Sales & Marketing news

• If Congress fails to raise the debt ceiling, it would be 'more catastrophic to the economy than the 2008 failure of Lehman Brothers'

  30-08-2017 23:30 via feedproxy.google.com
  A new report from Beth Ann Bovino, chief US economist at S&P Global Ratings, says if the debt ceiling is breached, it would be worse for the US economy than some of the most devastating events of the financial crisis.
  "While we believe the Senate will pass its deal to raise the debt ceiling, the impact of a default by the U.S. government on its debts would be worse than the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008, devastating markets and the economy," Bovino wrote Wednesday.
  The d
  
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• Trump's corporate tax cut will raise wages for some people — just not workers

  30-08-2017 23:22 via feedproxy.google.com
  There's lies, there's damn lies, and then there's anything Donald Trump says about tax reform.
  This truth was on lurid display on Wednesday as the President laid out the broadest strokes of his upcoming tax proposal.
  "Lower taxes for American businesses means higher wages for American workers," he exclaimed.
  Except that's not the case according to a recent report from the progressive think tank Institute of Policy Studies (ISP). Trump's proposal seeks to cut corporate taxes down to bet
  
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• A senator is calling on the FBI to investigate billionaire investor and former Trump adviser Carl Icahn

  30-08-2017 23:14 via feedproxy.google.com
  A US senator is calling on the FBI to investigate billionaire investor Carl Icahn.
  Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) is calling on the investigations agency to look into whether Icahn violated federal anti-corruption law by attempting to use his role as an adviser to President Trump as a way to enrich himself.
  The billionaire investor resigned from the informal unpaid position earlier this month, citing the appointment of Neomi Rao as Administrator of the Office of Information and Re
  
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• Travis Kalanick wins an early victory in his lawsuit with an Uber investor — but the fight isn't over yet

  30-08-2017 23:12 via feedproxy.google.com
  A high stakes legal battle between Uber cofounder Travis Kalanick and one of the ride-hailing company's largest investors will now be fought behind closed doors.
  A Delaware judge on Wednesday told Uber investor Benchmark that its dispute with fellow Uber board member and former CEO Kalanick should be handled in private arbitration.
  It's a victory for Kalanick, who had requested that the court put the lawsuit on hold while an arbitrator considers the case.
  But given the acrimony and the stak
  
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• Box's stock is sinking after it served up a weak revenue forecast in Q2 earnings report (BOX)

  30-08-2017 22:59 via feedproxy.google.com
  Box, the file sharing and storage company, beat Wall Street targets for Q2 revenue on Wednesday, but not without a little kerfuffle.
  While the company served up a weak financial forecast, its stock dropped disproportionately — possibly because of a widespread analyst error, which made it look like Box missed on revenue expectations. 
  Share of Box immediately sank 7% in the moments following its report, but regained some ground and are now down
  
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• Waffle House says 3 locations in Texas and Louisiana are closed in Harvey's wake

  30-08-2017 22:20 via feedproxy.google.com
  Waffle House has a reputation for riding out natural disasters, including by staying open even when the power is out. In areas struck by Hurricane Harvey this week, the chain has just three of its stores shut as of Wednesday afternoon, according to Pat Warner, a representative for the company.Another 43 stores in the region remain open, with a few having reopened their doors in the last few days after being briefly shuttered.
  The chain's willingness to keep its doors ope
  
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• TRUMP: I 'don't want to be disappointed by Congress' on tax cuts

  30-08-2017 21:50 via feedproxy.google.com
  President Donald Trump kicked off his tax-reform push on Wednesday with a speech in Springfield, Missouri, advocating a massive tax cut while imploring Congress to follow through.
  Trump made a slew of promises about his tax plan, such as that it would provide tax relief for middle-class families, boost economic growth, and bring business back to the US.
  And as the Republican healthcare plan has stalled, he warned Congress not to let him down again.
  "I don't want to be disappointed by Congress, d
  
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• Hedge funds are cashing in on bitcoin mania — there are now 50 dedicated to cryptocurrencies

  30-08-2017 21:33 via feedproxy.google.com
  The market for cryptocurrencies is red-hot, and dozens of crypto-focused hedge funds are looking to get in on the action. 
  Digital currencies, such as Bitcoin, are powered by distributed ledger technology and are not controlled by a centralized authority. The market for such currencies has exploded with over 800 coins on the market with a combined marketcap of $166 billion. 
  Autonomous NEXT, a fintech analytics firm, released a list of 55 cryptocurrency hedge funds on Tuesday, ill
  
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• WARREN BUFFETT: A 'huge struggle' is taking place between brands and retailers

  30-08-2017 20:52 via feedproxy.google.com
  Consumers are increasingly favoring retailers’ own products over outside brands, and the Amazon-Whole Foods deal only exemplifies that, Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett told CNBC Wednesday.
  “There’s always a huge struggle," the billionaire investor said in an interview from Smith & Wollensky steakhouse in Manhattan, where he hosts an annual charity lunch. "It’s been going on for decades and decades between brands and retailers. I mean, to some extent re
  
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• The Goldman guys in the White House hinted their tax plan has some gifts for Wall Street

  30-08-2017 20:42 via feedproxy.google.com
  Representing the White House in the so-called Big Six writing President Donald Trump's tax plan are Goldman Sachs vets Gary Cohn and Steve Mnuchin.
  And while details about the plan are hard to come by, both men have dropped hints over the past few weeks about their contributions to its shape.
  Based on their hints, it sounds like their Goldman friends — and Wall Street in general — will be rather pleased with how it all shakes out.
  For a fun exercise, I recommend Googling "Mnuchin wa
  
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• How Giffgaff’s alternative take on loyalty is ‘saving the brand a fortune’

  30-08-2017 16:11
  Community is king at Giffgaff. Since launching in 2009 the mobile network has rejected the idea of locking customers into lengthy 18-month contracts, preferring instead to create a community powered by “members” hungry for a different kind of mobile model.
  “At the time there was a new audience emerging that was underserved by established players,” explains marketing and experience chief Ash Schofield, who joined Giffgaff in 2013 from his role as head of marketing at Tesco
  
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• Bake Off a ratings and commercial winner for Channel 4

  30-08-2017 11:59
  Channel 4 says its opening episode of the Great British Bake Off drew an average audience of 6.5 million, making it the broadcaster’s biggest overnight performance since the the Paralympic Games Opening Ceremony in August 2012 and suggesting it will be a commercial success for the broadcaster.
  The show grabbed an average 30.4% share of TV viewers and peaked at 7.7 million viewers with a 34.6% share. The series eight debut was also the most popular programme in the 8pm to 9.15pm slot for al
  
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• Bake Off a ratings and commercial winner for C4

  30-08-2017 11:59
  Channel 4 says its opening episode of the Great British Bake Off drew an average audience of 6.5 million, making it the broadcaster’s biggest overnight performance since the the Paralympic Games Opening Ceremony in August 2012 and suggesting it will be a commercial success for the broadcaster.
  The show grabbed an average 30.4% share of TV viewers and peaked at 7.7 million viewers with a 34.6% share. The series eight debut was also the most popular programme in the 8pm to 9.15pm slot for al
  
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• Mark Ritson: People are not brands – no, not even me

  30-08-2017 10:40
  It’s been happening ever since I started teaching an MBA course in brand management. After about the fourth or fifth class a student will sidle over after the class ends and ask me how the lessons they are learning about companies and products can be applied to their job search and their own mission to build a ‘personal brand’. 
  The student asking this question varies, but my answer has remained resolutely the same. I explain that the principles we use to position product
  
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• What’s the ROI of influencer marketing?

  30-08-2017 08:12
  Influencer marketing is fast becoming brands’ go-to option for speaking to consumers in an authentic way at scale. It is seen by many as the perfect way to boost reach and relevance, but in the highly measurable world of digital, it often fails to offer the directly attributable ROI of programmatic or paid social.
  In fact, 38% of marketers say they are unable to tell whether influencer activity actually drives sales while 86% are unsure how influencers calculate their fees, according to a
  
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• Tech giants threaten to take £1bn from TV in the UK

  30-08-2017 02:00
  LONDON: Traditional broadcasters in the UK could, collectively, lose £1bn a year, if the increasingly powerful tech players, Amazon, YouTube, and Facebook, become dominant players in UK TV, a new report suggests.According to OC&C...
  
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• Philosophy has power for planners

  30-08-2017 02:00
  NASHVILLE, TN: Planners must ensure their work is supported by a clear underlying philosophy, according to Faris Yakob, the co-founder of consultancy Genius/Steals.During a
  
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• Laneige calls out beauty standards with dark-skinned model

  30-08-2017 02:00
  SINGAPORE: Through an influencer-led campaign, the South Korean beauty brand Laneige is questioning pervasive ideas of beauty in Asia, by featuring blogger Trishna Goklani as a love interest of Indian descent.This is according to a report from...
  
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• Fears over data protection key barrier to voice assistant adoption

  30-08-2017 02:00
  LONDON: Fears over data protection and questions around the relevance have emerged as key barriers to the widespread adoption of voice assistant technology, a new report reveals.This is according to The QT, a quarterly tracking survey of 1000...
  
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• Do touchscreens make shoppers more impulsive?

  30-08-2017 02:00
  BRITISH COLUMBIA: Research examining the influence of touchscreens on purchase decisions suggests that smartphones, and touchscreens more broadly, evoke a strong experiential thinking style, which can lead to more impulsive decisions.The study, by...
  
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• China follows US to out of town malls

  30-08-2017 02:00
  BEIJING: As China’s biggest cities grow, becoming megacities, shopping centres are adopting the out of town US model, and are finding a diverse, affluent and eager market.Malls located on the outskirts of big cities such as Beijing and...
  
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