Horizontal Integration On the Way for the Car Industry as a Major Takeover Emerges
The European car industry looks like it is set for some consolidation with the news that Peugeot in talks to buy GM's Vauxhall and Opel businesses.
From Chemicals to Cars - Is this the Ultimate in Unrelated Diversification?
What on earth is going on here? Chemicals giant Ineos has announced plans to invest hundreds of millions of pounds behind an attempt to become a car manufacturer.
Business leadership advice from CEO Secrets ...sssh! Silent Debate!
The Business Blog has highlighted this resource before, but the BBC collection of 'CEO Secrets' videos is worth a reminder. There are now masses of short videos, each around 1 minute long, of a...
Tracking Provenance using Blockchain Technology
For many consumers, the provenance of the products they buy is an increasingly important non-price factor influencing the choices they make in markets.
Tesco special offers past their Sell-by Date
If you go into a Tesco store today, you are likely to find that all the staff are out on the shop floor checking their Special Offer labels on the shelves. They have been caught out by a BBC...
Pimlico Plumbers lose case over worker rights
Another gig economy story, but this time the 'worker' has won. In this case, the plumber concerned, Gary Smith, won the right to re-negotiate his contract after he'd had a heart attack. His...
The Ultimate in Business Hedging?
Perhaps this is the ultimate in hedging behaviour - the owner of Durex is buying a company that makes baby food!! What can possibly go wrong?
Delayering and Culture Change at Waitrose
Waitrose is in the headlines with news that it is removing a layer from its store organisational hierarchy as well as closing six under-performing stores.
The Biz Quiz - 10 February 2017
Here is the next Biz Quiz for this term. 10 questions on this week's business news. Good luck!
How would you turn around the fortunes of The Body Shop?
A great article on the BBC website about a brand that lost its way.
Business News Analysis
In trying to encourage my students to engage with real-world news stories, I have made a simple grid (see below) which gets them to think about how key business topics and theories apply to...
Do 6 Hour Working Days Improve Performance?
The results of a Swedish study of the impact of shortening the working day on productivity is about to be published and I'm sure it's going to make for interesting reading.
The $99 Billion Idea: How Uber and Airbnb Won
Fantastic Bloomberg piece - of some length - about the rise of Uber and Airbnb and their regulatory travails - this looks at the emergence of the so-called 'gig economy' and the extent to which...
Business Rates and the survival of Small Retailers
This article looks at the impact of the uprating of business rates on small retailers.
Netflix and the importance of non-price competition
Here is a great chart to emphasise the importance of non-price competition in markets. Netflix ranks highly against their competitors in terms of service reliability, ease of use and quality of...
The Biz Quiz - 3 February 2017
The latest version of the Biz Quiz is now ready to attempt!
BTEC Business Cafe: Q&A with Colin Leith Webinar Recording
Here is the recording of the recent BTEC Business Cafe Q&A webinar with Colin Leith (Pearson Edexcel).
Reckitt Benckiser bids for baby formula maker Mead Johnson
Another merger on the cards: Reckitt-Benckiser, the conglomerate, is looking to add US baby formula manufacturer, Mead Johnson.
Inspiring support for Syrian refugees at Ikea
Ikea operate in 52 countries around the world, including Jordan in the Middle East. They also have a very strong approach to CSR, with the Ikea Foundation aiming "... to improve opportunities for...
Retrenchment at Fitbit
Fitbit, the global market leader in the fitness wearables industry, is looking to reduce operating costs by $200m a year. As a result it is to reduce the size of its global workforce by 6%.