Sales & Marketing news

• Facebook's billionaire CEO Mark Zuckerberg addressed threats to free speech in a rare public address on Thursday (FB)

  17-10-2019 23:27 via feedproxy.google.com
  Mark Zuckerberg shared his thoughts on freedom of expression and Facebook's role on the internet during a 35-minute speech at Georgetown University.
  During the speech, the Facebook CEO and cofounder focused on how free expression on the site had led to powerful social movements, and he identified three major threats to freedom of speech on the internet.
  Zuckerberg said he was concerned by the spread of laws that restrict free speech online, admitted that Facebook and other social media platforms
  
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• SmileDirectClub tanks after short-seller tweets that its stores were raided by the Dental Board of California

  17-10-2019 22:41 via feedproxy.google.com
  Hindenburg Research tweeted Thursday that SmileDirectClub admitted in a court case filed Wednesday that its stores in California were raided in 2018 by the Dental Board of California. 
  Shares fell as much as 13% on the news. SmileDirectClub filed the case against the Dental Board of California and is seeking damages.  
  Hindenburg shorted shares of SmileDirectClub in early October and sees 85% downside for the company. 
  Watch SmileDirectClub trade live on Markets Insider.
  Smil
  
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• Bank of America now says the strike at GM will cost the automaker $3.25 billion — its biggest estimate yet (GM)

  17-10-2019 22:32 via feedproxy.google.com
  The six-week-long strike of more than 48,000 General Motors workers could cost the company more than $3 billion — the largest estimate yet — according to a new analysis from Bank of America Merrill Lynch. 
  The firm's analysts expect the automaker to take a $750 million hit to operating income in the third quarter, and another $2.5 billion loss in the fourth quarter. 
  The number is derived from an estimated total loss of production of a little less than 350,000 vehicles and
  
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• Saudi Aramco reportedly delays what would be the biggest IPO in history

  17-10-2019 22:24 via feedproxy.google.com
  Saudi Aramco delayed its scheduled mega-IPO, according to the Financial Times.
  The world's largest oil company was poised to go public as soon as November, first offering 1% or 2% of shares on Saudi Arabia's domestic exchange before listing the rest of a 5% stake internationally. The offering was set to be the largest IPO on record.
  The firm delayed its offering to give investors greater detail on how its quarterly earnings were affected by September's drone strikes on Aramco infrastructure, the
  
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• Juul halts US sales of its fruity-flavored vaping pods as regulators investigate it for marketing to minors — just hours after Philip Morris said its rival product targets adults

  17-10-2019 22:10 via feedproxy.google.com
  Juul Labs halted all US sales of its fruity-flavored e-cigarette pods on Thursday under mounting regulatory pressure to stop marketing them towards minors.
  Hours earlier, rival Philip Morris took pains to distinguish IQOS — its alternative to conventional cigarettes — from Juul, and emphasize it's targeted at adult smokers.
  "When it comes to the youth access issue, this is where we focus on good conversion practices and a very stringent focus on adult smokers," CEO Martin King said o
  
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• The family of West Virginia's billionaire governor maxed out a $125,000 taxpayer subsidy meant to help farmers hurt by Trump's trade war

  17-10-2019 21:59 via feedproxy.google.com
  The family of billionaire West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice benefited and maxed out a taxpayer-funded subsidy aimed at softening the economic blow for farmers hurt by President Donald Trump's ongoing trade war with China.
  The Associated Press reported that records show that Justice Farms of North Carolina, owned by Justice's family, reached the $125,000 ceiling earlier this year and received the largest amount of soybean subsidies in West Virginia.
  The AP reported that the figures vastly exceed the
  
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• The US's largest railroad just had a terrible quarter and is cutting jobs because of Trump's trade war (UNP)

  17-10-2019 21:33 via feedproxy.google.com
  Rail shipments in the United States have fallen drastically this year, down more than 4% in the third quarter. 
  Union Pacific saw volume fall 8%, causing its quarterly earnings to fall short of Wall Street expectations. 
  That sluggishness was thanks to a lagging economy, executives said. The railroad also plans to cut some 200 jobs in Kansas City. 
  Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.A sluggish economy and falling shipment volumes ate into Union Pacific's third quar
  
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• A CIO who predicted the madness that rocked markets in late 2018 says there's more turbulence coming this year. Here's how she thinks traders can take advantage.

  17-10-2019 21:23 via feedproxy.google.com
  Some experts think volatility in stocks and bonds may increase through the end of the year, like it did at the end of 2018. 
  Nancy Davis of Quadratic Capital Management says that's not a bad thing if traders and investors are positioned correctly. 
  Traders can hedge against volatility and make money by being long fixed-income volatility, she said, using Quadratic's IVOL ETF as an example. 
  Read more on Business Insider.
  Some experts think there could be more turbulence ahead in fi
  
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• Cannabis producer Cronos Group soars after a collection of huge block trades fueled a 43% overnight spike (CRON)

  17-10-2019 21:13 via feedproxy.google.com
  Cannabis producer Cronos Group traded as much as 26% higher Thursday after a series of massive block purchases boosted the stock price overnight.
  The shares soared as much as 43% in after-hours trading following purchases of 810,000 and 350,000 shares at $8.40, according to Bloomberg data.
  The spike pushed cannabis peers up as well, with Aurora Cannabis jumping as much as 6.1% and Tilray rising as much as 3% in early Thursday trading.
  Watch Cronos Group trade live here.
  Canadian cannabis produce
  
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• Airbnb's losses reportedly doubled last quarter — and it could spell disaster for the company's attempt to go public

  17-10-2019 21:05 via feedproxy.google.com
  Airbnb doubled its year-over-year losses in the first quarter, according to a report from The Information.
  The firm reportedly spent $367 million in the first quarter on sales and marketing, a 58% increase from the year-ago period.
  The news comes as the home-share company eyes a move to public markets in 2020 and Wall Street flees cash-burning tech firms.
  Visit the Business Insider homepage for more stories.
  Airbnb's bid to go public in 2020 may face new hurdles as the home-share company reporte
  
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• Traders betting against Netflix lost $287 million on the streaming giant's earnings beat — erasing all their gains for the year (NFLX)

  17-10-2019 20:56 via feedproxy.google.com
  Traders betting against Netflix just saw all their gains for the year wiped out after the stock surged on the company's latest earnings beat.
  Netflix short-sellers are now down more than $238 million in mark-to-market losses this year, according to data from the financial-analytics provider S3 Partners.
  The streaming juggernaut is the fifth-most-shorted stock in the US market, with about $6.13 billion in total short interest, S3 Partners said.
  Watch Netflix trade live.
  Traders betting against Ne
  
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• Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is trying to build a legacy amid scandals and criticism (FB)

  17-10-2019 20:53 via feedproxy.google.com
  On Thursday, Mark Zuckerberg defended Facebook's positions on freedom of speech at Georgetown University.
  Zuckerberg was interviewed at Facebook's headquarters by The New York Times ahead of the speech.
  In the speech and interview, Zuckerberg talked about the company's legacy and how it will operate in the future without him at the helm. 
  Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.In a live-streamed speech at Georgetown University on Thursday, Mark Zuckerberg laid out his thoughts o
  
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• Airbnb's losses reportedly doubled last quarter — and it could spell disaster for the company's rumored attempt to go public

  17-10-2019 20:41 via feedproxy.google.com
  Airbnb doubled its year-over-year losses in the first quarter, according to a report from The Information.
  The firm reportedly spent $367 million in the first quarter on sales and marketing, a 58% increase from the year-ago period.
  The news comes as the home-share company eyes a move to public markets in 2020 and Wall Street flees cash-burning tech firms.
  Visit the Business Insider homepage for more stories.
  Airbnb's rumored bid to go public in 2020 may face new hurdles as the home-share company
  
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• Elizabeth Warren has struggled to explain her healthcare overhaul's impact on the middle class. That's because key details are still missing.

  17-10-2019 20:06 via feedproxy.google.com
  Democratic candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren has championed Medicare for All on the campaign trail, repeatedly saying she's "with Bernie" on a plan that would extend universal healthcare coverage to every person in the United States and virtually abolish private insurance.
  Though detail-oriented on the campaign trail, Warren has struggled to explain her version of Medicare for All's impact on the middle class, particularly whether taxes would be raised and how that would be structured.
  She's consi
  
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• A record number of big fund managers are worried governments aren't doing enough to avoid a global recession

  17-10-2019 19:49 via feedproxy.google.com
  Bank of America Merrill Lynch's October Global Fund Manager survey found that a record 57% said global fiscal policy is "too restrictive" right now. 
  In addition, a record 90% think that the US is in a "late-cycle" environment, and 31% expect a recession in the next 12 months. 
  The trade war between the US and China is still the top risk to markets, and a resolution would be the most bullish catalyst for equity markets in the next six months. 
  Read more on Business Insider.
  A reco
  
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• GOLDMAN SACHS: These 5 trades can help investors make a killing during a crucial earnings season

  17-10-2019 18:54 via feedproxy.google.com
  The pace of company earnings is picking up, and Vishal Vivek of Goldman Sachs says the options market is implying that big moves are ahead. 
  Vivek named five companies that he believes are especially compelling as options trades. All five will report their results in the next month.
  The recommendations are based on options-market prices for each company and the potential that they will beat or fall short of consensus estimates.
  Click here for more BI Prime stories.Traders will be flooded wi
  
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• Adidas: We over-invested in digital advertising

  17-10-2019 18:43
  Adidas is on a journey to shift from marketing efficiency to marketing effectiveness, admitting a focus on ROI led it to over-invest in digital and performance marketing at the expense of brand building.
  The sports brand’s global media director, Simon Peel, explains that four years ago the company didn’t have any econometrics, its attribution modelling was based on last-click and it didn’t do any brand tracking. It also focused on efficiency over effectiveness, leading it to lo
  
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• Top White House adviser suggests Fed officials are part of 'deep state'

  17-10-2019 18:22 via feedproxy.google.com
  White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow on Thursday made a baseless claim that Federal Reserve officials were part of the so-called deep state.
  The comment was an escalation in a long-running pressure campaign the Trump administration has waged against the US central bank.
  "The deep state board staff, of course, has not been helpful," Kudlow said. "Oops, did I say that?"
  Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
  White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow on Thursday made a basele
  
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• Nobel laureate Robert Shiller wrote the textbook on the 2 worst bubbles in recent history. Now he tells us his best advice for avoiding the next big one.

  17-10-2019 18:04 via feedproxy.google.com
  The Yale professor and Nobel laureate Robert Shiller says the true-or-false narratives that are spread about assets are the underlying drivers of bubbles.
  In an exclusive interview with Business Insider, Shiller explained the lessons for the future that could be derived from bitcoin's boom in 2017 and its subsequent crash.
  Click here for more BI Prime stories.The most powerful force that propels an asset's price higher is the accurate or inaccurate narrative that droves of investors buy into.
  Be
  
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• Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway lost a longtime investor who complained 'thumb-sucking has not cut the Heinz mustard'

  17-10-2019 17:49 via feedproxy.google.com
  A longtime shareholder in Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has sold his stake and published a laundry list of complaints about the legendary investor.
  "Thumb-sucking has not cut the Heinz mustard during the Great Bull Market of 2009 – 2019," Wedgewood Partners' investment chief David Rolfe said in a letter to shareholders.
  Rolfe highlighted Buffett's missed opportunities, bad investments, and reluctance to deploy his vast pile of cash.
  Watch Berkshire Hathaway trade live on Markets Insi
  
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• China says the US needs to lift tariffs before a final trade deal

  17-10-2019 17:01 via feedproxy.google.com
  China said on Thursday that it expected the US to remove all of the tariffs on its products as part of any final trade agreement.
  That cast another layer of uncertainty on trade progress announced by President Donald Trump last week. 
  China has been slow to confirm details on key parts of the partial agreement with the US, which has not yet been put on paper.
  Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
  China said on Thursday that it expected the US to roll back tariffs on its produc
  
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• Lyft has made airport pickups quicker and less confusing by taking a page from the taxi playbook (LYFT)

  17-10-2019 16:48 via feedproxy.google.com
  Lyft's system for speeding up airport pickups is expanding to two new cities across the United States.
  Instead of finding a specific driver, passengers will get a PIN in the app, and then join a line with other passengers.
  Once they reach the front of the line, they'll give the PIN to the next available driver, which will pair the two and allow the ride to begin.
  A Lyft executive told Business Insider it's improved average wait times by 2-3 minutes already.
  Visit Business Insider's homepage for
  
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• Diageo’s playbook for global marketers

  17-10-2019 16:30
  If you speak to brand consultants or listen to commentators, you might be forgiven for thinking the global brand is dead. The perceived threat of small, local brands is palpable in those conversations. The promise of a borderless world seems to have failed, with seemingly irreconcilable differences flaring up in divided societies from east to west. It now seems an impossible conundrum for marketers of global brands to know how to connect to such disparate audiences.
  And yet if you look at eviden
  
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• 'We feel worse about subscriber growth': Here's why Wall Street is striking a more cautious tone after Netflix's latest earnings

  17-10-2019 16:09 via feedproxy.google.com
  The market rewarded Netflix on Thursday for demonstrating it can still grow its business on a global basis and beat earnings forecasts. 
  The company reported international subscribers additions that came in ahead of estimates, while gross margins and earnings per share handedly beat forecasts. 
  Despite shares charging as much as 11% higher on the news, Wall Street analysts are striking a more cautious tone on the streaming giant's third-quarter results. 
  Here's what analysts are s
  
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• A former Credit Suisse banker testifies he kept $45 million in bribes hidden in Mozambican loan scheme

  17-10-2019 15:55 via feedproxy.google.com
  Ex-Credit Suisse banker Andrew Pearse told a Brooklyn, New York jury Wednesday he hid $45 million in bribes for helping Mozambican businesses secure $2 billion worth of loans, Bloomberg reported.
  Prosecutors said a salesman for shipbuilder Privinvest led a scheme to defraud US investors by up-charging the Mozambican government and using the additional funds to bribe bankers.
  Two additional former Credit Suisse bankers are scheduled to testify and have already pleaded guilty, according to Bloombe
  
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• Recommended reading: Fixing the crisis in creative effectiveness and challenging mediocracy

  17-10-2019 15:42
  Lemon: A repair manual to reverse the crisis in creative effectiveness
  By Orlando Wood  
  Based on the premise that advertising has lost its humanity and its ability to entertain, this latest publication from the IPA chronicles the decline in creative effectiveness and seeks to provide tangible solutions to reverse it.
  Author Orlando Wood, chief innovation officer at neuroscience agency System 1, posits that short-termism and a general narrowing of focus have resulted in work that is &
  
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• The pound is seesawing after Northern Irish leaders pulled support for Boris Johnson's Brexit deal

  17-10-2019 14:24 via feedproxy.google.com
  The pound soared after Boris Johnson secured a Brexit deal with the EU, but later pared its gains after an Irish political party withdrew its support for the deal. 
  The agreement will be taken to the UK Parliament this coming Saturday where British lawmakers will vote on the deal.
  The new deal sees Northern Ireland remain in the customs union with the EU, while the rest of the UK would leave. 
  The pound shot up 1.3% against the dollar in London morning trading, before falling to -0.3%.
  
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• These are Beyond Meat's 15 highest-profile partnerships in the food industry (BYND)

  17-10-2019 14:13 via feedproxy.google.com
  Beyond Meat's success is due in part to numerous high-profile partnerships with restaurant chains and food-delivery services.
  As demand for plant-based meat alternatives booms, having the right network is important for Beyond Meat and its competitors.
  These are the top restaurant and food-delivery partnerships that have boosted Beyond Meat's stock price.
  Read more on Markets Insider.
  Beyond Meat has led a booming plant-based protein movement — and it's had some important partners along the
  
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• Healthcare stocks are badly lagging the market this year. Here's why a top strategist at $2.9 trillion State Street says they're set to rally.

  17-10-2019 14:05 via feedproxy.google.com
  Michael Arone, a chief investment strategist for $2.9 trillion State Street Global Advisors, says healthcare stocks are extremely appealing even though investors are focused on the political risks the companies face.
  Arone says fundamentals for healthcare stocks are getting better, which is rare in the stock market today. He thinks the stocks are likely to rally as the threat of Medicare for All fades. 
  The sector has lagged far behind the rest of the market this year, as the benchmark S&am
  
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• Why marketers need to get better at marketing marketing

  17-10-2019 13:55
  The post Why marketers need to get better at marketing marketing appeared first on Marketing Week.
  
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• Morgan Stanley smashes expectations in Q3 as sales and trading revenue booms 10%

  17-10-2019 13:50 via feedproxy.google.com
  Morgan Stanley released its Q3 earnings on Thursday and it beat expectations. 
  The bank surged 4% in premarket trading.CEO James Gorman said that the bank remains "committed to controlling our expenses and are well positioned to pursue our growth initiatives."
  View Markets Insider's homepage for more stories
  Morgan Stanley smashed expectations on Thursday after releasing its earnings for the third quarter. 
  The bank in a statement highlighted increased revenues, which it said was its h
  
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• Billionaire Ken Fisher, who compared winning clients to getting in 'a girl's pants,' lost $1 billion in client funds

  17-10-2019 12:24 via feedproxy.google.com
  Billionaire Ken Fisher has been under fire for making a series of sexist comments at a conference last week. 
  According to attendees, he talked about genitalia on stage and said that trying to win clients was like "trying to get into a girls pants."
  Now those comments are costing Fisher clients, the exodus so far has amounted to almost $1 billion, CNBC reported.
  View Markets Insider's homepage for more stories.
  Ken Fisher has been under fire recently after the billionaire made a series of i
  
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• Talcum powder has unfairly become the 'poster child' for class-action lawsuits against Johnson & Johnson, its CFO says

  17-10-2019 06:25 via feedproxy.google.com
  Johnson & Johnson's finance chief has accused lawyers of splurging hundreds of millions on advertising to build class-actions lawsuits that falsely claim the talc in its products cause cancer.
  Talc, a mineral in baby powder and other drying products, is "the poster child for how big a business plaintiffs' attorneys have made this type of approach," CFO Joseph Wolk said on the healthcare giant's third-quarter earnings call.
  There were 15,500 plaintiffs tied to talcum lawsuits against Johnson
  
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• Startup school is back in session and the rules are changing

  17-10-2019 02:09 via feedproxy.google.com
  Hello,
  Welcome to this week's edition of Trending, the weekly newsletter highlighting the best of BI Prime's tech coverage. I'm Alexei Oreskovic, Business Insider's West Coast Bureau Chief and Global Tech Editor. 
  This week: Computer school has gotten cool
  Computer programming was once an unglamorous practice. At least, that's how it seemed to me as an incurious middle school student many years ago, pecking away in computer class on a TRS-80 and struggling to learn BASIC. It was tough to s
  
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• The eight triggers for consumers to engage with online content

  17-10-2019 02:00 via warc.com
  A new study claims to have uncovered the key motivations that underlie how and why consumers interact with online content.
  
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• Tata Chemicals turns the funnel into a cylinder

  17-10-2019 02:00 via warc.com
  Even a business selling commodities can successfully use digital if it looks at this in the right way, according to a Tata Chemicals’ executive who believes the channel opens up opportunities for brands no matter the vertical.
  
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• Sustainability is more than being green, says Rakuten

  17-10-2019 02:00 via warc.com
  Sustainability takes many forms and it’s about more than just being green – it’s now about viability, e-commerce firm Rakuten believes.
  
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• Political and economic uncertainties catch up with marketing

  17-10-2019 02:00 via warc.com
  UK companies cut marketing budgets for first time in seven years according to the Q3 2019 IPA Bellwether Report, as economic and Brexit-related uncertainties led to wait-and-see approach.
  
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• Panda Express leverages power of cultural connectivity

  17-10-2019 02:00 via warc.com
  Panda Express, the quick-service restaurant chain, is tapping into the power of its origins story as a means of engaging and educating consumers, while simultaneously building its brand.
  
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• Long-running Aldi campaign wins Euro Effie Grand Prix

  17-10-2019 02:00 via warc.com
  Aldi’s long-running ‘Like Brands’ campaign, devised by McCann Manchester, has won the Grand Prix in the 2019 Effie Awards Europe, where McCann Worldgroup was also named the Agency of the Year.
  
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• Flipkart expands video service with original content

  17-10-2019 02:00 via warc.com
  Flipkart, the Walmart-owned e-commerce platform, has launched Flipkart Video Originals, two months after it introduced a free video streaming service to draw new users from small towns and cities in India.
  
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• Fake news or not? Don't ask a machine to decide

  17-10-2019 02:00 via warc.com
  Machine learning is pretty dumb when it comes to sifting fact from fiction, according to new research.
  
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• Relevancy and responsiveness: The secrets to successful brand growth

  17-10-2019 01:01
  Relevancy and responsiveness are key traits shared by the brands that have retained their place on Interbrand’s list of the top 10 most valuable brands 20 years after the ranking made its debut.
  Coca-Cola (1) topped the Best Global Brands valuation list two decades ago, followed by Microsoft (2), IBM (3), Intel (4) and Nokia (5). The ranking back in 2000 was rounded off by General Electric (6), Ford (7), Disney (8), McDonald’s (9) and AT&T (10).
  Taking into account changes to th
  
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• Marketing job prospects fall to lowest level yet as budgets face freeze

  17-10-2019 01:01
  Job prospects for marketers fell to their lowest levels in three years as firms look to contain costs and protect profit margins in the fact of political and economic uncertainty.
  The IPA’s Bellwether report, found that a net balance of just 1.4% of marketers expect overall employment to be higher in three months’ time compared to now. Some 65.6% expect levels to stay the same, 16.5% to see a decrease and 17.9% an increase.
  The report has asked this question exclusively for Marketing
  
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• Marketing budgets cut for first time in seven years as brand building takes a hit

  17-10-2019 01:01
  UK companies cut their marketing budgets during the third quarter, the first time there has been a decrease in seven years, amid heightened political and economic uncertainty.
  The IPA’s quarterly Bellwether report shows a net balance of 0.5% of marketers questioned revised their marketing budget down in the third quarter. Nearly two-thirds (64.1%) reported no change in budget, reflecting a ‘wait-and-see’ approach adopted by many in the face of uncertainty about Brexit and its i
  
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