Woolworths may be gone, but it is well and truly unforgotten.

A few weeks ago, we heard that the Barclay Brothers had bought the Woolworths name to use for online selling of some of their famous brand names. But now it seems not only that, but some of the Woolworths stores may be returning under a new name and new management.

Woolworths went into administration in November of last year after it was struggling to pay its £385 million debts. The 800 chain store closed its doors to customers throughout December, and the final stores closed their doors at the beginning of January this year.

New beginnings

However, it is planned that in March of this year, the manager of the Woolworths in Dorchester is going to re-open the shop she has worked in for eighteen years under the new name of Wellworths.

Claire Robertson started working for Woolworths when she was 16 as a Saturday girl in Somerset.

Ms Robertson claims the store in Dorchester “was like her second home”, and was said to be “very sad” about its closure.

However, customers will be able to visit the pick ‘n’ mix counter she used to refill as a teenager once again.

Ms Robertson said: “The idea was very easy [because] Dorchester’s Woolworths was a successful store.

“The getting it onto a business plan and convincing somebody that it was a good idea was slightly more difficult.”

She also added that she hoped to “get back Woolworths customers and attract some new ones as well.”

Future Employees ‘can’t wait’…

Many of the employees of the old Woolworths that have so far been unable to find new employment will be getting new jobs in the new store. Mr Robertson has done her best to make sure that the team she has hired are the same team that worked for her before.

Patty Ball and Terri Edwards are two such examples. They said: “We can’t wait [until it opens] – our little family back together again.”

Economic Limitations

However, starting up a business in the midst of the current economic climate will be no easy trait.

“It would be silly not to thing in this time opening a new retail outlet is not going to be difficult, but people out there need to by foods at good value,” Ms Robertson said.

“We have already sourced out pick ‘n’ mix – I remember as a Saturday girl filling the pick ‘n’ mix counter – again, it has been part of my life. That building feels like my second home.”
 

What do You Think?

Will Woolworths ever be truly gone? Do you think this store will be a success? Is it a very risky plan, or is it the beginning of a new High Street name? Leave your comments here.

Unemployment hit 1.97 million in the final quarter of last year, putting it at its highest level since 1997 according to figures from the Office for National Statistics.

In January of this year, the number of people getting Jobseeker’s Allowance reached 1.23 million, an increase of nearly 74 thousand people.

This news comes as the Bank of England warns that the UK is headed for a “deep recession.”

What Analysts Have To Say…

Analysts believe that unemployment could reach 2 million in the first quarter of this year, which would be its highest rate since 1997, and many fear the situation could get worse as the economy sinks deeper into recession.

Senior Economist at the Institute for Public Policy Research, Tony Dolphin said: “Unfortunately it seems inevitable that unemployment will exceed 3 million during 2009″.

Head of Consultancy with Employment Law Advisory Services has also said: “From early in December, the number of firms seeking our help in making redundancies simply exploded.

“Things will certainly get worse before they get better. We would expect to see another significant increase in the number of people out of work in the figures published next month, as many more firms were forced to cut staff early in the New Year.”

Who Is Affected Most?

It seems that the worst hit at the moment are young people between the age of 18 and 24, with their unemployment rate currently standing at 11.8%.

The amount of people receiving Jobseeker’s Allowance has now rose for 12 consecutive months and is currently at its highest level since the summer of 1999.

British Chambers of Commerce, David Kern, said: “Unemployment continues to rise in the face of a worsening recession.

“We know businesses do not want to lose key staff, but they are struggling with cash-flow.”

He also said that freezing national minimum wage, forgetting plans to increase National Insurance, cutting business rates etc would help companies keep their employees.

What’s Being Done To Resolve The Problem?

Gordon Brown is meeting with business leaders to discuss what can be done to help.

Expected at Downing Street are executives from companies such as Royal Mail, Whitbread, Centrica, National Express, Travelodge and Sainsbury’s for the first National Employment Partnership meeting.

These companies, along with places like the NHS and local authority leaders, will agree to advertise non-specialist jobs vacancies through Jobcentre Plus, and will also start offering apprenticeships.

A Local Employment Partnership Scheme has also been launched.

“The LGA has committed to working with local authorities to increase the number of council apprenticeships by 7,500 to ensure that people are given practical skills that will stand them in good stead for years to come,” said the chairman of the Local Government Association.

What Do You Think?

Have your say. Comment here.

Residents of the Sutton Coldfield and Erdington area of the West Midlands are being urged to get in contact with their credit holders after it has been found that thousands have been mis-sold their credit agreements.

It has been estimated that as many as tens of thousands of people may have been over charged for their credit agreements. This could be on all kinds of things, including car finance, loans and credit cards.

What can you do?

West Midlands debt advisor Mark Griffiths said: “If you have any type of insurance, then you can check to see if you have a claim.”

“The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has already fined companies like Alliance and Leicester, Egg and Capital One millions of pounds for failing to take reasonable care when selling credit agreements to people.

“In most cases, this is because Payment Protection Insurance (PPI) was added to the loan, which is not suitable for its purpose, or the borrower didn’t even know they had the insurance.

“As a result, many thousands of people will have a successful claim.

“At a time when money is going to get increasingly tight, it’s important to find out if your lender owes money back to you.”

How to get in touch

For further information you can visit www.moneymadeclear.fsa.gov.uk.

Or, if it’s easier, you can call the FSA on 9845 606 1234

What do you think?

Have you been affected by this?   Do you have any other advice for those that have been affected? Leave your comments here.

Barclays bank is thought to be making profits of £6.08 billion for 2008 before taxes, a 14% drop on its profits in 2007.

Marcus Angius, chairman of the bank, said business has been “solidly profitable despite strong headwinds” that have been experienced during the year.

However, the bank’s bad debt charges have almost doubled in the last year, now reaching £5.4 billion.

Barclays is one of many banks particularly those that have accepted taxpayers money, who have announced they will not be paying any bonuses to executive directors for 2008.

Even Prime Minister Gordon Brown has said earlier this week that there should be “no reward for failure.”

John Varley, chief executive of Barclays said: “for 2009 and beyond, we are reviewing our compensation policies and practices to ensure that they evolve appropriately.”

Among their profits, Barclays has made £2.41 billion from its acquisitions. This primarily comes from its takeover of North American bank, Lehman Brothers.

The Stats…

Profits from retail banking increased from £1.28 billion in 2007 to £1.37 billion last year, an increase of 7%.

However, the profits from the bank’s commercial section also fell by 7%to £1.27 billion.

In the wealth management division, Barclays Wealth, profits doubled, increasing from £307 million to £671 million.

Barclays did say however, that it’s lending to both retail and commercial customers increased on 2008s figures.

A letter of reassurance…

Last month, Barclays worries over its financial strength triggered concern over falls in its share prices. In response to this, Mr Varley and Mr Agius published an open letter reassuring investors of the bank’s financial strength.

The letter said that Barclays was well funded and wouldn’t seek financial support from the government, adding that their 2008 profit would be “well ahead” of the market forecasts.

The letter did cause a bit of a stir, in the form of a bounce in the bank’s share prices, but no long-term damage seems to have been done by it.

Even with the letter, agency Moody’s downgraded the bank’s credit rating, in which it said it expected “significant further losses” on credit-related write-downs.

Moody’s also cut Barclays’ long-term debt rating, and their financial strength from a B rating to a C rating, putting further pressure on the bank’s share prices which have fallen over 80% in the last year.

 
What do you think?

Does Barclays have anything to worry about? Is an overall profit loss of 14% mean anything given the current economic downturn? Leave your comments here.

Famous celebrity chef, Antony Worrall Thompson, has closed four restaurants and made sixty of his staff redundant.

The chef visited each of the four affected businesses on Friday in order to tell the staff that they no longer had jobs because of falling sales and problems getting bank loans.

The chef has two other restaurants, and is having to use his personal savings to keep control over them.

What Mr Worrall Thompson had to say…

Mr Worrall Thompson said he: “experienced an unexpected but decisive fall in revenue across the business from September 2008.

“The decision to go into administration has not been taken lightly.

“The company started in 1997 with Notting Grill launching in 2001 and since then we have all worked hard to build a loyal team of employees, grow the business and create a solid relationship with our suppliers.”

He also said that the decision was made after failing to raise £200,000 from his bank in order to tide him over.

“Even though November and December sales were down on the previous year, five of the seven businesses were profitable. However, the first quarter of the year is always a hard one in the hospitality business and additional funding was required to ease our continuing cash flow issues,” he said.

“Our request for funds has not been supported, making administration a difficult decision but an unavoidable one.”

While being interviewed by one newspaper, he also claimed that he was “furious” that he had to tell staff that they had to find work elsewhere. One employee has been working for Mr Worrall Thompson since 1983.

“It makes me cry. It is just appalling…I am furious, to be honest, that the banks didn’t support me,” he added.

How he found his fame…

The TV chef made his name on BBC cooking programmes like Ready Steady Cook.  He opened his first restaurant in 1981, which was reputable for only serving starters and deserts.

Since then, his restaurants have gained him many awards, such as the Mouton Rothschild Menu Competition, and the Meilleur Ouvrier de Grande Bretagne (MOGB).

Now, after four of his restaurants are closing, the only places that will remain open are the Windsor Grill in Berkshire, and the Kew Grill in south-west London. He will also keep his delicatessen, Windsor Larder, open.

The chef has said that he could have saved all of his businesses if the banks had been willing to accept his offered guarantee of his home, but they were unwilling to take such a risk.

He said: “we did a cash-flow forecast for the end of the year and it was fine.

“But we needed looking after for the first four months of the year and the banks just didn’t want to play, not without me giving horrendous personal guarantees that I wasn’t prepared to do. I am getting to an age where I can’t afford to lose my house.”

Have your say

Leave your comments here.

The Bank of England has finally reduced its interest rates to 1% to try and boost the UK economy by encouraging banks to lend more money.

This is the fifth interest rate cut since October, when interest rates were cut to 4.5%.

However, some fear that savers are going to feel the effects of the cut the most, and others are still saying it’s not enough.

The Bank of England has issued a statement saying that rate cuts, along with government measures to boost the economy, “would provide a considerable stimulus to activity as the year progressed.”

Lenders are responding to the seriousness of the situation

Many lenders have responded to the news by cutting their mortgage rates to match the change.

Halifax has said it will pass on the rate cut to customers with standard variable rate mortgages. And other lenders such as Nationwide, Lloyds and Barclays will also pass on the rate drop.

However, some business groups are worried the further cuts will not work.

 
What some of the businesses have to say about the change

The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has claimed we need to improve access to capital.

The FSB conducted a survey, the results of which showed that 63% of members wanted rates to remain at their current level, and only 24% wanted further cuts.

The FSB chairman said: “These figures suggest that the recent interest rate cuts are not having the desired effect and other means of economic stimulus are required.”

On the other hand, the Bank of England has said: “although the transmission mechanism of monetary policy was impaired, the past cuts in Bank Rate would in due course nevertheless have a significant impact.”

Other business groups have also welcomed the cut. Graeme Leach, the Institute of Directors’ chief economist has said: “The interest rate transmission mechanism is clearly impaired but it is not yet kaput.”

Ernst & Young also supported the Banks decision, but also said they expect interest rates to drop again, “possibly to zero”.

Ernst & Young’s senior economic advisor said: “six month ago the Bank was balancing slowing economic growth with accelerating inflation.

“However the Bank now had to act to avoid deflation without fear of a further weakening of sterling; a weaker currency should serve to add to the competitiveness of exports.”

Chief economist at the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, John Philpott said: “the Monetary Policy Committee is right to cut Bank Rate to 1%, even though some question the merit of doing so without greater effort to increase the availability of credit to hard-pressed businesses.

“With conditions in the job market deteriorating rapidly what’s needed now to stem the rise in unemployment is early action to boost the supply of money to our cash-strapped economy.”

 
What do you think?

Is another cut in interest rates enough? Is the government doing enough to help the UK through the recession? Have your say here.

Some Barclaycard customers have found their interest rates cut as the company is pressured to help people struggling with their finances as much as possible.

Approximately three million customers will see a massive 2.5% to 5% drop in their interest rates.

However, some critics are saying this is too little too late, and that credit card firms are reacting too slowly to the Bank of England’s Bank Rate fall, which is currently at 1.5%.

Currently, thirty one million people own credit cards, and half of these are paying their credit card bills at the end of every month. These bills have an average interest rate that is over ten times higher than the Bank Rate.

Changes to come?

Barclays is the first to make a move like this since all major credit card providers in the UK agreed to set new “fair principle” rules with the government in December.

Other changes that Barclays intends to make include the introduction of a helpline which will offer financial support, lower rates for new customers and four month freeze on rates for existing customers.

They have also decided they will avoid contacting late payers for two months, on the understanding that the customers are actively working to sort out their financial problems.

Who will benefit from the cut?

However, according to Anthony Jenkins, chief executive of Barclaycard, when it comes to the interest rate cut, although three million will benefit from the interest rate cut, a further nine million will not see any change as their risk of defaulting had increased.

He said: “It’s a difficult time for many customers and for some their risk has gone up.”

He also added that, while the Bank Rate has fallen sharply, people need to remember borrowing money to lend to customers is “just one element” of its business.

It’s not just Barclaycard that’s changing

After they were threatened by the Office for Fair Trading last month, many credit card firms are looking at a new code of conduct, all of which seem to include giving customers struggling with repayments some time to find the funds.

Companies will also have to give customers 30 days notice when they intend to increase their interest rates, and will not be able to increase rates for the first year after a customer signs up for a credit card. After the one year period, companies will be allowed to increase interest rates a maximum of every six months.

However, they are also going to cover those who are in financial difficulty and struggling to pay the minimum repayment amount or who are receiving help from a debt advice service.

What’s Your View?

Are credit card companies doing enough to help customers, or is it too little too late? Will the new plans make a difference, or are they just a waste of time? Have your say here.

Alistair Darling says that plans to establish a “bad bank” have not been ruled out, merely put on ice for the time being.

The plan was introduced in January, with the aim of ‘ring-fencing’ toxic bank asset and insuring banks against heavy losses on assets that are difficult to trade.

What Mr Darling Said…

The Treasurer told the House of Lords Committee: “We’ve certainly not closed the door on a ‘bad bank’ if that is necessary.”

He added that in his opinion: “we still need to look at a range of options” that are available.

He also claimed that the boardroom of financial institutions needed to change, asking the House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee to query the liabilities they are taking on.

He said: “That means, to my mind, the whole culture in boardrooms of financial institutions has to change.”
 
He claimed that executives and non-executives “are not just there for the ride. And indeed if some of these institutions had asked more questions about what was going on perhaps we might not have got into this difficulty.”

What the Government did to help in 2008…

Billions of pounds of taxpayers money was put into the banking system last year to keep it going, including money going into Lloyds TSB, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) and HBOS.

The government also made Bradford and Bingley and Northern Rock private banks.

What the Government are doing to help  in 2009…

The government is continuing to try and solve the cash crisis problem. Last month they introduced another package of a list of measures in order to encourage banks to lend to businesses and individuals.

One of these new policies included was the idea of setting up insurance for banks against losing more money from bad debts at the beginning of the credit crisis – the “bad bank”.

Initially, it was thought that setting up a “bad bank” would take too long, and it would be difficult to fairly price such toxic assets.

The Bank of England is also extending its scheme whereby they loan money to banks, who in return let the Bank hold onto their dodgy assets for a year.
 

What Do You Think?

Is the “bad bank” plan a good idea? Is it right that the plans have been put on hold? Should executives be asking more questions about their business?

Woolworths is to be re-launched online after it was bought by Sir David and Sir Frederick Barclay.

The chain of stores went into administration in November, finally closing its 800 stores just a month ago after struggling with its £385million debts.

Ladybird, Woolworths’ children’s clothing line, is also set to be re-launched online.

However, it is expected that only a small percentage of the original 30,000 staff will get their jobs back.

The sum of money that the Barclay brothers are setting down for the brands has not been disclosed, but this will be one of many other brands the twin brothers own, including Great Universal and Shop direct, formerly known as Littlewoods.

This news comes even though just last week, Shop Direct announced it was to cut 1,150 jobs in North-West England.

What the company’s chief executive had to say…

Mark Newton Jones, chief executive said: “this is great news and we are confident that Woolworths, as an online brand, will once again prosper and quite rightly stay at the heart of British retailing. It would have been a tragedy should the name have disappeared. It’s an iconic name.

“Essentially we will sell children’s clothing through the Ladybird name and also other products. But what we’re looking to do is encourage customers to come to us and tell us what they would like to see from Woolworths and what they liked and disliked and we’ve set a website up already. You can come and register online with us this morning and tell us the sort of products you’d like to see.”

He also added that details of new product ranges would be announced in the next few months, but that they hoped to launch the new shopping website by the summer.

Will an Online Store Work?

According to retail consultant Teresa Wickham, online retail is a “very competitive marketplace.”

She said: “If Woolworths can pick up on what was good about it – such as Ladybird and Chad Valley – then they could capture a new market. They have also got to show good value.

“In many ways this is the ideal time for this move though, while the brand is still fresh in people’s minds.

“People are generally getting more used to buying online, and the online clothing sector is predicted to grow over the coming year.”

She also added that many of the customers that shopped in the High Street store may not be the same as those that use the online store, as many of its customer base were elderly, and therefore less likely to be internet-aware.

The High Street Buildings

Woolworths held prime position on many High Streets across the UK, and many of those buildings have been quickly snapped up to be re-opened by other businesses. Iceland, for example, are to buy 51 of the old Woolworths stores.

What Do You Think?

Do you think the new online Woolworths will be successful? Leave your comments here.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss resort of Davos, the PM has claimed that there is no precedent for the “first financial crisis of the global age” and that history has offered “no clear map” of how to deal with it.

He also warned about protectionism, which he claims is a rising threat, and  added that global operation was the only way forward.

What did he say exactly?

He said that: “this is not like the 1930’s. The world can come together.

“This is the first financial crisis of the global age. And there is no clear map that has been set out from past experience to deal with it.

“I’m reminded of the story of the Titian, who’s the great painter, who reached the age of 90, finished the last of his nearly 100 brilliant paintings, and he said at the end of it, ‘I’m finally beginning to learn how to paint’, and that is where we are.

“We are learning all the time about how to deal with what are real problems for which we have no historical analogies to fall back on, and because when the 1930’s problem hit them, they did not have the global financial markets that we have today.”

He also claimed that the “laissez faire” attitude was not possible due to the “implicit protectionism I’m afraid in what is happening at the moment.”

In addition, he called for co-operation from institutions such as International Monetary and the World Bank in order to rebuild them as they are “out-of-date”. Adding that: “this is a global banking crisis and you’ve got to deal with it for what it is, a global banking crisis.”

What needs to be done?

According to Mr Brown, the solutions don’t lie in just nationalising banks, but there is need of a “global regulatory system” to prevent such crisis’s happing again.

He also claimed that too many nations feared the Asian crisis and therefore were holding onto too many economic reserves.

French finance minister, Christine Lagarde said: “I think it’s a risk in Europe, it’s a risk elsewhere as well, which is why I believe that time is really of the essence and we’re working against the clock.”

Even after the fall of the value of the pound sterling, Mr Brown still claims the UK’s economy is built on “sound fundamentals.”

He told the Davos audience: “I think it is very clear that we are not going to build policies around self-interested speculators.”

He added that he: “[believes] we are making the right decisions for the future.”

What this means for the G20 summit…

The G20’s second meeting is on April 2nd, and the PM claims there will be a focus on global “interdependent” issues.

The UK are to chair this summit, and Mr Brown says nations that are not members will be consulted beforehand to add their views.

What do you think?

Feel free to leave your opinions about this news.