October132011

PRESS DIGEST - Financial Times - Oct 14


Emerging market countries are working on ways to contribute money rapidly to expand the effective firepower of the International Monetary Fund, with the aim of increasing its role in fighting the eurozone sovereign debt crisis.TRICHET SAYS ECB HAS DONE ALL IT CANThe European Central Bank has reached the limits of what it can do to support financial markets and it is now up to governments to grapple with a stubborn debt crisis, the ECB’s outgoing president, Jean-Claude Trichet, said.TORY DONOR’S LINKS ADD PRESSURE ON FOXMichael Hintze, the millionaire donor to Britain’s Conservative party who indirectly financed Adam Werritty, the controversial associate of the defence secretary Liam Fox, has tens of millions of dollars invested in defence companies through his hedge fund, CQS.CABLE HITS TREASURY OVER ‘RED TAPE CHALLENGE’British business secretary Vince Cable’s attempt to whittle away at the regulatory burden on business is being frustrated by the Treasury’s unwillingness to take part in his “red tape challenge” according to business department insiders.GERMAN BANKS ATTACK RECAPITALISATION PLANGermany’s entire banking industry has joined forces to resist any compulsory recapitalisation of banks, urging Berlin to resist European moves to impose higher capital requirements across the board.INSURERS BLAME APPLE AS FRAUDULENT CLAIMS RISEThe readiness of Apple to replace blocked or faulty iPhones with new smartphones is helping to fuel a big rise in fraud, insurers have warned.PRU CAUGHT UP IN SEARCH FOR DIRECTORSPrudential has hired Zygos, the City headhunters, to find two new non-executive directors as part of an ongoing shake-up of its board aimed partly at addressing investor dissatisfaction over last year’s bid for AIA , the pan-Asian life insurer.POLYUS EYES UK RELOCATION AHEAD OF FLOATPolyus Gold has moved to redomicile in the UK by early November, paving the way for Russia’s biggest gold miner to become a premium-listed FTSE 100 candidate by the end of the year.

PRESS DIGEST Financial Times Oct 14 

October122011

Wal-Mart’s Asda opens stores to local groups


The project will see Asda “Community Champions” spending a day a week serving local organisations, community events hosted in stores every month and under-used space freed up, like meeting rooms and training rooms, for local gatherings.The move is part of a broader campaign by Asda to connect more closely with its shoppers and follows the launch of its “Chosen By You” own-label food range last year, which was developed following consultation with customers.Asda said that range was now the fastest growing own-label brand in Britain and made up 40 percent of its food sales, with its own-label market share ahead of rival J Sainsbury for the first time in its history.Last week, Asda also launched its first dedicated regional own-label range, “Chosen By You Scotland.”“Government cutbacks are creating a shift in British society towards more reliance on communities — whether it’s for healthcare, education, or making ends meeting during a rough patch,” Asda Chief Executive Andy Clarke told the annual conference of grocery industry group IGD.”The more locally engaged we are, the better we do,” he added.Clarke also suggested the grocery industry might need to rethink its dash to open new megastores.”It’s easy to build new space. But that’s not what all customers want. Some may want more. But many want less,” he said, adding sales at smaller format stores recently purchased from Netto UK were on average 45 percent higher following conversion than when they operated under Netto.

WalMarts Asda opens stores to local groups 

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