Need funding? Alternative finance providers more than twice as likely as banks to approve small businesses loans December 27, 2015 Small businesses are more than twice as likely to get their loans approved through alternative finance than traditional banks, a fresh report has found. Over four in five, 82 per cent, of small businesses that went to alt fi providers got their funding approved, according to research from finance supermarket Funding Options. Banks, meanwhile, only [...]
Seizing the Moment: Why Antoine de Kermel thinks 2016 is the year of “moment marketing” December 21, 2015 In digital marketing, time is precious. And as brands vie to be noticed in the digital space, many are recognising the impact that offline events can have on online activity. “Moment marketing” may be the shot in the arm their campaigns need. Named as one of the six major marketing trends in Warc and Deloitte’s [...]
Star Wars: The Force Awakens review: The best film in the series since The Empire Strikes Back December 18, 2015 12A | Dir. JJ Abrams ★★★★★ Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens opens with the now familiar golden expository text scrolling into an infinity of stars. The Empire has fallen, only to be replaced by Darth Jar Jar and his Ewok army, who ruthlessly enforce a trade blockade against the ice planet Hoth… just [...]
Hitting the brakes? Driverless cars must have a driver, says California DMV, putting bump in road for Google, Apple, Ford December 17, 2015 The development of self-driving cars has hit a bump in the road, after US authorities said they won't be allowed to hit the roads without a driver present. Regulators in California, where the majority of research and testing of autonomous vehicles is centred, said there needs to be a driver present in case the technology fails. Google is the best known [...]
No. 5: Ford Foundation December 17, 2015 UNITED STATES – £314m Motor pioneer Henry Ford and his son Edsel established the Ford Foundation in the US in 1936 to advance human welfare. The organisation started with a gift of $25,000 (£16,000) and now holds an £8bn endowment, having approved over £330m in grants in 2014. Following a two year period of transition, [...]
VW’s sales in November stall behind rivals December 15, 2015 Volkswagen has fallen into last place as the emissions scandal continues to weigh on the German car maker. Sales increased by just 4.1 per cent last month, compared to a year earlier, the smallest growth of any car maker in Europe and compared to a rise of almost 14 per cent overall. Read more: VW has no plans to sell off [...]
Ford invests billions in electric vehicles as it adds 13 new electric vehicles to its line December 11, 2015 Ford has just announced a major investment into electric cars, aiming to have 13 new models hit the roads by 2020. The American automaker announced a $4.5bn (£3bn) investment in electric vehicles, the largest-ever investment in the eco-friendly solution in a five-year period. That means that by 2020, the company will be adding 13 new electric-powered [...]
Carmaker Ford to invest £3bn in electric vehicles with 40 per cent of nameplates electrified by 2020 December 11, 2015 NULL
Star Wars economics: How destroying the Death Star created a financial crisis across the Galactic Empire after Return of the Jedi December 3, 2015 Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and the rest of the Rebel Alliance may have triumphed in defeating the Galactic Empire's overlord Lord Palpatine, but with freedom would have come financial collapse. As government infrastructure projects go, Death Stars are rather pricey. The cost of building two – both destroyed within four years by the end of Return of the Jedi – stands [...]
Good health cheers Dow at month’s start – New York Report December 1, 2015 Health and consumer shares bounced back yesterday while car sales suggested upbeat growth in November, giving the markets a positive start to December. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 168.43 points, or 0.95 per cent, to 17,888.35, the S&P 500 gained 22.22 points, or 1.07 per cent, to 2,102.63 and the Nasdaq Composite added 47.64 [...]