Watson's Daily

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I've been asked this question quite a lot this week. 🤷🤷 Even my kids have asked me about the riots and why people are engaging in them. 🙋♂️ Are we more anti-immigration than other countries? According to a 2022 World Values survey, around 55% of respondents said that immigration had a positive impact on our development. This is about DOUBLE the level in France in Germany. 🙋♀️ Are we really seeing a deluge of asylum seekers? Although recent debate has centred on small boat crossings, asylum seekers only actually accounted for 1 in 12 immigrants to Britain from outside the EU last year. Most immigrants are therefore people who've paid for visas to work and study here. 🙋♂️ Are asylum seekers responsible for rising rates of crime? Academic studies in the UK, the US and Italy have found zero correlation between higher levels of immigration and rising crime rates. Another study showed that although there was some evidence of slightly higher rates of theft and burglary among asylum seekers, this was essentially the same rate as natives who lived in disadvantaged areas. 🙋♀️ Do asylum seekers take our jobs or suck up our resources? Other studies also show that immigration does not significantly influence rates of pay or employment among natives while it also turns out that immigrants are net contributors to the NHS – thus disproving the notion held by around 70% of Britons (according to a recent Ipsos poll) that immigration puts extra pressure on the NHS. A report by the Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) showed that new arrivals contributed “much more” to health services than they consumed (immigrants tend to be younger and therefore use the NHS less whilst also many are employed by it – official data shows that around 20% of doctors and 33% of nurses in England come from abroad!). 😯 It is worth noting that seven out of ten of the most deprived areas of England saw riots over the last two weeks – and they also have a higher-than-average proportion of asylum seekers in taxpayer-funded accommodation, the result of the previous government’s policy of housing immigrants in cheaper areas while they were being processed (presumably because this meant that accommodation costs were lower). The fact that these areas are socio-economically deprived and have high unemployment no doubt fuels the feeling that the asylum seekers are taking up scarce resources. ULTIMATELY, I think that the findings above need to be shouted about far and wide, but the government also needs to address the underlying issues of poverty and living standards as a matter of urgency. This is a short version of one of the topics I talked about in today's newsletter. If you want more insights like this, please subscribe to Watson's Daily. For a free trial, use this link ➡️ https://lnkd.in/epkYAp6g I spend at least 5 hours a day writing this newsletter so you can get the essence of business and financial markets news from 5 broadsheets in a 10 minute read ⏱️

Do you know what I do every day?? I write Watson’s Daily, a set of integrated resources that helps you understand, remember and use the business and financial markets news to enhance your knowledge and career prospects. It takes me about 5 hours a day to condense the commercial news that matters so that you can read it in 10 minutes 👍 Here’s a quick guide to how I go about writing it all. BTW, I’m recruiting for ambassadors at the moment so if you want to work with me, you’ll find the application form here 👉 https://lnkd.in/d8NDEVcp The application deadline is Sunday 11th August at midnight.

📢 Burberry just had its second profit warning of the year. It announced the departure of the CEO and appointment of a new one. 👎It seems that the strategy of going more "up-market" was the wrong one to follow against the tricky economic backdrop of the last few years. 🤔 The problem is that, expensive though Burberry's products are for most people, it's not quite got the same cachet as brands like Hermès and Chanel, for instance. This means it's not quite top end - where customers are so rich that they are insulated against struggling economies - whilst it occupies that area of being expensive and being exposed to customers who normally DO have money but aren't feeling all that flush at the moment. Other brands in this expensive-but-not-quite-top-top-end bracket include companies like Mulberry, who are also suffering at the moment. 🧐 Also, I think that it's very difficult for fashion brands to transition upwards because they will always have that previous baggage and customers in this segment can be quite snooty, which makes elevation quite difficult and very time-consuming. 💡 So what's the solution? I think it needs to double-down on the crowd-pleasing products that people want - but more than anything I think it needs to define its core customer and do its utmost to give them what they want and not get distracted by a battle they won't win (going up-market). HOWEVER, IF they want to elevate the brand, then I think that the best way to do this is to create a sister "exclusive" brand (Toyota has Lexus, right??) and give it a separate identity that has no baggage. They have done this before to some extent but perhaps it's time to have another go... If you want more insights like this, please subscribe to Watson's Daily. For a free trial, use this link ➡️ https://lnkd.in/epkYAp6g Other stories today include the Fed hinting at a rate cut, Trump's new running mate, energy suppliers pushing for green tax changes, Jaguar cutting all but one of its petrol cars, trouble in luxury, Goldman Sach's profits, Slaughter and May ploughing its own furrow and UK private schools braced for impact... Today's edition of Watson's Daily comments on 16 stories from 5 major newspapers, cut down from 145 stories. I take up to 5 hours each morning to write Watson's Daily so you can read the most important business news in just 10 minutes per day. I SAVE YOU TIME - so you can concentrate on the good stuff 👍! Also - THIS SORT OF NEWS CAN BE FUN!!! I show you how to enjoy it and learn all at the same time 😁

Feelings are running high stateside as Trump survived an assassination attempt over the weekend. The image of a blood-stained former president, fist aloft in defiance and surrounded by Secret Service agents is one that will not be easily forgotten. What effect will this have on the presidential election campaign? 🪧 Trump's supporters will be enraged and feel even more strongly about getting behind their man. People who were perhaps wavering may now favour him as someone with resilience and who still has fight left in him. 🙊 This will have neutralised any personal verbal attacks on Trump or his entourage at least for the time being - and time is running out. Biden's campaign has had to hurriedly pull TV ads. 😇 Although this latest development means that there's been a brief respite for Biden over his continued candidacy, the image of a defiant Trump is so powerful that I think it would be difficult for anyone to fight against him - let alone someone who has had their leadership competency questioned so much of late. I think that drastic times call for drastic measures and if the Democrats want to fight back, what about gambling it all on a candidate that has real visibility? This probably won't happen but why not fight age with youth and put AOC - Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez - forward? She is well-known, has strong views and is known as a fighter. Could she not take the baton for Biden? Other more "official" candidates just don't seem to have the same visibility and such a move may mobilise a lot of voters. This is, of course, highly unlikely but I just don't think that Biden stands a chance at the moment. He keeps appealing to people to look at his record - but in voting for a president, people are voting for the future, not the past. As things stand, a big win for Trump could have major implications not just for the US - but for Europe and China (and the rest of the world) - as the sands of the geopolitical landscape continue to shift. This would come at a particularly sensitive time for Europe that is increasingly favouring the populists. I would normally comment more on financial markets and business news but there are times when politics and economics become intertwined. This is one such instance, hence the opinion! What happens in America will affect us all. If you want more insights like this, please subscribe to Watson's Daily. For a free trial, use this link ➡️ https://lnkd.in/epkYAp6g Today's edition of Watson's Daily comments on 17 stories from 5 major newspapers, cut down from 133 stories. I take up to 5 hours each morning to write Watson's Daily so you can read the most important business news in just 10 minutes per day. I SAVE YOU TIME - so you can concentrate on the good stuff 👍! Also - THIS SORT OF NEWS CAN BE FUN!!! I show you how to enjoy it and learn all at the same time 😁

Athletic Brewing is America's biggest non-alcoholic beer brand and it just closed a new financing round that gives it an implied valuation of around $800m! It was only founded in 2017 and was called "Athletic" because it wanted to reflect the lifestyle of its customers and because it was an easy name to shout in a noisy bar 🤣! This is notable for the following reasons: 🚫 Younger people are drinking less than previous generations. This is probably because a) they are more health-conscious and b) because there are actually some pretty decent alcohol-alternatives out there. 🍺 Non-alcoholic beer is now the fastest-growing segment of the beer market. Earlier this week we saw Carlsberg buy Britvic as the former wanted to boost its non-alcohol product line-up. 😇 There seems to be a change in the locations and what goes on in social gatherings (particularly in work-related events) so they are more inclusive of non-drinkers. Brewers around the world are re-working their product array to take the above into account. I would have thought that any non-alcoholic beverage specialists will either continue to grow quickly or get bought out by a big player like Diageo, Asahi etc. That would certainly give founders something to toast! Will you be drinking alcohol whilst watching tonight's football match between England and the Netherlands?? If you want more insights like this, please subscribe to Watson's Daily. For a free trial, use this link ➡️ https://lnkd.in/epkYAp6g Today's edition of Watson's Daily comments on 17 stories from 5 major newspapers, cut down from 147 stories. I take up to 5 hours each morning to write Watson's Daily so you can read the most important business news in just 10 minutes per day. I SAVE YOU TIME - so you can concentrate on the good stuff 👍! Also - THIS SORT OF NEWS CAN BE FUN!!! I show you how to enjoy it 😁

😭 Europe’s battery industry is struggling due to a global EV sales slowdown, leading to dropped or delayed projects. 🤔 Uncertainty regarding European government policies towards EVs is likely to allow Chinese manufacturers to dominate the market while European makers are like rabbits in the headlights 😫 European battery start-ups are facing setbacks: Northvolt lost a $2bn BMW contract, delaying planned new factories elsewhere in Europe and Canada while VW’s PowerCo shelved plans for a fourth European battery plant Chinese and South Korean companies (including Svolt and SK On) are also facing issues. CONCLUSION: I think that Europe must innovate in battery technology or consolidate with other players to stay competitive and avoid disappearing from the market. BEST QUOTE FROM TODAY: (regarding Biden's disappearing chances of getting elected) "I think that the only way Biden’s going to convince people he’s OK is to do Ninja Warrior and perhaps follow that up with a tricky pub quiz (if he did that, I think they should do it Pay Per View..." If you want more insights like this, please subscribe to Watson's Daily. For a free trial, use this link ➡️ https://lnkd.in/epkYAp6g Today's edition of Watson's Daily uses 16 stories from 5 major newspapers, cut down from 161 stories. I take up to 5 hours each morning to write Watson's Daily so you can read the most important business news in just 10 minutes per day. I SAVE YOU TIME - so you can concentrate on the good stuff 👍! Also - THIS SORT OF NEWS CAN BE FUN!!! I show you how to enjoy it 😁

Labour got a massive Commons majority, but only got 34% of the vote (this is actually a smaller share of the vote than Jeremy Corbyn got in the last election). It's thought that Starmer may face pressure from his MPs to shift left, but he insists on governing as New Labour. Among many other things, he faces the following: 🧑⚕️ IN HEALTH - Starmer wants to increase real health spending by 1.1% per year, but that is going to be of limited use. Some say that cutting the waiting list backlog according to what he's said thus far would take 5 years on the most generous assumptions. 👷♀️ IN CONSTRUCTION - Starmer wants to build 1.5m new homes over the next 5 years but there's scepticism about his plans as successive governments have failed to build 300,000 homes per year since 1980! 🏫 IN EDUCATION - Labour’s pledge to recruit 6,500 expert teachers sounds good but equates to just under two teachers per secondary school while past efforts at hiring more grads have been rubbish - secondary school teacher recruitment reached just 51% of target in 2023-24. Clearly new tactics are needed. 💷 IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR - investment has lagged other OECD counties badly since 2020, and Labour’s plans to boost it by almost £5bn a year by 2028-9 will not even touch the sides. Perhaps the restoration of public trust will be the most important job of all if Starmer wants to stay at Number 10 for another term (yes, I know he's just got there but I'm sure this is something that will be playing on his mind!). He will go a long way in getting this if he manages to deliver. In the meantime, tax reforms, planning changes, and the improvement of public services will all be needed, while the City of London wants the government to work on regulatory stability and better UK-Europe relations. I would have thought that he has a decent chance of making at least some progress as he has no "baggage" to deal with and he has a group of energised MPs keen to do his bidding. If you want more insights like this, please subscribe to Watson's Daily. For a free trial, use this link ➡️ https://lnkd.in/eaHyen_4 Today's edition of Watson's Daily uses 18 stories from 5 major newspapers, cut down from 130 stories. I take up to 5 hours each morning to write Watson's Daily so you can read the most important business news in just 10 minutes per day. I also try to make it amusing (where possible 😁!) and explain why these stories are important.

It's all getting a bit dramatic... https://lnkd.in/dpkkdG_v