Influencer marketing, fake followers, and sponsored content. Can brands and consumers trust online creatives? June 25, 2018 FACEBOOK, YouTube, Instagram, Snapchat, and myriad other social media platforms have enabled clever and entrepreneurial creators to make a living by producing content for internet users to enjoy, whether that’s a makeup tutorials, video diaries, or simply cracking jokes while playing video games. It’s why YouTube stars such as Zoella and PewDiePie have become household [...]
Pure Gym buys Soho Gyms to bulk up London presence June 22, 2018 Pure Gym has snapped up the 10-strong London Soho Gyms chain and will convert all the branches to the Pure format. The addition of the Soho portfolio, which includes sites at Tower Hill and Farringdon, will bring the number of Pure sites in London up to 59. Pure charges significantly less than Soho, with a [...]
Focus On Tufnell Park: This often overlooked north London spot is attracting more professional and upsizers from Hampstead June 22, 2018 Tufnell Park is a small, quiet, in-between sort of place. Sandwiched in between the leafy village life of Hampstead, with its heath and its cafe culture, and the edgier, up-and-coming Holloway, Tufnell Park is the place for keen observers – close enough to all the action without the need to get involved. “The area was [...]
Interiors: We see what’s on offer at London’s Japan House, a new restaurant, shop and exhibition space in Kensington June 22, 2018 Since the jet age, tourism to Japan has grown slowly and steadily, but recently it has shot up, doubling in the past four years. The government can see that tourism is a big earner, the language is no longer a stumbling block, and, as hosts to the Rugby Wold Cup 2019 and the Tokyo 2020 [...]
Last Week in the City: Markets Trumped by trade fears June 22, 2018 The week was dominated by trade war fears as Donald Trump said he would slap further tariffs on Chinese goods should there be any retaliatory measures. Despite this, Nasdaq hit a record high, although the Dow Jones Industrial Average erased all its gains in 2018 so far. The FTSE 100 fell 0.5% over the week [...]
Brexit vote two years on: seven charts that tell the story June 22, 2018 On 23 June 2016, the UK public voted on whether or not to stay in the European Union (EU). Many expected the UK to remain in the EU, but by a majority of 52% to 48% the Leave campaign won. The UK is scheduled to leave the EU at 23:00 UK time on 29 March [...]
Premier Foods urges support for chief exec in face of opposition from second-largest shareholder June 21, 2018 The board of Premier Foods has urged its shareholders to back its chief executive officer (CEO) despite opposition to his re-appointment from its second-largest shareholder. In an announcement today the board said it had been made aware that Hong Kong-based Oasis Management intends to vote against the re-appointment of its CEO Gavin Darby at the [...]
Bank of England must hold interest rates and wait for signs of a rebound says shadow MPC June 20, 2018 City economists are all but certain the Bank of England will not announce a rise in interest rates tomorrow, with City A.M.’s shadow monetary policy committee (MPC) voting unanimously to hold fire. The Bank’s top economists have made it clear that they see rising upward pressures on wages, a key component of domestically generated inflation, [...]
China’s smartphone maker Xiaomi targets $6.1bn in Hong Kong IPO June 20, 2018 Xiaomi Corp. is gearing up for one of the biggest global tech IPOs of recent years, aiming to raise as much as $6.1bn. The Chinese smartphone maker and existing investors plan to offer 2.18bn shares – including about 65 per cent primary shares – at HK$17 to HK$22, Reuters reported having spoken people involved who [...]
Why Debenhams has had three profit warnings in a year and could Mike Ashley help? June 20, 2018 City grandee Crispin Odey, whose hedge fund holds a short position in Debenhams, said last year that the retailer was in a race with House of Fraser “as to who will go down first”. While House of Fraser’s fate will be sealed at its CVA on Friday, Debenhams’ future looks dark, with the embattled department [...]