Editor: Pat Williams. E-mail pwilliams@creditman.co.uk
John Arnold. E-mail jarnold@creditman.co.uk
Site: Business Credit Management UK
URL: http://www.creditman.co.uk
Issue: 107
Dated: 25 April 1999
Welcome to the Business Credit News UK.
In this weeks edition you will find the following topics.
UKTHE EURO
The EURO fell to its lowest level against the dollar in its brief life, helped along by the European Central Bank's comments that its policy towards the currency was "one of neglect". Since its launch in January, Europe's single currency has slipped by 10%.
Source: The Economist
EUROBONDS
Finance ministers in the European Union agreed to study whether the wholesale market for Eurobonds could be exempted from a proposed EU withholding tax on interest payments. If so, the City of London, where most of these bonds are traded, will echo with sighs of relief.
Source: The Economist
LEVEL OF MINIMUM WAGE MUST REFLECT ECONOMIC CIRCUMSTANCES
The Chairman of the Low Pay Commission, Professor George Bain, believes it would have been a mistake to rely on any rigid formula when setting the National Minimum Wage. Writing in the forthcoming edition of Employee Relations, Professor Bain argues that any such formula could not take into account the dynamic nature of the UK labour market and the potential impact on business costs. The Commission's recommendations were a matter of judgment, based on careful analysis of labour market data and consideration of the views both of employees and employers.
Professor Bain focuses on the proposition that the minimum pay level should be half male median earnings, which some claim produces a figure of £4.79. He says that this figure is derived from an 'apple and pears' formula, with the full-time hourly earnings of men, including overtime, divided by the hours worked by men and women but excluding overtime. The formula is used to produce a high figure which can serve as a campaigning tool. While the need for such a slogan may be understandable, there are a number of ways of devising a figure for half male median hourly earnings. Professor Bain argues that a more legitimate formula, one that compares like with like, produces a figure of £4.07.
He goes on to point out that the figure of £4.07 includes overtime, shift premia and regional allowances, which are not included in the National Minimum Wage. For a more sensible comparison between median earnings and the National Minimum Wage those elements would need to be removed. Professor Bain says this means that the Commission's 'recommended rate of £3.60 is not very far off the figure for half male median earnings calculated on the same basis'
But Professor Bain says that, while the formulaic calculations may be interesting for comparative purposes, they can never fully take account of 'the complexities of a modern labour market'. The Low Pay Commission is determined that its work will continue to be based on a commitment to a wide-ranging consultation process and a thorough understanding of the current labour market. It was these foundations that ensured the success of its First Report.
ENERGY TAX DETAILS MUST REFLECT DANGERS TO MANUFACTURING - CBI CHIEF
Adair Turner, Director-General of the Confederation of British Industry, told the Government last week to recognise the problems facing manufacturing and to avoid piling on unnecessary burdens through an energy tax.
Speaking at the CBI East Midlands Manufacturing Dinner in Nottingham, Mr Turner said: "This month has produced some positive signals suggesting that the overall economy is beginning to look up and the series of interest rate cuts have helped to restore consumer confidence. But despite these encouraging signs we are still faced with an unbalanced economy.
"While the whole economy has avoided recession, the manufacturing sector hasn't. Slower domestic consumption has been compounded by sluggish world trade growth, and by an overvalued pound."
He said: "There is little the Government can do about the strong pound but they must refrain from piling any unnecessary burdens onto manufacturers The details of the climate change levy must be designed to ensure that manufacturing competitiveness is not harmed. The proposed 50 per cent reduction for energy intensive users will be too small to achieve this."
Mr Turner said: "Any levy will inevitably create winners and losers. But our concern is that the majority of the losers will be manufacturing companies since the rebate is going to be paid via NICs - not helpful for a cement plant that uses a lot of energy but doesn't have that many staff. In these energy intensive sectors we need to find ways of achieving environmental objectives which are consistent with competitive success. Maximum use needs to be made of voluntary agreements, rebates should be available also for companies participating in effective emissions trading schemes."
INLAND REVENUE INTEREST RATES - QUARTERLY INSTALMENT PAYMENTS, AND EARLY PAYMENTS OF CORPORATION TAX NOT DUE BY INSTALMENTS
The Inland Revenue on the 22nd April1999 announced new rates of interest for underpaid and overpaid instalment payments of corporation tax, and early payments of corporation tax not due by instalments, in respect of accounting periods ending on or after 1 July 1999. These rates will take effect from 19 April 1999. The changes are the result of recent changes in market rates.
The rate of interest charged on underpaid instalment payments of corporation tax has decreased from 7.50 per cent to 7.25 per cent.
The rate of interest on overpaid instalment payments of corporation tax, and on corporation tax paid early (but not due by instalments), has decreased from 5.25 per cent to 5.00 per cent.
EMPLOYMENT HITS ANOTHER NEW RECORD - ANDREW SMITH
Commenting on the latest Labour Market Statistics, Employment Minister Andrew Smith said: "The figures show another very welcome increase in the level of employment with 80,000 more people in jobs than in the previous quarter.
"Economic activity has also continued to increase and there remains a healthy level of vacancies, accompanied by a small rise in the claimant count, which is lower than anticipated by independent commentators. Employment and unemployment are both rising at the same time because more people are becoming economically active, that is to say they have the confidence actively to look for work rather than depending on benefits."
Andrew Smith stressed: "The rise in both employment and unemployment this month needs to be seen in this context. It is accounted for by:
Mr Smith added: "I strongly welcome the fact that more people are actively looking for work and are finding it. The New Deal and other Employment Service initiatives are there to help many more people to get jobs.
"Employment has once again reached new record levels with:
Turning to international comparisons, Mr Smith said: "The UK's employment rate compares very favourably indeed with the rest of Europe. Britain's employment rate is the highest of all the larger EU countries, and it is second only to Denmark."
Commenting on the claimant count, the Employment Minister said: "This rose only very slightly, and less than had been anticipated by independent commentators, by 2,000 in the month to March 1999. It is down 59,400 on last year. Both measures of unemployment need to be seen in the context of record levels of employment and economic activity.
"In addition, the number of economically inactive people fell by 77,000 over the last quarter. This decrease shows that more people with family responsibilities, or who suffer from an illness or disability, feel confident and able enough to start competing for jobs. The New Deals for lone parents and disabled people are building on this trend of greater participation in the active labour force.
"While employment continues to grow in most areas of the country, there are some areas which need extra help. That is why we have targeted help for those facing large scale redundancies through our Rapid Response Units which we have established to assist people to find jobs quickly."
Today's figures also show that average earnings increased by 0.1% from January 1999 to February 1999 to 4.6%.
BACKGROUND TO LABOUR MARKET STATISTICS: April 1999
Employment is up by 336,000 on the year but unemployment also rose.
Over the year to December to February LFS employment grew rapidly by 336,000. The rate of employment growth has increased since Spring 1998. The picture of robust job growth is complemented by a continuing high level of vacancies. However, despite rapid job growth unemployment rose on both measures because of a rapid pick up in the numbers in the labour force. Earnings growth rose to 4.6%.
Employment is growing strongly and vacancies are high.
Despite rapid job growth ILO unemployment grew by 32,000 over the quarter but is still down by 17,000 over the year. The claimant count also rose - by 2,000. The series is down on six months ago but roughly flat since the end of last year. The reason why both employment and ILO unemployment are up in the latest quarter is because of a rapid pick up in the numbers in the labour force. In the last quarter the numbers economically active grew by 112,000 thousand, some 32,000 more than the rise in employment of 80,000. The rise in the numbers in the labour market is likely to affect the ILO unemployment measure more than the claimant count because people joining the labour market are less likely to be claiming unemployment benefit.
Much of the rise in the numbers joining the labour force seems to be due to a reduction in the numbers who were previously inactive either because they were looking after family and home or because they were long term sick and disabled.
Earnings growth has moderated since mid 1998 but rose in the latest month to 4.6%
In the three months to December to February the 'headline' rate of earnings growth was 4.6% down from 5.7% in June 1998 but up from a (revised) 4.5% last month.
Skill shortages and recruitment difficulties have eased somewhat recently. Also, because unemployment falls during the recovery have been relatively even across age, sex, duration and region there are few signs of general labour shortages.
The recent increase in the numbers joining the labour force may provide some help in filling skill shortages and resolving recruitment difficulties.
THE QUEEN'S AWARDS FOR EXPORT, TECHNOLOGICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL ACHIEVEMENT 1999
Firms ranging from a manufacturer of propellers to a maker of natural history films are among 101 British companies to be granted a prestigious Queen's Award.
Her Majesty the Queen has announced 82 Awards for Export Achievement, 14 Awards for Technological Achievement and 5 Awards for Environmental Achievement.
The recipients are from a wide spread of industrial and commercial activity and size of company. Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and all regions of England are represented.
CRITERIA
The Queen's Award for Export Achievement
A substantial and sustained increase in export earnings to a level which is outstanding for the products or services concerned and for the size of the applicant unit's operations.
Eligible export earnings include receipts by the applicant unit in this country for its:
Applicants are expected to explain how the increase in export earnings has been achieved, for example through new export market initiatives, and to describe any special market factors.
The three years' figures supplied in the application are examined to see how exports have increased between Year 1 and Year 2, and the extent to which the increase has been sustained in Year 3. The rate of increase is compared with that of exporters trading in similar goods and services, and the general export trend. The size of the unit's operations is also taken into account. In addition the overall export performance of the applicant unit is considered.
Established exporters with a consistently high export performance who cannot show dramatic export growth over the three years may also submit a record of earlier export performance. Full weight is given to this.
The Queen's Award for Technological Achievement
A significant advance, leading to increased efficiency, in the application of technology to a production or development process in British industry or the production for sale of goods which incorporate new and advanced technological qualities.
An essential factor recognised by the Award is practical application in industry. An Award is only made when there is evidence that an innovation has achieved commercial success.
The Queen's Award for Environmental Achievement
A significant advance in the application by British industry of the development of products, technology or processes which offer major benefits in environmental terms compared to existing products, technology or processes. An Award is only granted for products, technology or processes which have achieved commercial success.
A significant advance and not just the natural development expected from a company of a particular size or stature, or in a particular industry, is sought.
Applicants are expected to show the significance and difficulty of the environmental problem addressed by the product, technology or process; the extent to which the product, technology or process addresses the cause of the environmental problem rather than its effect and the potential for wider application or transfer.
THE AWARDS
The Queen's Awards for Export, Technological and Environmental Achievement differ from personal honours in that they are given to the industrial unit as a whole - management and employees working as a team. Units holding an Award are entitled to fly the appropriate Award flag and to display the emblem on their letter headings, in advertising, on the packaging of goods produced in this country, on the goods themselves, and on articles used by employees such as lapel badges, neck ties, cuff links and brooches.
The Queen's Awards must be applied for and application forms for the year 2000 Awards will be available later this year. Firms can register their interest in receiving an application form by contacting The Queen's Awards Office, 151 Buckingham Palace Road, London SW1W 9SS.
CURRENCY OF AWARDS AND REPEAT AWARDS
An Award is held for a period of five years from the date of announcement, so Awards made on 21 April 1994 expire on 20 April 1999. A holder of an Award can apply to be considered in any subsequent years in respect of new outstanding achievement beyond that recognised by the previous Award. This year 22 Awards for Export Achievement and 2 Awards for Technological Achievement are made to units holding Awards granted during the past five years.
PRESENTATION CEREMONIES
The Awards are formally conferred by a Grant of Appointment, and are symbolised by a representation of the appropriate emblem cast in stainless steel and encapsulated in a transparent acrylic block. Presentations will be made on behalf of The Queen by Her Majesty's Lord Lieutenants during the coming months.
The presentation ceremonies are normally held locally, usually at the winner's main factory or place of business, so that as many as possible of those who have contributed to the outstanding achievements can be present. Experience has shown that these ceremonies are a great success.
RECEPTION AT BUCKINGHAM PALACE
Early each year, as an additional way of marking the achievements of winners of The Queen's Awards, The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh normally give a Reception at Buckingham Palace to which three representatives of each firm are invited. The Reception for the 1998 winners took place on 1 March 1999.
SINGAPORE NEWS
Contributed by Bernice Kuo, mailto:bernicek@internationalcredit99.com
Singapore Attractive Location For BusinessIn the past few days, there were many reports and positive findings on Singapore business & economy. We have reports about Singapore's retaining as the 2nd most competitive economic country in the world for the fifth consecutive year, and that the Singapore government was credited for reacting quicker, than the neighbouring countries, on its last year crisis. Singapore has also become the most attractive location in the world for manufacturing hub, and the 2nd after US, in an overall global location ranking by Swiss-based International Institute for Management Development. Singapore has overcome the regional economic crisis well to remain competitive, and when the regional countries recovers, the government has already positioned the economy to reaffirm long term growth and good performance for the country. Furthermore, Singapore supports the move to attract and to bring in foreign talents to Singapore.
Source : The Straits Times
We have heard from very reliable sources that Moore Stephens Booth White will be setting up credit circles for the UK Building, Construction and Allied Trades with the intention of being a significant player in this market. It is expected the major players in the industry will be joining the new circles.
This follows the recent forced redundancies of highly experienced personnel in the insolvency division of PricewaterhouseCoopers. These came after years of speculation that PWC were no longer interested in this market.
An official announcement from Moore Stephens Booth White is expected this week.
LOW AWARENESS OF NEW COMPETITION ACT TO BE ADDRESSED
Seventy seven per cent of key business managers in the UK are unaware of the new Competition Act 1998, while twenty one per cent know very little and only two percent have good knowledge of the Act.
These are the findings of a recent survey of small to medium sized firms, commissioned by the OFT. The survey was carried out to provide a benchmark for the OFT's recently launched programme of education for business on the new Act.
John Bridgeman, Director General of Fair Trading, said:
"I am now concerned about the low level of awareness shown by key UK business managers of this important new legislation.
"It is particularly worrying that the vast majority of respondents are unaware that I will be able to impose penalties of up to 10 per cent of turnover for breaches of the Act. Ignorance of the law is not an excuse."
From 1 March 2000, the main provisions of the Competition Act come into force. The Act gives the OFT and industry regulators new powers to combat anti-competitive practices and the abuse of a dominant position in the market place. The legislation affects companies across all business sectors and all sizes of firms.
The OFT will have the power to:
To raise awareness in the business community, experts from the OFT are visiting chambers of commerce, trade associations and other representative bodies across the UK to talk to businesses about the new legislation and answer their questions. A short video has been produced to highlight the importance of complying with the new Act and a range of written material has been published. The aim is to target small and medium sized businesses as larger companies are more likely to be aware of the Act through their legal or financial advisers.
Kate Pitt who is managing the OFT's education and compliance programme says:
"A workforce well versed in competition law will help firms not only avoid infringing the law, but also recognise when they are being subjected to anti-competitive behaviour by competitors, customers or suppliers. Firms have much to gain from making themselves aware of the new legislation."
As part of the education programme the OFT is also taking part in a nationwide series of business advice open days in conjunction with HM Customs and Excise and other government departments. The OFT will have an exhibition stand at each of the open days and run seminars on the new Act.
Dates for open days confirmed so far are:
28 April Wolverhampton
12 May Sheffield
20 May Sunderland
27 May Enfield, North London
8 September Northampton
29 September Leicester
The research was carried out between February and March this year targeting a sample of 807 business managers of small to medium sized firms (10 - 500 employees) from a business database of 1.5 million UK businesses.
The OFT has produced the following information free of charge for businesses and their advisers:
NEW CHANCERY GUIDE PAVES THE WAY FOR THE CIVIL JUSTICE REFORMS
The Chancery Division of the High Court of Justice publishes its new Guide this week in preparation for the Civil Justice Reforms, which come into force next Monday, 26 April 1999. The Civil Procedure Rules introduced as part of those reforms will make major changes and give the judiciary new powers to monitor the progress of cases through to trial.
The new Guide has been prepared under the supervision of the judiciary. It sets out in clear terms how the courts will manage cases when the new Civil Procedure Rules come into force, and what the new Rules mean for cases that are brought in the Chancery Division.
Sir Richard Scott, Vice Chancellor, head of the Chancery Division and the Head of Civil Justice, in welcoming the publication of the new Chancery Guide, said:
"The Civil Justice reforms represent the biggest change in the way that work is dealt with in the civil courts for more than a century. The aim is to provide quicker and cheaper justice in civil cases. People who use the Chancery Division of the High Court will want to know how the new Civil Procedure Rules apply to their cases. The Chancery Guide will answer many of their queries in a clear and simple way."
The new Guide will be available from Chancery Chambers, Thomas More Building, Strand, London WC2A 2LL and from district registries. It will also be available on the Court Service's website: www.courtservice.gov.uk/highhome.htm
COURTS GIVEN WIDER POWERS TO TACKLE INTERNATIONAL FRAUD
The courts in England and Wales are to be given greater powers to deal with international fraud.
The new powers are contained in Part 1 of the Criminal Justice Act 1993 which will take effect from 1 June 1999. The introduction of these measures was announced by Home Secretary Jack Straw in answer to a Parliamentary question from Vernon Coaker MP (Gedling).
Part 1 of the Criminal Justice Act 1993 makes it possible for certain offences to be prosecuted in England and Wales if any act, omission or any other event necessary for the commission of the offence takes place here.
The courts normally have jurisdiction only when the offence, or at least the last act necessary for its completion, takes place in England and Wales. The new measures recognise the fact that many fraud offences are of an international nature and make it possible for the courts to deal with offences where any relevant event takes place here.
The new measures will apply to a range of fraud offences and offences of dishonesty and blackmail as well as conspiracy, attempt and incitement to commit offences.
WHITEHALL CONSULTANTS
Whitehall Consultants, highly acclaimed for its worldwide business credit reporting and country risk analysis services, has prepared a timely and in-depth review of the Year 2000 readiness of banks and government entities in Asia, Latin America, and Europe.
This report, over 120 pages in length, identifies the major banks in these regions, and provides a brief background of each, it assess the Year 2000 readiness of the banking entity, the bank sector in that particular country, and the central government's readiness status as well.
Whitehall Consultants state:
There is a $15 surcharge for mailed version of the report, to cover printing and postage and handling.
Whitehall Consultants Ltd.
Special Studies Department
PO Box 1715, Smyrna, TN 37167 USA
http://whitehallusa.com
e-mail: whitehall@home.com
Tel: (615) 223-1125, Fax: (615) 223-1436
Whitehall: Worldwide ~ Credit Reports ~ Debt Recovery ~ Country Risk Reports
Following petitions presented by the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry in the High Court to wind up in the public interest Venture Capital Corporation Limited and ABS International Venture Limited, winding up orders were made against both companies on 31st March 1999. The petitions were presented following investigations under Section 447 of the Companies Act 1985 (as amended).
The Official Receiver has been appointed liquidator of the companies.
Venture Capital Corporation Limited was incorporated in Gibraltar on 15th May 1995 and has traded as a commercial finance broker. Prospective clients were invited to apply for funding for worldwide development projects which the company stated it was able to provide by making use of its connections with an international network of funding partners.
ABS International Venture Limited was incorporated on 31st July 1995 to trade as a general commercial company. The company is dormant and has not traded.
Enquiries found that clients were required to pay substantial fees in advance and that in many cases no material steps were taken to seek lenders to provide the funds required by the clients. Venture Capital Corporation Limited received fee income of some $1 million mainly from clients based in the Far East.
It was further found that Venture Capital Corporation Limited did not have the relationships with international funders it had claimed and that on occasions projects were referred to overseas lenders who appeared unlikely to have access to sufficient resources to be able to provide the required loan finance. No evidence was discovered of clients having received the funds they requested.
The petitions were presented under Section 124A of the Insolvency Act 1986.
All public enquiries concerning the business affairs of the companies should be made to the Official Receiver at the following address:
The Official Receiver
The Insolvency Service
PO Box 203
21 Bloomsbury Street
London
WC1B 3QW
Tel: 0171 637 1110
The registered office of Venture Capital Corporation Limited is at Suite B, Third Floor, Regal House, Queensway, Gibraltar. Its principal trading address was at Brooklands Court, Tunstall Road, Leeds, which is also the registered office address of ABS International Venture Limited.
*** Forthcoming Creditors Meetings ***
Contributed byhttp://www.insolvency.co.uk
For more detailed information and ALL the British Isles insolvency's (liquidation's, receiverships, administrations, dividends, creditors) please visit http://www.insolvency.co.uk
From 26/04/99 to 04/05/99 Number of Creditor meetings : 211 Section Company Time Venue 138 Scotland - Interim Liquidator calling Creditors Meeting 26/04/99 D S Contracts Ltd 03.30 pm Glasgow G H Group Ltd 11.00 am Glasgow Gasheat Services (Tayside) Ltd 11.30 am Glasgow 27/04/99 Carnies of Glasgow Ltd 12.00 pm Glasgow City Centre Stores Ltd 10.00 am Glasgow Glasgow Scientific Instru Co (1982)Ltd 10.30 am Glasgow 28/04/99 Edinburgh Hydro Systems Ltd 11.30 am Edinburgh 29/04/99 Anderson (Heating Services) Ltd 12.00 pm Glasgow Viking Contracts Ltd 11.00 am Glasgow 30/04/99 Strathayr Knitwear Ltd 12.40 pm Glasgow 04/05/99 Sunnyside Systems Ltd 12.00 pm Glasgow 23 Administrator Calling a meeting of Creditors 27/04/99 Walker & Carson Ltd 10.00 am Sheffield 28/04/99 Portsmouth Football Club Ltd 03.00 pm Portsmouth Rackwood Colliery Co Ltd 10.30 am Derby Rackwood Mineral Holdings Plc 10.30 am Derby 29/04/99 Solvera Plc 11.30 am London 30/04/99 Beck Bros (Preston) Ltd 11.00 am Preston 48 Receiver calling unsecured Creditors Meeting 26/04/99 Clarendon Hse Holdings (Kenilworth) Lt 11.00 am Birmingham 27/04/99 Goldgem Management Ltd 10.00 am Manchester Mackie International Group Plc 10.00 am Belfast Victoria Yachts Ltd 12.00 pm Southampton 28/04/99 Hill & Osborne (Norfolk) Ltd 11.00 am Norwich 29/04/99 A One Transport Ltd 11.00 am Leeds J O H Holdings Ltd 10.30 am Leeds 30/04/99 Addevent Ltd 11.00 am Plymouth Covpak Ltd 10.30 am Birmingham P J Plastics (East Anglia) Ltd 10.30 am Chelmsford Printech Q E D Ltd 11.00 am London Raven Precision Engineering Ltd 11.00 am Birmingham 04/05/99 Food Industry Construction Ltd 10.00 am North Ferriby Private Property Ltd 02.00 pm Belfast 67 Scotland - Receiver calling Meeting of unsecure Creditors 30/04/99 JB Mackenzie Ltd 10.00 am Edinburgh 84 N. Ireland - Creditors Voluntary Liquidation 26/04/99 Edge Component Company Ltd - The 12.00 pm Belfast 95 Members converting to Creditors Voluntary Liquidation 30/04/99 Atlantic Realisations No.1 Plc 11.00 am London Paperfree Ltd 11.30 am London 98 Creditors Voluntary Liquidations 26/04/99 Aman Oriental Foods Ltd 12.00 pm Motherwell Arrow Scaffolding Ltd 03.30 pm Huddersfield C-Tech Industries Ltd 03.00 pm London C-Tech Ltd 12.00 pm Manchester Chatsworth Studios Ltd 10.00 am Newcastle-u-Tyn Dawley Direct Express Deliveries Ltd 03.00 pm Weston Favell Direct Clothing Co (UK) Ltd 04.00 pm London Drummond Housing Association Ltd 12.00 pm London Eclipse Specialised Engineering Ltd 11.00 am Bournemouth FGS Ltd 12.00 pm Manchester Garwind Ltd 11.00 am Winchester Idwal Fisher (Prepared Vegetables) Ltd 10.30 am Bradford Insul-Glass Ltd 11.30 am Manchester International Spice & Food Ltd 01.00 pm Motherwell Just Separates Ltd 03.00 pm Barnet Learning in Business Ltd 10.00 am Weybridge Linex Ltd 11.00 am London London Sport Ltd 11.00 am London Nationwide Logistics Ltd 10.30 am Leigh One Number Communicators Ltd 12.30 am Winchester Stadium Windows Ltd 11.00 am South Ruislip Taymor Site Services Ltd 11.00 am Manchester US4 Ltd 02.30 pm Cambridge Waremount Ltd 11.00 am Manchester 27/04/99 Another Telephone Ltd 11.00 am London Aztech Technical Services Ltd 11.30 am Manchester BDR Construction Ltd 10.15 am London Biofarm UK Ltd 11.30 am London C R Systems (UK) Ltd 10.30 am York CMC Greenlight Ltd 03.45 pm London Chase Technology Plc 02.00 pm London Classic Arms Ltd 10.30 am Birmingham Cocktail Express Ltd 12.15 pm London Deansbrook Ltd 11.00 am London Detec Guarding Services Ltd 10.00 am Swansea Edwards Cameras Ltd 11.30 am Lutterworth Envirofriend EC Ltd 03.00 pm Cardiff Europtel (UK) Plc 11.00 am London Expo 7 Ltd 02.30 pm Llanishen G I B Services Ltd 10.30 am Yarm GDR Scaffolding Supplies Ltd 11.45 am London Hartnell Images Ltd 11.00 am Gosforth Hertford Telecom Ltd 11.00 am Harpenden Intaglio Ltd 12.00 pm Salford JQT Ltd 11.00 am Sunderland John Jones (Blyton) Ltd 11.00 am Thonock K Print Ltd 12.00 pm London Keltram Ltd 12.00 pm Cardiff Letsign Ltd 03.30 pm Southend-on-Sea MRJ (Demolition) Ltd 03.00 pm Cardiff MRJ (Recycling) Ltd 03.00 pm Cardiff MRJ Group Ltd 03.00 pm Cardiff MRJ Phillips (Metals) Ltd 03.00 pm Cardiff Marshall Warren Ltd 02.30 pm London Microstar Distribution Ltd 11.00 am London Miles Ltd 11.15 am Leeds O E S (SW) Ltd 10.45 am Wells Pain Construction Ltd 10.45 am Hove Pro Choice Applications Ltd 10.30 am Sheffield Professional Recruitment Consult Ltd 12.00 pm Horley Pudsey Cars Ltd 10.30 am Leeds Thompson Security Services (UK) Ltd 11.30 am Birmingham Tipmax Ltd 11.00 am London Tractor Panels Ltd 02.30 pm Abingdon Trypart Sales Ltd 12.00 pm London Walsh Recycling Ltd 11.00 am Bury 28/04/99 Ancestors Ltd 03.00 pm London Aroma Leasing Ltd 11.30 am London Asweld Fabrication Ltd 10.30 am Gloucester BCIF Business & Management Centre Ltd 11.30 am London Chase Technology Holdings Plc 02.30 pm London Chora Systems Ltd 03.00 pm London Conservatory Roofing Derby Ltd 11.00 am Mackworth Corporate Psychologists Inter Ltd 02.30 pm London DA Wright Contractors Ltd 10.15 am Guildford Dark Contracts Ltd 02.30 pm London Databasic Ltd 11.00 am Harpenden Earlywatch Ltd 10.00 am London Eurotrade Ltd 11.30 am Manchester Fashion Row (Manchester) Ltd 02.30 pm Manchester Funpaper Ltd 12.00 pm Worcester G & Z Knitwear Ltd 11.30 am Newcastle-u-Lym Gem Catering Equipment Supplies Ltd 03.00 pm Shrewsbury Gilspur Ltd 11.30 am Birmingham Granville Civil Engineering Cont Ltd 03.00 pm Manchester Hajola Weatherwear Ltd 03.30 pm Manchester J & D Engineering (Coventry) Ltd 11.00 am Birmingham Jacam Developments Ltd 10.30 am Ipswich Kirbys Converting Machinery Ltd 10.30 am Birmingham Lauren Holdings Ltd 11.00 am London Local Initiatives for Enterprise Ltd 11.00 am London Marflex International Ltd 02.30 pm Cardiff Merry England Upholstery Ltd 11.00 am Birmingham Newglance Ltd 12.00 pm Royston P P D Ltd 10.30 am Chatham Penrose Computer Systems Ltd 11.00 am Allesley Plymth Devonpt & Stonehse Cemeter Co L 12.00 pm Plymouth Reynolds Contracts Ltd 11.30 am Newcastle-u-Lym Seaport Trading Ltd 10.30 am London Thernoplan (UK) Ltd 10.45 am London Thor Construction (Gravesend) Ltd 12.00 pm London Verbi Ltd 11.00 am Sandbach Vernon Oakley Design Ltd 11.45 am London Vincent Swain Ltd 02.00 pm Halesowen Window World Derby Ltd 11.00 am Mackworth 29/04/99 A M International (UK) Ltd 03.00 pm Reading Actionform Ltd 11.00 am Wolverhampton Belltask Ltd 11.00 am London Caledonian Hardwoods Ltd 11.00 am Paisley Central Fasteners Engineering Ltd 02.30 pm Birmingham Chemsafe Tank Testing (UK) Ltd 12.15 pm Calder Grove Colour Graphic Proofing Ltd 02.30 pm Hornchurch Concrete Products (Cumbria) Ltd 10.00 am Newcastle-u-Tyn Datalink Effective Ltd 10.30 am Harpenden Dome Consultancy Ltd 03.30 pm London Drillsafe Ltd 10.15 am Calder Grove Force Site Services Ltd 11.15 am Calder Grove Gold Automotive Systems Ltd 12.00 pm Coventry Hexort Ltd 11.30 am London Industrial Door Components Ltd 12.00 pm Manchester Inter Group Management Services Ltd 11.30 am Liverpool Lanson Beck & Associates Ltd 12.00 pm Coventry Luke Anthony Machine Tools Ltd 11.00 am Bristol Orca Security Ltd 02.00 pm Portsmouth Peter Coen Ltd 11.00 am Hertford React Products Ltd 11.00 am Northampton Servicedeal Ltd 12.00 pm London Sheerjoy Ltd 10.00 am Sheffield Solutions (GB) Ltd 11.00 am Cheltenham Special Events (Security Services) Ltd 11.00 am Hornchurch Stand Alone Technology Ltd 02.00 pm London Symac Engineering Ltd 11.30 am Gerrards Cross T V S Studio (UK) Ltd 11.00 am London Teamglade Ltd 10.00 am London Telecom Sciences Ltd 02.30 pm Liverpool Woodland Potteries Ltd 02.30 pm Stoke-on-Trent 30/04/99 Agency Associates (UK) Ltd 11.30 am Preston Better Records Ltd 12.30 pm London C J P Computers Ltd 11.00 am London Chartclip Ltd 03.30 pm London Clubmoor Ltd 11.00 am Brighton Compax Associates Ltd 12.00 pm Scarborough Contra-Shear Developments Ltd 11.30 am Bingham Cresta Alloway International Ltd 03.00 pm Bournemouth Encon Mechanical Services Ltd 10.30 am Northampton Equalplan Ltd 12.00 pm London Eurotek Construction Services Ltd 11.00 am Winchester G M Franchi Ltd 02.00 pm London Hannalore Ltd 02.30 pm London Homelink Credit Management Ltd 12.00 pm Egham J and G Bowes Ltd 10.00 am Glasgow K B Sheetmetals Ltd 02.30 pm Northampton Madeira Windows Ltd 11.00 am Lewes New Century Directory Ltd 11.30 am Preston Options 2000 Ltd 11.30 am Preston Pat (UK) Ltd 01.00 pm Swansea Savoy Alloys Ltd 10.30 am Sheffield Scott (Dudley Hill) Ltd 02.30 pm Leeds South East Cars & Parcels Ltd 03.00 pm London Star Options Ltd 12.00 pm Southampton Studio In Position Ltd 10.30 am Taunton Timeshare Options Ltd 11.30 am Preston Walsall Leathergoods Ltd 11.30 am Worcester Williams Construction (North East) Ltd 10.30 am Yarm 04/05/99 Alan Pooley Printing Ltd 11.15 am Bromley Computer GB Ltd 10.30 am Birmingham Eco Marketing Ltd 11.00 am Bristol F Mather & Co Ltd 12.00 pm Manchester Magtec Industrial Ltd 11.30 am Birmingham McLeod Warner (London) Ltd 11.00 am Guildford O'Hare Ltd 11.00 am Manchester Orian Precision Ltd 02.00 pm London Pita Gora Ltd 10.30 am London Sky Balloons Ltd 02.45 pm London Taysters Plc 11.00 am Marlow Translec Products Ltd 03.00 pm Rushyford
TW LW TW LW
USA 1.6133 1.6205 Canada 2.4017 2.4191
Austria 20.9101 20.6552 Portugal 304.645 300.936
France 9.9679 9.9864 Belgium 61.3000 60.5530
Finland 9.0350 8.9250 Italy 2942.35 2906.48
Germany 2.9725 2.9364 Sweden 13.5302 13.4209
Holland 3.3487 3.3079 Switzerland 2.4319 2.4103
Spain 252.840 249.750 Ireland 1.1968 1.1822
Australia 2.4943 2.5429 Denmark 11.2910 11.1521
Hong Kong 12.4994 12.5586 Euro 1.5207 1.5011
Africa Com 9.8029 9.8674 Saudi Arabia 6.0493 6.0766
India 68.9440 69.1950 Malaysia 6.1297 6.1576
Singapore 2.7613 2.7705 Norway 12.5847 12.5580
Japan 192.870 193.830
TW This week LW Last week.
Kim Howells welcomes Satellite Communications Company to the UK
Inmarsat, a world leader in global mobile satellite phones communications, has chosen the UK for its headquarters as it becomes a privatised company.
Dr Kim Howells, Minister for Competition and Consumer Affairs, spoke to a broad cross-section of the company's staff and newly elected Board at a reception last week, at Lancaster House, to welcome Inmarsat Ltd to the UK.
Dr Howells said:
"I am delighted to be able to welcome Inmarsat to the UK. I and my colleagues in Government want to see Britain as a centre of excellence for mobile satellite communications and Inmarsat can play a key role in making this happen.
"Inmarsat has chosen the UK despite very tempting offers from many other countries. This decision speaks volumes about the attractiveness of Britain's telecommunications environment, our tax regime and the skill and flexibility of our people. Inmarsat is an exciting company and a leader in its field. It will find that the UK is the ideal location for a global telecommunications company."
The 74 member governments of Inmarsat decided last Autumn that privatisation was the best way to promote competition as new providers of satellite phones such as the London-based ICO and the American company Iridium enter the market.
The announcement that Inmarsat was to privatise started a race by countries from around the World to lure Inmarsat from its London home. As a tax-exempt intergovernmental organisation, not subject to national law, Inmarsat had a genuinely free choice of location. Despite offers of lengthy tax holidays from many countries, Inmarsat chose the UK and will be fully subject to national law and tax.
Inmarsat announced a World first at the CeBit Telecomms fair in Hanover last month with a mobile multi-media satellite terminal that will give business people the functionality of their office network wherever they travel. Due to be launched in 1999 this hand-portable terminal will operate at speeds of 64 kilobits per second (kps) and later 128 kps, the speed of an ISDN line.
For further enquiries about Inmarsat please contact Elizabeth Hess on 0171 728 1179.
AT&T/BRITISH TELECOM
AT&T, America's telecoms giant, and British Telecom agreed each to take a 15% stake in Japan Telecom, Japan's third-biggest telecoms firm
. Source: The Economist
CABLE & WIRELESS/INTERNATIONAL DIGITAL COMMUNICATIONS
Cable and Wireless another British telecoms group, topped the bid by NTT, Japan's biggest, for International Digital Communications, Japan's second-biggest.
Source: The Economist
EUROPEAN RETAILERS are consolidating. In Britain, Kingfisher and Asda announced a 17 billion pounds ($27 billion) merger to create Europe's second-biggest store group ranked by operating profits. And in Germany, Karstadt, the country's biggest department-store operator, is to merge its mail-order business with Quelle, creating a huge mail-order group with a turnover of DM33 billion ($18 billion).
Source: The Economist
CLIFFORD CHANCE/ROGER & WELLS
Two Law Firms, one based in London, the other in New York, are in merger talks. Clifford Chance is talking to its American peer, Roger & Wells, with a view to completing the biggest-ever transatlantic law-firm merger.
VIRGIN TRAVEL
Richard Branson's Virgin Travel Group, whose main component is Virgin Atlantic, gave up trying to sell a 40% stake of itself to Continental Airlines, probably for reasons of price. Virgin does not rule out subsequent reports that it now plans a 1.2 billion pounds ($1.9 billion) flotation in the autumn.
Source: The Economist
MERGER CLEARANCE
The Secretary of State for Trade and Industry has decided, on the information at present before him, and in accordance with the recommendation of the Director General of Fair Trading, not to refer the following merger to the Competition Commission under the provisions of the Fair Trading Act 1973:Proposed acquisition by Vickers plc of Ulstein Holdings ASA
Days after issuing a profits warning, Compaq Computer booted out its chief executive, Eckhard Pfeiffer, and its chief financial officer, Earl Mason. Later, the world's biggest maker of PCs announced net first - quarter profits of $281m, about half previous expectations. Part of its trouble stems from difficulties in absorbing Digital Equipment, a computer firm it bought last year.
Source: The Economist
MICROSOFT
Microsoft, the world's biggest software maker, reported a 43% rise in net profits to $1.92 billion in the first quarter compared with last year, as demand switched from its Windows 98 operating system to Windows NT. IBM also exceeded expectations with a 42% rise in net profits for the first quarter.
Source: The Economist
28th - 29th April 1999 Credit Management in Central and Eastern Europe Conference by Vision in Business Ltd and sponsored by Intrum Justitia The Hilton Hotel, Budapest For more information: tel +44 (0) 171 256 5186 Fax +44 (0) 171 9393 Email postmaster@visibis3.demon.co.uk www.visibis.com 11th May 1999 ICM Fellows Luncheon Phyllis Court Club Henley-on-Thames Telephone the ICM on 01780-722907 to reserve places. 19th to the 21st May 1999 ICM Examinations Intermediate and Final Stage 8th June 1999 The 40th Institute of Credit Management National Conference and Exhibition New Millennium - New Risks Cumberland Hotel Marble Arch London W1 To book, or for further information telephone 01780-722907 9th June 1999 ICM Examination Preliminary Certificate in Credit Management 14th to the 16th June International Seminar on Risk Behaviour and Risk Management Run in association with FECMA Stockholm If you would like to attend or take an exhibition stand please telephone Lindsey Burke at the ICM Water Mill on 01780-722912 17th June 1999 South West Credit 1999 Crossmead Conference Centre, University of Exeter All change for the Millennium A one day seminar presented by the South West Branch of the ICM Chaired by Sir Roger Cork For further details contact Consultancy Services on 01275-855675 12th to the 14th October 1999 Tuesday to Thursday Credit North 1999 at the Royal Armouries, Leeds 17 - 19 November 1999 Wednesday to Friday International Credit Exhibition & Conference Raffles City Convention Centre The Westin Stamford, Singapore http://www.internationalcredit99.com Mailto:info@internationalcredit99.com
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