CX: Survival of the Fittest seminar - 29th September, London

Editor's Notes

• #50: $1.5 billion in private funding from hedge funds, mutual funds and private investors for a valuation of $25.5 billion, making it worth more than some of the largest hotel chains.
• #53: A keystroke by Chinese premier Li Keqiang marked the launch of China’s first online-only bank, reflecting the government’s hope that a new crop of privately owned lenders will expand access to finance for small-scale borrowers. “We will lower costs for and deliver practical benefits to small clients, while forcing traditional financial institutions to accelerate reforms,” Mr Li said at an opening ceremony in Shenzhen, according to Xinhua, the official news agency. “It’s one small step for WeBank, one giant step for financial reform.” http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ccc5a6dc-9488-11e4-82c7-00144feabdc0.html#ixzz3fVFyzdz9 Tencent and Alibaba plan to exploit a “big data” advantage, using troves of user information to evaluate credit risk of small borrowers. With the press of a button on Sunday, Mr Li sent dispatched a Rmb35,000 ($5,600) loan to a truck driver. Analysts expect most loans will be less than Rmb1m.
• #74: The "Share a Coke'' campaign has been such a hit that, for at least a few months, it reversed a decadelong decline in U.S. Coke consumption. That has provided a welcome lift for the beverage giant, which is trying to combat concerns over obesity and artificial sweeteners by hiking its global advertising budget by $1 billion over the next three years, up from $3.3 billion in 2013. After falling 11 years in a row, Coke's U.S. soft-drink volumes rose 0.4% for the 12 weeks through August from the same period a year ago, according to Wells Fargo, which cited Nielsen store-scanner data. Sales rose 2.5% in dollar terms. Over the same time period, soda volume and dollar sales remained negative at rivals PepsiCo Inc. and Dr Pepper Snapple Group Inc.
• #114: . Furniture & Electrical collections requests were again over 20,000 for the month of March up 40% on March 2014 and representing roughly £1 million to the BHF. . Event registrations were up 74% this month on the same month last year. . Heart Matters sign-ups were up 25%.
• #115: . Furniture & Electrical collections requests were again over 20,000 for the month of March up 40% on March 2014 and representing roughly £1 million to the BHF. . Event registrations were up 74% this month on the same month last year. . Heart Matters sign-ups were up 25%.
• #116: . Furniture & Electrical collections requests were again over 20,000 for the month of March up 40% on March 2014 and representing roughly £1 million to the BHF. . Event registrations were up 74% this month on the same month last year. . Heart Matters sign-ups were up 25%.