is above 50% and its clear coconut water is still just a small player in the market.
  However, it is in strong growth. Coconut water saw sales rise by 8% in 2016, making it the second biggest contributor to growth in the chilled
  
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• Morgan Stanley's latest prediction about the future of self-driving cars should terrify automakers (TSLA)

  25-05-2017 16:46 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  A team of analysts from Morgan Stanley on Thursday published an updated list of the bank's "Shared Autonomous 30" — a group of companies that the team thinks will influence a big transition from a world in which vehicles are sold to a world in which more emphasis is placed in how much vehicles are driven.
  "The 100-year-old auto industry business model is facing unprecedented technological disruption, starting with the very definition of the market itself — moving from 'millions of un
  
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• International round-up: Budweiser’s military-themed bottles, Samsung uses VR to help the deaf

  25-05-2017 16:25
  
  Budweiser launches military-themed beer bottles in US
  Budweiser has launched a limited-edition aluminum beer bottle that’s got a camouflage design as it looks to tap into a wave of patriotism in the US this Summer.
  The beer giant says the bottle is a tribute to war veterans and military personnel, with the bottle design incorporating messages such as “We declare our gratitude” and lyrics from national anthem Star Spangled Banner.
  “Our goal is to remind Budweiser drinkers
  
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• Top Republican tears up about family after discussing the latest CBO score on the GOP healthcare bill

  25-05-2017 16:13 via feedproxy.google.com
  Rep. Mark Meadows, the leader of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, reportedly got emotional talking about family members' struggles with preexisting conditions after reading the Congressional Budget Office's analysis of the Republican healthcare bill.
  According to Haley Byrd at the Independent Journal Review and Robert King at the Washington Examiner, reporters showed Meadows a section of the Congressional Budget Office's report on the American Health Care Act, which passed the House w
  
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• Everyone is missing a critical point about Sears' first quarter profit (SHLD)

  25-05-2017 16:02 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  Sears Holdings Corp reported its first quarterly profit in nearly two years, sending shares soaring by as much as 20% Thursday morning.
  But traders appear to be overlooking one key point: the profit was the result of the sale of Sears' Craftsman brand, and the retailers' core business is showing no signs of rebounding.Sears Chief Financial Officer Robert Rieckert directly attributed the company's net income, which totaled $244 million for the quarter, to the Craftsman sale.Th
  
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• Global stocks are at record highs

  25-05-2017 15:49 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  World stocks hit record highs on Thursday and the dollar dipped after the U.S. Federal Reserve signaled caution in raising interest rates, while oil fell after top producers extended output cuts for shorter than some in markets had expected.
  The S&P 500 and Nasdaq rose to new highs in early trading. The benchmark index was up 3 points, or 0.16%, at 2,408.25 at 9:42 a.m. ET. The VIX "fear gauge" of expected volatility in the S&P 500 opened at 9.82, its lowest since May 10.
  European shares
  
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• There's a big divide in California's housing market

  25-05-2017 15:31 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  California's housing market is moving in two different directions.
  Luxury homes in the first quarter sold at the fastest pace ever for the first three months of the year. But sales of houses priced under $500,000 fell to a nine-year low, according to a recent report from CoreLogic.
  Wealthier buyers, shopping for homes worth $1 million and greater, were attracted to the housing market as the stock market rose to record highs, CoreLogic's Andrew LePage said.
  There's a historical correlation betwee
  
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• Marketers call for ‘clear and consistent’ guidance on GDPR

  25-05-2017 14:42
  
  The marketing industry has now passed an important milestone, with exactly a year to go until the biggest change to data laws in a generation comes into force, and marketers are even less confident about their readiness now than they were three months ago.
  The EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which has been adopted into UK law in spite of Brexit, will come into effect from 25 May 2018 and involves higher maximum fines of 4% of global turnover for breaches.
  READ MORE: New onl
  
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• Channel 4 to run annual competition after ‘disappointment’ over dropped diversity campaigns

  25-05-2017 14:31
  
  Maltesers won the Channel 4 competition last year.Channel 4 says it was “disappointed” with shortlisted brands dropping their diversity-based campaigns after last year’s competition, and is encouraging brands to push forward with their plans by offering a cash incentive.
  The inaugural ‘Channel 4 Annual Diversity in Advertising Award’ is a long-term commitment from the brand to improve diversity in advertising every year until “at least” 2020.
  Each year
  
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• Channel 4 launches annual competition to prevent brands ‘dropping’ diversity

  25-05-2017 14:31
  
  Maltesers won the Channel 4 competition last year.Channel 4 says it was “disappointed” with shortlisted brands dropping their diversity-based campaigns after last year’s competition, and is encouraging brands to push forward with their plans by offering a cash incentive.
  The inaugural ‘Channel 4 Annual Diversity in Advertising Award’ is a long-term commitment from the brand to improve diversity in advertising every year until “at least” 2020.
  Each year
  
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• Russell Athletic flips category norms

  25-05-2017 02:00
  
  CHICAGO: Russell Athletic, the sporting apparel group, enjoyed marketing success by subverting category norms and focusing on unlucky losers rather than triumphant winners.Matt Murphy, VP/Marketing at Russell Athletic, discussed this topic at the...
  
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• News outlets bring halo effect to brands

  25-05-2017 02:00
  
  ASIA-PACIFIC: A majority of consumers across Asia-Pacific say their perceptions of a brand are coloured by the nature of the media outlet in which its ads appears – an important consideration for marketers juggling digital reach and safety...
  
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• New brands must create fame

  25-05-2017 02:00
  
  LONDON: Needs in the 21st century are mostly satisfied, and there is no such thing as an untouched category, therefore new brands must aim to create fame at launch and capitalise on a sense of shared excitement.In a WARC Best Practice paper,
  
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• Location-based targeting hits Indian condos

  25-05-2017 02:00
  
  GURGAON: Brands in categories as diverse as auto and FMCG are exploring how they canbest reach residents of upmarket condominiums in India's cities."Residential premises are an important catchment area for most brands," said Sidharth Ghosh, CEO...
  
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• IAB Research Awards winners announced

  25-05-2017 02:00
  
  BRUSSELS: Projects ranging from cross-channel measurement to optimising cross-media execution have been recognised by the 2017 IAB Europe Research Awards, which has honoured winners in eight categories.Publicis Media came away with trophies in two...
  
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• Google steps up ad attribution

  25-05-2017 02:00
  
  SAN FRANCISCO: Google, the internet giant, is to use billions of credit card transactions in an effort to prove that ads shown to users are driving purchase, even in offline stores, in a move that has sparked criticism for its impact on user...
  
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• Global cost of bot fraud declines

  25-05-2017 02:00
  
  SAN DIEGO: The financial damage that brands suffer from bot fraud will decline this year, but further room for progress remains in this area, according to a study from the Association of National Advertisers (ANA).The latest
  
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• Europe's online adspend tops €40bn

  25-05-2017 02:00
  
  AMSTERDAM: Online advertising expenditure in Europe topped €40bn in 2016, with central and eastern European (CEE) markets contributing more to growth than ever before, according to new data.The 2016 AdEx Benchmark study from IAB Europe...
  
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• Emerging markets take over half of FMCG spend

  25-05-2017 02:00
  
  GLOBAL: Emerging markets now account for 51% of global spend on FMCG, rising from 48% in just three years, according to new figures from Kantar Worldpanel.The retail analytics firm's fifth annual Brand Footprint study, which ranks the most-chosen...
  
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