Tinubu Square’s Risk Management Center is available for the B2B market and aims to lower the costs associated with risk management by up to 50%. Tinubu Square has announced the latest release of its Tinubu RMC (Risk Management Center) platform, designed for business-to-business organisations. Tinubu Square advises that by using Tinubu solutions, companies market to and service only “acceptable risk” customers, which helps to reduce DSO (Days Sales Outstanding) by up to 25%, improve cash flow and increase working capital etc.  For companies with a trade credit insurance program, Tinubu solutions aims to streamline administrations, reduce claims and achieve higher covers, all of which can, according  to Tinubu Square, lower the cost of risk management by up to 50%. Tinubu RMC is the first and only cloud-based, SaaS solution for B2B credit intelligence and operational reporting, providing support on trade credit risk exposure. To find out more about the solution please call +44 (0)207 469 2577 or email uksales@tinubu.com.

How can the credit insurance industry improve their policy and/or service offering? EFCIS has launched a competition with a bottle of Champagne as the prize. To enter, send your views on how the credit insurance industry can improve their policy and/or service offering, to enquiries@efcis.com. (Please mention Credit Insurance News Digest).

In addition  
Your attention is also drawn to the following, copyright restricted, articles in The Guardian and The Financial Times which specifically mention trade credit insurance:

'Atradius seeks to reassure with new rating.' Atradius, the insurer whose credit ratings Standard & Poor’s this month cut to near “junk” status, has moved to reassure clients by securing a stronger rating . . . http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c87f5a22-1f92-11e2-841c-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2AhHLiHyK. © THE FINANCIAL TIMES LTD 2012.



Credit Insurance Industry: New Reports and Surveys
The same old wine in a brand new bottle: 'Euler Hermes Outlook' predicts that 2013 will be about the resilience of households and companies. Euler Hermes has published its latest 'Euler Hermes Macroeconomic, Risk and Insolvency Outlook - October 2012,' which is available upon demand or via subscription. To request a copy or subscribe, please use Euler Hermes' contact form.

ICM British Credit Awards 2013. ICM has announced that the ICM British Credit Awards for 2013 are to be held at the Hilton Park Lane Hotel, London on 6 February 2013. The awards categories cover all the different aspects of credit from consumer and commercial lending to credit insurance, use of technology and business information, and include: Credit Insurer of the Year, Commercial Finance Provider of the Year, Credit Information Provider of the Year, Credit Professional of the Year. The closing date for entries is 5pm on Friday 16 November 2012. For more information go to http://www.icmbritishcreditawards.com/static/home.



Career Opportunities and New Appointments
Credit Risk Underwriter, London - Salary up to £50,000 p.a.
Exciting times and a great opportunity for an experienced Credit Risk Underwriter to join this top notch team to work across a range of sectors. You will provide expert analysis of the credit risk in response to enquiries from policyholders and generally manage the risk exposure of your client portfolio to achieve an acceptable loss ratio. You will be an excellent broker and client relationship builder, and will have direct contact with both. Ref:- 0711/kl. Please contact Kristina@thehubagency.co.uk or 07931-371990 for further information. (Please mention Credit Insurance News Digest if applying).

Latest 'Red Flag Alert Report - Q3 2012' shows a divided nation. The most recent Begbies Traynor Red Flag Alert research,  which monitors the financial health of “Corporate UK”, shows a starkly divided nation with marked increases in financial distress amongst businesses based in the North and SMEs, whilst Southern based and larger businesses have shown marked improvements in financial health. The quarter on quarter increase in ‘Significant’ distress levels amongst SMEs (up 10.5%) also indicates the growing impact of zombie businesses - those companies who are in debt and are only just generating sufficient cash to survive - and the choking effect they are having on the natural UK recovery cycle. To view the full report, go to http://www.begbies-traynorgroup.com/default/news/12-10-19/latest_red_flag_alert_report_-_q3_2012_-_a_divided_nation.aspx.  To find out more about Red Flag Alert, request a call back from one of their representatives by clicking here - http://dotsurvey.me/001cyof4-8f6yw1c.

Agents of Growth: How UK mid-sized businesses are beating the market. As part of its current drive to champion the UK’s Mittelstand, Grant Thornton was commissioned by the Daily Telegraph to to produce a study looking at what is really happening with mid-sized businesses in the UK today; and has now  produced a report which tells of high productivity, rising turnover and head count, as well as faster export growth. To view the report go to  http://thinking.grant-thornton.co.uk/elevate/index.php/elevate_templates/article/uk-mid-sized-business-beating-the-market/. A link to an article which appeared in The Telegraph: 'UK’s 'forgotten sector’ that is key to economic recovery,' is also given.

UK ranked 7th for ease of doing business by World Bank report. The World Bank has published the 10th edition of its report 'Doing Business 2013,' which provides objective measures of business regulations for local firms in 185 economies and selected cities at the sub-national level. According to the report, Singapore topped the global ranking on the ease of doing business for the seventh consecutive year, with Hong Kong SAR, China; New Zealand; the United States; Denmark; Norway; the United Kingdom; the Republic of Korea; Georgia; and Australia also in the top ten.  For more information and to view a copy of the report go to http://doingbusiness.org/. (Note: The World Bank: The World Bank authorizes the use of this material subject to the terms and conditions on its website, http://www.worldbank.org/terms).

Global Business Index reports that confidence in the UK economy is a bright spot in Europe - although this may be temporary due to a successful summer of events. The fourth 'Sage Business Index,' a global measure of confidence across small and medium sized companies, is now available and has been expanded to survey 10,861 businesses from 15 countries, this time adding Brazil, Poland, Portugal, Switzerland and Ireland. The Index advises that when asked about the global economy,  businesses felt that the economic outlook is slightly worse than at the start of this year, with an Index rating of 42.59 on a scale of 0 (declining) to 100 (improving), down from 43.95 in March.  For more information and to view the detailed Index go to http://businessindex.sage.com/.



Who's UP/Who's DOWN
UP: Apple has reported that its quarterly profits increased by 24%, driven by a surge in sales of the iPhone which accounts for 47.6% of revenues. Profits in the last three months were $8.2 billion - up from $6.6 billion last year, with revenues of $36 billion - up 27%.  For the entire fiscal year, Apple said revenue was $156.5 billion.
UP:  Samsung has announced a doubling of quarterly profits compared to a year ago, due primarily to the huge success of Galaxy smartphones.  Quarterly profits have now reached £4.59 billion - around 20% of South Korea's GDP.  The company also recently won its case against Apple when it was legally judged that Samsung's products do not infringe on Apple's designs. In addition, the judgment ordered Apple to publish a number of ads in the UK stating that there was no infringement.
UP:  Asos has reported a 40% rise in pro forma underlying annual profit to £44.5 million for the year to August 31, while revenues increased by 37% to £552.9 million. UK sales were up 10% to £205 million, while international sales overall were up 64% to £333 million. Asos is now expecting to launch websites in both China and Russia in 2013.
UP: Sports Direct has announced that in the nine weeks to 30 September, it saw an 18% increase of group total sales rise to £402.7 million, while across the group as a whole gross profit rose by 21.7% to £167.4 million.  Sales were driven primarily by the Group's UK Sports Retail division's 16.8% increase in sales to £295.1 million resulting from the London Olympics. Earlier this month, Sports Direct purchased 20 stores from it former rival JJB Sports (in administration).
UP:  Whitbread, the owner of Premier Inn and Costa Coffee, has advised that its half-year profits have increased by 11% to £193.4 million, while total revenues climbed 14.2% to just above £1 billion. Costa performed particularly well, reporting underlying profits up 30% to £36.1 million.
DOWN: Comet has been widely reported in the National Press today (1 November) as very likely to appoint administrators Deloitte in the next day or so. The retailer's recent problems are well known; it is just 8 months since Comet was bought for £2 by OpCapita, while, in recent weeks, it had been reputedly required to pay up-front by many of its suppliers following the withdrawal of credit insurance. The demise of Comet would be one of the biggest retailer failures since Woolworths. Approximately 7,000 jobs and 240 stores are at risk.
DOWN: Santander's Spanish parent, Banco Santander, has reported that its profits decreased by more than 90% in the third quarter - primarily caused by bad property loans in Spain. The group's net income also fell substantially to €100m compared with €1.8 billion in Q3 2011. UK profit fell 21% to €337 million in the three months.
DOWN: HTC, the Taiwanese handset manufacturer has reported a 79% decrease in its Q3 net profit to $133 million from $639 million during the same period last year, and now expects an equally gloomy Q4.  HTC downturn in profits is primarily due to increased competition from iOS and Google Android based smartphones from Apples and Samsung.
DOWN: Ford has forecast that its Europe losses will top US$1 billion this year, and in order to help return the business to profitable growth has now announced plans to restructure its European operations.  As a result, both its Southampton plant as well as its Ghent plant in Belgium are set to close in July 2013 and 2014 respectively.  Ford reported a second-quarter pretax loss of US$404 million in Europe, compared with a profit of US$176 million a year earlier.
DOWN: Mulberry has issued a profits warning following disappointing international retail sales and reduced wholesale shipments. Full year profits are now predicted to fall below last years £36 million, and substantially below the £43 million previously forecast.  Mulberry has become the latest luxury fashion brand to warn on profit,  following similar action by Burberry last month. 



About this week's sponsor: GTR
GTR is the world’s leading international trade, commodity, export and supply chain finance magazine, read by and featuring the market’s key banks, credit insurers, corporates, traders, law firms, brokers and consultants.

Published six times a year, and with an editorial board that reads like a ‘who’s who’ of leading players in the market, GTR provides timely and in-depth news, leads and analysis on the global emerging markets trade finance, export finance and risk markets. The magazine is the accepted premier forum for the global trade finance market.

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