• Follow this simple rule if you can't decide whether to buy or lease a new car

    Follow this simple rule if you can't decide whether to buy or lease a new car
    Buy or lease? It's the question I get asked most often by people who aren't car experts.
    Headed into the summer selling season and with road trips kicking into gear, a lot of folks are probably asking themselves that question right now.
    I've offered some convoluted and customized responses in the past, but over the last year or so, I've concluded that you can deal with this inquiry by applying a simple rule.
    Here it is: Don't buy a car if all you want is transportation.
    Explaining the rule is a&
  • The 10 largest pharmaceutical companies in the world (PFE, AMGN, NVS, ROG, MRK, SNY, JNJ, GILD, GSK, ABBV)

    The 10 largest pharmaceutical companies in the world (PFE, AMGN, NVS, ROG, MRK, SNY, JNJ, GILD, GSK, ABBV)
    The pharmaceutical industry is among the biggest in the world, containing some of the largest companies in the world.
    The drugmakers are in charge of developing, making, and later marketing treatments for everything from cancer to common antibiotics. As a whole, the industry has come under fire in the past few years over the rising prices of some of these medications, especially for companies that don't spend as much researching cutting-edge new treatments. 
    Here's what the largest pha
  • STOCKS GO NOWHERE: Here's what you need to know (ANF, SNAP)

    STOCKS GO NOWHERE: Here's what you need to know (ANF, SNAP)
    Stocks closed almost flat on Monday ahead of earnings season, which kicks into full gear on Tuesday when PepsiCo reports. 
    Here's the scoreboard: 
    Dow: 21,408.52, -5.82, (-0.03%)
    S&P 500: 2,427.43, +2.25, (0.09%)
    Nasdaq: 6,176.39, +23.31, (0.38%)
    Abercrombie & Fitch gave up on trying to sell itself after talks with several suitors. "The A&F board of directors determined that the best path to enhance value for stockholders is the rigorous execution of our business
  • Snap sinks below its IPO price for the first time (SNAP)

    Snap sinks below its IPO price for the first time (SNAP)
    Snap, the parent company of Snapchat, just dropped below its IPO price of $17 for the first time.
    Snap shares have been bumping around their IPO price ever since closing at that level on June 15. The stock has never fallen below the $17 mark.
    Snap debuted at $17 and first began trading at $24. It reached its all-time high of $27.09 on March 3, one day after its IPO. It's now down 37% from there. 
    The company is struggling to innovate faster than its competitors. Facebook has been copyi
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  • The founder of a $5 billion hedge fund just kicked off a summer music tour

    The founder of a $5 billion hedge fund just kicked off a summer music tour
    Pete Muller, the founder of $5 billion hedge fund PDT Partners, kicked off a summer tour across Europe with a performance Thursday, July 6, in New York.
    You might remember Muller from his concert last year during which he performed a song about a divorced hedge fund billionaire named Ken who had recently rejoined the dating scene. Thursday's event, at Manhattan's Cutting Room, was a decidedly more muted affair.
    Muller played songs from his repertoire, such as "Almost" – a "Pete Muller
  • Walmart is getting crushed ahead of Prime Day (WMT, AMZN)

    Walmart is getting crushed ahead of Prime Day (WMT, AMZN)
    Amazon's big annual Prime Day sale starts after the closing bell on Monday, and Walmart investors are quaking in their boots.
    Shares of Walmart have fallen 2.35% on Monday ahead of Amazon's in-house holiday. The online giant is set to pull in $1 billion during the 30-hour sale.
    Walmart has been trying to beef up its online retail business recently. It bought Jet.com last year and has been buying up small fashion retailers in an attempt to spur online orders. It's been a successful strategy
  • Amazon shares are threatening to reclaim $1,000 ahead of Prime Day (AMZN)

    Amazon shares are threatening to reclaim $1,000 ahead of Prime Day (AMZN)
    Amazon created its own holiday to get shoppers spending like mad, and it starts a few hours after the closing bell Monday.
    Prime Day is Amazon's version of Black Friday, with tons of deals available only to those who subscribe to Amazon Prime.
    The company is expected to pull in $1 billion in just 30 hours, according to JPMorgan. That would be a 55% increase compared to last year's Prime Day. China, India, and Mexico are newly included this year.
    The one-day sales bump is nice, but even more imp
  • Senate Republicans are lining up for a 2nd try on their healthcare bill

    Senate Republicans are lining up for a 2nd try on their healthcare bill
    Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is planning to roll out an updated version of the Senate GOP healthcare bill Thursday, according to a new report.
    The move comes as leadership hopes the Senate can bring the bill, the Better Care Reconciliation (BCRA), to the floor for a vote by the end of next week, according to Politico's Burgess Everett, Jennifer Haberkorn, and Josh Dawsey.
    A new score from the Congressional Budget Office would be released as soon as Monday under this
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  • JPMORGAN: Here's how to profit from Amazon Prime Day (AMZN, WMT)

    JPMORGAN: Here's how to profit from Amazon Prime Day (AMZN, WMT)
    Amazon is offering thousands of discounts for its annual Prime Day event starting on Monday evening in the US. 
    Like many other things Amazon does, this should unnerve its competitors including Walmart, the no. 1 brick-and-mortar retailer in the US. 
    "A successful and well-publicized Prime Day may weigh on shares of Walmart as investors remain sensitive to Amazon’s competitive threat," said Shawn Quigg, an equity derivatives strategist at JP Morgan, in a note on Monday. 
  • Nvidia is set to dominate the '4th tectonic shift' in computing (NVDA)

    Nvidia is set to dominate the '4th tectonic shift' in computing (NVDA)
    Decades of work have paid off for Nvidia. The next computer revolution is here, and the company is set to dominate its competition, according to Jefferies."IBM dominated in the 1950's with the mainframe computer, DEC in the mid 1960's with the transition to mini-computers, Microsoft and Intel as PCs ramped, and finally Apple and Google as cell phones became ubiquitous," Mark Lipacis wrote in a note to clients. "We believe the next tectonic shift is happening now and NVDA stands to benefit t
  • How Microsoft, Virgin and EA are approaching employer branding

    How Microsoft, Virgin and EA are approaching employer branding
    Employer branding is increasingly being recognised as an important aspect of marketing. Marketing Week’s Best Places to Work list in May this year attempted to uncover some of the best companies to work for as a marketer, with brands including BT, Sky, McDonald’s and PepsiCo making the grade.
    READ MORE: Employer Brands 2017
    Yet for many brands, the employer aspect remains an afterthought. According to analysis by LinkedIn, just three of the top UK brands (as ranked in Millward Brown
  • No quick win: Brands must commit to long-term wellbeing goals to drive change

    No quick win: Brands must commit to long-term wellbeing goals to drive change
    Committing to wellbeing is no short-term fix and must be hardwired into the way organisations operate.
    It is for this reason that Direct Line Group’s marketing director Mark Evans believes businesses need to consider how the short-lived nature of CMO tenure is affecting wellbeing.
    “Because CMOs have a short tenure they focus on the short-term results aspect,” he argues, adding that only with time in the job do senior leaders commit to “people building” as opposed to
  • Subway, Havaianas, Game: Everything that matters this morning

    Subway, Havaianas, Game: Everything that matters this morning
    Subway secures lead sponsorship of NFL in the UK
    Subway has secured lead sponsorship of the NFL in the UK and Ireland over the next three years.
    In its position as presenting partner the sandwich chain will see its branding integrated across the NFL’s major events and initiatives, including the London Games, the league’s schools programme and NFL UK Live fan events throughout the UK.
    Subway plans to stage NFL themed events across its 2,500 stores in the UK and Ireland, as well as pro
  • M&S, Amazon, Benetton: Everything that matters this morning

    M&S, Amazon, Benetton: Everything that matters this morning
    M&S slows clothing decline in first quarter
    Marks & Spencer has made progress in arresting a long-term decline in its struggling general merchandise division.
    Today (11 July), it reported clothing sales were down by 1.2% on a like-for-like basis during the 13 weeks to 1 July, an improvement on the much steeper 5.8% fall it posted during its fourth quarter. Total sales in the GM division were down 0.5% to £2.3bn.
    It was better news on food, with the upmarket retailer&
  • Lidl, BT, 20th Century Fox: Everything that matters this morning

    Lidl, BT, 20th Century Fox: Everything that matters this morning
    Lidl plots £1.5bn UK expansion
    Lidl is stepping up its UK expansion plans as it looks to make it easier for the 50% of the population that don’t shop with the retailer to visit one of its stores. In an interview with The Telegraph, UK boss Christian Härtnagel says the plan is roll out “at least one shope a week” and that it has already agreed sites for between 50 and 60 shops over the next two years. That will mean an investment of at least £1.45bn.
    “That
  • Formula 1, Vice, Jaguar Land Rover: Everything that matters this morning

    Formula 1, Vice, Jaguar Land Rover: Everything that matters this morning
    F1 pens a deal with SnapchatFormula 1 fans will now be able to enjoy Grand Prix coverage via Snapchat.
    Starting this Sunday with coverage of the 2017 Formula 1 Rolex British Grand Prix, races will be available via Our Stories on Snapchat’s curated editorial platform, Discover.
    The deal with Snap Inc is Formula 1’s first commercial collaboration with a major mobile platform and is part of its strategy to develop its digital offering and attract a younger audience.
    Frank Arthofer, hea
  • Coca-Cola, Deliveroo, Google: Everything that matters this morning

    Coca-Cola, Deliveroo, Google: Everything that matters this morning
    Coca-Cola reveals AI-powered vending machine app
    Coca-Cola has upped its focus on AI with an AI-powered vending machine app.
    Greg Chambers, the global director of digital innovation at Coca-Cola revealed the news at MB 2017, as he explained how AI is going to power next-generation vending machines.
    “My goal is to push boundaries and push the brand forward. AI is the foundation for everything we do. We create intelligent experiences. AI is the kernel that powers that experience,” Cha
  • P&G’s Marc Pritchard urges marketers to ‘go layers deeper’ to gain digital transparency

    P&G’s Marc Pritchard urges marketers to ‘go layers deeper’ to gain digital transparency
    Marc Pritchard was absent from the recent list of “the world’s most influential CMOs” published by Forbes. Even if his impact on brand performance and awareness – two of the four criteria for inclusion –  could be questioned by the most critical of observers,  his “internal and external influence” and impact on peers, could not.
    Procter & Gamble’s chief brand officer cast a long shadow over the marketing world in January whe
  • Hack your commute: Memorise your next presentation

    Hack your commute: Memorise your next presentation
    You’ve probably wondered how some people make public speaking look effortless. The answer is usually that they’ve had practice and know exactly what they’re going to say.
    Whether you’re presenting to your boss, the board or a conference, memorising a talk makes you more confident because you know you’re prepared. It also makes you appear knowledgeable because you’re not devoting mental energy to forming your next sentence.
    The memorising process seems dauntin
  • What is the Future of Strategy?

    What is the Future of Strategy?
    GLOBAL: Agency planners are generally gaining influence within the marketing industry, but they are also facing threats ranging from cost-cutting clients to the fragmentation of the strategic role, according to WARC's new Future of Strategy report. ...
  • Social media giants seek World Cup rights

    Social media giants seek World Cup rights
    NEW YORK: Facebook, Twitter and Snap are reported to be trying to buy the online rights to video highlights from the 2018 FIFA World Cup tournament.The social media companies have approached 21st Century Fox with an offer of tens of millions of...
  • Optus encourages 'calculated risk' in innovation

    Optus encourages 'calculated risk' in innovation
    SYDNEY: Optus, one of Australia's biggest telco brands, is encouraging teams to take "calculated risks" to drive innovation in a traditional but highly competitive category, according to a senior marketer at the company.That is because a fear of...
  • Luxury menswear grows with social media

    Luxury menswear grows with social media
    NEW YORK: Luxury menswear has traditionally lagged behind womenswear, but that is already beginning to change as social media platforms encourage men to try out luxury clothing in new and innovate ways, industry experts have said.Alexa Tonner,...
  • Google funds 'robot journalism' project

    Google funds 'robot journalism' project
    LONDON: Press Association, the national news agency for the UK and Ireland, has received a €706,000 grant from Google's Digital News Initiative (DNI) to develop an automated news service that will produce 30,000 stories a month.PA
  • Global mobile adspend hit $83bn in 2016

    Global mobile adspend hit $83bn in 2016
    GLOBAL: Global mobile adspend increased an impressive 60.5% to €63bn ($83bn) in 2016, up from €39bn ($52bn) in 2015, according to the latest figures from the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) Europe.Brussels-based IAB Europe, along...
  • Amazon plans major push into Indian groceries

    Amazon plans major push into Indian groceries
    NEW DELHI: Hot on the heels of its $13.7bn acquisition of US supermarket chain Whole Foods, e-commerce giant Amazon is planning a major expansion into India's grocery market, the world's third largest with $428bn of sales.Amazon currently operates...

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