October Essential News

JJB/Sports Direct probe
The Serious Fraud Office has launched an investigation into alleged cartel practices between sports retailers JJB Sports and Sports Direct, following a referral from the Office of Fair Trading. JJB Sports said it had approached the OFT in January with suspected cartel offences under former CEO Chris Ronnie.

London above 5,000
The FTSE-100 index finished at 5,004.30 on 9 September breaking the 5,000 barrier for the first time in more than a year and providing another green shoot. Will we end the year above the 4,500 roof our panel of FDs predicted at the beginning of 2009?
www.financialdirector.co.uk/2232965

GM Europe sold
General Motors will sell its European business to Canadian car parts manufacturer Magna International, which means that Vauxhall and Opel will be placed in Magna's ownership. The move potentially puts 1,400 jobs at Vauxhall's Luton plant at risk, though Magna said it will keep Ellesmere where 2,500 staff work.

BoE rates on hold
The Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee voted to keep Bank Rate at 0.5% on 10 September. The Committee decided to continue with its programme of asset purchases totalling £175bn financed by the issuance of central bank reserves, adding that it will take another two months to complete.

Bernanke gets second term
Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke was given a second term in office by President Obama. Obama said Bernanke was “an expert on the causes of the Great Depression” and he thought the chairman “never imagined that he would be part of a team responsible for preventing another”.

Diageo Scotland trouble
Kilmarnock is facing job losses if drinks giant Diageo presses on with plans to close the Johnnie Walker bottling plant in the town, as Scotland's finance secretary John Swinney defended the government-backed alternative which the group turned down.

AA Awards shortlist
Our sister title Accountancy Age’s awards are upon us again as the great and the good judged scores of entries and drew up the shortlist. Winners will be announced at a gala dinner on 18 November. See www.accountancyageawards.com for the shortlists in the other categories ­ and to book your table to cheer on your favourite!

* Financial Director of the Year ­ Blue Chip
Richard Meddings, Standard Chartered; Andrew Jenner, Serco; Colin Day, Reckitt Benckiser; Nigel Wilson, UBM; Andrew Martin, Compass Group; Warren Tucker, Cobham

* Financial Director of the Year ­ Growing Business
Winnie Armah, Steps Drama Learning Development; Melissa Foux, Gü; Russel McBurnie, Tenon; Nick Tiley, Grant Instruments; Chris Mills, Hall Fire Protection
l Financial Director ­ Public Services & Voluntary Sector
Stephen Fitzgerald, London Borough of Hounslow; Peter Kane, Home Office; Stuart McCreadie, Moat Homes

* Annual Report and Accounts ­ Business
Costain Group; HSBC; Marks & Spencer; Morrisons; National Grid; PartyGaming

* Annual Report and Accounts ­ Public and Voluntary Sector
Buying Solutions; Channel 4; CIMA; Companies House; DCMS; Highways Agency

* Finance Team of the Year ­ Business
EMC; Innocent Ltd; GL Hearn Ltd; Gold Medal Travel Group; Sony UK

* Finance Team of the Year ­ Public and Voluntary
Ealing Council; Environment Agency; Home Office; Learning Trust; RCT Homes

TECHNICAL UPDATE
Bank regulation
The oversight body of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision announced a set of measures designed to strengthen the regulation, supervision and risk management of the banking sector. These measures are intended to substantially reduce the probability and severity of economic and financial stress. The key measures include: (a) raising the quality, consistency and transparency of the Tier 1 capital base which must predominantly comprise ordinary shares and retained earnings; all components of the capital base will be fully disclosed; (b) introducing a leverage ratio as an additional measure to the risk-based framework; (c) a minimum global standard for funding liquidity; and (d) a framework for countercyclical capital buffers above the minimum requirement.

Competition law
The Competition Commission has published responses to the April 2009 joint CC/Office of Fair Trading consultation paper on merger assessment guidelines. Of the 17 published responses, 13 came from law firms, barristers and legal associations, three from consultancies and one from a corporate, Google. RBB Economics cautioned: “We would be concerned if the authorities’ apparent intention to downplay the role of market definition were to lower the threshold for intervention by failing fully to take account of the wider market context in which proposed mergers take place.”