Shoppers in trouble for bad weather

Retailers suffered a disappointing final weekend before Christmas as bad weather kept consumers away from the shops, figures suggest. The number of shoppers visiting the High Street on 19 and 20 December was 6.9 % lower than for the weekend before Christmas last year, Experian said. Heavy snowfall in many parts of the country meant shoppers stayed at home. However, some retailers have seen strong trading, with central London shops seeing a big jump in sales. On Sunday, the New West End Company, which represents more than 600 traders in central London, said sales were up 10 % on last year's sluggish trading. Last-minute rush? But across the rest of the UK, heavy snowfall badly affected shoppers' plans for buying presents. "With up to six inches of snow falling in parts of the country, consumers may be waiting until the weather settles before making further shopping outings, as weather forecasters urge people to only make essential trips," said Anita Manan at Experian. This could lead to a big last-minute rush in the final few days before Christmas, as has happened in previous years, she added. The Experian footfall data shows the number of people entering High Street stores, so does not include online shopping. Visa expects to process a new record of more than 17 million transactions in the UK on 23 December, up 16 % from the same day last year. Bad weather aside, some UK retailers have enjoyed a strong run up to Christmas. John Lewis, regarded by some as a gauge of High Street spending in the UK, has reported its third record week in a row. The department store said sales in the week to Saturday 19 December were more than £112 m, up 15.5 % on the same week last year.

Ford Motors give incentive to cut job

Carmaker Ford has offered incentive packages to all of its 41 ,000 US hourly workers in a bid to reduce its factory costs. The company has more workers than it needs to produce cars at current sales levels, said spokesman Mark Truby. It is not known how many workers Ford expects to take the packages. Ford employed 89 ,000 people in the US at the start of 2009 , but that number has dropped to 80 ,200 through buyouts and layoffs. The buyout package, offered to workers with at least a year of service, includes $50 , 000 (£31 , 167) cash and either a $25 ,000 voucher to buy a Ford vehicle or $20 ,000 extra cash. Retirement-eligible workers can take the buyout but must wait up to 18 months before retiring. The retirement package includes $40 ,000 for skilled and $20 ,000 for non-skilled employees. Earlier this year, 1 ,000 workers took similar packages, the company said in July. Workers have until 22 January to accept the offer. Ford announced profits of almost $1 bn between July and September thanks to increased market share and a successful cost-cutting programme.

GM appointed Microsoft finance chief

General Motors (GM) has appointed the chief financial officer of Microsoft as its new finance chief. Chris Liddell, who is originally from New Zealand, will take up the position in January. Mr Liddell joined Microsoft in 2005 after working at the International Paper Company. Ray Young, GM's outgoing chief financial officer, is being transferred to China in February to serve as vice president of international operations. Mr Liddell spearheaded a cost-cutting plan at Microsoft that included the biggest job cuts in the history of the company. GM declared itself bankrupt in July. Earlier this month, Fritz Henderson stepped down from the post of chief executive. Chairman Ed Whitacre, who was brought in by the Obama administration earlier this year, is acting as an interim replacement.

Bangladeshi rubber price is rising

Rubber price almost doubled in the past one year riding on the significant rise in domestic and foreign demand, private and public producers said. Locally produced rubber is now selling at Tk 120- 125 a kilogram, while it was between Tk 60 and Tk 90 last year. International market price now hovers around Tk 150 per kg. "We have no stock now, but 6,000 tonnes of rubber remained stockpiled last year because of poor market demand," said Abdul Mannan Ilias, general manager of state-owned Bangladesh Forest Industries Development Corporation ( BFIDC). Rubber producers in the private sector are getting fair price for the item this year. "We're getting a lot of export orders this year," said Motahar Billah Chowdhury, vice president of Bangladesh Rubber Garden Owners Association, the trade body for private sector rubber producers. India, Pakistan and Turkey are the export destinations, Chowdhury said. He also pointed to the fact that local manufacturers meet a significant portion of domestic demand. Rubber plantation is relatively new in Bangladesh compared to other countries, industry insiders say. The government has been encouraging plantation in the hilly areas since 1980. Some 45 ,000 acres of land have so far been allotted to the BFIDC and 32 ,500 acres to private owners. BFIDC data shows Bangladesh's present annual rubber production is around 11 ,000 tonnes against the 30 ,000- tonne capacity. The amount rubber garden owners produce is 5 ,000 tonnes. Local companies including Gazi Tyre, Hossain Tyre, Rupsha Sandal and Meghna Cycle are the largest consumers of locally produced rubber. Local consumption is likely to rise further as some of these companies are going to manufacture automobile tyre soon in the country. The BFIDC, responsible for production and sale of government-produced rubber, is now in a strong position due to good sales in the steady domestic market, said the corporation's general manager. The corporation fetched nearly Tk 100 crore from rubber sales in 2009. It sells rubber in auction. Private producers however credited the price hike on widening export demand. "We could not enter into the multibillion dollars export market because of negligence of successive governments," said Harun-ur-Rashid, general secretary of rubber garden owners association. He said: "Bangladesh started getting export orders only after private producers attended an international fair in India early 2009 ". Foreign consumers even did not know Bangladesh produces rubber, said Chowdhury, stressing government policy support for flourishing the industry. "The government has neither set up any administrative wing to help the sector, nor it formulated any policy for the industry," he lamented. According to industry people, as many as 10 people are employed in every 25 acres of rubber land.

New Lenovo mobileset now in Bangladeshi market

Update International Ltd and Transcom Digital Bangladesh jointly launched a new handset -- Lenovo ET 660 Mobile -- in Bangladesh yesterday. Yasser Noor, marketing manager of Transcom Electronics Ltd, unveiled the product at a press conference at Transcom Digital's Gulshan showroom in Dhaka. Transcom Digital will be the sole distributor of the handset while Update International Ltd is the importer. The Lenovo ET 660 comes at a price tag of Tk 27 , 900 and is equipped with Windows Mobile 6.1 Professional, Microsoft Office Mobile, Outlook Mobile, Windows Media Player, Bluetooth, EDGE, handwriting recognition and WiFi. A promotional offer was also declared at the event. A Standard Chartered credit card holder could get the handset at Tk 2 ,325 a month for 12 months. The first 2 ,000 customers under the offer will get a chance to participate in a lottery where a lucky winner will receive a Hyundai i10 automobile, while 20 other winners will receive a Lenovo Notebook. Other features include a 2.8 " TFT screen, 3.2 mega pixel camera with built-in flash, Windows Live Messenger, 2 ,000 plus phonebook and message storage, java compatibility, 1150 mAh Li- Polymer battery and talk-time of up to five hours.

Sanofi-Aventis will buy Chattem

French drug maker Sanofi-Aventis SA said Monday it has agreed to buy US health-care company Chattem Inc for about $1.9 billion in cash in a deal it said would create the world's fifth-largest consumer healthcare company. Paris-based Sanofi-Aventis said it will offer $93. 50 per share to acquire 100 percent of Chattem, a maker of consumer health-care products such as Gold Bond skin care creams and Icy Hot pain relief medicine. "Chattem is the ideal entry for us in this market, " Sanofi Chief Executive Chris Viehbacher told reporters during a conference call. The deal is part of a strategy by Sanofi and other top pharmaceutical companies to diversify, particularly into areas with stable product revenue as they face a wave of patent expirations in the next several years. In a statement, Sanofi-Aventis said it will launch its public tender offer for Chattem in January, and it expects to complete the acquisition in the first quarter of 2010. Chattem's management will remain in place following the takeover, Sanofi-Aventis said. Sanofi-Aventis said it would maintain both of Chattem's existing manufacturing facilities in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and will continue construction on a third. Last year Chattem had 488 employees and reported revenue of $455 million.

Safran & Chinese jet signs a deal

French aerospace and defence industries group Safran on Monday will sign a five-billion-dollar contract to provide engines for China's first large passenger jet, group president Jean-Paul Herteman said. The C919 -- built by state-linked Commercial Aircraft Corporation of China (COMAC) and due to be ready for service in about 2016 , according to state media -- is seen as a future competitor to the Airbus A320 and the Boeing 737. "This is a significant contract -- the launch of a new aircraft only happens once every 10 or 15 years," Herteman told reporters. The contract was due to be signed later Monday during an official visit to China by French Prime Minister Francois Fillon.

Mizuho & Maybank in business tie-up

Mizuho Securities Co. Ltd. on Monday announced a business tie-up with Malaysian Maybank Investment Bank Berhad targeting corporate clients, part of a push by Japanese banks to expand overseas. The deal is Mizuho's first alliance with a Southeast Asian partner, a company spokesman said, adding that their joint operation has already begun. The two companies will team up to provide corporate clients with advisory and other information related to merger and acquisition as well as fund-raising. "We have felt the need for partnership in Islamic countries like Malaysia as there are special rules and practices," said the spokesman for Mizuho Securities, part of Japan's number two banking group, Mizuho Financial. "Under the new cooperation, the two companies can jointly offer business advice to our Japanese and other clients operating in Malaysia." The move reflects a renewed expansion drive by Japan's banks in overseas markets to compensate for a sluggish domestic performance due to a shrinking population and a weak economy hobbled by deflation.