Global social media advertising spend surpasses £10bn in 2014 April 2, 2015 Global spend on social media advertising rose by 41 per cent in 2014 reaching a record $15.3bn (£10.3bn). A new report from technology advisors Strategy Analytics found that as global social network users surpassed 2bn users for the first time, 11 per cent of global digital ad spend went to social networks. Facebook was the [...]
Toyota sales in China are hit by rivals’ discounts April 1, 2015 DISCOUNTING by competitors has hit Toyota’s first-quarter sales in China, the world’s largest car maker announced yesterday. Sales of Toyota cars and its two Chinese joint ventures – China FAW Group and Guangzhou Automobile – fell 20.9 per cent in March, while those for the first three months of the year slipped 0.1 per cent. [...]
Steel group to buy back $375m worth of shares April 1, 2015 STEEL manufacturer Evraz announced a share buy back worth up to $375m (£253m) yesterday, after revealing a loss of $1.28bn for 2014. The Russian firm, whose biggest shareholder is Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich, blamed currency issues in part for the hit on profits, which was more than double than the $551m loss posted in [...]
Thomas Cook gets north European boost but hit by currency volatility March 31, 2015 THOMAS Cook yesterday reported trading in line with expectations, with the summer of 2015 more than 50 per cent sold. The travel firm continues to build on last year with Thomas Cook’s Concept Hotels growing 20 per cent from the previous year. Bookings at thomascook.com have climbed 10 per cent. However, the company took a [...]
Thomas Cook gets north European boost but takes a knock from currency woes March 31, 2015 The numbers Thomas Cook has reported trading in line with expectations, with the summer of 2015 more than 50 per cent sold. The UK business continues to build on last year with Thomas Cook's Concept Hotels growing 20 per cent from the previous year. Bookings at thomascook.com have climbed 10 per cent. However, the company took [...]
M&A activity and energy lift Wall St indices – New York Report March 30, 2015 DEAL ACTIVITY in healthcare and a bounce in energy shares yesterday helped to push US stocks up by more than one per cent, rebounding from a sharp decline last week. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 263.65 points, or 1.49 per cent, to 17,976.31, the S&P 500 gained 25.22 points, or 1.22 per cent, to [...]
New credit crisis brews in emerging markets March 30, 2015 Beware contagion from looming bank failure in Brazil INVESTORS in emerging markets have been left sorely disappointed in recent years, as on-going political and economic problems are plaguing the sector’s key nations, including Brazil, China, Turkey and Russia. Over five years, the MSCI Emerging Markets index has risen just 8.9 per cent, compared to the [...]
Alibaba acquires Chinese distribution rights to BMG artists including Rolling Stones, John Legend and Kings of Leon March 30, 2015 Alibaba has signed a digital distribution deal with German music rights company BMG, bringing over 2.5m copyrights of artists such as The Rolling Stones, will.i.am and Foo Fighters to the Chinese e-commerce giant. For BMG, the deal represents a chance to make its artists accessible to a potentially vast Chinese market while for Alibaba it [...]
Chinese boom fuels jump in global deals March 29, 2015 A wave of mergers and acquisitions (M&A) is on the way this year, driving a hiring boom in the City and shaking up industries across the globe. A combination of ultra-low interest rates and increasing confidence in the economy has encouraged firms to buy up rivals. And firms which see little room for organic growth [...]
London’s new low emission black cabs will be made in Coventry with £250m Chinese investment from owner Geely March 26, 2015 The new generation of London's iconic black cabs will be made in a new factory in the Midlands being built by a Chinese company, creating 1,000 new jobs. Geely, the Chinese firm which took over the 100-year-old British cab manufacturer Manganese Bronze in 2013, will invest £250m in building a new factory and research and [...]