China doesn’t fear a Donald Trump presidency: It relishes the prospect February 2, 2016 There was a game I would play with Beijing taxi drivers when asked where I was from. I gave one of three answers: America, the UK or Iran, to see how their reaction differed. To the latter I received a thumbs up, and gesticulations of a nuclear bomb going off. “Boom kapow!” the driver would [...]
Is the Prime Minister right to make migration central to his EU renegotiation demands? February 2, 2016 Tim Bale, professor of politics at Queen Mary, University of London, says Yes. David Cameron is doing the right thing – but running one hell of a risk. We can debate forever whether the Great British public are right to worry so much about immigration, but they do. Many voters also view the EU through the [...]
Twitter share price jumps on speculation over Silver Lake and Marc Andreessen buyout February 1, 2016 Twitter shares jumped again as US markets opened after media speculation private investors have considered buying the company. San Francisco tech website The Information reported on Sunday that investor Marc Andreessen and private equity group Silver Lake had thought about a deal. Neither Twitter nor the possible buyers have commented on the suggestion. And The Information [...]
UK weather: Storm Henry to continue the UK’s unsettled weather – but is it worse than usual, or are we just noticing it more because of the names? February 1, 2016 It maybe a new month but the stormy UK weather hasn’t changed its tune Scotland will take the brunt of Storm Henry as it sweeps in from the Atlantic through today and into Tuesday, with an amber warning having been issued for the whole of the country. The low pressure system is rapidly deepening and widespread [...]
The six second sweet spot: Opera Mediaworks’ Mark Slade on WAP and Walter White February 1, 2016 Consumers may be spending more and more time on their mobiles, but the advertising industry has had a hard time convincing brands to follow them there. Now, things could be looking up. By the end of 2016, eMarketer estimates that mobile advertising will account for half of the £8.94bn spent on digital marketing in the [...]
The EU’s mask has slipped: The dogma of political union is all that matters February 1, 2016 I have been fascinated by strategic simulations, or war games, since I was called upon to play them for various American diplomatic and intelligence services during my years in Washington. Games – if they are well enough designed to approximate reality and have good enough players – almost always get at hidden truths, and tend [...]
Cordant Group’s Phillip Ullmann talks to Harriet Green about looking after 52,000 workers and turning teal February 1, 2016 When I met Phillip Ullmann, head of Cordant Group and employer of over 52,000 people, he had just lost his job title. It wasn’t that someone had taken it from him – rather that he’s shed it. “Job titles are nonsense. What does it mean to be an executive chair, chief executive, managing director? Titles [...]
City boys launch legal fight against Chinese owners of UK’s most expensive golf club January 31, 2016 Residents of Wentworth, home to the UK’s most expensive golf club nestled in Surrey’s stockbroker belt, are threatening legal action against its Chinese owner after it proposed terminating all current members’ contracts and asking them to pay a one-off £100,000 to rejoin. The club, which is the birthplace of the Ryder Cup, was bought by Chinese-based [...]
Is Twitter dead? Why I was right about it failing January 31, 2016 Almost exactly a year ago, I declared that Twitter would be dead in three years. As the head of a digital agency, I could see both how Twitter was trying to monetise itself, and how people were trying to monetise Twitter as a service for their clients. I didn’t see lasting value in either. In the last year, [...]
Three’s customers get a nasty shock as the mobile phone company has doubled their monthly tariffs January 29, 2016 Mobile phone operator Three has doubled the cost of some of its monthly tariffs, to the anger of its customers. It has sent letters to some of its oldest customers who are on so-called legacy tariffs, including the £15 All You Can Eat plan, telling them they are being moved to an existing deal costing [...]