In the fourth quarter of the outgoing year, British business will spend on Christmas advertising more than 5.5 billion pounds, up 300 million more compared to the same period last year. Almost half of these funds, that is, about £ 2.7 billion, will be spent on marketing in digital media. At the same time, Google Inc. and Facebook will be main beneficiaries of the profits. Analysts predict that...

According to The Wall Street Journal, citing data from Wind Information research company, increasingly more Chinese banks are funding various projects. The problem is that many of them are not indicating the granted sums as loans. A good example here is Bank of Nanjing, which allocated $ 29 billion for construction of a residential complex in the town of Haimen. The bank showed the money not as a...

According to IDC, shipments of smart watches declined by 51.6% in the III quarter 2016 yoy. Apple sold 1.1 million units, 71.6% less than in 2015. Three major producers have experienced a steep fall in this segment. Shipments of Garmin soared 324.2% on an annualized basis, up to 600 thousand pieces. In sales terms, the company took second place after Apple. The growth was driven by advent of...

Both sides of the Atlantic may soon face a perfect storm that could push value of the euro to the lowest level in 15 years. By the next autumn, four largest member states of the Eurozone will determine whether wave of populists and anti-globalists will wash away foundations of centrist government. Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi has tied his political fate to the constitutional reform...

Global smartphone shipments in 2016 are likely to rise by 0.6% after 10.4% - jump in 2015. Only a few years ago, in 2012, the growth rate was 47%, says new report of research firm International Data Corp. (IDC). At that, sales are expected to set a new record of around 1.45 billion units. Growth will persist in some regions of China, India, Indonesia and other developing countries, as new users...

According to preliminary data of the US National Retail Federation (NRF), this year’s sales started with a larger number of active consumers. However, aggressive discounts and revitalization of online shopping have already resulted in a smaller purchase size. According to the NRF, number of Americans who came to offline regular stores during "Black Friday 2016" was 99 million people, compared to...

Chinese travel company Ctrip.com International announced $ 1.74 billion-worth purchase of Skyscanner Holdings Limited, which owns Scottish online tickets service. The transaction is expected to be closed in late 2016. According to Ctrip.com International, the company signed an agreement with main part of Skyscanner Holdings Limited’s shareholders. The deal’s terms imply that the Chinese company...

International rating agency Moody's rated the Greek banking system as "stable". The outlook was adjusted due to expectations of improvements in performance and funding of the country's financial organization, in spite of bad loans and limited opportunities for lending.  "We expect that Greek banks will return to small profit in 2016-17 years thanks to substantially lower deductions for...

Rail transportation is commonly accepted as greener than travel by road; trains and tramways could be considered as the first means of sustainable mobility. For a century, a lot of progress has been made, but there is still room for further progress and improvement.