Sales & Marketing news

• Germany slips into recession as coronavirus hits — its sharpest decline since the global financial crisis

  15-05-2020 16:57 via feedproxy.google.com
  The German economy plunged into recession as the country's federal statistics authority released grim data showing a contraction of 2.2% on Friday.
  The economy's decline reflects its biggest quarterly drop since the global financial crisis and its second largest fall since German unification.
  Germany is the latest country in Europe to enter recession during the coronavirus pandemic. Recently, the UK posted a first-quarter contraction of 2.2%. France and Spain shrank by 5.8% and 5.2%, respectivel
  
  Read more

• US consumer confidence rose in May, boosted by coronavirus relief efforts

  15-05-2020 16:42 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  The University of Michigan's consumer-sentiment index gained to 73.7 in May from 71.8 in April according to preliminary data released Friday.
  The slight increase was boosted by the current economic conditions index, which jumped to 83 in May from 74.3 in April as coronavirus relief helped consumers. 
  The index surged "as the CARES relief checks improved consumers' finances and widespread price discounting boosted their buying attitudes," Richard Curtin, Surveys of Consumers chief economist,
  
  Read more

• Facebook acquires popular GIF database GIPHY for reported $400 million (FB)

  15-05-2020 16:40 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  Facebook is acquiring GIPHY, the popular GIF database, both companies confirmed Friday.
  GIPHY will become part of the Instagram team, and the database will continue to be operational and usable, Facebook said in its blog post.
  According to Axios, Facebook paid $400 million for the acquisition.
  Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.Facebook has acquired GIPHY, the searchable database for finding and creating GIFs.
  Facebook announced in a blog post Friday that GIPHY would become part
  
  Read more

• Energy analysts lay out 3 scenarios for the future of energy, from 'full recovery' to 'greener growth.' Here's what you can expect in each.

  15-05-2020 16:00 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  The coronavirus pandemic stunted global demand for oil and electricity almost overnight. 
  In a report published Tuesday, the research firm Wood Mackenzie laid out three scenarios for the future of energy. 
  In one scenario, a vaccine becomes available next year and the economy bounces back quickly. That would set oil demand on a path to pre-pandemic levels in the mid-2020s.
  In another, in which the government supports clean energy, oil demand would drop off precipitously in the 2030s.&n
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Jim Simons' Renaissance pulled $1.2 billion out of Tesla and slashed its Starbucks and Amazon stakes last quarter

  15-05-2020 15:38 via feedproxy.google.com
  Renaissance Technologies cut its Tesla, Amazon, and Starbucks holdings in the first quarter.
  The quantitative hedge fund, founded by Cold War codebreaker Jim Simons, sold more than 80% of its Tesla and Starbucks stock and 43% of its Amazon shares, a financial filing revealed.
  RenTech also slashed its stakes in Norwegian Cruise Line, United Airlines, and General Electric, but loaded up on Costco, Coca-Cola, and Baidu stock.
  Overall, the fund's stock portfolio tumbled in value by 22% to about $101
  
  Read more

• Dow drops 200 points on record retail-sales decline, escalating US-China tensions

  15-05-2020 15:38 via feedproxy.google.com
  US equities slumped Friday amid jarring retail-sales data and intensifying US-China trade tensions.
  Consumer spending tumbled an unprecedented 16.4% in April, nearly double the previous record contraction set in March, the Commerce Department announced Friday.
  The Trump administration said Friday it aims to block semiconductor shipments to Huawei Technologies. China state media fired back, saying the country would "restrict or investigate" US tech firms if such policy is implemented.
  W
  
  Read more

• US retail sales plunged an unprecedented 16.4% in April, roughly double the prior record

  15-05-2020 15:14 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  US retail sales fell a record 16.4% in April as the coronavirus outbreak spurred a economic lockdown and froze spending nationwide.
  The decline was more stark than economists expected. The median estimate compiled by Bloomberg expected a 12% drop.
  It marks the measure's second straight record contraction, after it fell 8.3% in March. At the time, that was the worst drop in the series, which began in 1992. 
  Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.US retail spending declined by a r
  
  Read more

• How an error in US jobless claims inflated one state's numbers by nearly 270,000 — an accidental tenfold increase

  15-05-2020 14:54 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  Thursday's weekly US jobless claims report stated that Connecticut had 298,680 claims for the week ending May 9, a whopping 726% increase in just seven days. 
  A few hours later, the Connecticut Department of Labor tweeted that the number was an error and the state really had 29,846 intial jobless claims that week. 
  The mistake was the result of a "data entry reporting error," a spokesperson told Business Insider. 
  Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.An error in this
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• The Fed buys $305 million of corporate-debt ETFs to kick off its groundbreaking relief program

  15-05-2020 14:40 via feedproxy.google.com
  The Federal Reserve's new corporate-credit facility took in $305 million worth of exchange-traded funds on the first day of its operation, according to data released Thursday.
  The central bank's ETF purchases helped push its balance sheet total to a record $6.93 trillion in the week ended March 13.
  The purchases kick off a key element of the monetary authority's plan to support the economy through the pandemic-fueled downturn.
  While the Fed didn't reveal which ETFs it took in, it has indicated i
  
  Read more

• Warren Buffett calls the prospect of negative interest rates the 'most interesting question I've seen in economics.' We had 5 financial experts weigh in on how they could impact the investing world as we know it.

  15-05-2020 14:19 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  The prospect of negative interest rates has gained steam in the US, and it's caught the eye of billionaire investor Warren Buffett, who calls them the "most interesting question I've seen in economics."
  His comments — made at the recent Berkshire Hathaway shareholder meeting — come as President Donald Trump continues to plead for the Federal Reserve to cut rates into negative territory.
  Fed Chair Jerome Powell brushed off the possibility of negative rates during recent comments, but
  
  Read more

• A billionaire investor dubbed 'the next Warren Buffett' took $300 million stakes in Google and Facebook last quarter

  15-05-2020 14:18 via feedproxy.google.com
  Hedge-fund billionaire Seth Klarman, widely seen as "the next Warren Buffett," bought into Google and Facebook in the first quarter.
  Klarman's Baupost Group revealed an almost $350 million stake in Google-parent Alphabet and a $330 million stake in Facebook in a financial filing this week.
  Baupost also boosted its eBay and HP positions, slashed its stake in PG&E, and sold its $300 million in Tesla convertible bonds.
  Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
  Billionaire investor Set
  
  Read more

• A 20-year hedge fund vet shares the 3-part checklist that guides every investment decision he makes — and breaks down a stock pick he thinks could increase 50 to 100 times in his lifetime

  15-05-2020 14:18 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  Harris "Kuppy" Kupperman — the founder of Praetorian Capital Management and CEO of Mongolia Growth Group — isn't a fan of overly complicated and complex investment strategies.
  Ideally, Kupperman says that "three bullet points on a napkin is about everything you need in an investment thesis." 
  Kupperman has his eye on an under-the-radar, cheap stock that looks like it has massive upside potential in the years to come.
  Click here for more BI Prime stories.Harris "Kuppy" Kupperman
  
  Read more

• A London-based trading house bought 250,000 barrels of oil during the historic plunge below $0 and likely made a fortune

  15-05-2020 14:15 via feedproxy.google.com
  BB Energy, an oil trading house based in London, bought 250,0000 barrels of oil when US prices turned negative on April 20, raking in a huge profit, Bloomberg reported on Thursday.
  BB Energy was one of the few trading houses that had storage capacity when other traders were scrambling for options, allowing it to buy up the historically cheap oil, a source told Bloomberg.
  The Commodity Futures Trading Commission said on Wednesday that West Texas Intermediate crude for delivery in June could also
  
  Read more

• No trading floor, no problem. Citadel Securities execs lay out how they're launching billions in new shares into the market with a process adapted on the fly — including an IPO today.

  15-05-2020 13:59 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  Citadel Securities has handled nine of the 10 initial public offerings held at the New York Stock Exchange since the temporary closure of the floor on March 23. 
  The group that handled the process, known as designated market makers, completely revamped its framework in order to do it entirely remotely. 
  Communication was key. Citadel Securities sent more than 70,000 emails to listed companies in March. And bridge calls were set up between all the parties involved in public debuts.
  As a
  
  Read more

• A much-maligned corner of the oil market is a rare winner during the coronavirus pandemic

  15-05-2020 13:49 via feedproxy.google.com
  One of the oil industry's most-maligned products, high sulfur fuel oil, is a rare success story during the commodity's record-breaking slump during the coronavirus pandemic, Bloomberg reported Thursday.
  HSFO is generally only used in industrial uses like in power plants and to power ships.
  HSFO, as it is known, has steadily seen its price increase since the beginning of the crisis as oil refineries shutter production of oil, lessening its supply.
  HSFO prices had tanked since last summer when a n
  
  Read more

• Cannabis firm Aurora's stock jumps 19% in pre-market trading as sales surge during coronavirus

  15-05-2020 12:47 via feedproxy.google.com
  Aurora Cannabis, a Canadian marijuana business, posted an 18% increase in third-quarter revenue on Thursday, as sales surged during the coronavirus pandemic.
  Aurora achieved a greater-than-expected performance during the early months of the coronavirus pandemic even as restrictions to make only essential purchases could mean consumers faced more difficulty in access.
  Despite rising sales, Aurora reported a more than $1 billion loss in the nine months to the end of March.
  Shares bounced on the ne
  
  Read more

• Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez poked fun at Bill Gates' plan to boost billionaires' coronavirus donations, suggesting they pay their taxes

  15-05-2020 11:08 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called out Bill Gates' plans to drum up more coronavirus donations from billionaires, suggesting they pay their taxes instead.
  "If only there were some public fund billionaires could pay into along with everyone else that helps fund our infrastructure, hospitals, and public systems all at once," the freshman lawmaker known as "AOC" tweeted on Wednesday evening.
  "It could even be a modest % of what they earn every year. We could have an agency collect it and everythi
  
  Read more

• Mitch McConnell railed against House Democrats' plan to send $1,200 stimulus checks to immigrants left out of initial wave of federal payments

  15-05-2020 01:39 via feedproxy.google.com
  
  Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell tore into the Democratic plan for additional stimulus checks, saying it would benefit undocumented immigrants.
  "Another round of checks for illegal immigrants. Can you believe it?" the Kentucky Republican said during a speech on the Senate floor.
  The Democratic plan opens the door for more immigrants to get federal cash by extending eligibility to those with Individual Taxpayer Identification Numbers instead of a Social Security number.Visit Business Inside
  
  Read more

• Where are the media agencies?

  15-05-2020 01:05
  
  Last week’s ISBA study on the supply chain of the UK’s online advertising market created a stir among publishers, advertisers and the adtech industry but observers have noted that media agencies have yet to respond.
  
  Read more

• Taboo subjects that brands must avoid in China

  15-05-2020 01:05
  
  International brands have always had to tread carefully in China, where an appreciation of local culture is essential, but with nationalism on the rise and sensitivity about the origins of coronavirus prevalent, communication tailored to Chinese...
  
  Read more

• ‘Localism’ is forecast to be a major post-pandemic trend

  15-05-2020 01:05
  
  Increased local consumption of goods and services, an expansion of e-commerce to include a new wave of digital shoppers, as well as a new era of value-consciousness, are three major consumer trends that are likely to continue as the world emerges...
  
  Read more

• Chinese brands show how to respond to COVID crisis

  15-05-2020 01:05
  
  Chinese brands have had to develop innovative responses to the challenges posed by COVID-19, while also reassessing digital investments in the light of changes in consumer behaviour and media consumption; Gartner’s Danielle Bailey takes stock in...
  
  Read more

• Balancing context and creative for COVID-19 messaging

  15-05-2020 01:05
  
  Brands seeking to deliver a coronavirus-focused video message need to concentrate as much on the environment surrounding this material as the creative execution, according to a new study.
  
  Read more

Follow @sales_mrktinguk on Twitter!