From airport expansion to energy policy, our politicians are shirking the big decisions – and it’s partly our fault March 2, 2016 It was good to see City A.M. taking aim last month at the absence of long-term planning over energy policy. It is – and has been – an unholy mess for a long time with serious consequences for the economy and country. Only the most wild-eyed optimist would be reassured by EDF’s claim that construction of the [...]
Information Commissioner’s Office hits Brighton-based Prodial with record-breaking fine of £350k for over 46m nuisance calls February 29, 2016 The UK's personal data watchdog has today slammed a Brighton-based firm with its largest ever fine issued for a "staggering" number of nuisance calls. The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) levied a £350,000 fine to Prodial, which was operating out of a residential property, after the company sent out over 46m calls consisting of automated messages, resulting in [...]
After a sticky 2015 McDowell is on course to prove that class is permanent February 29, 2016 Class is forever, form is only temporary. That saying could well be applied to Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell as he continued his resurgence with a strong performance at last week's Honda Classic. McDowell endured a rocky 2015, during which he missed seven cuts and registered just three top-10 finishes. That run of form resulted in him plummeting [...]
Hatton Garden: Police pin man to ground after reports of threatening people with a knife February 29, 2016 London's iconic jewellery district Hatton Garden was home to more scenes of police cars and vans, after officers had to break up a knife row this afternoon. Two men have been arrested – the first on suspicion of being in possession of an offensive weapon and affray, the second on suspicion of affray and assaulting a [...]
Trinity Mirror chief executive Simon Fox: If New Day is not profitable by 2017 “we’d have to consider its future very carefully” February 29, 2016 The future of the New Day newspaper will be considered “very carefully” if it's not profitable by 2017, Trinity Mirror's chief executive has said. Speaking to City A.M., Simon Fox also suggested there will be further consolidation in the newspaper industry in the coming years. Fox said New Day, launched today by the company, is [...]
The rate of change: Oliver’s Simon Martin on speed, Starbucks and the in-house model February 29, 2016 Whether it’s time to market or a reactive social campaign, speed is of the essence in business today. But while a catalyst remains unchanged after accelerating a chemical reaction, marketing agencies must transform to meet the evolving needs of their clients. “We created all the content around educating Starbucks customers about pre-ordering their drinks,” says Simon [...]
Being seen: Reducing the risks around viewability February 29, 2016 Last month, it was announced that online ad fraud is expected to cost brands $7.2bn globally in 2016, because of an infiltration of botnets, networks of computers infected with malicious software. There is a very real risk that ads are not being seen and media spend is being wasted. What differentiates smart marketers from the rest [...]
Socialism has created a humanitarian disaster in Venezuela February 29, 2016 Venezuela's accelerating economic meltdown is rapidly turning into a full-fledged humanitarian crisis. For too many in that country, the pervasive shortages of food, medicine, electricity, and other basic goods are making everyday life a nightmare. It is Venezuela’s version of the “winter of discontent,” except that it has been brewing for much longer and its [...]
We mustn’t let the EU referendum narrow our view of the City’s global opportunities February 29, 2016 Only 115 days to go. The EU referendum has been a huge story since well before the date was announced and now we have months of campaigning before polling opens. In fact, so dominant has the referendum been recently that the world outside Europe has been almost overlooked by the media. I’m writing this column [...]
Capital One Cup final: Liverpool 1, Manchester City 1 (AET, City win 3-1 on penalties): Pellegrini basks in glory of his Caballero punt February 28, 2016 Departing Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini insisted the overriding principle of fielding Willy Caballero was stronger than his desire to win the Capital One Cup after his understudy goalkeeper proved the matchwinner at Wembley yesterday. The 34-year-old Argentine repelled spot-kicks from Lucas, Philippe Coutinho and Adam Lallana in a dramatic penalty shootout after Coutinho had [...]