It turns out the marketing industry’s oldest adage isn’t true: Sex doesn’t sell July 22, 2015 Don Draper had it wrong all along, it turns out: a new study has found not only does sex not sell, but it actually distracts people from the products on sale. The study, by Ohio State University and published in the journal Psychological Bulletin, looked at the results of 53 different experiments involving nearly 8,500 [...]
Greek parliament to vote on further bailout measures July 22, 2015 Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras will be back in parliament today, attempting to cajole his MPs to vote in favour of a second package of bailout measures aimed at unlocking an aid programme worth as much as €86bn (£60bn). Given the support he's received from lawmakers so far, it's unlikely he'll have much trouble getting [...]
Citigroup slapped with $70m fine and ordered to repay credit card customers $700m July 21, 2015 At least it's not just European banks being slapped on the wrist by US regulators. Citigroup has been hit with a $70m (£45m) fine and ordered to pay $700m in remediation to customers after a review into how it sold credit card products. Read more: Citi to exit consumer banking in 11 territories The bank said [...]
International bookings for flights to Greece are beginning to rebound July 21, 2015 Here's an encouraging sign that Greece may be temporarily out of the quagmire: bookings for international flights to Greece have rebounded in the last week, having fallen in the first two weeks of July. Data by ForwardKeys published today showed that, while the number of bookings was 44 per cent lower than last year in [...]
Citizens Financial income plummets 39 per cent July 21, 2015 In one of its first updates since it was spun-off from the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), Citizens Financial has posted results showing its income dipped 39 per cent in the second quarter. The figures It wasn't a great quarter for the US bank: earnings fell to $190m in the three months to the end of June, 39 [...]
London in the Sky: Have a Michelin-starred dinner while dangling 25 metres above St Katharine Docks July 21, 2015 Here's a restaurant that takes the concept of a "pop-up" rather literally: tickets have gone on sale for a "dining experience" which gives diners the chance to have a Michelin-starred dinner cooked for them – while dangling 25m above the capital. Those with weak stomachs need not apply… London in the Sky offers breakfast, lunch, [...]
Broadstone: The Dorset town Londoners are moving to in their droves July 21, 2015 When City A.M. asked Homelet to show us where Londoners are moving to when they leave the capital, we expected the commuter belt to feature heavily. What we didn't expect was that the small Dorset town of Broadstone would beat Brentwood, Brighton and Bristol to come top. According to the figures, 4.1 per cent of [...]
Welfare Bill passes as Labour leadership descends into crisis July 21, 2015 The House of Commons passed government plans for £12bn in welfare cuts last night, including tax credit cuts and welfare caps, while acting Labour leader Harriet Harman suffered a rebellion in the vote. Read more: The government's welfare bill is necessary – but more must be done After five hours of debate, Parliament backed [...]
Toshiba chief executive Hisao Tanaka to resign after accounting scandal July 21, 2015 The chief executive of Toshiba has said he will resign after the Japanese electronics giant "did a Tesco", overstating its profits by $1.2bn (£780m) over a seven-year period. Hisao Tanaka and Norio Sasaki, a former chief executive of the company who is now vice chairman, said they will step down. A panel tasked by the [...]
International Monetary Fund and European Central Bank confirm Greece payment July 20, 2015 Greece has paid off its arrears to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the European Central Bank (ECB) today after it became the proud recipient of a €7.16bn (£5bn) emergency bridging loan from the European Union today. European markets clised slightly higher, with the FTSE 100 closing 0.2 per cent up, Dax 0.53 per cent [...]
