WPP still remain top of the media pile after their organic growth outstripped all competitors for Q3 2013.

WPP, the advertising giant encompassing GroupM, has announced a 19% rise in pre-tax profits for the first half of 2013 - representing an increase of £427m.

GroupM, digital holding company and part of the WPP network, have official revised their predictions for their global advertising expenditure for the remainder of 2013, citing the turbulent European economy as cause for concern.

In a press release, GroupM, parent to digital agencies Mindshare, MEC, Maxus and Mediacom, revealed their global outlook.

In the United States, advertising investment is estimated to grow just 1.8 % in 2013 to $156 billion, up from $3 billion in 2012.  A 2.9 % increase is anticipated in 2014, bringing ad spending to $161 billion.

"We estimate marginal growth in advertising spending in 2014 on a comparable component basis," said Rino Scanzoni, GroupM’s Chief Investment Officer for North America.In Western Europe, a 2.4 % decline in spending - compared to 2012  - to $97 billion. Spending in 2014 is expected to rise only 1.8 % to $99 billion.

GroupM Futures Director Adam Smith, who prepared the report, pointed to Europe's financial discord as the reason for revised budgets.

"The Eurozone periphery, specifically Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece and Ireland, is once again the main reason for the decline," Smith said.  

"Stabilisation is elusive. We now expect this group to record an 11% fall in measured advertising in 2013."

You can read the full press release here.

Advertising giant WPP are targeting as much as 45% of total revenues being generated by digital media, CEO Sir Martin Sorrell has claimed via LinkedIn's Influencer feature.

Whilst media outlets were clamouring for WPP's take on relinquishing the title of world's largest media agency, the next band of media groups were quietly going about their business, with executives rallying their agencies and shares prices on the up.

In an unprecedented move, advertising and media giants Publicis Groupe of France and Omnicom of America have announced plans for a $35bn merger that will leapfrog WPP as the world's largest agency.

The world's largest advertising group today announced a 6.7% increase in revenues to reach £3.445bn for the first four months of 2013, up 2.3% on 2012.

In a bid to stave off discontent and rebellion from WPP shareholders, chief executive Sir Martin Sorrell has agreed to a lowered salary as well as a 20% reduction in his bonus package following a £17.6m pay-day last year, a 47.6%  increase over the £11.9m he earned in 2011.

Sir Martin Sorrell's agency has posted revenues of over £10bn for the second succesive year in Friday's preliminary results.

Brazil's former striker and World Cup winner Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima will be joining Sir Martin Sorrell at media agency WPP in London in a surprise move to study advertising.

Media conglomerate WPP has invested $70m (£43m) in IT services provider Globant in exchange for a 20% stake in the Buenos Aires company.

Negotiations between WPP's media buying division Group M and broadcaster Channel 4 have come to a standstill as Sir Martin Sorrell's advertising group seek an improvement on their two-year, £200m deal that expires before 2013.