Year: 2008

Italy’s “safe” postal bank ready to float

Posted by | Jan 11, 2008 | |

Now might not be a great time to launch a financial services stock, but Italy’s national postal service — led by its booming banking unit — is gearing up for a float.

When that happens depends on the government, but the company — emboldened by a foray into financial services that turned it around from a loss-making bureaucracy — is already rivalling more obviously sophisticated institutions for capital.

“At the moment, we are working as if at any moment we would be asked to become public,” Chief Executive Massimo Sarmi told Reuters in an interview.

Having rewritten its history as a lethargic administration that could barely be trusted to deliver a letter in time, the post office was valued this year by investment banks at as much as 15 billion euros, said Sarmi. He declined to say which banks had provided the estimate.

That would make it Italy’s third-largest retail bank by market value at current share prices and is 50 percent higher than the estimated value Sarmi cited for the postal group more than a year ago.

And while billions have been wiped off banks’ market value globally by their loans to ‘subprime’ borrowers, analysts say the post office — which in a float would offer shares to both domestic and foreign investors — is a banking story that has succeeded by betting on the simple and safe.

Key to Poste Italiane’s business model has been a strategy of using its 14,000 outlets across Italy to offer bank accounts and loans, exploiting its reputation as a conservative player that has catered to pensioners and families for decades

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FedEx expands portfolio of services with launch of FedEx International Economy in Asia Pacific

Posted by | Jan 10, 2008 | |

FedEx Express today announced the expansion of its customer portfolio of services with the launch of FedEx International Economy service in ten Asia Pacific markets.

FedEx International Economy is an economical, day-definite, customs-cleared, door-to-door service that features a transit time typically one to two days longer than premium FedEx International Priority service, which is designed for more time-sensitive shipments. The new service effectively addresses the needs of customers in Asia shipping intra-Asia and to the U.S. and Europe, who look for reliability and cost efficiency as a top priority in shipping.

FedEx International Economy is specially designed for customers with less urgent shipments of individual packages under 68kg, but who require the reliability they have come to expect with FedEx. No weight restrictions apply for multi-piece shipments. Offered on competitive list rates and backed by a money-back guarantee, FedEx International Economy typically delivers intra-Asia packages in two business days, and shipments to the U.S. and major markets in Europe typically in three to four business days. As with the FedEx International Priority service, customers can use www.fedex.com for online tracking with proactive e-mail notification in 16 languages.

FedEx International Economy service is now available in 10 APAC markets: Australia, mainland China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand. It will be available in March in Indonesia, the Philippines and Vietnam.

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Moneygram® and Post Office® deliver greater peace of mind to international money transfers

Posted by | Jan 10, 2008 | |

Post Office® and MoneyGram® have welcomed the introduction of the UK Remittances Task Force Customer Charter, supported by the Department for International Development.

MoneyGram is one of the founder signatories to the new charter which aims to ensure greater transparency and security of service for the millions of people across the UK who send money transfers worth an estimated GBP 2.3 bn abroad each year.

MoneyGram’s international money transfer service is available at all 14,000 Post Office® branches nationwide making it the largest provider in the UK to sign up to the charter – its participation in the scheme ensures that over half of the UK’s transfer outlets will immediately comply with its standards.

The MoneyGram service at the Post Office® is fully in line with the charter’s standards which aim to ensure customers understand the fees and exchange rates that will apply to their transactions before completion, as well defining the information required to ensure secure delivery to the recipient e.g. location of collection points and timescales for delivery.

The Post Office® and MoneyGram have a long term commitment to leading the way in providing international money transfer services which customers can trust to offer high levels of speed and security. The recent introduction of a new computerised system allows cash to securely travel in just ten minutes* from any Post Office® to 138,000 MoneyGram locations across the world.

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Royal Mail appoints Lamb to lead data development team (UK)

Posted by | Jan 10, 2008 | |

DMA (UK) Data Council chair Tony Lamb has taken up a position in Royal Mail’s data strategy team as Head of Data Development.

Lamb will be responsible for the development of Royal Mail’s data strategy, building the postal operator’s range of value added solutions to help businesses more effectively reach existing and new customers through the post.

Lamb has more than 18 years’ experience in the data industry, including running his own consultancy and managing Conduit Business Information.

He also headed up the UK technical development team at Wegener DM, which he joined after a stint at The REaD Group as business data chief.

Lamb started his career at Centaur Media, heading up the Centaur Direct Marketing division.

Over the course of 2007, as Chair of the Data Council, Lamb was instrumental in driving environmental initiatives and raising the profile of best practice in data-led direct marketing.

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UPS volume no longer seen as long-term gauge

Posted by | Jan 10, 2008 | |

UPS’s shipping volumes used to be a good indicator of how the economy would be doing down the road — but no longer thanks to changes in how its business customers operate, the package shipper’s top executive said Wednesday.

D. Scott Davis, who became CEO and chairman of the package shipper on Jan. 1, told attendees of a Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce breakfast that fluctuations in the company’s fortunes once foreshadowed the economy’s direction.

But its volume has become more of a real-time indicator in recent years as many retailers and other shippers have switched to so-called “just-in-time” operations to reduce their inventory levels, said Davis, who is also vice chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.

Davis declined to disclose recent trends in UPS’ shipments, but said the risk of a recession has increased after retail sales growth over the Christmas shopping season dropped to its slowest rate since 2002. UPS will report its fourth-quarter financial results at the end of this month.

Separately, UPS said Wednesday it will repurchase up to USD 10 billion in company stock within the next two years, and it has decided it will take on greater debt to allow it to make more investments in its business.

UPS said its board of directors has authorized an immediate increase in the amount of funds available for stock repurchases from roughly USD 2 billion to USD 10 billion. It added that the repurchases may take the form of an accelerated share repurchase program, open market purchases or other unspecified methods.

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UPS rises on upgrade to 'Outperform'

Posted by | Jan 10, 2008 | |

Shares of United Parcel Service Inc. rose last Thursday 09 January after a Bear Stearns analyst upgraded the stock, citing a slew of catalysts for long-term growth including current troubles at rival FedEx Corp.

Analyst Edward Wolfe raised his rating on UPS to “Outperform” from “Peer Perform,” saying the company is well positioned to grow once the domestic economy begins to improve.

He expects the company to steer guidance lower in the next few quarters as domestic freight demand remains weak and pricing stays competitive. But a settled Teamster contact, changes in senior management, and rival FedEx Corp. ‘s ground unit woes should all benefit UPS in the long-term, Wolfe said.

The company signed a five-year contract with the Teamster union in late November. In December, former Vice Chairman and Chief Financial Officer Scott Davis took the reigns as chairman and chief executive, replacing retiring Mike Eskew.

The company also announced a change to the top post of its Asia Pacific unit Tuesday, in which Ken Torok will be replaced by Senior Vice President Derek Woodward.

Wolfe said FedEx should continue to lose business to UPS as troubles at its ground unit could lead to higher costs and slower growth. He reduced his 2009 earnings expectations for FedEx Corp. by about 5 percent, but left his 2008 expectation unchanged.

Shares of UPS rose USD 2.76, or 4.1 percent, to USD 69.47 in midday trading, while FedEx shares gained USD 1.40 to USD 84.14.

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Millions of people more reliant on credit in the new year than in 2007

Posted by | Jan 10, 2008 | |

New research from the Post Office® reveals that one in four credit card holders will be starting the New Year more dependent on credit than in 2007, with 41 per cent intending to rely on their credit card for day to day living costs such as grocery shopping.

The Post Office® is advising anyone relying on credit to ensure they get the best possible deal so they don’t end up over-paying for money borrowed on credit cards.

The research also revealed that half of card holders said they intend to use their credit card in the January sales and almost a third (28 per cent) said they plan to make bigger purchases on holidays.

With a huge 53 per cent of people not paying their credit card off in full each month, the Post Office® is urging borrowers to use the New Year as an opportunity to check all aspects of their finances – particularly the rate they are paying on their credit card.

As well as no overseas commission charges, the Post Office® credit card also has zero per cent on balance transfers for the first 10 months and zero per cent on purchases for the first three months. In addition, it offers zero per cent again on new balance transfers made during the month of the cardholder’s first and second anniversary.

Even after the promotional periods, the Post Office® credit card still offers a competitive interest rate of 15.9 per cent APR typical (variable).

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ColiPoste launches e-stamping for parcels (FRA)

Posted by | Jan 10, 2008 | |

Coliposte, La Poste’s parcel branch, launched a new stamping method for its parcel product “Colissimo” by introducing e-stamping via Internet to private customers.

The customer can fill in his shipping bill and indicate the weight, destination and shipping method of his parcel before paying with a credit card. After that the customer can print the bill on a A4 sheet, one part of which will be attached to the package and the other one stamped by the dispatching clerk.

The online stamping of the parcels that is available at the same price as stamping of a classical parcel from a post office does not generate any extra costs for the customer. Currently available and recommended for domestic shipments, the e-stamping service will also be available for international shipments and the French overseas departments in a few months, ColiPoste said in a statement.

Parcel flows among private customers, boosted by the growing number of online retailers, have grown like never before in recent years, the company pointed out. ColiPoste has already adapted to this trend by simplifying the tracking and delivery of the shipments, especially with its service “ e-como” which enables the customer to trace the route of his shipment and “Cityssimo”, its 24/7 delivery service.

Online stamping saves time and thus meets the needs of private customers whose number is increasing rapidly when it comes to selling or exchanging their belongings online. ColiPoste handles one million shipments every day and is registering an annual 10 pct increase in its C2C operations which is generated by the boom of retail sites among private customers.

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