Cable Turns Up The Heat On All-Male Boards

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

Britain's biggest pubs operator and one of the country's largest sportswear retailers are to be targeted by Vince Cable in a renewed focus on bolstering boardroom diversity.

Sky News understands that the Business Secretary plans to write to the chairmen of approximately 30 FTSE-350 companies which have all-male boards more than three years after an initiative was launched to increase the number of women directors.

Among those which continue to have only men on their boards are Enterprise Inns, JD Sports Fashion, 3i Infrastructure and HellermannTyton, an industrial group.

Since Glencore, the mining and commodities giant, became the last FTSE-100 company to appoint a female director earlier this year, the number of all-male boards among the next 250 largest businesses has fallen from almost 50 to 30.

Mr Cable is expected to express frustration that the remaining laggards have not done more to bolster diversity.

His latest intervention will coincide with the publication of a half-yearly progress report on female representation in boardrooms.

New figures due to be published on Thursday are likely to show that only a couple of dozen further appointments need to be made by FTSE-100 companies during the next 14 months in order to meet the original target of 25% female directors by the end of 2015.

The diversity initiative was spearheaded in 2011 by Lord Davies, the former Standard Chartered chairman and trade minister who is among the UK's most respected businessmen.

Mr Cable and Lord Davies have both backed a voluntary approach to the issue, arguing that quotas would do little to address challenges such as the number of women in senior executive posts at major companies.

The Business Secretary is now turning his attention to other areas of diversity in business, arguing recently that ethnic minority representation in boardrooms remains weak.

16.01 | 0 komentar | Read More

FirstGroup Loses ScotRail Franchise

Transport giant FirstGroup has lost its renewal bid for the ScotRail franchise, it has been confirmed.

The company will continue to operate First ScotRail until the new contract starts on 1 April, according to Transport Scotland.

An announcement by Scottish government officials is expected to be made at 9.30am this morning.

The new franchisee for the £2.5bn contract is Abellio, an offshoot of the Dutch national railways.

Confirming the franchise loss, FirstGroup said: "As one of the most experienced rail operators we are actively participating in a range of rail franchise competitions with the objective of achieving earnings on a par with the last round of franchising.

"(We) remain in discussions with the Department for Transport in respect of a potential longer direct award for our largest franchise First Great Western, during the period when the substantial programme of infrastructure upgrades will take place on the network."

The ScotRail loss is another blow to the revenue potential of FirstGroup.

In May, FirstGroup discovered it had lost out on the new seven-year Thameslink, Southern and Great Northern (TSGN) franchise into London, which was won by Go-Ahead-owned Govia.

A week later it was revealed troubled outsourcing firm Serco won a 15-year contract to operate the Caledonian Sleeper.

The overnight service runs from London Euston, northwest England and more than 40 destinations in Scotland, including Edinburgh, Glasgow, Fort William and Aberdeen.

Last year, shares in the company plunged by 30% after it announced a £615m fund-raising rights issue in a bid to reduce its heavy debt burden.

The RMT rail union said the new contract was a "scandalous" development, insisting it was the ideal opportunity to bring the franchise back into public ownership.

And the TSSA rail union described the Abellio win as "a slap in the face for Scots rail passengers".

TSSA boss Manuel Cortes said: "Only a few weeks ago, the Scottish people were promised the power to run a publicly owned railway which would put them first, ahead of private rail firms.

"Now the Scottish government wants to hand that railway to a firm run by Dutch state railways.

"So Scots passengers will now effectively subsidise Dutch rail passengers so fares can be lower over there."

The news comes as FirstGroup released a trading update for the six months to the end of September, with bus revenue expected to rise 2.1% and rail revenue by 6.5% in the period.

16.01 | 0 komentar | Read More

Wonga Ad Banned Over Interest Rate Omission

A television advertisement for under-fire payday lender Wonga has been banned by the industry's watchdog.

The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) found the commercial, featuring a man writing car repair figures on a napkin before calculating costs, did not include the interest rate payable.

A complaint about the advert had been lodged by the charity Citizens Advice.

The script said that customers would "save money", but the ASA deemed this a comparison with other short-term lenders.

The decision by the watchdog means it cannot be broadcast in its current form again.

Citizens Advice has now had five companies' adverts banned by the ASA, over opaqueness in the true cost of short-term loans.

Wonga and other lenders have been heavily criticised in recent months over the annual percentage rates (APR) charged.

On its website the company makes clear its APR is almost 6,000% if the short-term loans are not paid in full, on time.

Citizens Advice chief executive Gillian Guy said: "Payday loan adverts that break the rules should be taken off the air.

"Adverts must be clear about what taking out a loan means and how much it will cost.

"The consequences are really serious when payday lending goes wrong. High interest rates and fees can mean that a small loan balloons into a huge debt."

This year has been an annus horribilis for Wonga, and the wider sector.

In September Wonga revealed its full-year 201 profit fell by 53% to £39.7m, after it set aside a provision of £18.8m to compensate 200,000 customers over technical problems and the tactic of sending fake legal letters to those in default.

And last week it wrote off the debts of 330,000 customers after admitting it lent money to people who could not  afford to pay back borrowings.

The company's new chairman Andy Haste said the company needs "real and urgent" change to make Wonga an "accepted business".

He added: "We want to ensure we only lend to those who can reasonably afford the loan in question."

16.01 | 0 komentar | Read More

US Jobless Rate Now At Lowest Since July 2008

The unemployment rate in the United States has dropped to 5.9%, the lowest level since July 2008.

The jobless rate dropped by 0.2% from the August figure.

Official data showed that the US economy created 248,000 non-farm jobs in September.

The Labor Department said employers added 69,000 more jobs in July and August, higher than the government had previously estimated.

It said job creation was strongest in the restaurant industry, health care, food and beverage stores and administrative services.

More modest additions were recorded in construction and government hiring.

The improved figures come after President Barack Obama touted his administration's economic achievements in a speech on Thursday.

The economy is one of the top issues in voters' minds as the November mid-term elections near.

The lower jobless rate, combined with the surge in hiring, could ratchet up pressure on the Federal Reserve to raise its benchmark interest rate earlier than expected.

Most economists have predicted that the Fed would start raising rates in mid-2015.

"This number will continue to support the notion that the economy is growing ... (but) isn't so strong that the Fed will raise rates anytime soon," Kingsview Asset Management portfolio manager Paul Nolte said.

With rate hike expectations mounting, the dollar pushed higher on foreign exchanges after the figures were published at 1.30pm BST.

Markets across Europe except Germany's DAX, which was closed for the day, jumped on release of the new data.

In broader economic news, officials said the US trade gap narrowed in August to $40.1bn (£25bn).

The Commerce Department said the revised figure was $200m (£125m) down on the first estimate.

Economists had expected the trade gap to have grown to $40.9bn.

16.01 | 0 komentar | Read More

John Lewis Boss Sorry For 'Hopeless' France Jibe

The boss of the John Lewis Partnership has apologised to France, after saying the country was "finished".

Managing director Andy Street held up an olive branch after a series of negative comments about the country were published on the front page of The Times.

He had made critical comments at an event for entrepreneurs in London that included a competition for start-up businesses.

Mr Street described France as "sclerotic, hopeless and downbeat," and urged British business people with investments in the country "to get them out quickly".

He had said: "I have never been to a country more ill at ease … nothing works and worse, nobody cares about it."

Mr Street is the most senior executive in the partnership, which shares an equal percentage of profits amongst all workers.

He joked to the audience that an award given to the company at the World Retail Congress in Paris was "made of plastic and is frankly revolting".

"If I needed any further evidence of a country in in decline, here it is. Every time I (see it), I shall think, 'God help France.'"

However, on Friday, Mr Street said in a statement to Sky News that his comments "were supposed to be lighthearted views, and tongue in cheek".

He added that "on reflection I clearly went too far. I regret the comments, and apologise unreservedly".

But the Gallic wrath may already be building, despite there being no John Lewis or Waitrose store presence in France.

After informing readers that Mr Street called the Eurostar terminal of Gard du Nord the "squalor pit of Europe", Les Echos called his comments "bitter and angry".

It then warned readers that John Lewis has plans to roll-out a website catering for French customers, with pricing in euros.

Les Echos then quipped: "The fuss is already assured."

16.01 | 0 komentar | Read More

Labour Peer McFall Joins Digital Bank Atom

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

Lord McFall, a former chairman of the Treasury Select Committee, is joining the board of Atom, the first British digital-only bank that hopes to launch next year.

Sky News understands that the Labour peer is among a crop of directors being appointed by the new venture, which is being set up by the co-founder of Metro Bank and former boss of First Direct.

Lord McFall, who will become Atom's senior independent director, was also previously a director of NBNK Investments, which was set up after the banking crisis to buy assets from the UK's bailed-out banks.

NBNK was trumped in the auction of 630 Lloyds Banking Group branches by the Co-operative Group, a deal which collapsed as the mutually-owned lender came close to implosion amid the scandal over Paul Flowers, its former chairman.

Lord McFall's appointment will be announced shortly, according to an insider, alongside those of Jon Hogan, a former executive at ANZ Bank and First Direct; and Bridget Rosewell, a director of Ulster Bank and Network Rail.

Atom is awaiting regulatory approval from the Financial Conduct Authority and the Prudential Regulation Authority but hopes to launch next year.

The new business will not have any physical branches and will be primarily accessible through the internet and digital apps.

Anthony Thomson, Atom's chairman, and Mark Mullen, its chief executive, are understood to be planning to offer a full range of products aimed at personal and small business customers.

These will include current and savings accounts, as well as loan products.

It is not clear whether the pair have secured external financial backing for Atom, which headquartered in northeast England, close to the Newcastle base of Virgin Money, which this week announced plans to float on the stock market.

The plans for Atom come amid an explosion in the demand for digital banking services and a commensurate decline in footfall at thousands of retail bank branches.

Earlier this year, the British Bankers' Association (BBA) published research showing that UK-based customers conducted almost 40 million mobile and internet banking transactions each week last year.

The BBA insisted that branches would "remain at the heart of banking in the 21st century", but it emerged just days later that the taxpayer-backed Royal Bank of Scotland was closing 44 branches, sparking a fresh political row.

Under revised rules aimed at bolstering competition, the FCA has pledged to decide on banking licence applications within six months.

The process historically took several years, frustrating Treasury officials in the aftermath of the 2008 banking crisis, which sparked the merger of Lloyds TSB and HBOS, and the disappearance of several other UK banks.

Some applicants, such as Home & Savings Bank, a telephone and internet-based lender, were effectively forced to abandon their plans because of difficulties securing regulatory approval.

Metro Bank's launch in 2010 as the first new high street bank for more than a century came after a similarly tortuous process.

16.01 | 0 komentar | Read More