billion euros by 2026 by combining development costs, factory investments and purchasing. That will help Opel generate an operating profit margin of 2 percent by 2020 and 6 percent by 2026. European automaker PSA group is hoping that size matters. MORE

1 An Internet connected world by 2026. Mark 2026 down in your diary as the year when everyone in the world is able to get online, based on current adoption rates. #2 Internet usage, planning tools, paid and social mashups, human computer interface, and social business are highlights of Mary Meeker’s 2017 Internet Report. Mary Meeker, an analyst turned venture capitalist at Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers (KPCB), has published her annual Internet report for 2017. MORE

And jobs for PR pros is expected to surge another 9% by 2026 (Dept of Labor). A couple weeks ago, I made a post on LinkedIn lamenting that the media relations game has gotten a lot harder over the last few years. The stats I’ve seen lately appear to back it up. MORE

According to UBS, if ecommerce sales grow to 25% of the total shopping market share by 2026, 75,000 stores will need to close—including 21,000 clothing stores. Chain execs hope to revive lagging sales by replicating the social media platform in its physical stores. MORE

Just last week Canadian Soccer President Steve Reed said the organization was “very humbled” to win the bid to host the World Cup in 2026 alongside USA and Mexico, which is odd because the word can be taken to mean embarrassed and defeated. MORE

newsroom employment, according to Onclusive, dropped 23% between 2009 and 2017 and paid positions are projected to drop another 10% by 2026. Your B2B PR strategy is a complex machine, with earned, owned, shared, and paid media components all working together. MORE

It’s predicted that journalist jobs will decrease by 9 percent from 2016 to 2026. The cry that “the media is dying” has been echoing for years now, but the latest data from the Labor Department (as recently reported by Bloomberg) is especially dire. MORE

Just last week Canadian Soccer President Steve Reed said the organization was “very humbled” to win the bid to host the World Cup in 2026 alongside USA and Mexico, which is odd because the word can be taken to mean embarrassed and defeated. MORE

s chances of hosting the 2026 World Cup. President Trump’s often divisive policies are causing ripple effects in the sports world. Trump’s latest iteration of what many call the “Muslim ban,” which denies entry to the United States to non-U.S. MORE

Mark 2026 down in your diary as the year when everyone in the world is able to get online, based on current adoption rates. #PRFest, Cannes, the General Election, the Meeker report and image recognition are all among the topics discussed on the latest #FuturePRoof podcast. Sarah Hall and I recorded a new edition of the #FuturePRoof podcast on Monday. Here’s what you’ll learn. FuturePRoof conversation at #PRfest about the value of public relations. MORE

Mark 2026 down in your diary as the year when everyone in the world is able to get online, based on current adoption rates. This is a summary of a speech I gave at the CIPR 2017 Graduation Ceremony. It’s more important than ever to put the public at the heart of your work. Welcome to Ketchum and thank you for the invitation to host the 2017 CIPR Graduation Ceremony. I’m delighted to be here to witness the award of your professional CIPR qualification. MORE

FIFA Secretary General Jerome Valcke announced Wednesday that the soccer organization would postpone bidding on the 2026 World Cup because of its ongoing bribery scandal. A decision on the 2026 World Cup host country was supposed to come at the FIFA congress in Kuala Lumpur in May 2017. MORE

What’s more, employment prospects for PRs will expand even more to 282,600 by 2026 (up 9 percent from 2016) according to projections from the Labor Department. This just in: media relations is getting tougher. Much, much tougher. The stats back up the claim. MORE