Our new nutritional employee programme has created lots of sales opportunities for our small business. All employees say the programme increases their productivity and energy levels plus their ability to support clients.
The Chemistry Group, a management consultancy, solves complex people problems in some of the UK's largest companies. The business was thriving, yet a new nutritional programme has rocketed its pipeline further.
Roger Philby, Chemistry's CEO and founder, explains: "I noticed in 2010 that we always started the year in greater shape, pipeline-wise, than we finished. We analysed it and polled our team; they were tired, overworked and eating badly on the run. They were going like the clappers in the first half of the year and drained in the second".
Chemistry worked with nutritionist Lesley McLaughlin to implement a programme that has dramatically changed the business. Chemistry uses its unique 'pod coaching' system to encourage behaviour change - nudges, reward and recognition are constant.
Each employee has one-to-ones with Lesley, providing information unique for them. Junk food was removed from the office, replaced with deliveries of healthy food. Cookery lessons, a weekly in-office 'Come Dine With Me' has two team members cooking for the rest, while quick, nutritious meals are prepared daily for all. People are voluntarily exercising more, plus feel healthier and energised.
There is a correlation between nutrition and sales pipeline results, and a survey shows overwhelming employee support. No other changes were made.
Stocks decline ahead of Geithner-Draghi meeting - USA Today
The Dow Jones industrial average and the broader Standard & Poor's 500 index were higher in late morning trading and then turned downward close to noon. The tech-laden Nasdaq composite index, which also had started out positive, reversed course and was slightly lower.
European Commission released a report Monday showing that economic sentiment dipped, with pessimism growing in both the industrial and service sectors. Also Monday, Spain's National Statistics Institute said its economy contracted for a third straight quarter.
STORY: Geithner heads to Germany for meetings on European debt
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Most of the attention Monday will continue to center on Europe, with Geithner meeting ECB's chair Draghi and Germany's finance minister to discuss the challenges facing Europe and the global economy.
The spotlight this week won't just be on Europe: Federal Reserve policymakers meet this week, and there are growing expectations that in light of waning economic growth, the Fed may announce a new monetary stimulus. The Bank of England also holds its monthly rate-setting meeting.
"With the rally we have had, the potential is for the central bankers to disappoint," said Louise Cooper, markets analyst at BGC Partners. "This Draghi-inspired rally may peter out if the central bankers fail to deliver."
Stocks, as well as the euro and the bond prices of Spain and Italy, had been buoyant since ECB president Draghi said last Thursday that the bank "is ready to do what it takes to preserve the euro. Believe me, it will be enough."
In the euro zone
Countries that use the euro currency: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain
Those comments raised expectations that, at the very least, the ECB will ramp up its bond-buying program in the hope of keeping a lid on Spanish and Italian borrowing rates. The recent sharp rise in Spain's interest rates raised concerns that the 17-country eurozone hasn't the capacity to bail out its fourth-largest economy, and raised the specter of Italy needing financial help, too.
Making sure that Spain and Italy can continue tapping financial markets for cash appears to be the priority of policymakers despite a warning from Germany's central bank, the Bundesbank, that the line between monetary and fiscal policy should not be blurred.
Both Spain and Italy have seen their borrowing rates in bond markets ease since Draghi's comments.
The yield on Spain's 10-year bonds has dropped significantly below the dangerous 7% level to around 6.60%, while Italy was able to raise a bigger than expected €5.5 billion ($6.77 billion) in a round of auctions Monday. Crucially, the yield on the 10-year bond fell to 5.96% from 6.19% the last time it was offered, a signal of improving investor appetite.
"There is no doubt that policy action is required given the escalation in the crisis and we think it unlikely that Draghi would endanger his reputation and credibility by not fulfilling expectations," said Neil MacKinnon, chief global strategist at VTB Capital.
In Europe, Germany's DAX rose 0.8% to 6,743 while the CAC-40 in France was 0.6% higher at 3,299. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was up 0.9% at 5,677.
The euro was down 0.5% to $1.2252 after figures from the European Union showed economic confidence in the eurozone fell to a 34-month low in July. News that the Spanish economy contracted a further 0.4% in the second quarter of the year, its third straight quarterly decline, also weighed it down.
Earlier in Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average closed up 0.8% at 8,635.44 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng jumped 1.6% to 19,585.40. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 climbed 0.9% to 4,245.70 and South Korea's Kospi rose 0.8% to 1,843.79. China's Shanghai Composite fell 0.9% to 2,109.91.
In energy trading, benchmark crude for September delivery was down 30 cents at $89.83 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Morning business round-up: HSBC sets aside $2bn - BBC News
What made the business news in Asia and Europe this morning? Here's our daily business round-up:
Continue reading the main storyHSBC has put aside $2bn (£1.3bn) to cover potential mis-selling claims and money-laundering fines as it announces a sharp rise in first-half profits.
The bank is setting aside $1.3bn to cover UK mis-selling compensation and $700m for any US fines following the money laundering accusations.
Chief executive Stuart Gulliver described the bank's failure of anti-money laundering controls as "shameful" and "embarrassing".
Pre-tax profit for the first six months of 2012 was $12.7bn, up 11% on the $11.5bn the bank made a year ago. But that figure was boosted by $4.3bn of asset sales in the US.
Investors concerns about Italy and Spain seem to have eased, as comments from European leaders suggest authorities are preparing measures to help the debt-laden countries.
Business headlines
Yields on Spain's 10-year bonds, which indicate its cost of borrowing, dropped to 6.5% in open market trading from last week's record high of 7.5%. A higher interest rate, or yield, indicates greater investor nervousness.
Italy meanwhile sold 5.48bn euros (£4.2bn) at a lower interest rate than in June. Five-year bonds were sold with an interest rate of 5.29%, compared with 5.84% in June, and 10-year bonds at 5.96%, significantly below June's 6.19%.
There were results from two of Europe's biggest airlines, Air France-KLM and Ryanair.
Losses widened at Air France-KLM to 895m euros ($1.1bn, £700m) in the three months to June, against a 197m euro loss a year earlier.
It took a one-off charge of 368m euros to cover redundancy payments as part of plans to cut 10% of its workforce.
Revenues rose 4.5% in the quarter to 6.5bn euros, with the number of passengers up by 2.4%.
However, the carrier saw a drop in its freight business due to the weak economic backdrop in Europe.
Fuel costs hit Ryanair's profits, knocking 29% off net profit for the three months to the end of June.
Ne profit was 99m euros ($122m; £77m), down from the 139m euros the company made a year earlier.
The Irish airline said traffic growth and an increase in average air fares helped to increase revenue by 11% to 1.28bn euros.
In Asia, Japanese output fell for the third straight month, prompting renewed fears the economy is losing steam.
Factory output dipped 0.1% in June, compared to the previous month. It follows a 3.4% decline in May.
The fall was mainly due to lower output in the machinery, iron and steel sectors, data showed.
Looking ahead, two of the world's biggest technology firms , Samsung and Apple, will face each other in court in California later in one of the biggest trials of its kind.
The tech firms have accused each other of intellectual property infringement.
Billions of dollars of payments could be triggered from one business to the other and sales bans imposed if the jury finds one or both parties guilty.
Submitted documents and testimony are also likely to throw fresh light on decision making processes and deals made by the two tech firms with others.
Today's Business Daily programme from the BBC World Service looks at the climate change policies of America's biggest oil company, Exxon Mobil.
Global stocks lifted by stimulus hopes; euro falls - Reuters UK
NEW YORK |
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Global stocks rose on Monday on expectations that the European Central Bank and the U.S. Federal Reserve will take measures to support struggling economies when they meet this week, but worries that the central banks will act less aggressively than hoped drove down the euro against the dollar.
There are strong expectations that the ECB will act forcefully to rein in the euro zone debt crisis when it meets on Thursday, after ECB President Mario Draghi's comments last week that the central bank would do whatever it takes to preserve the euro.
But there is more scepticism about what the Fed will do at its two-day meeting that begins on Tuesday. Many economists believe the U.S. central bank will wait until September to provide more stimulus to a faltering U.S. economic recovery.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Germany's finance minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble, in a joint statement issued after their meeting on Monday, emphasized "the need for policymakers to adopt and implement all reform steps required to deal with the financial crisis and crisis of confidence."
The euro fell broadly, hitting a record low against the Australian dollar, on worries that the ECB may disappoint investors hoping for more measures to contain the debt crisis.
The euro lost 0.6 percent to $1.2241, retreating from a three-week high of $1.2390 hit on Friday.
"Clearly, if nothing is announced, that would be a massive disappointment," said Callum Henderson, global head of FX research for Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore. "But there is an expectation that we're going to see something meaningful on Thursday."
Inflows into safe-haven German government bonds slowed, keeping prices close to three-week lows.
"Certainly everyone thinks that Europe is going to come out with this big bazooka, and they also think the Fed will launch, so therefore the market is going to stay up here," said Ken Polcari, managing director, ICAP Equities in New York.
Speculation has grown that the Fed will do more to bolster the recovery after data on Friday showed U.S. second-quarter gross domestic product expanded at a 1.5 percent annual rate, the weakest pace since the third quarter of 2011.
Bank of America-Merrill Lynch analysts said in a research note that the Fed should extend its forward guidance language on maintaining ultra-low rates to "at least late 2015" at this week's meeting. They said while there is a moderate chance that additional quantitative easing, it is more likely the Fed will announce a third round of asset purchases in September.
The MSCI world equity index rose 0.4 percent, extending gains for a third straight day.
The FTSEurofirst 300 advanced 1.6 percent to 1,072.97 points, its highest close since April 2, having soared more than 5 percent in three days.
U.S. STOCKS RETREAT, BONDS RISE
But Wall Street slipped after its best two-day run this year, with the three major U.S. stock indexes touching session lows as investors awaited action from the ECB and the Fed.
The Dow Jones industrial average was down 19.23 points, or 0.15 percent, at 13,056.43. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 2.86 points, or 0.21 percent, at 1,383.11. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 14.60 points, or 0.49 percent, at 2,943.49.
Germany's Bundesbank is opposed to a resumption of the ECB's secondary market bond buying as well as granting the euro zone rescue funds a banking license, which would give them more firepower to tackle the debt crisis.
Brent crude fell 52 cents to $105.95 a barrel, while U.S. crude slipped 59 cents to $89.54.
Spot gold declined 0.3 percent to $1,618.09 an ounce.
In the U.S. bond market, the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note rose 11/32, with the yield at 1.507 percent.
"Treasuries are likely to remain locked in lower rate ranges as U.S. and global growth continues to disappoint," said William O'Donnell, managing director and head of U.S. Treasury strategy at RBS in Stamford, Connecticut.
(Additional reporting by Anirban Nag in London, Blaise Robinson in London, and Chuck Mikolajczak, Wanfeng Zhou and Ellen Freilich in New York; Editing by Kenneth Barry, Jan Paschal and Leslie Adler)
GLOBAL MARKETS-World stocks rise on stimulus hopes; euro falls - Reuters
* European shares rally as ECB, Fed set to meet this week
* Euro slides on worries stimulus measures may disappoint
* U.S. stocks slip, reversing morning's gains
* Oil drops, gold falls
NEW YORK, July 30 (Reuters) - Global stocks rose on Monday on expectations of stimulus measures by the European Central Bank and the U.S. Federal Reserve to support struggling economies, but the euro slid against the U.S. dollar.
Both the ECB and the Fed will meet this week. The Fed will start a two-day meeting on Tuesday, with many economists believing the central bank will wait until September to provide more stimulus to a faltering U.S. economic recovery. The ECB's meeting on Thursday will attract more attention, traders said, after ECB President Mario Draghi's comments last week that the central bank would do whatever it takes to preserve the euro.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Germany's Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble issued a joint statement after their meeting on Monday that emphasized "the need for policymakers to adopt and implement all reform steps required to deal with the financial crisis and crisis of confidence."
The euro fell broadly, hitting a record low against the Australian dollar, on worries that the ECB may disappoint investors hoping for more measures to contain the debt crisis.
The euro lost 0.6 percent to $1.2241, retreating from a three-week high of $1.2390 hit on Friday.
"Clearly, if nothing is announced, that would be a massive disappointment," said Callum Henderson, global head of FX research for Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore. "But there is an expectation that we're going to see something meaningful on Thursday."
Inflows into safe-haven German government bonds slowed, keeping prices close to three-week lows.
The rhetoric raised expectations that the ECB could take bold measures to lower Italian and Spanish borrowing costs that would also support riskier assets. Italy's benchmark 10-year borrowing costs eased below 6 percent.
"Certainly everyone thinks that Europe is going to come out with this big bazooka, and they also think the Fed will launch, so therefore the market is going to stay up here," said Ken Polcari, managing director, ICAP Equities in New York.
The rhetoric raised expectations that the ECB could take bold measures to lower Italian and Spanish borrowing costs that would also support riskier assets. Italy's benchmark 10-year borrowing costs eased below 6 percent.
However, other investors doubt ECB policymakers will deliver in line with market expectations when they meet on Thursday, and this kept the euro lower and checked gains in commodity prices.
Speculation is growing that the Fed will do more to bolster the recovery after data showed U.S. second-quarter gross domestic product expanded at a 1.5 percent annual rate, the weakest pace of growth since the third quarter of 2011.
The MSCI world equity index rose 0.2 percent, extending gains for a third straight day.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares advanced 1.6 percent to close unofficially at 1.073.19, just off a four-month high.
U.S. STOCKS RETREAT, BONDS RISE
But Wall Street slipped on Monday after its best two-day run this year, with the three major U.S. stock indexes touching session lows as investors awaited action from the ECB and the Fed.
The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 21.53 points, or 0.16 percent, to 13,054.13. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index shed 3.46 points, or 0.25 percent, to 1,382.51. The Nasdaq Composite Index declined 14.59 points, or 0.49 percent, to 2,943.50.
Germany's Bundesbank is opposed to a resumption of the ECB's secondary market bond buying as well as granting the euro zone rescue funds a banking license, which would give them more firepower to tackle the debt crisis.
Brent crude fell 52 cents to $105.95 a barrel, while U.S. crude slipped 40 cents to $89.73.
Spot gold declined 0.3 percent to $1,618.09 an ounce.
In the U.S. bond market, the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note rose 10/32, with the yield at 1.522 percent.
"Treasuries are likely to remain locked in lower rate ranges as U.S. and global growth continues to disappoint," said William O'Donnell, managing director and head of U.S. Treasury strategy at RBS in Stamford, Connecticut.
Stocks at three-week highs on stimulus hopes - Reuters
NEW YORK |
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Global stocks rose on Monday on expectations of stimulus measures by the European Central Bank and the U.S. Federal Reserve to support struggling economies, but the euro slid against the U.S. dollar.
Both the ECB and the Fed will meet this week. The Fed will start a two-day meeting on Tuesday, with many economists believing the central bank will wait until September to provide more stimulus to a faltering U.S. economic recovery. The ECB's meeting on Thursday will attract more attention, traders said, after ECB President Mario Draghi's comments last week that the central bank would do whatever it takes to preserve the euro.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Germany's Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble issued a joint statement after their meeting on Monday that emphasized "the need for policymakers to adopt and implement all reform steps required to deal with the financial crisis and crisis of confidence."
The euro fell broadly, hitting a record low against the Australian dollar, on worries that the ECB may disappoint investors hoping for more measures to contain the debt crisis.
The euro lost 0.6 percent to $1.2241, retreating from a three-week high of $1.2390 hit on Friday.
"Clearly, if nothing is announced, that would be a massive disappointment," said Callum Henderson, global head of FX research for Standard Chartered Bank in Singapore. "But there is an expectation that we're going to see something meaningful on Thursday."
Inflows into safe-haven German government bonds slowed, keeping prices close to three-week lows.
The rhetoric raised expectations that the ECB could take bold measures to lower Italian and Spanish borrowing costs that would also support riskier assets. Italy's benchmark 10-year borrowing costs eased below 6 percent.
"Certainly everyone thinks that Europe is going to come out with this big bazooka, and they also think the Fed will launch, so therefore the market is going to stay up here," said Ken Polcari, managing director, ICAP Equities in New York.
The rhetoric raised expectations that the ECB could take bold measures to lower Italian and Spanish borrowing costs that would also support riskier assets. Italy's benchmark 10-year borrowing costs eased below 6 percent.
However, other investors doubt ECB policymakers will deliver in line with market expectations when they meet on Thursday, and this kept the euro lower and checked gains in commodity prices.
Speculation is growing that the Fed will do more to bolster the recovery after data showed U.S. second-quarter gross domestic product expanded at a 1.5 percent annual rate, the weakest pace of growth since the third quarter of 2011.
The MSCI world equity index .MIWD00000PUS rose 0.2 percent, extending gains for a third straight day.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index .FTEU3 of top European shares advanced 1.6 percent to close unofficially at 1.073.19, just off a four-month high.
U.S. STOCKS RETREAT, BONDS RISE
But Wall Street slipped on Monday after its best two-day run this year, with the three major U.S. stock indexes touching session lows as investors awaited action from the ECB and the Fed.
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI slipped 21.53 points, or 0.16 percent, to 13,054.13. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX shed 3.46 points, or 0.25 percent, to 1,382.51. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC declined 14.59 points, or 0.49 percent, to 2,943.50.
Germany's Bundesbank is opposed to a resumption of the ECB's secondary market bond buying as well as granting the euro zone rescue funds a banking license, which would give them more firepower to tackle the debt crisis.
Brent crude fell 52 cents to $105.95 a barrel, while U.S. crude slipped 40 cents to $89.73.
Spot gold declined 0.3 percent to $1,618.09 an ounce.
In the U.S. bond market, the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note rose 10/32, with the yield at 1.522 percent.
"Treasuries are likely to remain locked in lower rate ranges as U.S. and global growth continues to disappoint," said William O'Donnell, managing director and head of U.S. Treasury strategy at RBS in Stamford, Connecticut.
(Additional reporting by Anirban Nag in London, Blaise Robinson in London and Chuck Mikolajczak, Wanfeng Zhou and Ellen Freilich in New York; Editing by Kenneth Barry and Jan Paschal)
Stocks drift lower on Wall Street; Shaw soars - San Jose Mercury News
The Dow Jones industrial average sank seven points to 13,069 shortly as of 1:30 p.m. Eastern. JPMorgan Chase led the Dow lower, falling 2 percent to $36.13.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner meets separately with Germany's finance minister and the head of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, on Monday. Draghi's pledge to do whatever was needed to protect the euro set off a market rally last week. The Dow rose back above 13,000 for the first time since May and is now up 1.5 percent for the month.
Hopes are high that Draghi will back up his words with action when the central bank meets Thursday, said David Brown, the CEO and chief market strategist at the research firm Sabrient. "I think that's the big story this week," he said. "The market has really responded to his bold statement. I hope the ECB takes action. If they don't do anything, it's not going to be pretty."
Investors are also looking toward the Federal Reserve's meeting this week. Many in the financial markets believe the Fed will take new steps to stimulate the economy in coming months. The Fed will release its statement on interest rate policy Wednesday afternoon.
Besides the Fed statement Wednesday and the ECB meeting Thursday, another potentially market-moving event is coming up on Friday, when the U.S.
Labor Department releases its monthly employment survey. Economists expect that the unemployment rate will remain unchanged at 8.2 percent.In other Monday trading, the broader Standard & Poor's 500 index fell one point to 1,384, while the Nasdaq dropped 11 points to 2,947.
The indexes had been creeping higher early in the day, then reversed course soon after a regional manufacturing report came in much weaker than expected. A survey of manufacturing by the Dallas branch of the Federal Reserve showed a steep drop in July. Economists had forecast a modest gain.
Two corporate deals announced early Monday pushed some stocks higher. Chicago Bridge & Iron Co. agreed to buy Shaw Group for $3 billion in cash and stock. Shaw jumped $14.73, or 55 percent, to $41.40.
Medical and industrial equipment maker Roper Industries said it plans to buy hospital software company Sunquest Information Systems for $1.42 billion. Roper also raised its earnings estimate for the year, a result of the pending merger and a stronger dollar. Roper gained 4 percent to $102.19. Sunquest is privately owned.
Among other stocks making big moves:
— Supermarket operator Supervalu rose 12 percent, or 22 cents, to $2.21 after the company announced that it would oust its CEO. Earlier this month, the Minneapolis company reported weaker sales and profits and suspended its dividend. Supervalu also said it may put itself up for sale.
— Loews Corp. sank 5 percent after reporting that its net income plunged 78 percent in the second quarter. The holding company, controlled by New York's Tisch family, took a hit as falling energy prices lowered the value of its oil and gas properties. The company runs Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc., HighMount Exploration & Production and Loews Hotels. Its stock sank $2.10 to $39.60.
— Suntech Power Holdings plunged 13 percent. The Chinese solar company said it may be the victim of a massive fraud. Suntech dropped 20 cents to $1.37. The solar company's stock has lost 82 percent of its market value over the past year.
HSBC raises mis-selling and money laundering provisions - BBC News
HSBC has put aside $2bn (£1.3bn) to cover potential mis-selling claims and money-laundering fines as it announces a sharp rise in first-half profits.
Pre-tax profit for the first six months of 2012 was $12.7bn, up 11% on the $11.5bn the bank made a year ago.
The profits were boosted by $4.3bn of asset sales in the US.
The bank is setting aside $1.3bn to cover UK mis-selling compensation and $700m for any US fines following money laundering accusations.
The $1.3bn covers $1.06bn for the mis-selling of payment protection insurance (PPI) and $240m to cover sales of specialist interest rate protection products to businesses.
The $700m set aside for money laundering follows a US Senate report published earlier this month, which found that lax controls at Europe's biggest bank had left it vulnerable to being used to launder dirty money from around the world.
"What happened in Mexico and the US is shameful, it's embarrassing, it's very painful for all of us in the firm," chief executive Stuart Gulliver told reporters on a conference call following the results.
"We apologise for our past mistakes in relation to anti-money laundering controls, and it is a priority for senior management to build on steps already taken to manage risk and ensure compliance more effectively," he added.
'Strong performance'The bank did not set aside provisions for any fines relating to the fixing of the inter-bank lending rate, Libor, but said it was co-operating with investigations by the regulatory authorities.
Last month, Barclays was fined £290m by UK and US regulators for giving false Libor submissions, and other banks are expected to be caught up in the scandal.
Analysts said HSBC's results were slightly better than expected.
"HSBC has added to the emerging theme of the banking updates so far - strong headline performance partially offset by corporate contrition," said Richard Hunter at stockbroker Hargreaves Lansdown.
"The money laundering investigation in the US adds to the burden of the PPI debacle, with the bank also involved in the interest rate swap mis-selling and there is yet to be confirmation of the extent to which it may be involved in the Libor investigation."
Rising revenueProfits in the first half of the year were boosted by $4.3bn of asset sales, including the sale of its Card and Retail Services business and 138 branches in the US.
The sales form part of a continuing strategy to streamline the bank's operations, which also includes cutting its global workforce dramatically. The bank said it now employed 271,500 full-time staff, compared with 299,000 in the first quarter of last year.
Underlying first half profit at the bank fell by 3% to $10.6bn, while underlying revenue rose by 4%, thanks to strong growth in China, India, Brazil and Argentina.
Revenue growth was driven by investment and commercial banking.
The bank said it believed growth in emerging markets would continue at a "reasonable pace", while economic conditions in Europe and Western economies would remain "subdued".
It also forecast that the eurozone economy would contract this year.
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