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Greece Threatens German Asset Seizure Over War

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 12 Maret 2015 | 11.46

The Greek justice minister has announced it may seize German state-owned property to compensate victims of a Nazi massacre more than 70 years ago.

"I'm ready to sign (the decision)," Nikos Paraskevopoulos said.

"The prime minister is aware of the views I have on the issue."

The alleged plan is to confiscate German-owned assets to compensate relatives of around 214 Greeks civilians killed in the village of Distomo by the SS in 1944.

The comments from Mr Paraskevopoulos come amid rapidly rising tension between Athens and Berlin over the renegotiation of its €240bn (£169bn) bailout.

The German government earlier accused Greece of raising WWII reparations as a diversionary tactic from its current bailout woes.

Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras claimed Berlin was using legal tricks to avoid paying compensation for the Nazi occupation.

But spokesmen for Germany's political and economic leadership dismissed the claim.

"It is our firm belief that questions of reparations and compensation have been legally and politically resolved," said Steffen Seibert who represents German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

"We should concentrate on current issues and, hopefully what will be a good future."

A spokesman for the German finance ministry added that there was no reason to hold talks with the Greek government about reparations.

He said they would be a distraction from the serious financial issues facing Greece.

Greece's anti-austerity government, and governments before it, have previously raised complaints of war reparations.

Last month Mr Tsipras said it was a "moral obligation" to demand compensation.

He said Greece was obliged to make the call on behalf of "our people, to history, to all European peoples who fought and gave their blood against Nazism".

Anger has long been aimed at Germany over policies that led to its debt mountain and there are annual celebrations in honour of the country's defiance against the Nazi occupation.

Germany has said the issue was resolved as part of German reunification in 1990, and previous payments in 1960.

Greece is under growing pressure to open its books fully to bailout representatives in Athens and Brussels, amid fears it may run out of money within weeks.

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Shawbrook Joins Start-Up Banks' Race To Float

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

A challenger bank chaired by the former head of Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) will announce plans for a flotation on Thursday that the City believes could value it at almost £1bn.

Sky News has learnt that Shawbrook, which is majority-owned by ‎funds previously linked to RBS, will issue an announcement that will mean its shares are likely to begin trading with the General Election campaign in full swing.

Shawbrook was set up in 2011 to exploit the decline in asset finance and commercial mortgage lending to small and medium-sized companies (SMEs) by the big high street banks.

It is chaired by Sir George Mathewson, a stalwart of the British banking industry who led RBS before handing over the reins to Fred Goodwin.

Sky News understands that ‎Sir George, who is 75, will steer Shawbrook through its initial public offering but will step down once a suitable successor has been identified.

Shawbrook is expected to seek to raise approximately‎ £90m from the sale of new shares, while some of the existing investors, including Pollen Street Capital, a fund formerly backed by RBS, are likely to sell part of their holdings.

The intention to float announcement issued by Shawbrook will come just three days after shares in rival Aldermore began trading in London.

Aldermore‎'s shares performed strongly on their debut, underlining the appetite among investors for shares in well-run banks without legacy issues and offering an attractive return on equity.

Shawbrook is expected to promote a similar narrative in its discussions with potential investors, pointing to customer loan growth in 2014 of 70% to £2.3bn and pre-tax profit trebling to more than £50m.

A string of other start-up banks have begun to emerge in the years since the financial crash, including Metro Bank and OakNorth, which this week announced that Lord Turner, the former chairman of the Financial Services Authority, would join its board.

Meanwhile, Lord McFall, the previous chairman of the Treasury Select Committee, has joined Atom Bank, a digital-only venture, as a director.

Further measures to promote competition in banking are expected to be announced next week in George Osborne's final Budget before the Election‎.

The Competition and Markets Authority is due to conclude an inquiry into the personal current accounts and SME banking markets later this year.

The perception that challenger banks will be assisted by Government policy ‎whatever the outcome of May's Election is one factor in Shawbrook's decision to proceed with its listing now, an insider said.

Shawbrook declined to comment on its IPO plans on Wednesday.

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Supermarket Wars: Price Falls Hit New Record

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 11 Maret 2015 | 11.46

The intense price war between supermarket chains means grocery costs are falling at a record pace, according to industry figures.

The latest data from Kantar Worldpanel, for the 12 weeks to 1 March, showed annual price falls reached a new low of -1.6% in the period.

Its report cited a combination of lower general inflation and price battles, and calculated that shoppers had saved a combined £400m over the 12 weeks.

Inflation has fallen largely as a result of weaker oil costs, although the battle for market share among top supermarkets has also contributed.

The Kantar statistics provided further cheer for Britain's biggest supermarket chain as it moves to improve its offering to shoppers and image in the wake of its accounting scandal.

They showed Tesco recorded its strongest sales performance in 18 months, rising 1.1% during the 12-week period as chief executive Dave Lewis's turnaround plan continued to make an impact.

Its 'big four' rivals, Asda, Sainsbury's and Morrisons, recorded sales falls of 2.1%, 0.5% and 0.4% respectively as they continue to battle for business amid the challenge from discounters Aldi and Lidl, and Waitrose at the top end.

Fraser McKevitt, head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar Worldpanel, said: "All of the major supermarkets are cutting prices to win shoppers, especially within everyday staples such as eggs, vegetables and milk.

"Retailers are focusing their efforts on simple price cuts rather than complicated 'multibuy' deals.

"Among the big four supermarkets Tesco has been the standout retailer ... increasing sales have helped Tesco arrest its falling market share, which is down just 0.1 percentage point compared with last year.

"This resurgence has impacted Asda which competes for many of the same shoppers as Tesco.

"Asda's sales are down by 2.1%, taking its market share to 17.0%.

"Morrisons and Sainsbury's both grew behind the market average, with sales falling by 0.4% and 0.5% respectively."

Both Morrisons and Waitrose are due to release their annual results on Thursday and are expected to confirm falling profits.

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Â£1bn Printer Falls Like Domino To Japan Bid

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

A FTSE-250 printing technology company will be the latest British corporate name to fall prey to a foreign rival when it unveils a takeover deal worth close to £1bn.

Sky News has learnt that the board of Domino Printing Sciences has reached a deal with a‎ major Japanese company that could spark an international bidding war.

Statements could be made to the London and Tokyo stock exchanges as soon as Wednesday, they said.

The identity of the Japanese predator could not be verified on Tuesday, although it is understood not to be any of Canon, Panasonic, Ricoh‎ or Sony - four of the biggest players in Japan's consumer electronics industry.

City sources said that advisers at Citi, the Wall Street bank, were working for the mystery bidder, and added that Domino had also held discussions with a number of US-based competitors in recent months.

One or more of these companies could yet lodge a counter-bid in an effort to gatecrash the agreed deal, they said.

Domino produces printers with secure inks, and serves multinational customers around the world.

Employing 2300 people, the company has operations in the UK, China, Germany, India, Sweden and the US.

If completed by its Japanese suitor, a takeover would be the latest in a string of major corporate deals involving British businesses being acquired by peers from Japan.

Gallaher‎, the tobacco manufacturer, and Aegis, the media-buying agency, are among the UK companies which have succumbed to multibillion pound advances from Japanese rivals in recent times.

A bid for Domino would ‎be one of the largest foreign takeover offers launched since revisions to the Takeover Code were introduced to provide additional safeguards for British manufacturing and research and development.

Shares in Domino fell by 1.1% on Tuesday to close at 721p, giving the company a market capitalisation of just over £821m.

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HSBC Tax Scandal: Argentina Wants $3.5bn

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 10 Maret 2015 | 11.46

Argentina has stepped up its tax evasion row with HSBC by demanding it repatriates $3.5bn (£2.32bn) of cash allegedly moved to its Swiss private bank.

The country's tax authorities issued the request weeks after the Central Bank of Argentina temporarily suspended HSBC Bank Argentina's operations of transferring money and assets abroad for a period of 30 days.

That action followed Argentina's decision last year to charge HSBC with aiding more than 4,000 clients to evade taxes by shifting assets offshore.

HSBC Argentina denied the claim - insisting it respected Argentine law.

A statement released by the bank said: "HSBC has been cooperating fully with Argentine regulators, including AFIP (the tax authority) and the judiciary, since allegations were first made public last year, and we will continue to do so."

At a news conference in London, the country's top tax official Ricardo Echegaray said Argentina was prepared to take criminal action on the allegations, which date back as afar as 2006.

He also confirmed officials had been approached for information by British authorities, which have been accused of largely failing to act on evidence of evasion, with just a single individual prosecuted by HM Revenue & Customs.

The cash repatriation demand was issued as the bank's group chief executive Stuart Gulliver, the former head of its private banking division Chris Meares and current non-executive director Rona Fairhead prepared to give evidence to MPs.

The Public Accounts Committee is expected to press for answers on accountability while Mrs Fairhead, who also chairs the BBC Trust, is likely to face questions on her previous roles at HSBC.

While Mr Gulliver has already apologised for past practices at the Swiss arm, he and chairman Douglas Flint told the Treasury Select Committee last month they had completed a series of reforms to help restore trust and confidence.

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US Chief Wells Is The New 'Man From The Pru'

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

The head of Prudential's American operations is poised to be named as the company's group chief executive as part of a management overhaul at one of Britain's biggest insurers.

Sky News can reveal that Mike Wells, who is president and CEO of Jackson National Life Insurance, has been chosen by the board of Prudential to replace Tidjane Thiam later this year.

The Financial Times reported on Monday evening that Mr Thiam was stepping down to take over at the helm of Credit Suisse, the Swiss banking giant.

Credit Suisse and Prudential are expected to confirm Mr Thiam's move on Tuesday, although Mr Wells' appointment is unlikely to be made public until after regulators have approved it, which could take several weeks.

Mr Wells' appointment, if ratified by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), will put him at the helm of a vast group with operations in the UK, US and Asia.

He would be the first American to run arguably the best-known of the major UK insurers, with a market capitalisation of almost £43bn.

Mr Wells would take over at a crucial time, with a new European regulatory framework and a rulebook imposed by the PRA to strengthen accountability among senior managers in the insurance sector.

The change of chief executive will surprise the City, which has enthused over Mr Thiam's leadership of the business since its recovery from one of the most disastrous takeover attempts in recent British corporate history.

In 2010, the Pru attempted to buy AIA, a major Asian insurer, in a deal worth $35bn, but the deal was thwarted by objections from shareholders and regulators.

The defeat left Mr Thiam dismayed, and his sense of injustice was compounded when the then Financial Services Authority fined the company and censured him for failing to keep it properly informed about the AIA plans.

AIA, which is run by Mr Thiam's predecessor as the Pru's chief executive, Mark Tucker, has seen its value soar since listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Since the aborted move for AIA, which triggered the departure of the Pru's chairman, Harvey McGrath, the company has rebuilt relations with shareholders and seen its value soar amid strong performances across its business.

Mr Wells is already a member of Prudential's board, which makes a decision by the PRA to reject his appointment as the group chief executive unlikely in the extreme.

He has held senior roles at Jackson for 15 years and joined the Pru's board in 2011.

Last year, Mr Wells was paid a total package of £11.7m, significantly more than that awarded to Mr Thiam.

It is unclear whether the Pru's chairman, Paul Manduca, considered external candidates to replace Mr Thiam, although other internal contenders are likely to have included Jackie Hunt, who runs the Pru in the UK and Europe, and Nic Nicandrou, the finance director.

Prudential declined to comment.

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Big Firms Forced To Reveal Gender Pay Gap

Written By Unknown on Senin, 09 Maret 2015 | 11.46

Thousands of large companies will be forced to share details of the difference between what they pay their male and female workers.

The Government has agreed to implement the Liberal Democrat measure despite years of Tory opposition to it.

The move will mean companies employing more than 250 people will be required to publish the gap between average pay for their male and female workers.

More than 10 million people across the UK are currently working at firms covered by the legislation.

The current approach, which is voluntary, has seen only five out of around 7,000 large companies publish their gender pay gap.

The new measure, which will come into force within 12 months, could result in fines of up to £5,000 for firms that do not reveal the details.

Equalities Minister Jo Swinson said she was "delighted" her party won the "argument in Government".

She said the move "will force companies to ask themselves difficult questions about how they are valuing the contribution of women in their workforce and act to address problems".

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said: "These measures will shine a light on a company's policy so that women can rightly challenge their employer where they are not being properly valued and rewarded."

The legislation will be debated in the Lords on Wednesday, with the Government tabling an amendment to the Small Business Bill.

A Government spokesman said: "Under this Government the gender pay gap is the lowest ever and has virtually been eliminated for those working full time under 40.

"However the pay gap persists, so we think it's time to move forward, so we can create the conditions to ensure that there is equality in workplaces across the country."

Shadow equalities minister Gloria De Piero said: "This is fantastic news for women but why have they waited so long?

"The reality is that it's only when the Government realised they would be defeated on this issue by Labour in the House of Lords that they saw the need to act."

The move comes as the head of the UN agency promoting equality for women said not a single country has reached gender parity.

UN Women executive director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka made the comments 20 years after a groundbreaking conference in Beijing where 189 nations adopted a blueprint to achieve equality for women.

Ms Mlambo-Ngcuka said that although progress had been made since Beijing, there are still fewer than 20 female heads of state and government.

She said the number of female politicians increased from 11% to just 22% in the past 20 years.

Ms Mlambo-Ngcuka also said "the sheer scale of the use of rape that we've seen post-Beijing", especially in conflict situations, "tells us that the women's bodies are viewed not as something to respect, but as something that men have the right to control and to abuse."

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Tungsten Banking Arm Unveils Deposits Drive

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

An electronic invoicing group headed by a prominent City financier will on Monday announce that it is to start taking deposits as it aims to become a leading challenger bank for corporate clients.

Sky News understands that Tungsten Corporation, which is headed by Edi Truell, the former chief executive of private equity group Duke Street Capital, will say that it is to offer annual interest of 1.5% on 35-day sterling deposits, rising to 1.8% for funds left with its Tungsten Bank arm for a year.

The deposit base will be used by Tungsten Bank to provide additional invoice financing as Mr Truell seeks to build the group into a business capable of processing as much as $1trn of invoices each year.

Invoice financing enables companies to maximise their cashflow by taking discounted early payment, an issue which has acquired significant political resonance amid a string of controversial announcements by blue-chip corporate names about the extension of supplier payment terms.

The benefit to big users of such services - Tungsten's clients include Aviva, Apple, GlaxoSmithKline and Nestle - is the potential for vast procurement cost-savings.

Tungsten Network says its customers include well over half of Fortune 500 companies, in addition to UK and US government bodies.

Mr Truell, who floated Tungsten on London's junior AIM stock market two years ago, believes the market is among several areas of the financial services industry which are ripe for a fresh approach.

He has said previously that Tungsten wants to disrupt financial markets which neglect the needs of businesses.

Last week, the group announced that it had secured a deal with the asset management giant Insight Investment Management to help finance the business.

A number of other so-called challenger banks are attempting to impose their own version of disruption on the provision of services to small and medium-sized companies (SMEs).

Shawbrook Bank, whose board members include the former Royal Bank of Scotland chief Sir George Mathewson, is close to confirming plans for a public flotation.

The launch of its deposit-taking operations comes after a difficult few weeks for Tungsten, which has seen its share price fall sharply and an increase in short-selling activity in the company's stock.

Mr Truell, nevertheless, has major ambitions for Tungsten, recently telling The Times: "We'd like to process $1 trillion worth of invoices a year. We'd like to provide finance of $100bn a year. And we'd like to save our clients $10bn a year."

A new wave of banks has been launched following a concerted push prompted by ministers to lower barriers for entry amid continued complaints about the treatment of SMEs by the largest high street lenders.

Tungsten declined to comment ahead of Monday's announcement.

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US Group Whitewave Has Appetite For Quorn

Written By Unknown on Minggu, 08 Maret 2015 | 11.46

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

The owner of Quorn, the meat-free food producer, ‎is mulling a sale of the business to the American group which owns Alpro, the plant-based milk alternative.

Sky News understands that The WhiteWave Foods Company has held initial discussions with Exponent Private Equity, which has owned Quorn since 2011.

The talks are highly preliminary and may not lead to a formal offer from WhiteWave or a deal, a source said.

Contact between the two companies comes as Exponent has been preparing an auction of Quorn that could value it at more than £400m.

The private equity firm held a beauty parade of investment banks several weeks ago but has not yet formally appointed one.

Based in North Yorkshire, Quorn has capitalised on growing consumer demand in some western markets for diets containing less red meat‎ amid public health statistics highlighting an explosion in levels of obesity.

In January, the company published figures showing that sales had risen by 7% in 2014 to £150m, bucking a trend of flat sales performances from many of its competitors.

Quorn's stronger sales were due in part to a deal with Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer‎, which now stocks its products in more than 2,000 stores.

The horsemeat scandal in 2013 stoked concerns about food provenance, boosting the manufacturers of non-meat ranges.

Its foothold in the US market is likely to appeal to prospective buyers such as WhiteWave.

Last month, the American company reported record results for last year, with revenue and profit both rising by more than 30%.

WhiteWave is one of the biggest producers of plant-based foods, with brands such as Earthbound Farm, Silk and Alpro.

Even if WhiteWave does pursue a formal‎ offer for Quorn, it is unlikely to be the only bidder.

Hain Celestial, which has acquired British brands such as Covent Garden Soups in recent years, and Nestle, the Swiss giant which owns Kit-Kat and other confectionery products, are both being tipped to show interest.

Quorn's origins date back almost 50 years, although the brand itself was created in 1985.

It has had a string of owners, including Zeneca, the pharmaceuticals group, and Premier Foods, which sold the brand for £205m as it raised cash to stave off the threat of collapse.

Kevin Brennan, Quorn's chief executive, has vowed in the past to turn it into a billion-dollar brand.

Quorn is not the only British-based food brand on the market.

Sky News understands that the founders of Natural Balance, which produces the Nak'd range of cereal bars, have hired Stamford Partners, an advisory firm, to seek an outside investor.

They are said to be targeting a valuation for their business of roughly £50m.

WhiteWave, Exponent and Stamford Partners declined to comment.