Sales & Marketing news

• The former CIO of $3 trillion financial giant UBS has joined the non-profit behind one of the largest cryptocurrencies

  13-09-2017 23:26 via feedproxy.google.com
  The former head of technology at one of the largest banks in the world has joined the team behind IOTA, the ninth largest cryptocurrency on the market.
  Oliver Bussmann served as the chief information officer of Switerland-based UBS, the global financial services firm with $3 trillion under management, for three years from 2013 to 2016. 
  Bussmann, who joined the bank after holding a number of top tech jobs at companies such as IBM and Deutsche Bank, led IT strategy and introduced block
  
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• The White House has readied an executive order that would stop trade with any country doing business with North Korea

  13-09-2017 22:20 via feedproxy.google.com
  Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin told Fox News anchor Bret Baier on Wednesday that he has drafted an executive order for President Donald Trump that would stop trade with any country doing business with North Korea — including the US' largest trading partner, China.
  The draft order comes amid increasing nuclear threats from North Korea. Earlier this month, in a tweet, Trump threatened to cut off all US trade with any country that does business with the rogue nation.
  "I was just at the Whit
  
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• Selena Gomez and her rabid fan base are Coach's biggest weapon against the competition (COH)

  13-09-2017 22:20 via feedproxy.google.com
  Randal Konik, an analyst at Jefferies, had trouble getting into his office in the SoHo neighborhood of New York City on Wednesday. He arrived at his building at 6 a.m., before the sun even rose, but it wasn't early enough. A line of rabid Selena Gomez fans lined the block hours before they would get a chance to meet the star, and they were blocking the way to his office.
  "Based on the lines, the event should be a success, and provides a solid media opportunity for Coach as it continues its bran
  
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• STOCKS EDGE HIGHER TO NEW RECORD: Here's what you need to know

  13-09-2017 22:00 via feedproxy.google.com
  Stocks nudged higher to a new record as investors weighed new inflation data in an attempt to forecast the Federal Reserve's next move.
  The S&P 500 rose less than 0.1%, up slightly from a new record high reached on Tuesday. Meanwhile, the Dow rose 0.2%, while the more tech-heavy Nasdaq increased 0.1%.
  First up, the scoreboard:
  Dow: 22,158.18, +39.32, (+0.18%)
  S&P 500: 2,498.37, +1.89, (+0.08%)
  Nasdaq: 6,460.19, +5.91, (+0.09%)
  US 10-year yield: 2.20%, +0.024
  WTI crude oil: $49.
  
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• 'If they have to go higher, they’ll go higher': Trump floats a tax increase on wealthy in bipartisan meeting

  13-09-2017 21:50 via feedproxy.google.com
  President Donald Trump on Wednesday floated the idea of increasing taxes on the wealthiest Americans as part of a push for tax reform.
  "I think the wealthy will be pretty much where they are, pretty much where they are," Trump said at a bipartisan meeting of lawmakers when asked by a reporter about tax rates for the rich."If they have to go higher, they’ll go higher," he added. 
  In the past, Trump administration officials said the tax rate for higher-income people would
  
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• JPMorgan's quant guru says cryptocurrencies have 'some parallels to fraudulent pyramid schemes'

  13-09-2017 21:49 via feedproxy.google.com
  JPMorgan's global head of quantitative strategy has joined his boss, CEO Jamie Dimon, in the growing legion of anti-cryptocurrency crusaders.
  In a client note on Wednesday, Marko Kolanovic said cryptocurrencies as a whole had "some parallels to fraudulent pyramid schemes."
  The comments come a day after Dimon called bitcoin a "fraud" that was "worse than tulip bulbs." He even went as far as to say he'd fire any trader that transacted it for being stupid.
  Kolanovic highlighted bitcoin in his compa
  
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• A new website wants to be 'CNBC for cannabis'

  13-09-2017 21:34 via feedproxy.google.com
  A new website launched Tuesday aims to be the cannabis industry's preeminent source for in-depth financial reporting. 
  The Green Market Report will publish news briefs on all facets of the cannabis business, including banking issues, investment, cultivation and extraction, as well as cannabis stock prices and wholesale prices. 
  Debra Borchardt, a financial journalist and former Forbes contributor who will serve as the site's CEO, said The Green Market Report is specific
  
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• UBS: These are our top 5 picks for tech stocks

  13-09-2017 20:58 via feedproxy.google.com
  UBS has released its top stock picks for the year.
  In a note out Wednesday morning, the Swiss bank says it asked all of its North America analysts their top pick for the next 12 months. It came up with a list of 30 stocks that should outperform over the next year.
  For each stock, UBS analysts laid out on one page how they got to their investment thesis, what’s driving the stock, and potential upside or downside movements.
  We rounded up UBS top picks in the telecom, media and technology spa
  
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• Hurricane Irma devastated American businesses — here's what restaurant chains were hit hardest

  13-09-2017 20:29 via feedproxy.google.com
  Over the last week, Hurricane Irma devastated businesses in Florida and the wider Southern US. 
  Chains including Sonic, Cracker Barrel, and Steak 'n Shake were forced to close locations as the hurricane moved north after battering much of the Caribbean. 
  Investment firm UBS used a forecasted path of the hurricane to calculate Irma's expected impact on close to 300 companies.
  UBS identified 90 companies who conduct more than 10% of their business in the impacted region. M
  
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• UBS: Amazon is throwing a pile of cash at Whole Foods to turn a profit — which could come sooner than you think (AMZN)

  13-09-2017 20:21 via feedproxy.google.com
  What's the first thing you do after you spend $13.7 billion on a grocery store known for its high prices? Well, if you are Amazon, you slash those prices on the first day you gain ownership of the stores.
  With a huge $21.451 billion bundle of cash (and cash equivalents) on its balance sheets, Amazon can afford to lose a bit while it cuts prices at Whole Foods in order to make its newest acquisition more popular. But, Amazon isn't looking to take a loss forever.
  UBS discussed Amazon's plans for
  
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• Morgan Stanley analysts say car companies should pay execs based on the long term

  13-09-2017 20:11 via feedproxy.google.com
  A team of Morgan Stanley analysts published an interesting research note on Wednesday, covering executive compensation in the auto, airline, aerospace, and freight industries.
  The research covers a lot of ground, so we zeroed in on the auto sector, as Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas, who contributed to the note, has been for several years outlining a far-reaching investment thesis that predicts widespread disruption of the industry by new technologies. He's calling this "Autos 2.0."
  "We would
  
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• The 'sobering' gender and racial gap among economists is hurting everyone

  13-09-2017 20:06 via feedproxy.google.com
  The world of economics is especially male and white, even for America’s patriarchal standards, according to a new study, which suggest this trend harms society as a whole given the elevated role economists play in policymaking decisions.
  Just wander into any economics or finance conference and the anecdotal evidence is overwhelming — women and minorities are few and far between. But new research offers astounding detail as to how rampant discrimination remains among academi
  
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• Equifax is tumbling after a top Senator asks for an FTC probe into the company (EFX)

  13-09-2017 19:11 via feedproxy.google.com
  Equifax shares are tumbling after Senator Mark Warner (D-Va) asked the Federal Trade Commission to investigate the recent hack that impacted more than 143 million Americans, as well as the company's cybersecurity practices.
  Shares of the credit company are down 7.53% on Wednesday after news of Senator Warner's request crossed the wires. They have fallen about 23% since news of the hack was first released released on Thursday.
  The names and Social Security numbers for mi
  
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• A group of Republicans just launched a desperate Hail Mary to repeal Obamacare

  13-09-2017 19:10 via feedproxy.google.com
  A group of Senate Republicans on Wednesday rolled out a last-ditch effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, but it is almost certain to face a legislative roadblock.
  The bill, written by Sens. Lindsey Graham, Bill Cassidy, Dean Heller, and Ron Johnson, would primarily allocate federal funding for healthcare in block grants to states — a change from the current system, which allocates money based on a percentage of what states spend.
  In a statement announcing the release of the
  
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• A top senator calls for an investigation into Equifax in a scathing letter (EFX)

  13-09-2017 18:56 via feedproxy.google.com
  Democratic Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia on Wednesday asked the Federal Trade Commission to examine the recent hack of Equifax, the credit-reporting agency.
  He requested an investigation into the firm's cybersecurity practices and questioned its response to consumers who may have been affected by the breach.
  Equifax last week reported a massive data breach, saying hackers may have accessed the personal details, including names and Social Security numbers, of more than 143 million customers from m
  
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• BLUE APRON CEO: Amazon and Whole Foods aren't the competition (APRN)

  13-09-2017 18:35 via feedproxy.google.com
  Amazon’s $13.7 billion Whole Foods buyout could not have come at a worse time for Blue Apron.
  By the time Echo Dot speakers were on sale at the Amazon's newly acquired chain, shares of Blue Apron were already down 46% from its June IPO.
  But despite his company’s constantly declining stock price and encroaching competition from Amazon and others, CEO Matt Salzberg remains optimistic about Blue Apron’s potential market.
  “We’re not going to go and be a head-to-hea
  
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• CanOWater on its hopes to take canned water mainstream

  13-09-2017 18:00
  Cans are usually considered the domain of fizzy drinks brands or even odd-tasting alcoholic drinks. However, this is something CanOWater wants to change by offering a recyclable alternative.
  The idea for the brand originated in 2015, after one of its founders, Ariel Booker, went to Thailand and was aghast at the amount of plastic polluting the beaches and found floating in the ocean. After telling his two best friends, Josh White and Perry Alexander Fielding, about the problem they decided
  
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• Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg: Digital is causing the collapse of the marketing funnel

  13-09-2017 17:28
  Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg has suggested the rise of digital and mobile is leading to the collapse of the marketing funnel.
  Speaking at ad tech conference Dmexco in Germany today (13 September), Sandberg told delegates: “The marketing funnel itself is collapsing. It used to take time to go from research to discovery to awareness all the way to a purchase. But now you have digital and mobile that is happening faster than ever, and that is for the largest brands to the small corner sho
  
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• Facebook responds to growing ‘uneasiness’ over brand safety with new ad controls

  13-09-2017 15:30
  Facebook is introducing new controls over where advertising appears and around the type of content that can be monetised as it tries to allay marketers’ fears over brand safety, measurement and viewability.
  The changes, which were unveiled at Dmexco today (13 September) by Facebook’s VP of global marketing solutions Carolyn Everson, will apply new standards to the type of content that can be monetised around in-stream ads and its Instant Articles feature.
  Facebook will also begin to
  
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• Mark Ritson: Google’s lack of transparency should have us all worried

  13-09-2017 12:23
  One of great benefits of my job is an occasional free flight and a decent hotel stay in a sexy city in return for a quick presentation. So when the opportunity came to go to New York City earlier this year and deliver a talk at the prestigious INMA conference it took me all of six seconds to say “yes” and reach for the old maroon passport.
  INMA stands for the International News Media Association and, with the exception of a few unknown interlopers like your humble correspondent, its
  
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• Apple gambles on premium iPhone X but should its rivals be worried?

  13-09-2017 11:06
  Yesterday (12 September) Apple unveiled its premium $999 iPhone X (pictured above), which drops the home button for an all-screen design.
  The X has exclusive features such as an advanced facial recognition system, which lets users create 3D masks of their faces that can be mapped onto ‘animojis’ and allows selfies to be used to unlock the device. It also contains Apple’s latest processor – the A11 Bionic – which is 70% faster than the iPhone 7 and extends battery li
  
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• Tanya Joseph: Stop treating women as accessories and recognise their purchasing power

  13-09-2017 09:00
  I judge. Professionally. That is to say I have now got to the stage in my career when I  am frequently invited to judge awards. And I often accept.
  I willingly give up paid work to spend days viewing hundreds of entries to see what the brightest and best are doing across our industry.
  It is fascinating. There is some fantastic work out there. Clever, effective campaigns devised by people who have effectively used insight to engage, influence and sell.
  Alas, there is also an awful
  
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• Almost three in four global marketers still unaware of full GDPR implications

  13-09-2017 09:00
  The vast majority of marketers do not understand the full implications of new European data laws and are ill-equipped to deal with their consequences.
  According to a World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) survey of major global brands that spend more than $20bn on marketing annually, 70% of brand owners do not feel marketers in their organisation are fully aware of the extend of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and just 65% expect to be fully compliant when it comes into force in May
  
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• Big brand owners have work to do on GDPR

  13-09-2017 08:54 via warc.com
  GLOBAL:Seven in ten global brand owners feel marketers in their organisations are not fully aware of the implications of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), a new survey has found.The GDPR, due to be implemented in May 2018, is the...
  
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• Corporate-NGO partnerships become more strategic as purpose moves up the agenda

  13-09-2017 08:00
  The partnership between GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and Save the Children has been voted the ‘most admired’. Credit: Tommy Trenchard / Save the ChildrenStrategic partnerships between businesses and charities are increasing in scale, sophistication and potential as their true value becomes more apparent, according to C&E Advisory’s latest Corporate-NGO Partnerships Barometer.
  At a consolidated level, 42% of respondents suggest their organisations are engaging in deeper, problem-s
  
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• Google: Hong Kong's cash attachment is restricting the digital revolution

  13-09-2017 01:04 via warc.com
  HONG KONG: Digital engagement by consumers, companies, and the government of Hong Kong is lagging behind international competitors according to a new Google whitepaper, which uncovers a continued mistrust in digital services among a large portion of...
  
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• Eyewear chains adopt Uniqlo model for expansion in Asia

  13-09-2017 01:04 via warc.com
  TOKYO: While eyewear remains a luxury purchase for many Asian consumers, Japanese discount retailers, including Owndays and Zoff, see an opportunity to enter the market with a streamlined model similar to that of Uniqlo.Tokyo-based Owndays opened...
  
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• Brand safety or performance?

  13-09-2017 01:04 via warc.com
  GLOBAL: Questions around brand safety are not new, yet online advertising presents unique challenges as the volume and speed of ad delivery increases, and inventory is bought by audiences across all content; the resulting choice, then, is one of...
  
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• Brand behaviour affects purchase for 100m 'corpsumers'

  13-09-2017 01:04 via warc.com
  NEW YORK: For over a third of the US buying population, aged 18-80, their choice of brand will depend on broader questions around a company’s corporate values, according to new figures.This is according to a new study from MWWPR, the public...
  
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• Accenture targets brand experience

  13-09-2017 01:04 via warc.com
  LONDON:The onward march of consultancies into the traditional territory of agencies continues with the head of Accenture’s digital marketing arm outlining a focus on the brand experience.Anatoly Roytman, managing director of Accenture...
  
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