Category: Business

  • Erste net interest income increased in Q1 2020

    Erste net interest income increased in Q1 2020

    Erste net interest income increased – mainly in Austria, but also in Romania – to EUR 2,396.9 million (+2.9%; EUR 2,329.7 million).

    Net fee and commission income declined to EUR 956.7 million (-2.4%; EUR 980.4 million) as lower income from payment services and lending was offset only partly by higher income from other fee and commission income categories.

    While net trading result declined significantly to EUR -19.2 million (EUR 310.1 million), the line item gains/losses from financial instruments measured at fair value through profit or loss improved to EUR 28.5 million (EUR -140.1 million), both line items being impacted by valuation effects due to market volatility amid the Covid-19 outbreak.

    Operating income decreased to EUR 3,471.9 million (-3.4%; EUR 3,592.9 million).

    General administrative expenses declined to EUR 2,114.7 million (-1.5%; EUR 2,146.0 million).

    While personnel expenses rose to EUR 1,265.5 million (+0.8%; EUR 1,255.9 million, other administrative expenses were reduced to EUR 583.3 million (-6.7%; EUR 625.5 million).

    Almost all payments into deposit insurance schemes expected for 2020 – EUR 92.3 million (EUR 92.9 million) – are already included in other administrative expenses. Amortisation and depreciation amounted to EUR 265.9 million (EUR 264.6 million).

    Overall, the operating result declined to EUR 1,357.2 million (-6.2%; EUR 1,446.9 million). The cost/income ratio rose to 60.9% (59.7%).

  • BCR, RON 3.7 billion new loans in H1 2020

    BCR, RON 3.7 billion new loans in H1 2020

    In retail banking business, BCR generated total new loans in local currency to individuals and micro businesses of RON 3.7 billion in H1 2020 mainly driven by mortgage loans.

    Cash loan sales decreased by 9.3% yoy, impacted in Q2 2020 by lower consumption and higher uncertainties generated by the pandemic context.

    Mortgage new sales grew by 25% yoy in H1 2020 mainly driven by standard product. Newloans to micros went up by 24.0% yoy in H1 2020.

    In corporate banking business, BCR approved new corporate loans of RON 3.2 billion in H1 2020. The stock of financing for SME segment (including BCR Leasing subsidiary) increased by 9% yoy to RON 6.3 billion (EUR 1.3 billion) as of 30 June 2020, as a result of a high focus on new business and advance in leasing.

    Public Sector financing increased by 16.1% yoy. Real Estate segment strongly increased by 20.9% year-on-year on drawdowns within the office and commercial projects financed over the last year.

    The intelligent banking platform George reached 900.000 users, up by 70% as compared to H1 2019. The number of transactions through George increased by 130% in H1 2020 as compared to the same period in 2019.

    In addition, there was an increase of over 150% in accessing banking products in the digital platform, the biggest appetite being for the 100% online George account, which reached a share of 52% of the total current accounts opened in 2020.

    The shared online platform Casa Mea App, that runs document workflow for proprietary mortgage, has been already used for 44% of disbursed loans.

  • Donuterie opened a store in the town of Bourges, France

    Donuterie opened a store in the town of Bourges, France

    The Romanian brand Donuterie has opened a franchise unit in Bourges, France. It is the second unit in the country, after the Le Mans store and the fourth internationally.

    The first Donuterie opened on March 28, 2014, in Târgu Mureş, followed in June 2015 by the first unit in Cluj-Napoca. Currently, the company has 18 locations in Romania.

    The company produces several assortments of donuts, mini-donuts and some types of special drinks, Flavored Iced Latte, Gingerbread Latte, Orange Hot Chocolate or Passionfruit Lemon Iced Tea.

    An optimal location of a Donuterie franchise is between 40 and 60 sqm. The minimum is around 30 square meters.

  • UPS second-quarter 2020 revenue increased to $20.5 billion

    UPS second-quarter 2020 revenue increased to $20.5 billion

    UPS announced second-quarter 2020 consolidated revenue increased to $20.5 billion, a 13.4% increase from the second quarter of 2019.

    Net income was $1.8 billion for the quarter; adjusted net income was $1.9 billion, 8.8% above the same period in 2019. 

    Operating profit was $2.2 billion, and adjusted operating profit was $2.3 billion, up 7.4% compared to last year’s second quarter.  

    Diluted earnings per share was $2.03 and adjusted diluted earnings per share was $2.13, up 8.7% from the same period last year.

    GAAP results included a pre-tax transformation charge of $112 million, equivalent to $0.10 per share.

    In the prior year period, GAAP results included a pre-tax charge for transformation costs of $21 million, equivalent to $0.02 per share. 

  • Garanti BBVA Group, net revenues of RON 263.1 million in Romania

    Garanti BBVA Group, net revenues of RON 263.1 million in Romania

    Garanti BBVA Group Romania, which brings together Garanti BBVA, Garanti BBVA Leasing, and Garanti BBVA Consumer Finance, registered net revenues of RON 263.1 million in the first half of 2020.

    Between January and June 2020, the group’s total loan volume reached RON 8.66 billion, while the overall assets totaled RON 12.03 billion.

    On a stand-alone basis, Garanti BBVA posted a net revenue of RON 209.1 million, a 3.8% increase over the first half of 2019 result.

    The customer base grew by 1.4%, to over 426,000 clients. The net profit in the first 6 months of the current year amounted RON 55.3 million.

    As an evidence of the trust of its clients, the volume of deposits grew by 15.6% and by 14.3%, for retail customers and SMEs customers respectively, year on year.

    In the first half of 2020, the POS network expanded by 17%, to 14,085 units, as part of bank`s efforts to facilitate safe and secure transactions for our customers. Total number of cards reached 306.698.

    The group’s two non-banking financial institutions, operating in the field of leasing and consumer finance, also registered good results in the first semester, with a cumulated net revenue of RON 54 million and a cumulated net profit of RON 13.1 million, at the end of June.

    Garanti BBVA Group Romania is held by Garanti BBVA Turkey (TGB), whose majority shareholder is the Spanish financial group Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA).

    In the first half of 2020, Garanti BBVA Turkey posted a consolidated net income of TL 3.33 billion (EUR 434.33 million) and an asset size of TL 486.66 billion (EUR 63.45 billion), while its contribution to the economy through cash and non-cash lending totaled TL 367.14 billion (EUR 47.87 billion).

  • Orange revenues declined 0.4% in the 2nd quarter of 2020

    Orange revenues declined 0.4% in the 2nd quarter of 2020

    In the 2nd quarter of 2020, Orange revenues declined 0.4%, negatively impacted by the decline in roaming and equipment sales directly linked to the health crisis.

    France and Africa & Middle East rose 2.7% and 1.3% respectively year on year, almost completely offsetting the combined decline in other segments: Spain (-6.8%), Europe (-3.6%), Enterprise (-3.3%).

    In the 2nd quarter, EBITDAaL showed a limited decline of 1.8% year on year, negatively impacted by the cost of health measures, the decrease in roaming and a slight increase in provisions for bad debts. In the first half EBITDAaL declined just 0.8%.

    At June 30, 2020, consolidated net income stood at 1,016 million euros (compared with 1,137 million euros at June 30, 2019, on an historical basis).

    In the 1st half, the Group’s eCAPEX declined 9.9% due to the significant increase in cofinancing in France and asset disposals, in particular the disposal of non-strategic towers in Spain. This decrease is also explained by a slowdown of investment in mobile and traditional services which offset growth in FTTH investments, particularly in France, which was lower than expected following the health crisis.

    Organic cash flow from telecoms activities was 255 million euros, a 163 million euro increase year on year on an historical basis, due to the decline in eCAPEX and despite the measures taken to support the most vulnerable suppliers and service providers in France.

  • Strong recovery in market value for the Top 100 listed companies

    Strong recovery in market value for the Top 100 listed companies

    The market capitalisation of the 100 largest listed companies in the world recovered strongly in the second quarter, recovering almost completely the 15% loss recorded in the first three months of 2020 when the COVID-19 pandemic broke out, according to PwC’s Global Top 100 companies, updated on 30 June.

    Thus, the capitalization of the 100 companies rose by USD 3.57 trillion in the second quarter, reaching USD 25.04 dollars at the end of June, just 1% below the level recorded in December 2019, of USD 25.37 trillion.

    Sectoral performance of Top 100 companies

    On sectors, Industrials and Basic Materials saw the largest gains from March to June, of 33%, followed by Technology, with 28%, and Consumer Services, with 25%. Modest gains were seen in Oil and Gas, with 10%, and the financial sector, with only 5%.

    By region, USA and China companies experienced 2% growth in capitalizations, while European companies fell by 3%.

    The US ranks first, having more than half (59) of the companies in the top followed by Europe, with 17companies, China and its regions, with 15 companies.

    Winners vs losers

    Almost 90 companies in the current Global Top 100 saw an increase in market capitalization from March to June 2020, compared to only 10 în January-March.

    Saudi Aramco maintained its leading position, but suffered from the prevailing oil price outlook. The world’s top 10, made up mainly of technology and e-commerce companies, is completed by Alphabet, Alibaba, Facebook, Tencent, Berkshire and Visa.

    Chinese e-commerce platform Pinduoduo saw the largest gains in market capitalisation, by 148%, followed by Tesla, with 104%, PayPal, with 84%, Reliance Industries, with 58%, and AbbVie, with 51%.

    Wells Fargo saw the largest relative decrease in market capitalisation (11% / $12bn), consistent with the general sector sentiment. Six out of the top ten fallers were in either the Oil & Gas or Financials sectors.

  • Ryanair, €185m loss in the first quarter of 2020

    Ryanair, €185m loss in the first quarter of 2020

    Ryanair reported a Q1 loss of €185m, compared to a previous year Q1 net profit of €243m. The past quarter was the most challenging in company’s 35 year history. 

    Covid-19 grounded the group’s fleet for almost 4 months (from mid-March to end June) as EU governments imposed flight or travel bans and widespread population lockdowns.

    During this time, group airlines repatriated customers and operated rescue flights for different EU governments, as well as flying a series of medical emergency/PPE flights across Europe. 

    On 1 July, the Ryanair resumed flights across the majority of the route network. The airline carrier expect to operate approx. 40% of the normal July schedule, rising to c. 60% in Aug. and 70% in September.

    At this time, the group expects 2021 traffic to fall by 60% (from 149m) to just 60m.

    Highlights of Ryanair Q1 performance

    • Over 99% of the fleet grounded from mid-March to end June.
    • Q1 traffic fell from 42m to 0.5m.
    • Group airlines operated repatriation, rescue & medical emergency flights.
    • Cash preservation prioritised – closing cash €3.9bn
    • Cost reduction measures being successfully implemented.
    • Successful return to flying implemented in late June.
  • The Organic cotton farms revolutionising the industry

    The Organic cotton farms revolutionising the industry

    There are a number of different theories and hypotheses regarding early state formation that seek generalizations to explain why the state developed in some places but not others. Other scholars believe that generalizations are unhelpful and that each case of early state formation should be treated on its own.

    Voluntary contend groups theories of people came together to form states as a result of some shared rational interest.

    Conflict theories of state formation regard conflict and dominance of some population over another population as key to the formation of states.

    The first states of sorts were those of early dynastic Sumer and early dynastic Egypt, which arose from the Uruk period and Predynastic Egypt respectively around approximately 3000 BCE.

    Although state-forms existed before the rise of the Ancient Greek empire, the Greeks were the first people known to have explicitly formulated a political philosophy of the state, and to have rationally analyzed political institutions. Prior to this, states were described and justified in terms of religious myths.

    Several important political innovations of classical antiquity came from the Greek city-states (polis) and the Roman Republic. The Greek city-states before the 4th century granted citizenship rights to their free population; in Athens these rights were combined with a directly democratic form of government that was to have a long afterlife in political thought and history.

    Firefighter combats flames downtown

    Political globalization began in the 20th century through intergovernmental organizations and supranational unions. The League of Nations was founded after World War I, and after World War II it was replaced by the United Nations. Various international treaties have been signed through it. Regional integration has been pursued by the African Union, ASEAN, the European Union, and Mercosur. International political institutions on the international level include the International Criminal Court, the International Monetary Fund, and the World Trade Organization.

    The history of the world is commonly understood as the history of humanity spanning the major geopolitical developments of about five millennia, from the first civilizations to the present. In terms such as world religion, world language, world government, and world war, the term world suggests an international or intercontinental scope without necessarily implying participation of every part of the world.

    The world population is the sum of all human populations at any time; similarly, the world economy is the sum of the economies of all societies or countries, especially in the context of globalization:

    • Terms such as “world championship”, “gross world product”, and “world flags” imply the sum or combination of all sovereign states.
    • While the Germanic word thus reflects a mythological notion of a domain of Man compare Midgard.
    • The corresponding word in Latin is mundus literally “clean, elegant” as an act of establishing order out of chaos.

    Itself a loan translation of Greek cosmos “orderly arrangement.” presumably as opposed to the divine sphere on the one hand and the chthonic sphere of the underworld on the other, the Greco-Latin term expresses a notion of creation.

    “World” distinguishes the entire planet or population from any particular country or region: world affairs pertain not just to one place but to the whole world, and world history is a field of history that examines events from a global (rather than a national or a regional) perspective. Earth, on the other hand, refers to the planet as a physical entity, and distinguishes it from other planets and physical objects.

    Was also classically used to mean the material universe, or the cosmos: “The worlde is an apte frame of heauen and earthe, and all other natural thinges contained in them.”

    The term can also be used attributively, to mean “global”, or “relating to the whole world”, forming usages such as world community or world canonical texts.

    By extension, a world may refer to any planet or heavenly body, especially when it is thought of as inhabited, especially in the context of science fiction or futurology.

    In philosophy, the term world has several possible meanings. In some contexts, it refers to everything that makes up reality or the physical universe. In others, it can mean have a specific ontological sense. While clarifying the concept of world has arguably always been among the basic tasks of Western philosophy, this theme appears to have been raised explicitly only at the start of the twentieth century and has been the subject of continuous debate. The question of what the world is has by no means been settled.

    The traditional interpretation of Parmenides work is that he argued that the everyday perception of reality of the physical world is mistaken, and that the reality of the world is One Being: an unchanging, ungenerated, indestructible whole.

  • 5.5 million euros for employment and micro-enterprises in Milan

    5.5 million euros for employment and micro-enterprises in Milan

    The guidelines for the allocation of grants for the creation and stabilization of jobs for neighborhood and neighborhood micro enterprises belonging to the economic sectors most affected by the pandemic have been approved by the The Municipality of Milan Board.

    The contributions amount to € 5.5 million and come from the Mutual Aid Fund.

    Contributions will be granted to micro-enterprises of the economic sectors most affected during the lockdown:

    • retail business activities (excluding food and basic necessities),
    • personal services (hairdressers, barbers, beauty centers etc.),
    • catering businesses,
    • accommodations and travel agencies.

    This enterprises must have up to 5 employees hired with full time employment contracts and who have undergone at least 56 days of mandatory closure.

    Specifically, the funds will cover the costs for new staff hires with permanent or fixed-term employment contracts lasting at least 12 months or with apprenticeship contracts, or the stabilization of staff already hired with contracts.

    Two aid formulas

    The first, a contribution of up to a maximum of 20.000 euros to cover the costs for the creation of permanent employment relationships. 

    The second, economic coverage for fixed-term contracts, lasting at least 12 months, or apprenticeships up to a maximum of 15.000 euros.

    In both cases, the funds will be allocated in the amount of 80% of the expected expenditure and will be disbursed in the amount of 80% of the expenditure actually incurred and reported. 

    Contracts stipulated after June 1, 2020 are considered admissible.

    All information and documentation necessary for submitting the application will be available in September on the portal of the Municipality of Milan.

  • Increase in remote working as businesses close

    Increase in remote working as businesses close

    Cream skimmed from milk may be called “sweet cream” to distinguish it from cream skimmed from whey, a by-product of cheese-making. Whey cream has a lower fat content and tastes more salty, tangy and “cheesy”. In many countries, cream is usually sold partially fermented: sour cream, crème fraîche, and so on. Both forms have many culinary uses in sweet, bitter, salty and tangy dishes.

    Produced by cattle (particularly Jersey cattle) grazing on natural pasture often contains some natural carotenoid pigments derived from the plants they eat; this gives it a slightly yellow tone, hence the name of the yellowish-white color: cream. This is also the origin of butters yellow color. Cream from goats milk, water buffalo milk, or from cows fed indoors on grain or grain-based pellets, is white.

    Cream is used as an ingredient in many foods, including ice cream, many sauces, soups, stews, puddings, and some custard bases, and is also used for cakes. Whipped cream is served as a topping on ice cream sundaes, milkshakes, lassi, eggnog, sweet pies, strawberries, blueberries or peaches. Irish cream is an alcoholic liqueur which blends cream with whiskey, and often honey, wine, or coffee. Cream is also used in Indian curries such as masala dishes.

    The Secret Life Of Benjamin Franklin

    Both single and double cream (see Types for definitions) can be used in cooking. Double cream or full-fat crème fraîche are often used when cream is added to a hot sauce, to prevent any problem with it separating or “splitting”. Double cream can be thinned with milk to make an approximation of single cream.

    The French word crème denotes not only dairy cream, but also other thick liquids such as sweet and savory custards, which are normally made with milk, not cream.

    Different grades of cream are distinguished by their fat content, whether they have been heat-treated, whipped, and so on. In many jurisdictions, there are regulations for each type.

    The Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code – Standard 2.5.2 – Defines cream as a milk product comparatively rich in fat, in the form of an emulsion of fat-in-skim milk, which can be obtained by separation from milk. Cream must contain no less than 350 g/kg (35%) milk fat.

    Canadian cream definitions are similar to those used in the United States, except for “light cream”, which is very low-fat cream, usually with 5 or 6 percent butterfat.

    Regulations allow cream to contain acidity regulators and stabilizers. For whipping cream, allowed additives include skim milk powder (0.25%), glucose solids (0.1%), calcium sulphate (0.005%), and xanthan gum (0.02%).

    Russia, as well as other EAC countries, legally separates cream into two classes: normal (10–34% butterfat) and heavy (35–58%), but the industry has pretty much standardized around the following types:

  • Ookla: Cosmote is the fastest mobile network in Greece

    Ookla: Cosmote is the fastest mobile network in Greece

    For the fourth consecutive year, Cosmote won the Speedtest Awards of the independent network metrics company, Ookla.

    Cosmote is “the fastest mobile network in Greece” achieving a Speed ScoreTM of 44.38, over 40% higher than the second-ranked provider (2nd: 30.93; 3rd: 25.63).

    The Greece’s Fastest Mobile Network 2020 award was based on some 400.000 tests taken by users of the mobile network in the first six months of the year.

    The tests were performed under real conditions throughout the country, on the networks of all the mobile telephony providers, through iOS and Android devices using the Speedtest app.

    Through over 10,000 servers worldwide, Ookla users carry out millions of tests every day, with over 30 billion tests carried out since 2006.