Apple has invested $1bn in Didi Chuxing, the car-hailing app that has a greater market share than US rival Uber in China. Tim Cook, chief executive, said that the move would help Apple to better understand the Chinese market. Didi Chuxing, previously known as Didi Kuaidi, said it represented the single largest investment in its history. The firm said it provided more than 11 million rides a day and claimed to have 87% of the Chinese market share. The company is also backed by Chinese internet giants Tencent and Alibaba.
The US is taking China to the World Trade Organization over what it claims are illegal trade barriers to its chicken, particularly chicken feet. Rarely eaten in the US, they often end up in animal food, but in China they are a delicacy, and the US is licking its lips over that potentially tasty market.
If you actively market your firm, you likely have profits hidden in the message you put in front of your prospects every day.
Here's what I mean: Think about the last time you spent money on a marketing piece. Let's say you ran an ad that cost $1,000. If you made $2,000, then your ad was successful because you doubled your money.
But what if you used that same ad, made a few changes to the text and pulled in $10,000? After all, you spend the same amount running your ad whether it generates $2,000 or $10,000.
Every time you send out a marketing piece with ineffective copy -- whether it's an ad, website or mailer -- you leave money on the table. That's why the secret to getting more clients without any additional costs is your copy.
Here are 6 ways you can adjust the text in any marketing piece so you receive more responses:
1. Use a headline. The headline is the most frequently read section of any marketing piece. When you write your headline, include a big benefit of using your services and give prospects a reason to continue reading.
2. Create curiosity. One common reason prospects read past your headline is curiosity. Look again at the title of this article -- you can't find out the answer unless you read further.
3. Talk to (not at) your prospects. They don't care about you or your firm. All prospects want to know is how they can benefit from your services. Words such as "we," "our," "I" and your firm's name are clear indicators of a message that's all about you.
4. Provide value. Give prospects information they can't find elsewhere and they will reward you with responses. You've done your job well if prospects feel like they learned something after reading your copy.
5. Write clearly. Short sentences with small words make your copy easier to understand. Many people are already intimidated by lawyers -- legal jargon only adds to their anxiety.
6. Give a direct command. Don't assume prospects know what to do next. Tell them the next step and encourage action by giving them a reason to contact you.
One final note... don't be afraid to test your text. You make a big mistake when you label your marketing piece a failure after only one use. Sometimes a simple change in your headline will explode your response rate.
México está ampliando una investigación sobre evasión de impuestos y ha solicitado a bancos que entreguen nombres de clientes locales con transacciones en paraísos fiscales, semanas después de que los "Papeles de Panamá" revelaron cómo ricos y famosos del mundo ocultan sus fortunas, según documentos. (Presione aquí)
Alianzas
La canadiense Renaissance Oil Corp negocia posibles alianzas con la petrolera estatal mexicana Pemex, mientras gana presencia en el liberalizado mercado de energía de México. Renaissance fue fundada en 2014 por Ian Telfer, presidente de Goldcorp Inc., la minera de oro más grande en México. La nueva firma ganó tres de las 25 áreas que se licitaron en campos maduros terrestres en el país en diciembre y le gustaría operar propiedades adicionales.
Bonos
Citigroup rearmó una venta de bonos para el aeropuerto Tocumen de Panamá, tras haber cancelado la operación el día previo después de que Estados Unidos acusara a la familia Waked, que posee la mayor cadena de tiendas libres de impuestos en el aeropuerto, de lavar dinero del narcotráfico. El banco redujo el monto original de los bonos con vencimiento en 2036 a US$ 500 mlls., desde US$ 625 mlls., y aumentó el cupón a 5,625 %, desde el 5,375 %.
Italy parliament approves same-sex civil unions
Italian members of parliament on Wednesday voted in favor of a law recognizing civil unions of same-sex couples. The Italian Parliament voted 372 to 51 with 99 abstentions in favor of the law. The vote makes Italy the last major Western country and last nation in the 28-nation EU to grant legal recognition to civil unions. The law stops short of granting same-sex couples the ability to adopt their partners' biological children, and many advocates have simultaneously applauded the vote and admitted that it does not grant full equality to same-sex couples. Opponents of the law have "vowed" to call for a referendum to repeal the law.
Turkey 'needs to fulfil deal' to gain visa-free EU travel
A deal to allow Turks visa-free travel within Europe will collapse if Turkey does not fulfill its commitments, the European Commission president has said. Jean-Claude Juncker said changes to Turkey's laws on terrorism were one of a number of conditions that needed to be met for visa liberalization. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has refused to do so, and has now accused the EU of "hypocrisy". The visa issue is part of a deal aimed at easing Europe's migration crisis. "We consider that it is important for these conditions to be fulfilled. Otherwise, this deal between the EU and Turkey will not happen," Juncker said. "If Mr Erdogan decides to deny Turks the right to free travel to Europe, then he must explain this to the Turkish people. It will not be my problem, it will be his problem", he also said.
HSBC said to hire 175 compliance staff for UK ring-fenced bank
HSBC Holdings Plc is hiring 175 people for the financial-crime compliance team at its soon-to-be ring-fenced UK consumer bank, according to people familiar with the plan. The team, which will be joined by 25 employees reassigned from other offices, will focus on anti-money laundering and sanctions compliance, said the people, who asked not to be identified as they were not permitted to talk publicly. They will be based in Edinburgh, where the bank recently opened a third office. HSBC has increased its compliance workforce to about 9,000 staff from 1,500 in 2010, accelerating the pace of hiring since 2012, the year US authorities fined the bank $1.9 billion and charged it with violating sanctions laws and allowing Mexican drug traffickers to launder hundreds of millions of dollars. Under the terms of a deferred prosecution agreement it struck with the US Justice Department, any repeat offenses or a failure to adequately upgrade internal controls could result in the firm losing its US banking license.
Quit bullying and fight corruption in the US, tax havens say
The global fight against corruption should focus on major jurisdictions rather than bullying small territories, the heads of government of two tax havens told world leaders. Addressing an anti-corruption summit in London on Thursday, Allan Bell, chief minister of the Isle of Man, and Cayman Islands Premier Alden McLaughlin called on the US and others big countries to lead the way in legislating to open up company registers to the public. “When Obama took over he attacked a single building in Cayman for having 19,000 companies registered there. There is one building in Delaware which has 285,000 companies registered in that one building and they don’t know the beneficial owners of any of them,” Bell said. “That’s 10 times the total number of companies we have in the Isle of Man and we know the beneficial owners of all of them.” Nations represented at the summit, including the US, China, Russia, Afghanistan and India, pledged to expose, pursue and punish corruption by companies, government officials and individuals. Tax havens, many of which were exposed in papers leaked from the Panama law firm Mossack Fonseca last month, were singled out at the meeting for hiding the identities of owners of assets.
Brexit vote may spark recession
The Bank of England has given its starkest warning yet that a UK vote to leave the EU could hit the economy. Mark Carney, the Bank's governor, warned that the risks of leaving "could possibly include a technical recession". David Cameron said the warning amounted to "a very clear message" of the dangers of Brexit. Vote Leave campaigners have strongly criticized Carney, with one calling for him to resign.
France labour reforms: Government survives no-confidence vote
France's government has survived vote of no confidence put forward by the opposition in protest over controversial labor reforms. The motion, brought by the center-right party Les Republicans, garnered 246 votes, shy of the 288 needed to defeat the reforms and topple the government. Thousands of people marched through Paris as the vote took place, to protest against the proposals. They will now be debated in France's Senate. The controversial proposals, backed by Prime Minister Manuel Valls and Francois Hollande, sparked ongoing and sometimes violent street protests across France, and fresh protests are now planned for next week.
US activates $800m missile shield base in Romania
The US has activated a land-based missile defense station in Romania, which will form part of a larger and controversial European shield. Senior US and Nato officials attended the ceremony in Deveselu, southern Romania. The US says the Aegis system is a shield to protect Nato countries from short and medium-range missiles, particularly from the Middle East. But Russia sees it as a security threat - a claim denied by Nato. Relations between the West and Russia have deteriorated since Moscow's annexation of Ukraine's southern Crimea peninsula in 2014.
Drop baggage fees
Two US senators have urged airlines to temporarily stop charging passengers baggage fees in an effort to speed up security queues. Senators Richard Blumenthal and Edward Markey said passengers often bring extra items through the security screening process to save money. They asked major US airlines to suspend the fees during the busy summer season.
The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has struggled with long queues at major airports. "Passengers report waiting for so long in these lines that they miss flights, despite arriving at the airport hours in advance." the senators wrote in a letter to the airlines.
US Congress 'bans members' Yahoo Mail
A series of ransomware attacks on the House of Representatives has led US Congress to ban members from using Yahoo Mail, according to a leaked email. Both Yahoo Mail and Gmail are named in the 30 April email, published on Thursday by Gizmodo, saying the attacks had increased "in the past 48 hours". Yahoo Mail will be blocked "until further notice" it adds. Ransomware encrypts victims' files and demands a ransom be paid for unlocking.
Eurozone growth estimate revised down
The official second estimate of eurozone growth has been revised down slightly from 0.6% to 0.5% in the first quarter of the year. The data, from the Eurostat agency, also revised the annual GDP estimate down a touch to 1.5% from 1.6%. However, the agency said that the vast majority of the 19-country bloc that uses the euro saw higher growth. Only Latvia and Greece saw growth fall. Germany, the biggest economy, more than doubled its growth rate. It grew by 0.7% between January and March, compared with 0.3% in the final quarter of 2015. Annual growth was estimated at 1.3% compared with a year ago.
IMF warns of substantial Brexit risk to UK economy
A vote for the UK to leave the European Union could have a "negative and substantial effect" on economic growth, the International Monetary Fund said. In its regular health check of the UK economy, the IMF said that a Brexit vote would result in a "protracted period of heightened uncertainty". That would cause volatility on financial markets and economic output to decline. Brexit could also erode London's status as a global financial center, it said.
Big insurers send a wake-up call to hedge fund investors
The high-reward, low-risk promises of hedge funds failed to materialize, and many insurance companies are unwinding their positions. Steep losses in hedge fund investments during the last quarter damaged many insurance company earnings, reinforcing decisions to rethink the premises. Apart from industry experts, most people probably didn’t realize that insurance companies, which belong to one of the most heavily regulated industries in the country, were big investors in hedge funds, one of the most lightly regulated of all investment vehicles. Then again, before the financial crisis, hardly anyone realized A.I.G. was exposed to trillions of dollars in derivatives tied to mortgage-backed securities until catastrophe struck and the company had to be bailed out by taxpayers for more than $180 billion. Luckily, there’s little danger of that now with hedge funds, because they make up only a small fraction of insurers’ vast investment portfolios.
France might pass a law that makes it illegal to send after-hours work emails
After-hours and weekend work emails may soon become illegal in France. A bill that prevents companies of 50 or more employees from sending emails after typical work hours passed the French lower parliamentary house earlier this week. The case against after-work emails is that they can cause high levels of stress among employees. "All the studies show there is far more work-related stress today than there used to be and that the stress is constant," said Benoit Hamon, a Socialist member of parliament. "The texts, the messages, the emails -- they colonize the life of the individual to the point where he or she eventually breaks down."
Lyft agrees to $27 million settlement with drivers
Lyft Inc. said it has agreed to pay $27 million to settle a case filed by California drivers over their status as independent contractors of the ride-hailing service.
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