M&C Saatchi merges with sister agency Lida after accounting crisis January 16, 2020 M&C Saatchi today announced it will absorb sister marketing agency Lida, as the troubled advertising firm looks to recover from a catastrophic accounting crisis. The media giant said the newly merged agency will offer a range of fields, including tech, partnership marketing, customer experience and data analytics. A period of voluntary redundancy at both M&C [...]
Retail health hits record low in 2019 January 16, 2020 Retail health hit a record low last year as high street stores battled weak consumer demand and faced pressure to slash prices. The latest Retail Health Index published by a KPMG and Ipsos think tank hit a record low of 74 in 2019 – the worst result since the tracker was established in 2006. The [...]
PSA suffers 10 per cent slump in sales for 2019 January 16, 2020 The parent company of Vauxhall and Peugeot suffered a 10 per cent slump in sales last year, as declining volumes in China, the Middle East and Africa came to bear on the car maker. PSA, which is part-way through a merger with Fiat Chrysler, saw sales decline by 2.5 per cent in its home European [...]
Amazon says UK tech tax could hit small businesses January 16, 2020 Amazon’s UK boss has played down concerns about a new tech tax, but warned the move could raise costs for small businesses using its platform. The government’s 11 March Budget is expected to include a digital services tax, which will charge a two per cent levy on the UK revenue of technology companies. Douglas Gurr, [...]
FSCS says it is ‘too early to predict’ London Capital & Finance compensation levels January 16, 2020 The financial services lifeboat said today it was “too early to predict” how much it would have to pay out in compensation to investors in collapsed mini-bond firm London Capital & Finance (LCF). Last week, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) said it would protect 159 LCF bondholders who switched from stocks and shares ISAs [...]
German defence minister confirms US car tariff threat over Iran January 16, 2020 Germany’s defence minister has confirmed that the US is threatening to impose new tariffs on European car exports if they continue to support the Iranian nuclear deal. Yesterday, Washington Post cited European sources as saying the Trump administration was threatening a 25 per cent levy on cars made in the UK, Germany and France, over [...]
Number of small pubs rises for first time in 15 years January 16, 2020 The number of small pubs and bars increased for the first time in 15 years last year, as consumers splashed the cash on meals out, according to the latest statistics. Small pubs and bars, which have fewer than 10 employees, increased by 85 – a 0.4 per cent rise – following more than a decade [...]
Downing Street pulls back from Big Ben bongs campaign January 16, 2020 Downing Street pulled further back from the “Big Ben bongs” campaign, as Brexiters plough cash into a crowdfunder to raise half a million pounds. The Prime Minister’s spokesman gave the clearest signal yet that the iconic bells would not chime on 31 January even if the £500,000 is raised. Although he stopped short of suggesting [...]
Sky boss calls for ‘urgency’ over social media regulation January 16, 2020 The UK should “inject some urgency” into its plans for a new internet regulator due to the societal damage caused by unchecked internet platforms, the boss of Sky has said. Jeremy Darroch called for ministers to tackle so-called online harms, warning that the “promise of self-regulation hasn’t worked”. “We only need to look back to [...]
Renault chairman: ‘Real desire’ to make faltering Nissan alliance work January 16, 2020 Renault’s chairman has dismissed claims that the 20-year partnership between the French manufacturer and Nissan might be breaking down. Jean-Dominique Senard said today that there was a “real desire” at the alliance to make a success of it. This comes despite more than a year of turmoil caused by the arrest of its architect Carlos [...]