Finance Matters

• 23Jul

  UK ‘is losing 52 pubs each week’

  Business No Comments

  From The BBC:

  UK pubs closed at a rate of 52 per week in the first half of the year – a third more than the same period in 2008 – the British Beer & Pub Association said.Local pubs were the most vulnerable as communities were hit by the fallout of the economic downturn, it added. The research suggested businesses that provided food were far more resilient to the recession. And branded pubs and cafe-style bars were opening at a rate of two a week, according to the report.
  “Pubs are already diversifying, but unfortunately if you are a community pub, you can’t transform yourself into a trendy town-centre bar,” said an association spokesman. “The biggest impact is the recession. There are fewer people out and fewer people spending money in pubs and bars, regardless of where they are,” he said. On Tuesday, two MPs tabled a motion in the House of Commons, urging their colleagues to “support their local pubs”. Liberal Democrat MP Greg Mulholland and Labour’s Lynne Jones said the pub industry was “huge…

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• 23Jul

  HSBC fined for personal data loss

  Business No Comments

  From The BBC:

  Three HSBC firms have been fined more than £3m for failing to adequately protect customers’ confidential details from being lost or stolen.The Financial Services Authority (FSA) said customer data had been lost in the post on two occasions. The firms concerned are HSBC Life UK, HSBC Actuaries and Consultants, and HSBC Insurance Brokers. HSBC said it regretted the breaches, adding that no customer had reported any loss from these failures. Lack of trainingThe FSA said that all three firms had taken action to address the concerns raised.
  It said it had found that “large amounts” of unencrypted customer details had been sent via post or courier to third parties. Confidential information about customers was also found left on open shelves or in unlocked cabinets, the watchdog said. It added that staff had not been given sufficient training on how to identify and manage risks such as identity theft. Lost disksThe FSA identified two instances where unencrypted data had been lost in th…

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• 23Jul

  Shedding light or lightweight? New scheme targets ticket sale scams

  Business No Comments

  From The BBC:

  A code of conduct to try to reduce fraudulent sales of concert and theatre tickets has been launched following a rise in complaints about scams.The code from the Office of Fair Trading and the Society of Ticket Agent Retailers (Star) will cover box office and online vendors. Members of the scheme, which include Lastminute.com and Ticketmaster, will display a Star logo. It does not cover sales on eBay, nor on many unregulated reselling sites.
  “Star has been protecting consumers from sharp practices for over 10 years, but there is more work to be done, as complaints about online ticket scams and street touts continue to flood in,” said Jonathan Brown, secretary of Star. “We need to improve consumer awareness of what to look for when buying tickets, so people can avoid paying inflated prices or risk losing everything if something goes wrong.”
  Missed outThe organisations hope to reduce the growing number of complaints from members of the public who have been misled by deals for sold-out…

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• 23Jul

  Scheme targets ticket sale scams

  Money No Comments

  From The BBC:

  A code of conduct to try to reduce fraudulent sales of concert and theatre tickets has been launched following a rise in complaints about scams.The code from the Office of Fair Trading and the Society of Ticket Agent Retailers (Star) will cover box office and online vendors. Members of the scheme, which include Lastminute.com and Ticketmaster, will display a Star logo. It does not cover sales on eBay, nor on many unregulated reselling sites.
  “Star has been protecting consumers from sharp practices for over 10 years, but there is more work to be done, as complaints about online ticket scams and street touts continue to flood in,” said Jonathan Brown, secretary of Star. “We need to improve consumer awareness of what to look for when buying tickets, so people can avoid paying inflated prices or risk losing everything if something goes wrong.”
  Missed outThe organisations hope to reduce the growing number of complaints from members of the public who have been misled by deals for sold-out…

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• 23Jul

  HSBC fined for personal data loss

  Money No Comments

  From The BBC:

  Three HSBC firms have been fined more than £3m for failing to adequately protect customers’ confidential details from being lost or stolen.The Financial Services Authority (FSA) said customer data had been lost in the post on two occasions. The firms concerned are HSBC Life UK, HSBC Actuaries and Consultants, and HSBC Insurance Brokers. HSBC said it regretted the breaches, adding that no customer had reported any loss from these failures. Lack of trainingThe FSA said that all three firms had taken action to address the concerns raised.
  It said it had found that “large amounts” of unencrypted customer details had been sent via post or courier to third parties. Confidential information about customers was also found left on open shelves or in unlocked cabinets, the watchdog said. It added that staff had not been given sufficient training on how to identify and manage risks such as identity theft. Lost disksThe FSA identified two instances where unencrypted data had been lost in th…

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• 22Jul

  Boeing eyes Dreamliner solution

  Business No Comments

  From The BBC:

  Planemaker Boeing says it has found a “technical solution” to a problem which had delayed the appearance of its new 787 Dreamliner aircraft.However, Boeing did not say when the plane would fly. Last month, Boeing said it had delayed the maiden flight of the Dreamliner once again. Boeing also reported a 17% rise in second-quarter profits to $998m (£417m), helped by its defence unit. Overall sales rose 1% to $17.15bn, with defence sales up 9% to $8.7bn. The Chicago-based company said that it had received 57 new orders during the period, but that 52 existing orders had been cancelled. Revenue impactLast month’s delay of the Dreamliner was the fifth time the launch date had been put back. The long-range, medium-sized plane is already more than two years behind schedule. Releasing its second-quarter results, Boeing said it would reveal a new delivery schedule for the 787 in the current financial quarter. “The 787 programme has identified a technical solution to the previously announce…

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• 22Jul

  Germany affirms Magna preference

  Business No Comments

  From The BBC:

  The German government has said that after initial evaluations of the three bids for Opel, it still favours a deal with Canadian car parts maker Magna.The government supported Magna’s bid in May, but on Monday General Motors (GM)confirmed that it had received three official bids for Opel. Belgian-based investor RHJ International and China’s Beijing Automotive Industries are also bidding. A buyer for Opel is expected to be chosen by the end of July. A final deal could then be agreed by the end of October. The German government’s preference for the Magna bid “has been confirmed by our evaluations,” said government spokesman Ulrich Wilhelm. Chancellor Angela Merkel said: “We have indicated that we see the Magna concept as a sustainable one.” Complex talksThe ultimate decision on which company buys Opel, which includes Vauxhall in the UK, rests with GM, but the German government will have a big role to play as it has provided a 1.5bn euro ($2.13bn; £1.3bn) bridging loan to prevent the…

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• 22Jul

  Flu treatment output ‘to triple’

  Business No Comments

  From The BBC:

  Drugs giant GlaxoSmithKline says it expects to triple capacity of its flu treatment Relenza to 190 million treatments per year.Glaxo also said it had received contracts for 195 million doses of the H1N1 vaccine for swine flu, adding that it was on track to meet the orders. It said it was involved in continuing talks with more than 50 governments to supply pandemic products. Glaxo said pre-tax profits in the three months to 30 June fell 6% to £2.1bn. Group turnover during the quarter was down 2% to £6.7bn. Increasing productionGlaxo said its performance had been boosted by sales of Relenza, “reflecting continued orders from governments across the world for pandemic stock-piling”. Sales of the treatment were £60m in the quarter, compared with £3m in the same period a year ago. Since the outbreak of swine flu, Glaxo said it had committed to increasing production levels of Relenza and effectively developing a new H1N1 vaccine. Shipments of the vaccine are expected i…

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• 22Jul

  MPs to investigate sexism in City

  Business No Comments

  From The BBC:

  The role of women in the City will be the subject of a new inquiry launched by the Treasury Committee.The inquiry by MPs will look into the proportion of senior managerial positions in major financial institutions occupied by women. Specifically, it will examine pay inequalities, flexible working practices and the extent to which a culture of sexism exists in the City. It will also look at the prevalence of sexual harassment and exploitation. “At a time when pay and corporate governance are key issues in terms of re-drawing financial regulation, the committee feels it is important to highlight the issue of gender equality in the financial services industry,” said committee chairman John McFall. Written submissions will be collected before the inquiry begins taking oral evidence after Parliament’s summer recess. Earlier this year, research by the Equality and Human Rights Commission showed that women earn up to 60% less than men in the finance sector….

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• 22Jul

  Morgan Stanley makes $159m loss

  Business No Comments

  From The BBC:

  Morgan Stanley made a loss of $159m (£97m) between April and June, a significant drop on the $698m profit it made in the same period a year earlier.It is the third consecutive loss for the Wall Street bank and was worse than analysts had expected. It was also hit by the cost of repaying government funding. Including that charge, losses totalled $1.3bn. However, a number of Morgan Stanley’s rivals have reported significant jumps second quarter profits. Wells Fargo and Bank of New York Mellon said earlier their profits rose sharply between April and June. And last week, Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan earnings also impressed investors. Net profit at Wells Fargo was $3.17bn, a rise of 82% on the $1.75bn the bank made in the same period last year. Profits from continuing operations at Mellon came in at $501m, up 62% from the $309m it made last year. “Overall, revenue has stabilised, we continue to gain market share and remain profitable,” said Robert Kelly, boss of Mellon. Disappointing…

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