Category Archives: Financial Services

Financial Services

Checking & Savings, Credit Cards, Financial, Financial Management, Financial Services, Financial Solutions, Money, Personal Finance

Pockit announces exclusive 5% cashback at over 70,000 hotels with HotelStayUK

Market leading prepaid MasterCard® provider, Pockit announces exclusive 5% cashback for all Pockit cardholders on hotels and short breaks with HotelStayUK.

Prepaid MasterCard® provider, Pockit has announced a new exclusive cashback for Pockit prepaid cardholders on top of its existing partner offers.

Pockit has teamed up with HotelStayUK, the UK’s only hotel and short break member benefit provider, to provide Pockit cardholders with fantastic discounts on hotels and short breaks across the UK, Europe and worldwide.

HotelStayUK offers guaranteed savings between 10% and 60% off 74,000 hotels across the world. However, Pockit cardholders can also receive an additional 5% cashback off their already discounted rates.

HotelStayUK work with major UK and worldwide hotels, including the finest Hilton, Novotel, Meridien, Marriot, Holiday Inn and Radisson resorts, to provide amazing hotel and short break offers. Whether it’s a room for a night in a vibrant city or a romantic break at a spa hotel over Christmas, they can find the right place, in the right location, at the right price.

Virraj Jatania, joint managing director of Pockit, said: “At Pockit we pride ourselves on offering our prepaid cardholders additional benefits they simply couldn’t find on the High Street.

“We’ve teamed up with HotelStayUK to enable our customers to take advantage of exclusive savings on hotels and short breaks available to Pockit users only.

“This is another fantastic cashback that adds great value to our Pockit prepaid MasterCard®.”

Pockit cardholders have two ways of enjoying massive savings when planning a visit away with HotelStayUK. Cardholders can call HotelStayUK on 08445 007 106 quoting‘pockit’, or view the exclusive Pockit discounts via the HotelStayUK website, using the link provided. Whichever option they choose, they must use their Pockit Prepaid MasterCard® for their booking.

All of Pockit’s partner offers have been exclusively negotiated to provide Pockit MasterCard® holders with maximum savings on retail, insurance, utilities, broadband, travel, optical and dental care and more.

Via EPR Network
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Payday Loans Company Makes Strides With Recycling Programme

Payday Express has long since recycled paper and toner cartridges and made steps towards having a paperless office, but has now expanded its recycling efforts further with a new general waste recycling program.

Disposing responsibly of waste paper was only the start of Payday Express’s efforts to minimise its carbon footprint, and it has now teamed up with Revolution Recycling, a London-based provider of recycling services for businesses.

This now means that Payday Express and their staff can further reduce the negative impact on the environment by recycling their thin card, plastic, metal cans, and glass, and staff are impressed by how easy it is to be more environmentally responsible.

Administrator Kristina Winch said that the company-wide approach to improving awareness of what could be done was paying dividends.

“We have gone from strength to strength as a company in the way we have changed how our staff are encouraged to think about the environment”, she said.

“This new set-up will help us all play a bigger part in our ongoing efforts to protect the environment.”
And Payday Express, operations manager Sarah Carroll added: “Expanding our recycling policy is part of the company’s ongoing commitment to environmental responsibility.

“Hopefully, now that they can see how easy it is to play their part, staff will take the recycling message home with them and put it into practice there too.”

Via EPR Network
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Banks, Credit Cards, Financial, Financial Information, Financial Services, Financial Solutions, Insurance, Insurance Services, Loans, Money, Mortgage, Personal Finance

Confused.com Launches New Points Promotion With Nectar

Confused.com has announced it will unveil a new promotion with Nectar, the UK’s largest loyalty programme. Customers will receive 1,000 Nectar points for every car insurance policy they buy through Confused.com. The promotion is running from 12 December 2011 until 31 March 2012.

Confused.com’s Nectar Points promotion will be supported by a 30 second TV advert and radio advert running from 23 December. The adverts will feature animated logo Cara singing ‘YMCA’, with some unique wording added to highlight the Nectar promotion.

Will Shuckburgh, Nectar Client Development Director, commented: “We’re thrilled to be building on an already successful partnership with Confused.com. This is another fantastic way for our card holders to collect more Nectar points whilst getting a great deal on car insurance. It’s great to be working with a leader such as Confused.com, as we know this is something our savvy Collectors will take advantage of and continue to get excited about.”

Mike Hoban, Marketing Director at Confused.com, said: “Confused.com was the first site to offer price comparison for car insurance, so saving people time and money is at the very heart of our business.The promotion with Nectar offers our customers an added reward when they choose to buy cheaper car insurance with Confused.com.”

The Confused.com advert will be aired from 23 December. Find the latest Confused.com games, videos and more from the Cara Confused page.

Via EPR Network
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Business, Financial Information, Financial Services, Financial Solutions, Investment

2012 Could be the Year for Umbrella Companies, Say Umbrella Company Tarpon

The recent news of an extra boost for the umbrella company industry, in the form of a £1 billion grant, could support half a million jobs.

The new year could be the year for umbrella companies as the industry is boosted by an extra £1 billion injection in the Regional Growth Fund (RGF), assigned to help 500,000 people find jobs in 2012. The decision to award the RGF with an extra £1 billion is not only going to be beneficial for workers, but also those in the umbrella company industry.

A spokesperson for Tarpon explains:

“The news that the RGF is going to benefit from extra money really is fantastic because it’ll help give the employment market a really great boost in time for 2012. The RGF is a two year fund that’s designed to support a number of projects and programmes that create economic growth and sustainable employment. So getting this extra money means that half a million people could potentially get a new job that could last them a very long time.”

The news of the extra money, which was delivered by the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, during a visit to the north-west of England earlier this month, has been welcomed by a number of industry insiders and job seekers alike. The focus of the fund will not only help get people into work, but also encourage private investment in the public sector. This is the second piece of good news for the umbrella company industry in as many months, as new figures from last month show that the demand for contractors has continued to rise.

A spokesperson for Tarpon continues:

“For every £1 of public money put into the RGF, the private sector will put in £5, which will help jump start growth across the UK. This, coupled with the news that the number of employers that have taken on contractors has grown for the 28th consecutive month in November, means that we anticipate that 2012 is the year for the umbrella company.”

Via EPR Network
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Bonds, Business, Financial, Financial Information, Financial Services, Investment, Money, Stocks, Trading

TOMEX Launches New and Direct Spread Contract

TOMEX, one of the world’s leading trading companies has recently launched a new direct spread contract that will allow its members to manage the difference between spot contracts. This new contract will give members of Tokyo Mercantile Exchange more options when it comes to trading, which is also in direct response to their unified requests.

This gives both industrial and financial institutions another method to hedge the liquidity in the spot markets. Doing a direct spread contract is simple as you make one singular trade which is then automatically divided into a singular trade and a single delivery. On the other hand, even if two separate trades are physically created a trader or member will only be paying for the difference between the two contracts.

Jefferson Harold, CEO of Tokyo Mercantile TOMEX recently said, “This new and improved contract was created as a direct answer to the requests of our clients and members for more financial products. On the plus side, it also serves as an additional way to help other companies make full use of their asset management.” This will further expand its suite of investor relations and intelligence services for advisory companies and their individual and institutional clients.

The new contracts will offer for companies trading on behalf of institutional clients on Tokyo Mercantile Exchange access to an bundle of individually-packaged intelligence services powered websites and other sophisticated tools. The recent announcement is a branch of the TOMEX’s access centres for the market’s most comprehensive investor relations, as well as market intelligence service for companies trading on TOMEX.

These arrangements are an indication of our client focus and dedication to give top services for our trading companies,” said Tokubey Ito, Vice President of Tokyo Mercantile Exchane.“We are pleased that TOMEX, one of the world’s leading TOMEX groups, has decided to work with us in its continued support of TOMEX-listed companies,” said Mark Kevins, the President and COO of INTELLIGENCE SERVICES COMPANY. “We are very confident that through this partnership, in addition to the TOMEX access centre, TOMEX-listed firms will receive a level of market insight never before available.”

“Especially in this current state of the economy, professionals need intelligent information, strong analytics and advanced tools that provide greater transparency into the evolving markets. We are more than happy to give TOMEX trading companies with the answers they need to effectively manage investors”, completed Mr. Ito.

Via EPR Network
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Bonds, Business, Financial, Financial Information, Financial Services, Investment, Money, Stocks, Trading

TOMEX Announces Changes in Credit Brokerage Management Team

TOMEX, a leading operator of regulated futures exchanges, clearing houses and over-the-counter markets, announced changes to the management team within its Credit Tomex dervivatives sector. Wholy owned by TOMEX, Credit Tomex is one of the most promising platforms for default swaps and derivatives credit.

TOMEX appointed Arata Haruka as President. Mr. Haruka was previously the Managing Director at Credit Tomex where he was in charge for several years. Mr. Arata Haruka will replace Umetaro Hakaru, Chief Executive Officer of Credit Tomex, who is now pursuing other opportunities. Mr. Umetaro Hakaru played a key role in building Credit Tomex and in facilitating its integration into Tokyo Mercantile Exchange Trading Platforms. TOMEX has also appointed Jefferson Harold as Chief Operating Officer of Credit Tomex. Mr. Jefferson Harold joined Credit Tomex a few years back as the Financial Officer and played an instrumental role in creating synergies between Credit Tomex and TOMEX Trading Platforms.

Hisao Yamada, the Senior Vice President who co-created Credit Tomex a decade and served as its C.O.O to TOMEX last year will also be in charge of the Marketing Department of Credit Tomex and also will remain as an advisor to TOMEX Board of Directors. Since the inception of Credit Tomex recently, he has been instrumental in the integration of Credit Tomex into the organization and in the execution of TOMEX strategies.

TOMEX CEO, Jefferson Harold, said: “We are more than happy to elevate the new management as key contributors in our business. Based on our successful partnership in supporting the evolution the credit default swap space, I want to thank the whole management team for their help with our achievements over the past years. This industry insights have been extremely important as TOMEX has established its leadership position in the credit default swap markets. On behalf of the entire TOMEX team, I want to explicitly state our appreciation to the whole of the management team for their efforts in integrating Credit TOMEX business.”

Via EPR Network
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Bonds, Business, Financial, Financial Information, Financial Services, Investment, Money, Stocks, Trading

TOMEX Announces the Launch of Long-Term Bond Futures for Clients

Tokyo Mercantile Exchange, one of the industry’s biggest and most diverse futures marketplace recently announced the launch of long-term futures beginning this year. These contracts will be part of and subject to the regulations and laws of the industry authorities. It will also be approved pending the board’s ruling.

“The long-term futures has now become part of TOMEX’s product listing as part of our response to overwhelming customer demands and requests for a contract that is similar to this one that we have launched,” said Tokubey Ito, TOMEX Director and Vice President of Consumer Affairs. “This new contract will complement our remaining products and allow us to grow the range of services as well as trading opportunities for industry participants and our clientele.”

Derivatives that are redeemable for the new long-term futures contracts will consist of cash bonds with at least 25 years of remaining term to maturity. By comparing them, redeemable derivatives for the existing bonds contract are bonds with remaining terms to maturity of 15 years or more. There is a rather vast difference between the two that clients will be able to choose depending on what they prefer. The recent policy shift towards greater issuance of long-term bonds has enabled Tokyo Mercantile Exchange to launch this contract targeted at this important part of the yield curve.

In all other aspects the specifications for the bond futures have seen close resemblance with those that are in the existing treasury bond contract. They are similar in terms of their value, low tick size, contract critical dates, and coupon. Initially, TOMEX will list three delivery months in the bond futures, beginning with mid 2012. There will be no notable differences or adjustments to the currently listed treasury bond futures contract specifications and requirements. Additional information about futures, other trading products and TOMEX’s other interests can be found at www.tomex.jp.

Via EPR Network
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Payday Express Supports Make-A-Wish for their 25th Anniversary

Consumer finance provider Payday Express chooses a different charity to support each month, and this December it dedicated efforts to raising money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Make-A-Wish Foundation grants magical wishes to children and young people fighting life-threatening illnesses (make-a-wish.org.uk), and the charity is this year celebrating its 25th anniversary.

Sarah Carroll, operations manager at the fast payday loans company, said: “Staff at Payday Express are always great at pulling together to support good causes and this December has been no exception.”

Throughout December, Payday Express organised a number of different ways for employees to contribute to the charity, including a Christmas party, a programme which allows staff to pay a pound to dress down on Fridays, and collection points for loose change.

Employees at the company, which provides cash loans until payday, contributed £5 towards the Christmas party, which gave them entry to the venue and disco, free food and drink, and chips for the casino tables. Staff were also able to buy additional £5 vouchers for casino chips on the night. All of the money raised on the night – £435 – will be donated to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.

Caroll added: “The staff were more than happy to link their Christmas party fun with helping to raise money for the fantastic Make-A-Wish charity, to be able to bring some joy to children who need a bit of cheer in their lives.”

Other money raised from dress-down Fridays and collection pots will be collected and donated to the charity at the end of the month.

Payday Express administrator Kristina Winch said: “At Payday Express we are dedicated to helping important causes.

“We aim to involve ourselves as much as possible in areas where we can benefit the less fortunate.”

Via EPR Network
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Payday Express Welcomes New Head Of Collections

Payday loans company Payday Express has appointed Andy Davidson as its new head of collections and both the company and Andy have high hopes for the future.

Andy joined Payday Express’s senior management team on November 9 and brings a wealth of experience, having been head of collections at Cabot Financial for the past three years.

While at Cabot Financial he managed more than 200 staff and achieved year on year collection performance improvements. Before that Andy worked at CitiGroup for more than 20 years, starting as assistant branch manager and leaving the company as senior district manager.

Andy said: “I’m really enthusiastic about joining Payday Express. It’s an exciting time for the company, as the online payday lending industry continues to grow. Joining the already strong leadership team at this time can only be a good thing.”

Payday Express has seen improvements in performance by the collections department in recent months, and Andy aims to achieve continual performance improvements. He will grow the team and help to develop employee talent, as well as oversee the implementation of new technologies to improve efficiency within the department.

Chris Gillard, who worked with Andy at CitiGroup and is now the business development manager at Payday Express, said: “It’s exciting that Andy is joining our management team.

“He is an enthusiastic and dedicated head of collections, whose management skills and experience will be extremely valuable and will help us to sustain business success.”

Via EPR Network
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Payday Express Staff Rally Round After Cristian’s Bike-Crash Ordeal

Staff at payday loans company Payday Express have shown unprecedented support for well-respected colleague Cristian Brownlee by fundraising after he was seriously injured in a motorbike crash.

Cristian suffered terrible injuries, including broken ribs, a punctured lung and broken sternum, as well as fracturing six vertebrae while riding to work on Friday October 21.

Employees at Payday Express have always been very fundraising-focused. They donate the proceeds of their weekly Dress Down Friday collections to different charities each month and get involved in events such as Children in Need and Movember. This time, with a cause closer to home, they upped the ante to help Cristian and his family during his lengthy hospital recovery.

Led by Adam Kenton and Laura Kent, who arranged bake sales and fancy dress days, as well as asking for donations, staff raised £652. This was matched by the company, bringing the total to £1,304.

As part of the fundraising efforts, employees auctioned some of their possessions, such as a Swarovski necklace, a PS2 slimline and an Only Fools and Horses DVD box set. Lunch dates with staff members, Lauren Pettit and Louise Dixon, were also auctioned.

“I have been telling Cristian all about what’s been going on in the office each time I visit him. I’ve also shown him photos of our dress up day,” said Adam.

“It feels good to be part of such a caring and supportive team.”

Cristian, who has always been a high-achieving Payday Express team member, said:
“Both myself and the nurses cannot believe the amount of support received from my colleagues.

“This has all been a pretty painful experience, both physically and emotionally, but they have really helped to take away the pain. I can’t wait to get out of here and start processing some loans!”

Via EPR Network
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Provident Continues to Maintain a Presence in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes British Airways

Provident is continuing to carve out a reputation as one of the world’s most responsible financial companies by once again being included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes.

The DJSI World tracks the performance of the top 10% of the 2500 largest companies in the Dow Jones Global Total Stock Market Index that lead the field in terms of sustainability, with the DJSI Europe monitoring the sustainability performance of the top 20% of the 600 largest European companies.

For the seventh successive year, Provident has been selected for inclusion in both the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World) and Dow Jones Sustainability Europe Index (DJSI Europe).

The Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes were launched in 1999 as the first global sustainability benchmarks. The Indexes are based on an internationally recognised leading Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA) methodology which means that they include only companies that fulfil certain sustainability criteria which is better than the majority of their peers.

Provident’s overall score in the 2011 Indexes was 63% (2010: 59%) – 23% points higher than the average overall score of the other companies in the financial services sector – with ‘best in class’ scores for environmental monitoring and reporting, and scores of over 80% in respect of a range of other CR issues, including anti-crime policy/measures, stakeholder engagement and social reporting.

Rob Lawson, Corporate Responsibility manager at Provident Financial said: “We are delighted to continue to be included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes and remain committed to disclosing information on our corporate responsibility (CR) performance to our stakeholders.”

Rob Lawson concluded: “Our continued inclusion in the Indexes is no mean feat, and is testament to the progress we’ve made over the past seven years in embedding our CR programme throughout our business. It also endorses our approach to CR management and shows that we compare favourably to other global companies.”

Via EPR Network
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Checking & Savings, Financial, Financial Information, Financial Services, Investment, IRA, Money, Personal Finance, Retirement

Standard Life Teams Up With Legacy Asset Systems To Support Asset Migration To Standard Life Wrap

Standard Life, a market leading platform provider, has teamed up with Legacy Asset Systems to support advisers migrating assets to the Standard Life Wrap. With the agreement, preferential terms will be offered to Standard Life Wrap firms signing up to the services offered by Legacy Asset Systems. Legacy Asset Systems offer two services: the Discovery Report, a ‘smart search’ of existing client data, and the Asset Migration Service, a combination of systems and services to successfully complete an asset migration project.

The benefits of the Legacy Asset Systems offering are:
– A cost effective approach and opportunity for adviser firms to create an additional profit centre
– Develops a fully compliant and automated end to end audit trail
– Reduces capacity constraints and frees resource to focus on added value services
– Delivers a robust and scalable process, systems and controls
– Supports a consolidation approach by enabling review of whole portfolio and individual products
– Develops an income stream on assets which have been generating little or no income

Chris Divito, Head of Platform Distribution at Standard Life, said: “Advisers have been telling us that analysing and migrating clients legacy assets is a real challenge, particularly from a compliance and capacity point of view. So we have teamed up with Legacy Asset Systems to provide a solution. They have provided a cost effective solution which not only ‘makes it happen’, but also reduces costs and generates income for the business.”

Kevin Jow, Director at Russell Ulyatt has recently used Legacy Asset Systems to help migrate client business to the Standard Life Wrap. He said: “We were keen to start tackling the next segment of our client bank and we’re focused on completing the collation and analysis of client information as cost effectively as possible. Legacy Asset Systems provided the ideal solution in that they took on all of the manual effort of contacting providers, provided accurate cost comparisons and a complete audit trail. In addition to that, the Discovery Report enabled us to take a very detailed view of our client bank and identified some great opportunities. We’ve been able to significantly increase our speed of client transfer and subsequent income streams.

“Using Legacy Asset Systems has freed up so much of our time, speeded up the whole process and just let me get on with the day job – spending more time with my clients.”

Via EPR Network
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Saxo Bank And ICAP Shipping Involved In World’s First Electronic Container Freight Swap Settled In USD

Saxo Bank, the trading and investment specialist, and ICAP Shipping, the shipping arm of ICAP plc, announced on Thursday that they were involved in the execution of the world’s first electronic, voice-assisted trade of a container freight swap agreement settled in US dollars.

The counterparties to the trade were Saxo Bank in Denmark as the buyer and a Netherlands-based trading house as the seller. ICAP Shipping was the broker of the trade. The container freight swap agreement was executed on ICAP’s Webtrader platform, with manual input from ICAP Shipping brokers and cleared by LCH.Clearnet.

The trade was executed by rugby star Lawrence Dallaglio during ICAP’s 19th annual Charity Day. On ICAP Charity, all ICAP revenues are donated to a selection of 200 charities and celebrity patrons are invited to help close deals. Mr. Dallaglio attended ICAP Charity Day in support of Cancer Research and Great Ormond Street Hospital.

Container freight swap agreements lock in the freight exposure for standard containers transported from Asia to Europe, Mediterranean countries and the United States. Cash flow for this sort of freight exposure has been unpredictable for retailers, importers and logistic companies in the past and the concept of pricing container freight against indices and using swap agreements to manage the risk has attracted many industry participants over the last year. Screen execution with the added surety of voice broker assistance was a key requirement of customers.

Henry Liddell, CEO ICAP Shipping said: “The execution of the world’s first electronic container freight swap agreement is an important milestone in the on-going development of the container swaps market. This youngest segment in the shipping industry has seen a rapid growth over the last decade and will become an even more important risk management tool in the current economic environment. Container swaps are a hedging tool for the container industry to manage the price volatility of the physical market.”

Johan Gade, Freight & OTC Derivatives, Saxo Bank said: “We fully support electronic freight derivatives trading and believe that going forward container swaps will be a valuable addition to the electronic dry bulk and tanker freight derivatives offering we are about to launch.”

Via EPR Network
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Confused.com Find Brits Are A Nation Of DIY Lovers But Pay The Price In Home Insurance Claims

Confused.com has revealed that fifty-three per cent of homeowners are doing their own home improvements due to an increase in living costs. However, many of these projects are ending in disaster, with 11 per cent of those who ‘have a go’ then claiming on their home insurance.

A recent study by the Institute of Fiscal Studies warned that households are looking at a 3.8 per cent fall in earnings with data for the first 11 months of 2010-11, marking the largest fall in disposable income since 1981. As a consequence of this strain on income, homeowners in the UK are turning their hand to DIY.

Aside from money issues, the Confused.com survey also showed that thirty-nine per cent of Brits claim to have undertaken home improvement work after watching DIY programs; their favourite being Grand Designs (22 per cent).

Homeowners in Scotland and the West Midlands are most likely to do their own home improvements, with 23 per cent claiming to do DIY, compared with the North East where only 11 per cent do DIY.

Fifty per cent of homeowners in Northern Ireland also claimed to have done a successful job, compared with 26 per cent of homeowners in Wales who said their inspirational home improvements looked dreadful and out of this 26% of Welsh homeowners, if money were no object, then 67 per cent would pay someone to do their DIY.

Of all those UK homeowners surveyed, 31 per cent of these budding Kevin McClouds admitted to having DIY mishaps, and of these 31% homeowners, most disasters were taking place in households in Scotland (12 per cent) and Wales (12 per cent) resulting in home insurance claims.

Despite tackling DIY to save money, 6 per cent of Scottish homeowners have paid over £1,000 in the past 24 months rectifying their DIY disasters. A further15 per cent of Scottish homeowners have paid £200 or more in the same period, whereas those living in Northern Ireland paid out over £350 in the last two years to fix botched DIY. In Wales, 13 per cent said they have paid out £300 fixing bad DIY jobs in the last two years.

Mark Gabriel, Confused.com Home Insurance spokesman, said: “With the economy so fragile, people’s finances are under more pressure and things aren’t getting any easier particularly with the rise in petrol prices and food prices. Therefore people have turned to ways of saving money and have been inspired by home improvement programs.

“However it is important to remember that television often makes tasks look easier than they are. In fact, some home insurance policies stipulate that only professionally accredited tradesmen should carry out certain work, so it is worth checking that you are not inadvertently rendering your insurance invalid by failing to read the small print.

“It is important to look at your home insurance policy to check that you are fully covered, should things go wrong, and to check their policy details carefully. It is also necessary to take extra safety precautions, as DIY disasters can cause accidents.”

For more information on home insurance, flat insurance and staying safe while DIYing, visit Confused.com.

Via EPR Network
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Saxo Bank Comments On Eurozone Sitation Ahead Of EU Leaders Summit

Saxo Bank has released a new macro view video with Steen Jakobsen, Chief Economist, commenting on the situation for the Eurozone ahead of the EU leaders’ summit and in light of the major global central banks’ intervention to boost liquidity. The concerted central bank action has effectively resulted in the US printing money for Europe seeing as the European Central Bank will not, says Steen, adding that it’s like flying in a jet with one engine only – hardly a safe scenario.

The surprising joint intervention by the world’s largest central banks to make it cheaper for financial institutions outside America to borrow dollars has had a positive effect on risk sentiment, but is not expected to last long. For an extended rally or to just sustain gains something more needs to be put on the table, like better fundamentals, plus structural changes and real commitments to toing the line in Eurozone nations, says Steen. The reason being that the severe solvency issues in Europe and deep rooted growth problems are still very much plaguing outlooks.

One could argue that with the central banks having joined forces the pressure is now more so on European politicians to implement lasting austerity and commit to cleaning up their backyards and follow standard rules. The question is whether EU leaders will be able to set things straight once and for all when they meet for the seventeenth time to solve the issues. Steen remains doubtful.

In the meantime, the central bank action has resulted in the cost of emergency dollar funding being cheaper for European banks than US banks. Therefore there is increased expectation now that the Federal Reserve will lower its discount rate by at least 25 basis points before the new dollar swap rate kicks in on December 5. A deeper cut is also possible, he says but that would mean the Federal Reserve is virtually letting go and committing to printing money forever.

Steen also commented on the global macro situation, in particular China, following the Reserve Requirement Ratio cut amid a slowing growth scenario and in terms of timing in a global context. Meanwhile US data continues to please for now at least but he warns that the better numbers may be petering out.

The full video can be viewed at http://www.tradingfloor.com/blogs/macro-ad-hoc/global-central-bank-action-puts-heat-on-eu-summit-to-deliver-886705704.

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Saxo Bank Releases New Asia Focus Video

Saxo Bank, the online trading specialist, has released a new Asia Focus Video which features Andrew Robinson, Forex Analyst for Saxo Capital Markets in Singapore, analysing the People’s Bank of China’s decision to lower its reserve requirement ratio, whether it’s a taste of more cuts to come and how much it is a clear signal that the world’s second-largest economy is really slowing after all.

The unexpected People’s Bank of China’s announcement that it will lower its reserve requirement ratio on December 5, representing the first cut in three years, initially surprised markets and started a risk-on sentiment, particularly in equities and incited market hunger for more monetary easing.

As such, reserve requirement ratio cuts rarely come in isolation and more are likely soon, probably as early as next month, confirmed Andrew Robinson, FX Analyst, Saxo Capital Markets. He said the timing of this easing has to do with the flow of data of late which has pointed to a slowing in the economy and that it was acknowledgement of this situation. Furthermore it pre-empted the latest purchasing manager index data which confirmed a contraction scenario for the economy.

Commenting on the recent data from China, Andrew said: “Last month’s data was looking particularly soft and the expectations for this month are not particularly encouraging. If we look at the data that’s been coming out recently, it’s certainly suggesting that the market is slowing down.

“I think this is a pre-emptive move by the PBOC and they’re looking to continue it and build the economy.”

The focus in the coming days will now shift to inflation data with more declines in the consumer price index and an even greater drop in the purchasing prices index seen. Combined, this confirmation of a softening in price pressure effectively removes a hurdle the People’s Bank of China was facing in terms of the freedom to continue to ease monetary policy.

The video can be viewed at http://www.tradingfloor.com/blogs/macro-ad-hoc/more-chinese-easing-as-price-pressure-abates-removing-pboc-hurdle-1126984016, with many other forex videos available on the Saxo Bank site.

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PCI-PAL And SecureTrading Pal Up To Enhance Call Centre Payment Security

PCI-PAL, a market leading contact centre solution has entered into a partnership with SecureTrading, the UK’s leading independent payment processor specialist, to allow call centre agents to take card payments safely and securely.

The solution de-scopes the call centre PCI risk by permitting callers to enter sensitive credit card data using their telephone keypad whilst remaining in conversation with the call centre agent at all times. The encrypted card holder data is sent securely to SecureTrading’s PCI-DSS Level 1 infrastructure.

PCI compliance for contact centres is an on-going process. It is time-consuming and costly and if not obtained, it can lead to data security breaches which may result in significant reputation and financial loss for organisations. PCI-PAL allows businesses to overcome this challenging area of compliance by restricting sensitive card data from entering organisations’ premises and networks, which bears significant cost savings for the call centres.

Both PCI-PAL, which is a division of IPPlus PLC Group, and SecureTrading have large client bases which affords a mutually beneficial business relationship. PCI-PAL hopes to add real value by utilising their bulk buying power to allow customers to access SecureTrading’s extremely competitive rates, as well as high levels of customer service.

William Catchpole, CEO at PCI-PAL comments: “We are very excited about the prospect of working with SecureTrading for PCI-PAL. The need for contact centres to achieve PCI compliance is a challenge faced by operations and technical teams across the sectors. Together we can supply a simple customer and agent friendly data gathering service with secure, competitive payment processing.”

Tim Allitt, Head of Sales & Marketing at SecureTrading, comments: “It is always satisfying to work with a business that shares our passion for customer service and technical innovation. We look forward to working with PCI-PAL over the coming months as they seek to enhance their clients’ customer experience through reduced PCI costs and increased customer service.”

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Debts, Financial, Financial Services, Loans, Money, Personal Finance

Short-term Finance Solutions Company’s Staff Join Movember Madness

Prolific fund-raisers at the Kent-based financial services company, Payday Express, aren’t ones to turn down a charity challenge– and so, as has become an annual tradition, they’re once again fully embracing this year’s Movember national appeal.

The company’s male staff are putting their money where their mouths – or rather, their top lips – are and changing their own looks, as well as the face of men’s health, by boosting awareness and raising money for research into men’s health, and in particular prostate and testicular cancer.

To those taking part, their moustaches are as much a symbol of their commitment to raising money for charity as the effort put in by anyone who runs or walks for a good cause.

Chris Gillard, Business Development Manager for Payday Express, has set up a Movember Financial team, through which staff can support their colleagues by pledging donations towards research into cancers affecting men.

Chris said “We already have moustaches – or mos – in a wide variety of colours, textures and styles around the office, and our female colleagues are being encouraged to get involved in the fun and support the cause by sporting fakes.”

“The company has also offered a prize for the staff member whose mo raises the most”.

“Movember is a fantastic charity that puts the spotlight on men’s health in a fun and innovative way. This fresh approach to fundraising is always lapped up by our staff – it’s not surprising that this campaign has so much support across the world.”

The Payday Express office walls are adorned with posters publicising the event, so that no visitor is in any doubt about their dedication to the cause – and of course, they are encouraged to make a donation before they leave.

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Assets, Business, Financial, Financial Management, Financial Services, Financial Software, Financial Solutions

APT from SunGard – Top Choice For Risk Management

The APT solution from SunGard is proving to be an invaluable product for risk management companies.

Neptune Investment Managers, a company recently named Best Boutique Fund Group at the 21st annual Money Marketing Financial Services Awards, have chosen to use Sungard’s APT across their funds. Neptune currently has over £7 billion assets under management.

Gavin Creary, risk officer at Neptune Investment Management, said, “The integration of APT is designed to augment our risk management processes and will help add significant value company-wide.”

APT will be used across Neptune’s UCITS funds. “UCITS is fast becoming a global regulatory standard,” said Dushyant Shahrawat, senior research director at TowerGroup, a Corporate Executive Board company. “As organizations try to mitigate risk, investors value the transparency UCITS offers as risk reporting has become an important compliance mandate for investment managers.”

APT is an alternative investment solution offering flexible risk reporting, portfolio construction and rebalancing via optimization, and related professional services.

Rob Mackay, chief operating officer of SunGard’s APT business unit, said, “APT will help Neptune’s fund managers gain a clear perspective on the drivers of risk and return. APT’s flexible analytics are easily integrated into Neptune’s existing infrastructure, helping it benefit from robust risk management and risk reporting.”

APT serves more than 200 asset managers, hedge funds, private banks, prime brokers, pension funds, funds of funds, wealth management groups, consultants, administrators and custodians globally. APT is a data-rich solution meaning that customer data requirements are minimised. It also offers the widest range of global multi-asset class coverage.

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Banks, Bonds, Checking & Savings, Financial, Financial Services, ISAs, Mortgage, Personal Finance

Northern Rock Honoured For Its Community Service

Northern Rock has announced that it was commended in the Mortgage Finance Gazette Awards for its dedication to community service. The honours were given just six months after Northern Rock was heralded among the most responsible businesses in the UK.

After receiving Business in the Community’s (BITC) national Big Tick for its work to tackle financial exclusion, the readers of Mortgage Finance Gazette have now commended the bank in its annual awards.

The magazine’s readers nominated the lender in recognition of its work in the voluntary sector, and the judges, including journalists from the national press, industry experts, and the editors of ‘What Mortgage’ and ‘Mortgage Finance Gazette,’ were particularly impressed by the bank’s staff involvement in the community as well as other fundraising and voluntary activities.

Representatives from Northern Rock collected the commendation in the ‘Community Services Award’ for large lenders at an event in the capital last night. The December edition of Mortgage Finance Gazette, a publication about mortgages and the mortgage industry, features coverage of the event.

Northern Rock’s Customer and Commercial Director Andy Tate said: “We are absolutely delighted to receive a further commendation for our work in the community, and it is wonderful that our dedication to embedding this as part of our organisational culture is being recognised.

“Awards like this are further endorsement of the valuable role Northern Rock and its colleagues play in supporting its local communities, particularly those facing financial difficulty.”

Judge Joanne Atkin, Editor of Mortgage Finance Gazette said that she and her colleagues had had had a difficult job and that those who had been highly commended were truly deserving. She added: “Community is at the core of Northern Rock’s business strategy which is framed and communicated through four Cs – colleague, customer, company and community.

“Community within Northern Rock is about giving of both time and money. The Samaritans is Northern Rock’s corporate charity of the year but it also works with a number of good causes: Women’s Aid, a fight against domestic violence; The Cyrenians, which operates refuges for the homeless around the UK; Shelter, Crisis, The People’s Kitchen and a partnership which enables a small community-based bank to relieve the financial hardship of individuals and families resulting from poor money management, unmanageable levels of high interest debt and no savings.”

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