Europe Intelligence Wire articles from November 2004

Europe Intelligence Wire archives from November 2004

Editor's letter - You're still in control.
November 1, 2004... (From Financial Director) There's an old adage that the difference between an introvert actuary and an extrovert actuary is that an extrovert actuary will stare at your shoes. Cruel - and not a syllable of truth in it, I'm sure. But it was...

On the move - Sainsbury's begins search for new FD.
November 1, 2004... (From Financial Director) Johnson Service Group, the business and consumer support services company, has appointed James Wilkinson to its board as chief financial officer. Wilkinson, a former group FD with business publishers Informa,...

Insight - Lean on me.
November 1, 2004... (From Financial Director) Byline: Neil Hodge. Imagine your business operations are like a trail of upright dominoes. Push one and the rest all topple nicely in succession. But if one domino fails to fall, the whole effect is scuppered...

Insight - Death and taxes.
November 1, 2004... (From Financial Director) Byline: Anthony Harrington. It should have been obvious to a blind man. When the government set up a Pensions Commission with a brief that included looking at the adequacy of the current voluntary...

Accounting - No gain without a lot of pain.
November 1, 2004... (From Financial Director) Byline: Peter Williams, chartered accountant and freelance journalist. Few would disagree that an effective functioning of capital markets is essential to our economic well-being. And capital markets only work...

Limited power.
November 1, 2004... (From Financial Director) The Accounting Standards Board has told companies to comply with the unaltered version of financial instruments standard IAS 39 "as far as possible" but is unsure if it has the authority to force them to do so. In...

Corporate governance - Turn and face the change.
November 1, 2004... (From Financial Director) Byline: Robert Bruce, leading commentator on accountancy issues. When management fashions change, you can be certain of one thing. There will be a downside as well as an upside to the change. And so it is for...

Private matter.
November 1, 2004... (From Financial Director) Research by law firm Nabarro Nathanson reveals that eight out of 10 mid-size private businesses in the UK are unaware of the new EU employment regulations, or are unlikely to do anything about them. The...

IT strategy - The value variable.
November 1, 2004... (From Financial Director) Byline: Tom Berry, deputy editor of Financial Director. When businesses spend millions of pounds hiring skilled staff, investing in research and development, or buying and selling companies, they do so to gain...

Economics - Higher, higher, lower, lower!
November 1, 2004... (From Financial Director) Byline: Dennis Turner, chief economist at HSBC. There is divided opinion among analysts on how high interest rates are likely to go - partly because it is hard to get an accurate picture of what is happening...

Cover story - Everything is under control.
November 1, 2004... (From Financial Director) Byline: Sarah Perrin. Unknown and unrecognised in the outside world, but a cornerstone of corporate strength - the financial controller. Finding the right person for the job goes a long way to easing your...

The Financial Director interview - That's the way to do it.
November 1, 2004... (From Financial Director) Byline: Tom Berry. If you work in the pubs business, you have to get used to uncertainty. While the underlying business is fairly straightforward - company buys pub, company rents pub to landlord, company...

FD Forum - And Bristol fashion.
November 1, 2004... (From Financial Director) The seventh annual Finance Directors' Forum, hosted by Richmond Events, will take place from 4-7 November on board the P&O flagship Aurora. More than 200 FDs from medium and large organisations will attend, along...

Briefing - Corporate finance - The cost of capital in the real world of business.
November 1, 2004... (From Financial Director) A new book written exclusively on the subject of the cost of capital serves as an insightful and practical guide to the issues surrounding investment appraisal, business valuations and capital structure. This...

Briefing - Listing rules - FSA's proposals for listing rules.
November 1, 2004... (From Financial Director) The Financial Services Authority has been consulting on how to simplify the Listing Rules and how to implement the EU Prospectus Directive. In October 2004, it published a set of draft rules and feedback on its...

Briefing - VAT - High Court supports retail VAT schemes - HMCE appeals.
November 1, 2004... (From Financial Director) A recent High Court judgment came down in support of retailers' VAT avoidance schemes, in which customers sign away 2.5% of the purchase price to a card services company. But what's the position in the emerging...

Financial Directions - Investor expectations a top corporate issue.
November 1, 2004... (From Financial Director) Research by Parson Consulting finds that only 9% of FTSE-100 companies hit analysts' consensus estimates for earnings per share in 2003, writes Tom Berry. The research also shows that 38% of companies surveyed...

Financial Directions - UK finance managers say IFRS costs more than it delivers.
November 1, 2004... (From Financial Director) Investing in compliance Nearly three-quarters (74%) of UK finance managers would be more likely to invest in companies that comply fully with IFRS than those that don't, compared with only 52% of French...

Financial Directions - Cheapest finance departments move quickly.
November 1, 2004... (From Financial Director) Over the past 12 years, the cost of the finance department as a percentage of revenue has fallen sharply, as calculated by the benchmarking organisation Hackett Group, writes Andrew Sawers. But the gap between...

Financial Bites.
November 1, 2004... (From Financial Director) "Mr Hoberman also reiterated that profits were difficult to predict because more holidaymakers are booking at the last minute." From an article about Lastminute.com that appeared in The Times, chief executive...

Extraordinary Items - Just ask the missus.
November 1, 2004... (From Financial Director) Here's an interview technique you can use to help spot talented candidates for vacancies you want to fill. Ask your wife. That's what Punch Taverns FD Robert McDonald and his chief exec Giles Thorley did when they...

Extraordinary Items - Tree's company.
November 1, 2004... (From Financial Director) A large and environmentally friendly PDF arrives in our email in-box from the ICAEW entitled, 'Sustainability: the role of accountants'. The thoughtful paper looks at how finance people can - or, indeed, must -...

Extraordinary Items - Pink blusher.
November 1, 2004... (From Financial Director) It's not like the Financial Times to come out with a howler, but we reckon there's a sub-editor in Southwark whose life wasn't worth living for at least a day in September. The pink 'un dutifully reported on its...

Extraordinary Items - Buffett the cartoon hero.
November 1, 2004... (From Financial Director) Go to Amazon.co.uk or any other favourite online bookstore and do a search on Warren Buffett. We can guarantee you'll find more than six dozen books on the genius behind the Berkshire Hathaway company. Many manage...

Decisions - Outsourcing - Home grown truth.
November 1, 2004... (From Financial Director) Byline: Anthony Harrington. In the rush to get on board the offshore, low-wage economy outsourcing bandwagon, many organisations are forgetting there are considerable, and potentially lower risk, savings to be...

Decisions - IT investment - The return key.
November 1, 2004... (From Financial Director) Byline: Malcolm Wheatley. A few years back, America's Hershey Foods Corporation, famous for its chocolate bars, achieved fame of another sort. In the autumn of 1999, at a time of peak demand, it issued its...

Decisions - Consultants - Listen before you leap.
November 1, 2004... (From Financial Director) Byline: Peter Bartram. Meet Bill Roberts - that rare breed of senior finance function director who is satisfied with his IT consultancy project. As European purchase-to-pay process director at Lever Faberge, a...

Decisions - Security - A Phishy Tale.
November 1, 2004... (From Financial Director) Byline: Anthony Harrington. The current wave of phishing attacks on customers of financial institutions and e-commerce sites such as eBay and PayPal are already being supplanted - or in some cases supplemented...

Decisions - Mobility - Go with the flow.
November 1, 2004... (From Financial Director) Byline: Ben King. Two years ago, 3G in Europe seemed like one of the greatest white elephants in technology history. Now it's something you can go out and buy, and the mobile phone operators are keen to get UK...

Nexen's $2.1bn Buzzard buy.
November 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) CANADIAN oil group EnCana has sold its interest in the Buzzard oil development and Scott production platform in the UK North Sea to Nexen of Calgary in a $2.1bn deal to focus on North American oil, sand and gas projects,...

LMIU search site bigger and better.
November 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) Byline: David Osler SEASEARCHER the online shipping movements database from Lloyd's List sister company Lloyd's Marine Intelligence Unit is to relaunch next year with enhanced capabilities. New features will...

Odfjell switches to Russian yard.
November 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Order for advanced chemical carriers reflects sector's problems, writes Tony Gray A NOVEL $500m shipbuilding deal with a Russian shipyard has been cemented by Odfjell at the same time as the leading chemical...

International Shipholding edges into black and predicts better days.
November 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) NEW Orleans company International Shipholding Corp has announced meagre earnings of $220,000 in the third quarter but still a turnround from company losses of $1.6m in the same period of 2003, writes John McLaughlin in...

Klesch 'is mystery bidder'.
November 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) Byline: David Osler BRITISH principal investor Gary Klesch is the so far unnamed party in talks to buy Aegon's 637,000-box lease container fleet, industry insiders believe. Meanwhile, US bank Goldman Sachs is...

Lloyd's to clamp down on brand fraud in wake of scam.
November 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Misuse of global brand name nets Internet fraudster GBP1.3m as 5,000 businesses are conned in 'greedy' Canary Wharf racket, writes James Brewer LLOYD'S has pledged to clamp down hard on fraudsters attempting...

Business Briefing.
November 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) Norasia Black Sea link NORASIA, a Hong Kong offshoot of the CSAV Group, has confirmed details of its ABS service, in conjunction with Hapag-Lloyd, linking Asia to the Black Sea and the eastern Mediterranean, writes...

Wilhelmsen bullish ahead of $105m pre-tax profit.
November 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Prospects at car carrier 'very good in virtually all trades' despite subsidiary closure and high bunker costs, writes Jerry Frank NORWEGIAN car carrier specialist and shipping service group Wilh. Wilhelmsen...

Rising costs force Asian rate hikes.
November 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Janet Porter THE Europe-Asia trades are poised for another bumper year in 2005 after an exceptionally strong 2004 both eastbound and westbound. With demand so resilient, and costs also rising, members of...

Taiwanese container lines are upbeat.
November 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) TAIWAN'S big three container lines all posted very strong third quarter results. Evergreen Marine, the world's fourth largest container line by capacity, saw its quarterly net profit jump 167% year on year to...

Brostrom on track for 'positive developments'.
November 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) SWEDISH shipowner Brostrom yesterday revealed pre-tax profit for the first nine months of the year rose to SKr243m from Skr216m a year ago and booked a SKr21m profit from the sale of its product tanker Bro Selma, writes...

Le Havre signs up long-term berth deals.
November 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Andrew Spurrier in Paris CMA CGM and P'O Ports have secured long term container terminal capacity at the French box port of Le Havre. Generale de Manutention Portuaire, a cargo-handler controlled by the...

More container checks will increase delays, says APL head of security.
November 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) PHYSICALLY inspecting 10% of containers inbound to the US would cause unacceptable delays without substantially increasing security, warns APL's head of security, Earl Agron, writes Marcus Hand in Singapore. The...

Britain's MCA takes up the baton in row over flags of convenience.
November 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) Byline: UK body says phrase has 'little relevance or meaning today', writes David Osler SHIPPING industry participants are continuing to slug it out over the vexed issue of what is and what is not a flag of...

Whoever wins will have to tackle fatal flaws in US anti-terror measures.
November 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) Byline: The '5% myth' on container security will not go away, no matter who wins tomorrow's US presidential election. But, with hyperbole season finally over, the winner will be able to conduct an honest appraisal and...

Handy index misses landmark figure.
November 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) Dry Trade THE Baltic Handymax Index bumped its head up against the $30,000 barrier last week, and was rejected after one try, writes Rajesh Joshi in New York. Is this a glass ceiling, a merely temporary...

Dry Bulk Fixtures.
November 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) COAL Richards Bay to Rotterdam CSK Fortune, 160,000t, $23.50 per tonne, fio scale'25,000t sc, Dec 15-31. (Cargill) Koutalianos (172,810 dwt, 12.7'53L 14'53B, 1987-built) delivery Zhangjiagang Nov 7-8, redelivery...

No end in sight for soaring trade costs.
November 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Rajesh Joshi in New York Tankers THESE are astonishing times for the product trades, as freight rates rise with wanton abandon in all major markets with apparently no end in sight. There is no lack...

Tanker Fixtures.
November 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) CLEAN Arabian Gulf to Colombo Vessel to be nominated, 30,000t, W650, Nov 10. (Itochu) Arabian Gulf to Medi-terranean Ascot, 50,000t, $1,400,000 lumpsum Oct 27. (J and S) Kharg to Mangalore Lombardia,...

Pakistani scrappers pay top rate as market stays quiet.
November 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) IT HAS been another quiet week for the demolition market, with global freight rates in all segments of shipping showing no signs of coming down and shipowners succumbing to the temptation of squeezing a few more dollars...

Logistics Briefing.
November 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) All aboard FREIGHTBUS, the overnight British rail freight service operating between London and Glasgow, has started operation. From Monday to Friday it offers pallet transport in covered cargo wagons and is the...

RMT determined to strike if EWS ground staff guarantees are denied.
November 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) UK transport union RMT has warned of a 48-hour strike by 1,300 engineering and groundstaff at railfreight operator EWS from Saturday November 6. The RMT says that the walk-out will go ahead if the company 'fails to...

Traffic increase for MHPA despite profit target miss.
November 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) MILFORD Haven Port Authority expects traffic to increase by 4% this year, driven by growing numbers serving the Total and ChevronTexaco oil refineries in the Haven estuary. It handled 48.2m tonnes of traffic in 2003. ...

Outsource boom in danger of 'hard landing'.
November 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) CHINA'S outsource logistics boom cannot hide the threat of an 'economic hard landing' that will leave supply chain operators with expensive overcapacity. A new analyst's report* by Transport Intelligence in London...

New MSC terminal promises big boost for Bremerhaven's container traffic.
November 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Katrin Berkenkopf in Bremen EUROGATE expects a big boost for Bremerhaven container handling from its newly opened dedicated terminal MSC Gate. The new terminal is planned to handle about 70,000 boxes this...

Downturn sees ICF staff and services go.
November 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) Byline: 'Prohibitive operating costs' force widespread restructuring at rail freight operator, with 25% decrease in annual traffic volumes expected, writes Roger Hailey SWISS-based Intercontainer, the pan-European...

Ferry facts and flexible friends.
November 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) THIS week sees ferry operators from around the world descending on the Bahamas for the 29th annual conference of Interferry. They will hear something of a mixed message. On one hand they will be enthused by the way...

ABP shakeup puts Copping in regional hot seat.
November 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) Byline: New director sees South Wales as group's 'most challenging' area, writes Karen Thomas ASSOCIATED British Ports has reshuffled senior management of its five South Wales ports this autumn, following the...

Eureka! Spot market price boom fuels tanker sale frenzy.
November 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Buyers are scrambling to get a piece of the pie in the lucrative transport market, writes David Osler CURRENT developments in the spot market have created a 'gold rush mentality' in the tanker sales and...

Talbot grows with Corus and third-party deals.
November 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) PORT Talbot increased its imports of iron ore and coal by 3m tonnes to 8m tonnes in 2003, after Corus resumed its steel production in Llanwern and Port Talbot. Corus is importing steel slabs for processing at...

Swansea casts its net wide to fill BP's gap.
November 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) ALTHOUGH Associated British Ports saw steel exports double last year through the ports of Swansea and Newport, Swansea continues its struggle to recover from BP's decision to stop importing and exporting chemicals...

Wales sells sport and nature to clinch cruise deal.
November 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) SOUTH Wales is keen to position itself as a cruise destination, capitalising on growing interest in domestic cruise holidays, and seeing the country's natural beauty, high-profile sporting events at Cardiff Millennium...

Region set to become LNG import 'gateway'.
November 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) MILFORD Haven and Port Talbot are positioning themselves as gateway ports for liquefied natural gas traffic into Britain as the region moves to become a net importer of natural gas. Two LNG terminals are being...

Cardiff Stevedoring bounces back with BirdPort buy.
November 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) IN APRIL this year Cardiff Stevedoring bought BirdPort, a small wharf outside Newport formerly owned by Bell Lines. It paid an undisclosed sum to take over cargo handling there from the Bird Group, which bought the...

Leadership and management issues provide no soft option.
November 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Michael Grey Viewpoint LEADERS, we have traditionally been told, are born and not made. But then, in an egalitarian age where consensus was king and a 'meeting culture' of collective decision-making...

Port of Barry regeneration boosts business activity.
November 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) US PETROCHEMICALS giant Dow Corning increased its liquid bulk throughput by 24% through the Port of Barry in 2003. 'Barry is a niche port, as well as the site for one of ABP's most significant property development...

Sinotrans airfreight boasts profit hike.
November 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Keith Wallis in Hong Kong RISING air cargo volumes and higher freight charges helped Sinotrans Air Transport Development post a 2.91% rise in net profit in the first nine months of this year to Yuan282.86m...

ABP's investments target capacity squeeze at port of Newport.
November 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) GROWING volumes of steel exports, scrap metal and timber imports are putting Newport's handling capacity under pressure, as ABP South Wales' easternmost port emerges as the group's rising star. ABP has invested...

CBP sale reinforces group focus.
November 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) WHEN Associated British Ports pulled out of Cardiff Bay Partnership in May, the decision surprised few ABP-watchers the group has long vowed to end its foray into property development to focus strictly on port-related...

Delivery lifts Costa Cruises' fleet to 11.
November 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) THE eleventh ship in Costa Cruises' fleet, Costa Magica, was delivered at the weekend by Fincantieri at its Sestri Ponente yard in Genoa, writes Sandra Speares. Costa chief executive Pier Luigi Foschi said the...

Last Word.
November 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) Anchor's away IT HAS taken four attempts already, so far without success. But the US Coast Guard is determined to find the anchor from the cutter Barque Eagle , now languishing on the bottom of the St Johns River in...

What's Happening Where.
November 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) Lloyd's List Events, Exhibitions and Conferences 2004 November The Bunker Winter School, London, 2nd-4th. www.bunkernews.com Intermodal Transport ' Logistics 2004, Denmark, 2nd-4th....

Eurotunnel in prices shake-up.
November 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) Byline: Airline-style system proposed to manage capacity more flexibly, writes Andrew Spurrier in Paris DEBT-laden Channel tunnel operator Eurotunnel is to adopt low-cost airline-style pricing in a reorganisation of...

Spanish steel giant Grupo Celsa gives Cardiff a new lease of life.
November 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) WHEN Allied Wire and Steel went into receivership in 2002, its collapse caused significant local job losses in South Wales and cost the Port of Cardiff a major source of traffic a huge blow to both the port and to...

Thailand tourist risk mounts after Muslim protester deaths.
November 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) THE Thai Government's heavy-handed approach in the south is increasing terrorism risks at holiday destinations and in Bangkok, writes Kirsten Parker. Last week, 2,000 Muslims gathered in front of a police station in...

COCKETT BUNKER MARKET REPORT.
November 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) COCKETT BUNKER MARKET REPORT Compiled for Lloyd's List by Cockett Marine Oil Ltd Oct 20, 2004 PRICES are current and based on live, average sized, bunker deals. The Cockett Bunker Price Index is based on...

BUNKER QUALITY REPORT - October 21, 2004.
November 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) BUNKER QUALITY REPORT - October 21, 2004 U'F = unfilterable This Bunker Quality Report is based on samples analysed by DNV Petroleum Services and is an abstract from their more detailed fuel quality statistics...

Gas Market Report.
November 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) NORTHWEST EUROPE: Large propane values have succumbed to falling crude and a lack of winter demand and is now perceived to be in the low'mid $470s with further falls expected by most players. With no demand until early...

HANSEN BUNKER MARKET REPORT.
November 1, 2004... (From Lloyds List) HANSEN BUNKER MARKET REPORT October 26, 2004 Compiled for Lloyd's List by Egil Bjorn-Hansen, Oslo CONTINENT: Prices softer on the back of lower crude prices. AFRICA'MIDDLE EAST: Market a bit softer....

Slovakia to join Schengen by 2007.
November 1, 2004... (From The Slovak Spectator) Byline: From press reports News briefs THE SECOND generation of the Schengen Information System (SIS II) will be ready in March 2007, enabling Slovakia and the other new EU member states to join the Schengen...

Enel talks deadlock.
November 1, 2004... (From The Slovak Spectator) Byline: Beata Balogova Spectator staff ONE of the last big privatisation deals involving a foreign investor might not go according to schedule. Economy Minister Pavol Rusko rattled the business community by...

Simko leaving Free Forum.
November 1, 2004... (From The Slovak Spectator) Byline: Martina Jurinova Spectator staff The MP has left every party he has helped to form IVAN Simko is leaving the Free Forum party for what he calls a lack of "any programme or set of values". Simko, who...

Belarus elections denounced as fraud.
November 1, 2004... (From The Slovak Spectator) Byline: So"a BalaPova Special to the Spectator ELECTION observers have returned home from Minsk denouncing the October 17 Belarusian parliamentary elections as fraudulent and criticising a constitutional...

Slovakia's man in Brussels.
November 1, 2004... (From The Slovak Spectator) Byline: David Ferguson Special to the Spectator Ambassador to the EU reflects on membership challenges THIRTY-EIGHT-year-old MaroS Sefeovie makes a good impression in Brussels - energetic, competent,...

SDKU, HZDS: No comment on alleged union.
November 1, 2004... (From The Slovak Spectator) Byline: From press reports in Short THE LEADER of the Slovak Democratic and Christian Union (SDKU), Prime Minister MikulaS Dzurinda, and former PM Vladimir Meeiar, leader of the Movement for a Democratic...