Archive for April 29th, 2010

29
Apr
10

Protesters enter NYC bank buildings before rally

NEWS
Protesters enter NYC bank buildings before rally

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Noisy protesters with signs took over three bank building lobbies on Thursday in a prelude to a Wall Street rally by workers and union leaders angry over lost jobs, the taxpayer-funded bailout of financial institutions and questionable lending practices by big banks.

Hours before the scheduled rally, more than 100 people entered a midtown Manhattan building housing JPMorgan Chase offices. They handed a bank executive a letter requesting a meeting with the CEO, and chanted ‘Bust up big banks!’ and ‘People power!’
A half-hour later, they were calmly escorted outside by officers, who remained expressionless as the protesters chanted, ‘The police need a raise.’

They then walked a few blocks down Park Avenue and crowded into a Wells Fargo and Wachovia building lobby. Police arrived on horseback as curious office workers watched the scene unfold from their windows.
‘We’re here today to stop the corporate greed that is ruining our neighbourhoods,’ said Andrea Goldman, 59, who’s part of a group called Alliance to Develop Power.

Sign slogans included: ‘Save Our Jobs’ and ‘Save Our Homes’.

The banks did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Thousands of workers and union members were expected at the rally, organised by the AFL-CIO, the largest federation of North American labour unions, and an association of community groups.

The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, which includes many Wall Street financial institutions, declined to comment.

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29
Apr
10

Google ranked world’s most valuable brand

NEWS
Google ranked world’s most valuable brand

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Google was crowned the world’s most valuable brand on Wednesday by a research firm that found technology firms dominate when it comes to how much a name is worth in today’s markets.

Google, IBM, Apple and Microsoft topped global stalwarts Coca-Cola, McDonald’s, and Marlboro in a Top Ten brand value list packed with seven technology companies.

Google’s brand was worth more than $114 billion, a 14 percent climb from 2009, according to the annual Millward Brown Optimor ‘BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands’ report.
U.S. technology titan IBM saw its ‘brand value’ surge 30 percent to $86 billion while the worth of Apple’s name climbed 32 percent to $83 billion, according to the report.

Factors taken into consideration in the ranking include customer loyalty and opinions regarding brands and how they influence earnings.

Microsoft ranked fourth with its brand valued at slightly more than $76 billion, just ahead of the nearly $68 billion that Coca-Cola’s brand was said to be worth.

China Mobile, General Electric, and Vodafone claimed the eighth through tenth spots respectively.

Social-networking powerhouse Facebook made it onto a separate Top Twenty technology brands list for the first time with its company name value at $5.5 billion.

Electronics powerhouse Samsung saw the largest jump in brand value, soaring 80 percent from the previous year to $11.3 billion.

‘Technology brands demonstrated their pervasiveness in our daily lives,’ Millward Brown said in a release. ‘Use of social media was a key trend across many of the successful brands.’

The overall value of the Top 100 brands rose four per cent to more than two trillion dollars, according to Millward Brown, which specialises in advertising, marketing communications, media and brand equity research.

‘This ranking has elevated the importance of building brands among some of the world’s most successful companies,’ said Millward Brown global chief executive Eileen Campbell.

‘CEOs and CFOs around the world should be asking their brand and marketing teams how they can leverage brand to both protect and grow the business.’

An investor who put their money into a Brandz portfolio five years ago would have earned a double-digit return as opposed to losing cash with a set of stocks based on the SP 500 index, according to Millward Brown.

‘In the past, many companies were quick to cut their marketing spend during a down economy,’ said Joanna Seddon, head of Millward Brown Optimor.

‘A new trend has emerged in the wake of the recession as more companies realised the importance of maintaining and even increasing budgets to support brand loyalty and engagement.’
• Source(s): Millward Brown
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