US President Donald Trump has dropped down the rankings of Forbes’ annual rich list for 2018 March 6, 2018 Donald Trump has slipped down Forbes’ annual rich list for 2018 after his fortune dropped by an estimated $400m (£288m) to $3.1bn. The US President has dropped 222 places on the rankings to come in at 766. The top spot is taken by Amazon boss Jeff Bezos, whose fortune has surged to $112bn from an [...]
SEO opportunity still there for PR agencies. But will they take it? March 6, 2018 Just over a year ago, I argued that the UK PR industry was missing the search engine optimisation (SEO) boat as data implied the number of agencies offering SEO services had dropped markedly. One year on, I take a look at how the market is developing. If you’re new to search marketing, how Google – [...]
Open banking is a test of trust for financial firms: What lenders face in their quest to win customers’ confidence March 5, 2018 Open banking, the new initiative threatening to tear up the banking rule book, has the power to revolutionise how people manage their money. For the first time, customers will be able to give companies other than their bank access to their financial data, opening retail and business banking to fresh competition and delivering more choice, [...]
Beware the real Beast from the East: Chinese tech giants March 5, 2018 The last week has seen the UK battered by the worst snow we’ve seen in years, thanks to freezing temperatures coming from the east. But cold weather and heavy snow is not the only thing that is making the move from east to west. Chinese tech giants Alibaba, Tencent, Baidu and JD.com have started to [...]
Six market charts that matter: Italy’s problems, Greek bonds, the Vix spike March 2, 2018 Each month, the investment writing team at Schroders highlight the most significant charts to cross their desk. Italian election: the country's most pressing business problems Elections (not to mention referendums) have been a major source of market uncertainty and volatility in recent times. The latest comes this weekend in arguably the most important election in [...]
2017 company earnings in graphs March 2, 2018 Each week during the earnings season, Charles Stanley Earnings Tracker looks at reported earnings from major markets across the globe and compares them with analysts’ expectations. It covers the S&P, FTSE 100,FTSE 350 and the Topix and also contains forward-looking earnings forecasts. As central banks prepare to reduce stimulus measures, solid corporate earnings growth is [...]
Spotify (SPOT) has finally filed for an IPO, and it’s aiming to raise $1bn February 28, 2018 Spotify, one of the most well-known music streaming services, has finally filed for its initial public offering (IPO). The Sweden-based company is aiming to raise up to $1bn (£726m) through its much-anticipated float on the New York Stock Exchange. According to Spotify, its shares have been trading at up to $132.50 apiece on private markets [...]
Disruption is everywhere – but so are the investment opportunities February 27, 2018 I’m not usually a subscriber to “this time it’s different”, but when it comes to the emerging disruption in so many industries, “this time it’s more than average” doesn’t really seem to cut it. This time I have a feeling it really may be different, because today’s disruptions are everywhere, and that means that there [...]
DEBATE: Should tech firms be taxed on revenues, rather than profit? February 26, 2018 Should tech firms be taxed on revenues, rather than profit? Sir Vince Cable, leader of the Liberal Democrats and former secretary of state for business, innovation and skills, says YES. When it comes to tax avoidance by large multinational companies, we have reached what can only be described as an unsustainable situation. These large, mainly [...]
NRA boycott: Companies like Delta, Hertz and Chubb have ditched the National Rifle Association (NRA) February 24, 2018 A number of companies have cut ties with the US National Rifle Association (NRA) as outrage bubbles up following a deadly high school shooting in Florida. More than a dozen firms including Delta Airlines have ended their corporate partnerships with the controversial organisation as pressure builds from supporters of gun control, led on Twitter by [...]