Drinks all round: What the Internet of Things means for marketers January 18, 2016 Before brands start talking about how they should embrace the Internet of Things (IoT), they first need to think about how they understand it.” According to SharpEnd founder Cameron Worth, marketers have been coming at the expanding digital ecosystem of interconnected objects from the wrong angle. “And if they keep talking about fridges,” he says, “I’m [...]
The space to create: Ogilvy & Mather UK’s Annette King on New York and the South Bank January 18, 2016 "If you have all the research, all the ground rules, all the directives, all the data – it doesn’t mean the ad is written. Then you’ve got to close the door and write something…” Few would question David Ogilvy’s contribution to advertising. But the idea of closed doors seems anathema to the creative process today [...]
UK house prices: Property price growth will slow over next three years, EY Item Club predicts January 18, 2016 House price growth will slow over the next three years, according to new forecasts, as continued growth puts owning a property out of reach for many. Property prices are expected to rise by 6.5 per cent this year, new analysis by EY Item Club predicts. That growth will continue in 2017 and 2018, but at a more [...]
Profits looking strong for the financial services industry but outlook remains weak January 18, 2016 Financial services firms reported strong profitability for the last quarter of 2015, although the sector is slightly cautious in its outlook. A survey of 100 financial services firms out today from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and professional services firm PwC has discovered that financial services firms are reporting strong profitability for the three [...]
Overseas regulators increasingly asking the Financial Conduct Authority for assistance, hiking up the compliance burden for UK businesses January 18, 2016 The number of requests for assistance from foreign enforcement agencies received by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has risen over the last year. According to figures released today from City law firm RPC, the FCA received 1,073 such requests in the year to 30 September 2015, up four per cent compared to the year before, [...]
London small business confidence booming but UK north-south divide becomes apparent January 18, 2016 London’s small businesses are in a buoyant mood and are expecting a strong start to 2016, new survey figures published today reveal. In the fourth quarter of 2015, the Federation of Small Businesses’ (FSB) gauge of confidence – compiled from a survey of 144 London firms – climbed to a score of 25 points from [...]
Action for Cabbies turns to crowdfunding to launch a judicial review challenging Transport for London’s licensing of Uber January 17, 2016 A company founded by the wife of a black cab driver will today launch a crowdfunding campaign to try to force Transport for London (TfL) to curb Uber in the capital. Action for Cabbies will use crowdfunder.co.uk to try and raise £600,000 to fund the first phase of a judicial review, arguing that in 2012 TfL [...]
Wall Street braced for a drop in earnings from investment banks January 17, 2016 Two of the world’s biggest banks, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley, are releasing their annual results this week, and are expected to report a fall in annual earnings after a tough year. Goldman Sachs is forecast to report earnings of $33bn (£23bn), $1.5bn down from last year, while Morgan Stanley is slated to post a [...]
Londoners don’t want students to be classed as immigrants January 17, 2016 The majority of Londoners don’t see foreign students studying in London as immigrants although they are counted as such in official immigration numbers, a survey for lobby group London First has found. Polling, revealed exclusively by City A.M., shows 17 per cent of people think of non-EU international students studying in Britain as immigrants, while only [...]
European Commission could force sell-offs in the £10bn Three merger with O2 January 17, 2016 The European Commission (EC) may be about to throw a spanner in the works of Three’s planned £10.25bn takeover of O2. Having decided not to refer the decision to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in the UK, the commission, the executive body of the EU, has until 22 April to make a decision on the [...]