How the written word is exciting businesses more than visual marketing May 20, 2014 You’d be forgiven for assuming that original written content could become something of an underdog when it comes social media marketing. With unprecedented visual asset capacity and access, it's conceivable that businesses could be choosing to sideline blogs and written explainers for videos, infographics and memes. Not so – at least, not yet. The latest [...]
Pictures: City’s bigwigs flock to Chelsea Flower Show warm-up bash May 20, 2014 There was nearly more power than flower last night as City grandees and business heavies strolled up the lilac carpet of the Chelsea Flower Show for this year’s preview evening. Insurance heavies Tidjane Thiam of Prudential and Standard Life’s David Nish both rolled up, perhaps giving them a chance to talk risk over the rhododendrons. [...]
Privatisation may have come too late to stop the decline of Royal Mail May 20, 2014 Since privatisation Royal Mail has enjoyed a positive settlement with the Communication Workers Union (CWU), continued to implement its efficiency plan and has reported trading in line with guidance. However, Royal Mail's recent success is under increasing threat as the UK takes off as one of the most liberal and competitive postal markets in the [...]
FTSE 100 to be free of all-male boards by the end of 2014 May 20, 2014 Responding to shareholder pressure at its annual general meeting today, Glencore Xstrata chairman Tony Hayward has pledged to appoint a female director to its board by the end of the year. In March this year, the 2014 Cranfield Female FTSE board report found that two FTSE 100 companies still had all-male boards: miners Antofagasta and [...]
Real wages could resume fall as “Easter effect” sees inflation jump to 1.8pc May 20, 2014 We've only had a month of confirmed real wage growth. Now a sharp increase in inflation this April threatens to see us returning to falling real pay packets. Figures from the Office for National Statistics today show inflation up from 1.6 per cent to 1.8 per cent in the year to April. An increase had [...]
Credit Suisse shares are gaining, despite guilty plea May 20, 2014 Shares in Credit Suisse are up 2.4 per cent this morning. That’s after it became the first global lender to plead guilty to a criminal charge in two decades, agreeing to pay a $2.6bn (£1.55bn) fine. The Swiss bank pleaded guilty in the US for helping its American clients to evade taxes, in an “extensive [...]
What you need to know before the open May 20, 2014 A mixed open for European markets this morning. Yesterday, the Dax and Cac managed to finish on a positive note, but the 10 per cent drop AstraZeneca shares saw kept the FTSE in negative territory. On the data front, the Office for National Statistics will be releasing several key data at 9.30 this morning, with [...]
M&S profit falls less than expected as Bolland stresses step by step approach May 20, 2014 Marks and Spencer has reported a fall in profits for the third year in a row: in the year ended in March, the store saw a 3.9 per cent decrease in underlying pre-tax profit, to £623m. That is, however, considerably better than the 7.5 per cent drop analysts have been predicting. Pressured chief executive Marc [...]
Fierce competition hits Vodafone profits May 20, 2014 Vodafone has reported a fall in group revenue of of 1.9 per cent to £43.6bn, with organic service revenue declining 4.3 per cent for the year to 31 March. The company reported a hefty fall in adjusted profit before tax of 40 per cent to £6.5bn, while EBITDA came in at £12.8bn slighlty below the [...]
Asian markets on the rise while Thailand declares martial law May 20, 2014 Asian markets are enjoying modest gains as the Bank of Japan's (BoJ) two day policy meeting gets underway. The BoJ is widely expected to maintain current policy when it announces its decision on Wednesday. Governor Haruhiko Kuroda has sought to maintain an optimistic outlook for the health of the Japanese economy, dampening expectations the BoJ [...]