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The Economist (September 18)

2022/ 09/ 19 by jd in Global News

For years, digital advertising has been “largely impervious to the business cycle” and “dominated” by Google and Meta. These “verities” may be falling as companies tighten marketing budgets. “Until recently, that would have meant cutting non-digital ads but maintaining, or even raising, online spending. With most ad dollars now going online, that strategy is running out of road. Last quarter Meta reported its first-ever year-on-year decline in revenues. Snap, a smaller rival, is laying off a fifth of its workforce.”

 

Harvard Business Review (February 15)

2022/ 02/ 17 by jd in Global News

“A uniform set of standards for measurement and reporting — just as we have for financial performance” is essential for communicating ESG performance. “Imagine a world where each company had to decide for itself how to measure say, revenues, or depreciate its assets…. That is the situation companies have been living in when it comes to ESG — but there is hope on the horizon.” The International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) has emerged as the “forerunner… to offer a single source of truth of ESG reporting.”

 

Financial Times (December 9)

2021/ 12/ 10 by jd in Global News

“The Big Four accounting firms have recorded their strongest financial performance since the collapse of Enron as corporate clients rushed to transform their businesses during the coronavirus pandemic.” Revenues soared to over $167 billion, collectively, in spite of “continued criticism of the structure and performance of the firms, especially in audits, including scrutiny of EY’s failure to identify fraud at Wirecard.”

 

Financial Times (May 28)

2021/ 05/ 30 by jd in Global News

ExxonMobil’s annual general meeting should be “a wake-up call for other executives with a bunker mentality.” Engine No 1, an obscure hedge fund, got shareholders to elect two directors by focusing on economics, not ethics, arguing that “Exxon has been so slow to recognize the need for a transition away from fossil fuel that its revenues will crumble, destroying investor capital.” Today’s activists “are not just trying to save the world; they are also trying to save their own portfolios in a world where regulators are enforcing green standards.”

 

Forbes (October 29)

2020/ 10/ 30 by jd in Global News

“Zoom is now worth more than ExxonMobil.” Reaching a market cap of $139 billion, the conferencing service pulled ahead of ExxonMobil ($138.9 billion). Revenues are an altogether different matter. “While Zoom posted $1.35 billion in revenue over the past 12 months, Exxon, by comparison, posted $213.8 billion in revenue during that time period.”

 

The Economist (November 23)

2019/ 11/ 23 by jd in Global News

Management consulting is being disrupted. “Advice on strategy, which used to be meat and potatoes for firms like McKinsey and its peers, Bain and the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), is now a side dish; it accounts for about a tenth of revenues.” These days clients “want consultants to provide and install products, including new technologies, that transform them from top to bottom and keep disrupters at bay.”

 

Financial Times (May 20)

2018/ 05/ 22 by jd in Global News

“Today, Hong Kong’s future as a global financial centre looks uncertain as the rival Shanghai Stock Exchange grows in size and credibility…. On the face of it, conditions at the HKEX look fine.” Revenues, profits and new listings were all up in 2017. “Yet Hong Kong was only third when it came to money raised in IPOs. Shanghai and New York were ahead by value, while Shanghai and Shenzhen surpassed the number of Hong Kong listings.”

 

Institutional Investor (March 20)

2017/ 03/ 21 by jd in Global News

“For years, asset management firms have benefited as the banking industry was dragged down by quantitative easing and increasing regulation. The one-two punch spurred a more than $100 billion divergence in revenues since 2011, with asset managers up $65 billion and wholesale banks down $45 billion at the end of 2016…. But now, with asset managers facing ‘intense’ pressure on fees and with economic policy shifting in favor of banks,” there are growing predictions for “a ‘reversal of fortunes’ for the two sectors.”

 

Financial Times (May 26)

2015/ 05/ 27 by jd in Global News

Global cities now “drive the world’s economy. The 600 biggest cities account for more than 60 per cent of global gross domestic product. The top 20 are home to one-third of all large corporations, and almost half of their combined revenues. Tokyo leads the pack — in population size, economic punch and number of corporate headquarters — ahead of New York, London and Paris.”

 

Washington Post (September 25)

2013/ 09/ 27 by jd in Global News

“If the federal government shuts down Oct. 1, a depressingly plausible prospect, D.C. residents will feel the impact more than most Americans because the city is barred from spending its revenues absent a federal appropriation. Even though D.C.’s budget is largely comprised of locally raised taxes, in a shutdown only essential services can continue. That translates into fewer garbage pickups, no street cleaning and shuttered libraries and recreation centers.”

 

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