Streaming places music industry on the road to recovery

Thanks to music streaming The US music industry is on track for a second consecutive year of growth for the first time since the late 1990s, before piracy and the internet corroded sales. The growth in streaming has tipped analysts at Macquarie to predict global recorded music revenues will double in the next decade, reaching $30bn by 2025.

Opportunities and challenges for expatriate workers

Alicia Clegg looks at the challenges faced by professionals returning to their home country after completing international assignments.

Is the Uber boom over?

A UK court this week ruled that Uber is in fact an employer - a decision which Uber is determined to appeal against, and clearly isn't happy with, given the ramifications of such a decision. At the minute, Uber is not globally recognised as having employees, but rather as having self-employed contractors - the difference of course being Uber's responsibilities and the workers' rights under Employment Law (as noted here in the FT).

The important part of this decision is that UK Employment Law allows a middle ground between the disputed terms, having ruled that the Uber drivers are 'workers' rather than employees or contractors. This seems like a fairly good model, straddling the line between the drivers' protections and freedoms, giving them some benefits but not limiting the flexibility which attracted so many to the role. The big question is will the ruling stand, and if so, will countries around the world follow the UK example? And if the ruling does stand, will this negatively impact on users?

Marmite divides opinions once again...

Now that Theresa May has given a definite date for triggering Article 50, the pound has once again dropped in value. While this doesn't necessarily affect many of us immediately (unless you're planning on going on holiday soon), the news that Tesco is currently in dispute with Unilever over proposals to raise prices is something we can all find relevant. Quite apart from the possibility of Marmite becoming hard to get hold of (I'm definitely on the love it side of the debate), there are other staples such as Ben&Jerry's and, for you students, Pot Noodles at risk.

As the FT asks, what does this mean for us as consumers? And is this a smart marketing strategy on Tesco's part? They certainly appear to be fighting for their customers (although no details have been released by either company). If it is indeed a calculated move to garner positive public opinion, then hats off to them - anyone who fights for my Marmite has my vote!

How to fix culture clashes in global teams

Alicia Clegg looks at examples in which the challenges to effective cross-cultural communication were identified.

Has Twitter lost its wings?

Twitter has been struggling for some time now to adequately define itself in the social media sphere and set itself up as a real contender for market share. There doesn't appear to be a concerted marketing strategy which has led to a stagnation in user numbers and confusion over its usage, which means that Twitter is struggling to clearly define its market share. Can it compete with successful rivals such as Facebook and Snapchat, or as The Economist argues, has it let its chance fly by?

Multinational businesses grow faster than emerging national economies

In a recent survey of the top 200 economic entities, many of the smaller emerging economies have been replaced by corporations. The slowdown of the Chinese economy has reduced the growth of many nations from Africa, Asia and South America, while large corporations continue to grow rapidly. The survey compiled Global Justice Now an anti-poverty charity reports that the 10 biggest corporations – including Walmart, Apple and Shell – make more money than most countries in the world combined.

Entrepreneurship in the USA

Recent figures published by the Kauffman Foundation indicate a continuing decline in new business formation in the USA. There is also a pattern of regional disparity, with just 20 counties generating half of net new businesses between 2010 and 2014. Several explanations have been suggested including high levels of personal debt, increasing regulation and difficulty of accessing venture capital.

Facebook bot platform to transform entire industries

Facebook wants businesses to adopt bots to communicate with their customers on its Messenger service, in the hope that opening up its artificial intelligence tools to companies will transform industries. By deploying bots within Facebook Messenger, people will be able to communicate with companies without having to remember extra usernames and passwords, and with the context of their previous interactions recalled by the software. Industries such as news and music have already been disrupted by social media, which has in many cases disintermediated their relationship with customers. If the new bots are successful, more industries including retail and online travel, could find themselves increasingly dependent on Facebook Messenger.

Emotional and creative skills may be more robot-proof in the next wave of automation.

Oxford university’s Carl Benedikt Frey and Michael Osborne say almost half of the jobs in the US are at high risk from computerisation in the next two decades, together with two-thirds of those in India and three-quarters in China. The new phrase is “EQ”, which stands for emotional quotient (or emotional intelligence). “The high-skill, high-pay jobs of the future may involve skills better measured by EQs than IQs

Decline in global trade may be a long term structural trend

Until 2007 international trade had been growing at twice the rate of global GDP. Falling traffic had been explained as a consequence the financial crash and then the slowing of growth in the Chinese economy. Now some experts perceive a permanent shift in the fundamentals driving globalization Economists at the McKinsey Global Institute see increased automation and the uptake of 3D printing as factors that may be reducing demand for international trade in physical goods.

Threats to Samsung and Apple in China market from domestic competitors

Charles Arthur reports on the market for smartphones in China. For the iPhone China has recently been the market with the most potential for growth, accounting for one third of global smartphone sales. However the rapid market expansion of Chinese firms including Huawei, Xiaomi, Vivo and Oppo have already pushed Samsung out of the top 5. Samsung was more vulnerable to competition on price from handsets using Android software. Apple with its iOS software and distribution through China Mobile has so far maintained its premium pricing. However with declining growth in China, the demand for prestigious high cost Apple products may also suffer due to the reduced spending power of luxury end consumers in China.