Business

By Jack Peat  In an information economy where our personal data is wilfully publicised, recorded and used for political and corporate gain, the question of whether we are living the prophesied dystopian theories of Nineteen Eighty-Four is more poignant than ever. George Orwell’s timeless work paints a frightening picture of official deception, secret surveillance and manipulation of history by a totalitarian, authoritarian state. A world where language is a heretic tool that be controlled and used. Words with negative meanings...

By Toby James The Illusion Of Choice And Big Business’s Position In Food And Drink There is a lot of money in necessities. The food and drink industry commands vast amounts of capital, yet much of this is under the control of a surprisingly small number of brands. Coca-Cola claims ownership of at least 13 other brands, each the king of its respective sector of the soft drinks industry. Fanta, Sprite, Dr Pepper, Schweppes. Many of these brands have ‘diet’ or...

By Sally Waterston, director of Business and IT Consultancy Waterstons Limited Everything goes in cycles; fashion, the weather, Information Technology and even manufacturing. It feels sometimes as if we are like a pendulum as a country, racing after the next new thing and piling all our hopes on it in the name of strategy and forward thinking. When we started this business in 1994 we had a few customers who offshored their production and seemed to be very successful at...

By Guy Dorrell @GuyDorrellEsq Pfizer’s abortive bid to take control of Astra Zenica in May 2014 was widely commented to have been motivated, at least in part, by Research and Development issues. More specifically, Pfizer has for some time relied upon the cash-cows of its existing products; bolstering its share price through attempting to increase sales, while driving out back-office costs. R&D is an expensive pursuit whatever the industry, though pharmaceutical companies seem to have an especially tough time. Around...

By Gemma Johnson, CEO, MyFamilyClub.co.uk Ah, the famous ‘entrepreneurial spirit’. For me, it’s one of the most exciting spirits an individual can possess. But what is it, exactly? It’s hard to describe, but you know it when you see it. People with entrepreneurial spirit tend to have irrepressible ambition and desire to succeed. They’re not put off by risks that would scare other people rigid (such as the possibility of losing large amounts of money) because all the risks they take...

By Daniel Le Grange It can really make a difference when your business establishes meaningful relationships and makes ethical decisions. Whatever decisions your business makes will strongly affect it’s standing, whether it be in a negative or positive light.  Nobody wants to be associated with a company that acts unethically. So what can make your business stand out from others? Simply being ethical can really pay off not only to better your company’s reputation but also create new affiliations that drive...

By Stuart Buchanan, Junior Broadcast Executive at 4mediarelations Today (Wednesday 25th July 2014) Ofcom released the findings of their ‘News consumption in the UK report’, which highlights some key issues on the changing face of news access across Great Britain. Most importantly, across all age groups, ‘Internet/Apps’ have stretched just ahead of Radio and Newspapers (41 per cent, compared to 32 per cent in 2013), with only TV (75 per cent) outstripping online new sources, but even this is down from...

By Toby James Last month, American pharmaceuticals giant Pfizer had their ‘final offer’ for their proposed takeover of the British company AstraZeneca rejected. This offered shareholders £24.76 and 1.747 shares for each share they owned, valuing each share at £55 and the company as a whole at £69 billion, yet was rejected on the grounds that it “continues to fall short of the board’s view of value”. This begs the question: How much is a share in AstraZeneca worth? Thankfully, this...

By Joe Mellor Deputy Editor The best players are out there in Brazil playing sexy samba football to excite the world. Most of these superstars are paid handsomely by their clubs, but they are also given huge fees to represent their nations, during the month long tournament. Ronaldo, The 29-year old Portugal superstar, is reportedly earning $490,870 a week, after tax, amounting to a staggering $2,243,997 (USD) to take part in the 32-day event. But how far does this fortune...