Made in China? Xi Jinping could dethrone the nation’s counterfeit kings December 7, 2017 Imitation might be the highest form of flattery, but that is of little comfort to the western businesses that suffer at the hands of China’s infamous copycat kings. From apps to caps, few products avoid the risk of spawning an illegitimate twin. All eyes are now on President Xi Jinping, as Chinese industry looks set [...]
Trump’s tweets have more of an effect on market volatility than North Korean missile tests, finds Goldman Sachs December 4, 2017 Whether US President Donald Trump is making any headway in his campaign to Make America Great Again is hard to gauge. But there is one area where he is having a quantifiable impact, according to Goldman Sachs: market volatility. Analysts at the investment bank noted that in a year when volatility seemed stubbornly flat, rare [...]
Media planning behemoth m/Six is evolving to a world of consumers control December 4, 2017 If 2018 is the Chinese Year of the Dog, then surely we’re fast approaching the EU’s Year of Regulation (and lots of it). There are acronyms aplenty for firms to get to grips with – from the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), to the updated Payment Services Directive (PSD2), with swathes in between. Much of [...]
The time has come for western firms to take Ukraine seriously December 4, 2017 Four years ago, Ukraine hit the headlines when millions of its citizens took to the streets. They were protesting against their government’s decision to withdraw from signing a major agreement with the EU. The powerful protest resulted in a new government, with a pro-EU agenda. Russia retaliated by annexing Crimea and steering a subsequent militant [...]
No royal rally can change Britain’s harsh economic realities November 29, 2017 What a difference 24 hours makes. Monday morning’s headlines in Britain were dominated by the familiar themes of Brexit-inspired political tension and economic listlessness – yet by Tuesday morning Brexit was briefly forgotten as the nation digested the news of a royal engagement. The Daily Mail’s coverage was typically low-key, with readers treated to a [...]
Engaging with the right app users globally without sacrificing your brand, appScatter speak to National Geographic November 29, 2017 Taking your app global is a process that requires a focused strategy and a clear vision of where you want to be – and who you want to engage – with your app. National Geographic, an iconic brand with over 360 million social fans around the globe, is laying the groundwork to do both. We [...]
Investing in disruption: Is the US tech boom a bubble? November 28, 2017 It has been a fantastic year so far to be a technology investor. The Fang (Facebook, Amazon, Netflix, Google) stocks are leading again and are now up 33.6 per cent on average year to date. Add Tesla and Nvidia into the mix, and we have a group of businesses that capture the imagination of both [...]
After the hype, this year’s retail extravaganza of Black Friday was a short-lived frenzy November 27, 2017 Just three years ago Black Friday became synonymous with images of customers fighting over heavily discounted goods. The ugly scenes accompanied reports of police and ambulance services being called to stores across the UK, with several people injured in the melees. Fast forward to 2017 and the madness turned to mirth over the weekend as [...]
Chancellor Angela Merkel’s CDU in late night Berlin meeting to consider grand coalition November 26, 2017 Top officials from German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats (CDU) met in Berlin tonight to consider forming a grand coalition and avert the calling of fresh elections. The Social Democrats (SPD), Germany’s second-largest political party, signalled earlier this week it was prepared to entertain forming a similar coalition to that which has governed for the [...]
Budget 2017: Economic forecasts do not include Brexit divorce bill November 22, 2017 Economic forecasts relied on by chancellor Philip Hammond in his Budget make no allowance for a so-called Brexit divorce bill, likely adding a significant extra burden to public finances. The independent Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), which produces the forecasts, said: “No allowance for any one-off or ongoing EU exit-related payments – the ‘divorce settlement’ [...]