Health groups urge social media firms to end tobacco influencer marketing May 22, 2019 More than 125 public health groups have called on social media giants to end the promotion of tobacco products on their platforms, including through the use of influencers. In an open letter to the bosses of Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat, the organisations called for an end to the “aggressive” advertising of all tobacco products [...]
Thomas Cook forced to reassure holidaymakers as shares plummet further May 20, 2019 Thomas Cook has been reassuring customers their holidays will be going ahead after shares in the struggling travel firm plunged lower today. Shares in Thomas Cook dropped as much as 17 per cent to less than 10p, having suffered a 40 per cent plummet on Friday. Read more: Payment firm to hold onto Thomas Cook's [...]
Brands, forget about customer loyalty and trust. Just make stuff that people want to buy May 20, 2019 If you're a harassed brand manager, a chief marketing officer with a case of the shakes, or a branding agency strategist for whom visiting Twitter is like playing Russian roulette, here’s the good news: the average person couldn’t care less about your brand. I mean really, they don’t care. Don’t interject by stating the name of [...]
BT has spent years redesigning its logo and Twitter hates it May 17, 2019 BT is set to unveil its new logo after years of planning, but the internet's reaction won't have delighted bosses at the telecoms giant. Earlier this week the telecoms giant filed a trademark application with the Intellectual Property Office for a new, minimalist logo depicting the letters “BT” in a circle as new chief executive [...]
Trump backs out of Christchurch online terror pledge May 15, 2019 The United States has refused to join other nations in signing a pledge to tackle the spread of violent and extremist content online. The White House said while it supported the document’s overall goals, it is “not currently in a position to join the endorsement”. Named the Christchurch Call, the statement asks governments and companies [...]
Huawei snaps up top Sky News journalist as senior spin doctor May 15, 2019 Embattled Chinese tech firm Huawei has hired a veteran Sky News journalist as its new senior spin doctor as it ramps up efforts to quash accusations of spying. Senior Sky News editor Paul Harrison, who previously served as the network’s royal and business correspondent, has said he will join Huawei in a senior communications role [...]
European markets back in red as China shows signs of hurting under trade war May 15, 2019 European stocks have fallen after opening higher this morning, as weaker-than-expected Chinese economic data hinted at the effects of the US-China trade war. Read more: China retaliates with tariffs on $60bn of US goods Official figures today showed China’s industrial output growth slowing to 5.4 per cent year-on-year in April, a worse-than-predicted figure and much [...]
Ex-Labour minster quits party with astonishing attack on the ‘Corbyn Cult’ May 14, 2019 A former Labour minister has quit the party with a savage attack on the “Corbyn Cult” she claims has taken over the leadership. Bridget Prentice, who served as a junior minister in the Ministry of Justice under Tony Blair, compared the Labour party to North Korea were “disloyalty to the leader is a criminal offence.” Prentice, [...]
Economists are united about Trump’s trade folly May 14, 2019 In George Bernard Shaw’s words, if all the economists were laid end to end, they’d never reach a conclusion. Scour the pool of practitioners of the dismal science, and you will find supporters and detractors for almost every economic theory, from free markets to socialism. The one exception, however, is protectionism. Whether from the left [...]
Economists pour cold water on Trump’s tariff arguments May 13, 2019 Economists have said US President Donald Trump’s argument that American consumers will not face higher prices after tariff increases shows “a fundamental misunderstanding of how tariffs work”. Read more: China retaliates with tariffs on $60bn of US goods Trump tweeted today: “Their [sic] is no reason for the U.S. Consumer to pay the Tariffs, which take [...]