It might not be 'new' news, but its still news, as of the beginning of this week Amtrak, a courier service that delivers many pigeons around the country, has gone into administration and has ceased delivering.

Amtrak may have been criticized by many pigeon fanciers for its service, but what now for pigeon fanciers? This was the main and possible only 'reliable' service for pigeon fanciers and stud farms, will the RPRA step in and offer an alternate service?

Since the news of Amtrak's demise the RPRA has produced a list of alternate services, but is this enough?

Is it time now for pigeon fanciers to band together and form a network of its own, or should the RPRA run a stray collection service?



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For the second year running UK personal debt stands at a higher level than UK GDP meaning the country would have to dip into the proceeds from next year's GDP to pay off all its outstanding personal debt, scratching out what's owed on 8 January 2009.

Grant Thornton research shows that the total outstanding UK consumer debt amassed through mortgages, loans and credit cards has increased by 7.3% to £1,444 billion over the past year* up from £1,346 billion in June 2007. Furthermore, personal debt has forged ahead of UK GDP which, according to latest available data, currently stands at £1,410** billion having increased by 5.1% in nominal terms over the past year.

This shows that despite the credit crunch and stricter conditions on lending to individuals, the UK continues to suffer from its indulgence on relatively cheap borrowing over the past several years.

Stephen Gifford, Grant Thornton's chief economist, says, "Despite the global downturn flattening the growth of personal debt and UK GDP over the past few quarters, debt levels continue to grow at a faster rate than the income the UK generates."

"Although there is no cause for panic as personal debt is well covered by the UK housing stock, the figures clearly illustrate the continuing problem of growing personal debt levels in the UK. If the property market and economy continue to weaken, the current levels of personal debt will become unsustainable and there will be a marked increase in personal insolvencies," says Gifford.

Gifford says that it is individuals reaching levels of unmanageable debt rather than debt itself that is the problem and that up until the past year personal debt had been a good earner for the UK economy.

"UK economic growth has chugged along quite nicely thanks to rising consumer spending which has largely been on credit. While most of the debt is perfectly serviceable and secured on dwellings, the rising number of insolvencies and repossessions is testament to this process having a negative outcome for an increasing number of individuals," he says.

Over the past ten years personal insolvencies have risen from an average of 24,000 per year in 1997 to an average of over 100,000 per year in both 2006 and 2007.

Mike Gerrard, a personal insolvency partner at Grant Thornton, believes personal insolvencies are likely to increase even further as at the midway point in 2008, individual insolvencies stand at 49,607**** and the effects of the credit crunch are yet to fully feed through into the insolvency numbers.

"Typically, there is a lag between individuals facing tough financial circumstances and when they become insolvent. It will be the next six to 12 months which reveal how seriously the credit crunch has affected individuals," he says.

Gerrard says personal insolvency numbers will certainly rise above 100,000 for 2008 and are likely to eke toward a total of 120,000 for the year, although the more dramatic quarterly rises in personal insolvencies won't show through until potentially Q4 this year and the first few quarters of 2009.

The date when the UK can cover its consumer debt has arrived later and later in the calendar over the past decade. In 1997 and 1998 the point where UK GDP covered UK personal debt fell on tomorrow's date 23 August, the result of individual mortgage and personal debt amounting to £503 billion compared to the GDP of £786 billion and £541 billion compared to GDP of £841 billion respectively.

In ten years, the calendar date of this day has increased by some five months. Last year, for personal debt levels in 2007, the date when UK GDP covered all personal debt fell on 5 January 2008, this year it falls on 8 January 2009.

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A FORMER Burton and South Derbyshire estate agent has been declared bankrupt only weeks after the credit crunch forced him to close his business.

David Bramall, of Willington Road, Etwall, was granted the order, published in the public notices section of yesterday's Burton Mail, on August 14, by Burton County Court.

The judgement has come in the wake of the 49-year-old ex-businessman's decision to shut his branches in Station Street, Burton, and West Street, Swadlincote.

He was thought to have handed his property portfolio to Hannells and decided to focus on running his auction house business, Maynard's, with Anderson-Dixon.

Insolvency Service spokesman Ade Daramy said the former estate agent's 'fairly routine' bankruptcy - which refers to him personally rather than the business - had so far revealed 19 creditors.

He said: "If Mr Bramall has any assets that are realisable, the case will be passed to an insolvency practitioner who will try to administer them for the benefit of creditors."

A bankrupt could expect to be discharged in a year, Mr Daramy explained.

Asked to comment on his latest blow, Mr Bramall said: "It's a very trying time."

Now unemployed, he is the most high-profile victim of an economic downturn which has ravaged Britain's once buoyant housing market.

Buyers have dried up as banks have restricted mortgages in a desperate bid to increase their cash flow and prevent further losses as recession looms.

The storm struck in May when Anderson-Dixon sold out to Hannells, based in Burton's Market Place - a move followed soon after by Bridge Street firm Ayrton Lewis's decision to close and hand its property to the same buyer.

However, the storm turned into a hurricane in June when Derby-based Ashley Adams axed its High Street branches in Burton and Swadlincote, transferring its business to Burchell Edwards, in Station Street, Burton.

Nearby Everington and Ruddle then shut its office and gave its properties to Kingston Behague, in New Street, Burton, and Mr Bramall acted to cut his losses.

The move was a big blow for an ex-businessman who has never shied away from using his profile to good - and occasionally controversial - effect.

In June, 2005, he slammed yobs who smashed the glass door of his business, Bishop and Company, in Station Street, while attacking police for not preventing anti-social behaviour.

In June this year, Mr Bramall, who lost part of his leg in a motoring accident and now has a prosthetic limb below his left knee, said he would cycle down the highest mountain in Spain's Sierra Nevada mountain range to raise money for a meningitis charity.


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CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - Zoom Airlines, a Canadian discount transatlantic carrier stung by sky-high fuel costs, cancelled all flights and began bankruptcy proceedings on Thursday, stranding passengers at several airports.

Ottawa-based Zoom said it had tried until midday Thursday to secure a financial lifeline that would keep it aloft after rising jet fuel prices added $50 million (27 million pounds) in annual costs.

But creditors refused to give Zoom any more time, forcing it to file for creditor protection in Canada and Britain.

"We deeply regret the fact that we have been forced to cease all Zoom operations," Hugh and John Boyle, co-founders of the privately held company, said in a statement.

"It is a tragic day for our passengers and more than 600 staff," the statement said.

"We are desperately sorry for the inconvenience that this will cause passengers and those who have booked flights."

The carrier, which has operated since 2002, has 450 employees in Canada and 260 in the United Kingdom.

It flew to six U.K. destinations as well as to Paris and Rome. It also operated service to eight Canadian cities as well as New York, San Diego, Fort Lauderdale and Bermuda.

In Britain, Times Online reported the carrier's planes were grounded by the Civil Aviation Authority for failing to pay air traffic control fees, stranding hundreds of passengers.


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A 150 year old commercial printer went into voluntary liquidation last week as the economic slowdown continued to take its toll on the print industry.

Ipswich-based Calver Press, which printed a range of products including leaflets, letters and calendars, was forced to close due to the rise in home printing and the poor economic climate, which owner Keith Gostling implied had adversely affected print spends.

Gostling told Archant regional newspaper the Evening Star: "Very simply, modern offices and technology completely eliminates the demand for print. In the space of five years or so people have started doing it on their computer.

"And now this year, with the apparent recession, people are seeing how they can save money and I can't say I blame them."

Calver Press, which was founded in 1865, ceased trading on Friday 22 August, although the company's six staff will be finishing work in progress until this Friday (29 August), after which they will all be made redundant.

Gostling said: "I am quite sad at the demise of the print industry. I had to sign the closure notice and tell people they were being made redundant and I am not very happy about it.

"Very simply modern offices and technology completely eliminates the demand for print," he added.


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As a family business set up 51 years ago, Hewland Engineering, which supplies high-performance gearboxes for racing cars, has weathered difficult economic times.

Over the years the company, based in Maidenhead, Berkshire, has learnt to recognise warning signs and adapt accordingly.
'There is no doubt that it is exceptionally tough out there now, but we use key performance indicators and carry out frequent business health checks to identify potential problems,' says business co-ordination director Stephen Deane.

'Changes we make today may not be suitable next month so we make sure we are adaptable.'

Stephen, 47, says putting in place regular checks and monitoring the business carefully can help firms to deal with problems at an early stage.

But with the economic downturn showing no sign of ending, experts warn that many businesses could collapse in coming months. In the last quarter, the number of companies going into liquidation rose by 11.6%.

What are the danger signs for a potential insolvency? Catherine Matthews, of national insolvency practitioner Tomlinsons, says these include businesses struggling to pay VAT and PAYE. These are often the first to slip, because Revenue & Customs will not demand payment as quickly as most creditors.

Rearranging payment schedules with creditors and going to the bank for more money are signs a business could be in difficulties, as are falling sales and rising costs.

And the worst thing owners can do is ignore these signs. 'Many owners of small businesses may not realise or admit that there are serious problems until it is too late, yet the sooner they do the easier they are to tackle,' says Matthews.

Duncan Parkes, managing director of Lloyds TSB's business support unit, says it has seen an increase in companies in difficulties in recent months but believes bank staff have a key role to play.

'Business owners tend to be optimistic, but our role is to be challenging where necessary as well as supportive,' he says. 'We also have a wider overall knowledge of the economic environment.'

It has worked for Hewland. Stephen says: 'Every three months we go through the business with HSBC We also speak regularly about business issues. I feel secure that they would alert us to problems we were not aware of and help with existing issues.'

It may also be worth contacting an insolvency practitioner for advice. Most offer free consultations to help businesses assess whether they can survive.

The positive news is that most firms will make it through the downturn, says Parkes. 'Though more will fail in coming months, the majority will make it through in leaner, better, shape,' he says.



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Britons'' cumulative personal debt has exceeded the income the nation generated by the economy for the second consecutive year, it has been announced.

According to accountants Grant Thornton, the total amount owed by consumers on credit cards, loans and mortgages hit £1.444 trillion for the 12 months to June.

However, in the same period the country''s gross domestic product (GDP) stood at £1.41 trillion.

Stephen Gifford, Grant Thornton''s chief economist, said: "Despite the global downturn flattening the growth of personal debt and UK GDP over the past few quarters, debt levels continue to grow at a faster rate than the income the UK generates.

"Although there is no cause for panic as personal debt is well covered by the UK housing stock, the figures clearly illustrate the continuing problem of growing personal debt levels in the UK."

Experts predict that soaring consumer debt levels could fuel a huge rise in demand for debt consolidation loans and Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVAs) both this year and in 2009.



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Debt Freedom Day - the date when the UK produces enough income to cover our collective consumer borrowings - will not arrive until 8 January - next year. A decade ago, we achieved financial liberty this weekend, on 23 August, five months sooner.

Research by accountant Grant Thornton shows that borrowing on loans, credit cards and mortgages has gone up by 7.3 per cent to £1,444bn over the past 12 months, ahead of GDP at £1,410bn.

Although much of the personal debt is secured against property, more people are likely to find their borrowings unmanageable in coming months as the housing market falls and the economy slows. GDP growth ground to a halt in the three months to June, ending Gordon Brown's boast of uninterrupted expansion since Labour came to power.

Debt freedom for individuals may come much later than January, if at all. GT predicts personal insolvency figures could reach 120,000 this year. Some 100,000 were declared insolvent last year, compared with 24,000 a decade earlier.

Mike Gifford, a personal insolvency partner at GT, said: 'Typically there is a lag between individuals facing tough financial circumstances and when they become insolvent. It will be the next six to 12 months which reveal how seriously the credit crunch has affected people.'


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An advice bureau is facing extra strain after the number of people seeking bankruptcy soared in Bury St Edmunds.
The warning, from the Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB), in Risbygate Street, came as new statistics revealed the town's county court has seen an increase in bankruptcy cases – while other towns in the region saw a decrease.

Figures released by the Ministry of Justice on Friday showed Bury saw 91 bankruptcy cases brought by people in debt in the second quarter of this year – up 60 per cent from the same period in 2007.

In the first half of 2008, 146 debtors filed bankruptcy petitions in the town – an increase of 26 per cent on the first half of 2007, while in Ipswich, the figures fell by 16 per cent and Cambridge saw a decrease of 21 per cent.

Jane Ballard, CAB manager, said the numbers of people seeking advice about bankruptcy had steadily increased in the last two years – adding the organisation was finding it difficult to cope since a Government agreement for extra debt advice funding ended.

"Normally, it slows down a bit over the summer, but this year, our queues on a Monday morning are greater, if anything," she said.

"With our additional funding for money advice finishing in June, at a time when we're seeing an increase in people seeking advice, it really is hard.

"We're applying for all sorts of funding and hopefully this will be a temporary problem. We've got some wonderful volunteers, but our money adviser has 20 years' experience and training, which you can't replace."

In the first quarter of 2008, 98 people sought advice from Bury's CAB about bankruptcy, up from 63 in the first quarter of 2006.

"Some of the advice we give is standard, which is not to wait until you can't manage but to come in earlier," Mrs Ballard said.

"We offer help with budgeting and making sure that you're paying your priorities before anything else."


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Cork-based drug discovery firm Eirx Therapeutics has applied to put its wholly owned Irish subsidiary Eirx Therapeutics into liquidation and lost its CEO.

Chief executive Colin Telfer has been made redundant as part of the liquidation process and resigned as a director, it was confirmed today.

Directors John Pool, Nick Strong and Tom Cotter are “working to put together a plan designed to secure the future of the company based around its other operating business, Auvation Limited.”

The shares were suspended last month as the company struggles to secure sufficient funds to keep going.

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Heightened expectations of a government bailout of U.S. home-funding giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac drove the two companies' shares down more than 14 percent on Thursday, as investors feared such government action would wipe out shareholders.
The companies' stocks have fallen for five straight days, losing more than half of their value just this week and sinking to the weakest in nearly two decades.
Closely watched analyst Dick Bove of Ladenburg Thalmann said the government should recruit financial industry leaders to oversee dismantling of the two companies.
"The only rational action" to be taken relative to Fannie and Freddie 'is to get rid of them," Bove wrote in a research note.
Freddie shares tumbled by 17.5 percent to hit $2.68 at one point in early trade on Thursday, while Fannie fell 14.5 percent to $3.75.
In contrast, the debt issued by Fannie and Freddie has surged relative to Treasuries this session and last, on the view that a government bailout would secure repayment.
Investors are closely watching the performance of the companies' debt, given that they will need to roll over $225 billion of debt by the end of September, according to Barclays Capital.
The companies' ability to access the debt markets is essential for them to keep buying mortgages and helping stabilize the worst U.S. housing market since the Great Depression.
A new Freddie Mac five-year note that was sold on Tuesday to yield 1.13 percentage point more than Treasuries has since drawn enough investor demand to slash the risk premium to 0.98 percentage point on Wednesday and about 0.89 percentage point early Thursday.

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ACCOUNTANTS and insolvency experts are recruiting extra staff to deal with the expected rise in the number of firms failing to cope with the credit crunch.

Insolvency firms are upping their headcount in anticipation of a peak in companies encountering problems.

Companies struggling to deal with the combined effect of tightened bank lending, increasing raw material costs and lower customer demand are increasingly having to call in outside professional help.

Edinburgh-based Johnston Carmichael is moving into a much larger office in the city's West End and increasing its headcount by 40 per cent – taking its expert insolvency team to 14.

Matt Henderson, an insolvency practitioner with the firm, said: "We believe spring 2009 will be the peak and we are expanding accordingly."

He added: "I, and also members of my staff, have had a lot more calls from recruitment consultants than usual, suggesting other firms are doing the same and that there are more jobs around."

A change in legislation brought in April this year, making it easier to declare bankruptcy, is also expected to filter through and boost the number of personal insolvencies in Scotland next year.


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An analysis of official insolvency figures released by the Ministry of Justice, by business services firm KPMG, shows a 16 per cent increase in people petitioning for their own bankruptcy, as opposed to being forced into bankruptcy by a creditor, from 1,271 cases in the first quarter of 2008 to 1,474 cases in the second quarter.

The highest increases across the region were in Doncaster (up 64 per cent) and Wakefield (36 per cent). Other cities also saw rises – Scarborough, 29 per cent; Bradford, 20 per cent; Sheffield, 15 per cent and Leeds, three per cent. There were falls in York, 20 per cent; Halifax 16 per cent; Huddersfield 12 per cent and Barnsley 10 per cent.

Nationally, the three months ended June 30 saw an increase of four per cent in the number of people making themselves bankrupt in England and Wales compared to the previous quarter. At the same time there was a similar increase in the use of Individual Voluntary Arrangements – IVAs – which rose seven per cent in the most recent quarter, a reversal of the trend over the past five quarters which has seen IVAs suffer a total fall of 13 per cent over the past year.

Mortgages

The figures reveal that 13,754 people successfully petitioned the Court to bankrupt themselves and 9,410 agreed an IVA in the quarter April to June 2008.

According to KPMG's analysis of IVA data, the average debtor proposing an IVA in the last quarter owed a total of £47,800. Separate figures from the Insolvency Service showed that the average bankrupt had debts of £50,828.

Paul Bateman, KPMG's Head of Personal Insolvency in the North, said: "There are no signs of base rates falling any time soon, consumers are seeing the cost of their mortgages eating up more of their income, energy costs are about to leap and the cost of the weekly shopping basket grows by the day.

"More than one million homeowners face the end of cheap fixed rate deals this year, mortgage deals continue to be difficult to secure and unsecured lending has tighter restrictions than for many years as a result of the credit crunch.

"Consumers are faced with a barrage of bad news with no sign of a respite. The message to everyone in difficulty is to take advice on all the options and then act on it."


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AN insolvency expert in Huddersfield has warned that more mortgage lenders could follow Northern Rock into dire financial straits as bad debt levels mount among buy-to-let property investors.

Insolvency practitioner Andrew Wilkinson, who is also chairman of Huddersfield Liberal Democrats constituency party, said he feared lenders could end up with arrears running into billions of pounds as borrowers defaulted on their loans.

In a letter to Lib Dem Treasury spokesman Vince Cable, he said: “I am persuaded that we have only just seen the beginning of the credit crunch. There is much more to come involving several high profile domestic lenders.”

Mr Wilkinson said that an “alarming” rise in consumer bankruptcies was being followed by more bankruptcy cases involving people who entered the buy-to-let market over the past few years.

He said many of these investors had taken out 100% mortgages on properties whose values had been “shamelessly ramped” by the developer.

“The typical debtor that I have seen has eight properties where the rental yield on each property only just covers the mortgage repayments and sometimes not even that,” said Mr Wilkinson.

“In addition, there are often management fees outstanding. No allowance is made for void periods.

“These debtors will have appreciated that they have a problem for some time, but will typically top up the mortgage payments out of their own pockets.“Some tell me that the market will revive within five years. Others seem to have faith in lawyers who claim to be launching class actions against the developers and agents who sold the plans!”



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Every week, Tony Hetherington replies to readers' letters, adding comments, advice and the results of his enquiries.

If you think you are a victim of financial mismanagement, or want advice before investing, write to Tony Hetherington, Financial Mail, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5TS.
Sorry, but he cannot give personal replies. Please only send copies of original documents, which, we regret, cannot be returned.



D. R. G. writes: Can you tell me anything about Arboretum Sports (UK) Limited of Basingstoke, Hampshire? This company used money from about 500 subscribers to gamble on spread betting, but it has gone into liquidation.


I won't beat about the bush. This was fraud. The man behind it was David Dixon, a convicted fraudster, and he has disappeared. More than £11m, invested by more than 650 subscribers, has also disappeared.

Dixon set up Arboretum Sports in 2005. He claimed to be a gambling expert who could take the risk out of betting by spotting small differences in the odds offered by bookmakers.

In sports such as tennis or boxing, with a winner and a loser, if two bookmaking firms offer slightly different odds it is possible to make a profit no matter who wins.

At first, investors were paid big profits. Not surprisingly, this encouraged them to reinvest their money and to tell all their friends. Some put in £100,000 or more, with customers arriving at Dixon's offices at a local business park carrying bags stuffed with cash.

Then, in the summer of 2006, Arboretum stopped paying out.

Dixon is said to have offered excuses about long-term bets and even claimed the company's funds had been seized by the taxman. But he kept the loyalty of many investors by telling them their money was growing, peaking on paper at a fantastic £100m.

Throughout all this he managed to avoid some flak from worried subscribers by quitting as a director of Arboretum and appointing two investors to front for him.

One, Basingstoke electrician Paul Williams, told me Dixon still pulled the strings. 'Even though he may have resigned as director, he was solely in charge,' he said. 'We were puppets more than anything. He gave us roles and titles, but this was pretty meaningless because what he said, went.'

And when questions began to be asked, Dixon was unsympathetic. Williams said: 'He tried to say that everyone has their own choice in what they do and it was not his fault if people had invested too much money. But he was just trying to offload the blame.'

Williams put Arboretum Sports into liquidation and he last spoke to Dixon just before Christmas 2007. Since then, Dixon has spoken to a few people, apparently in phone calls from abroad. Some say he asked them not to co-operate with investigators or they would kill any chance of getting their money back.



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A holiday club whose directors allowed potential members to be offered "seriously misleading" information has been wound up.

A High Court judge said the "free holiday" promoted by TAG World Services Limited, based in Sudbury in Suffolk, was not free.

A number and wide variety of complaints were received, leading to an inquiry by a branch of the Insolvency Service.

Consumer groups have warned about the potential pitfalls of bogus clubs.

Probe

Membership of the club, which was promoted at presentations in hotels, cost customers £2,000 plus annual renewal fees.

An inquiry by the Companies Investigation Branch of the Insolvency Service found that there were no benefits to membership, or that they were insignificant when compared with High Street travel agencies or internet deals.

It added that a number of "dubious marketing associates" had been used to offer membership.

A cooling-off period for people signing up had only been offered very late in the process, and people who tried to take the holiday were let down.

Warning

The government's advice service Consumer Direct said that not all holiday clubs were bogus.


Holiday clubs have been the subject of warnings from experts

Legitimate clubs would give people written confirmation of what was said during a presentation, allow them to take a contract away for consideration, and offer full cancellation rights.

Scratchcard "prizes" and unsolicited telephone calls often promote the presentations held in plush hotels by bogus clubs.

"Free" holiday offers often include extra costs, such as flights, and sometimes no dates or destinations are guaranteed.



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A FATHER of three was horrified to find several hazardous waste containers dumped on a local beauty spot.

Shane Hillman, of Waun Heulog in Winchestown, was enjoying one of his regular walks along the mountain between Nantyglo and Ebbw Vale when he came across the huge drums and containers that were all sealed and full.

“I often walk along that mountain and it is a popular walk for a lot of people,” Mr Hillman said.

“That day I was walking with my cousin, we got to the very top of the mountain when we saw these containers.

“There were huge oil drums and other containers there, they were all sealed and full to the brim, they had the name of a hazardous waste company on them.

“One of the seals was damaged and there was black stuff coming out, I was really concerned because a lot of kids play up there and you also see a lot of animals grazing on the land.”

On closer inspection Mr Hillman noticed the containers were marked as ‘non hazardous’ but that didn’t stop him from reporting the illegal dumping.

“The containers were all marked under the company name Surebasic Ltd in Abergavenny,” Mr Hillman said.

“I phoned the police straight away and I also tried to phone the company but I was told they had gone into liquidation.

“I was told someone from the company would phone me but I haven’t heard from them.”

The Gazette tried to contact Surebasic Ltd but were told they had gone into liquidation in November, we were given a number for the former director who said he was unable to comment on the situation.

The containers have since been removed from the site.


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People who owe tax in Northampton are being threatened with bankruptcy as part of a crackdown on unpaid bills.
The borough council has applied for bankruptcy orders against people who refuse to pay long-standing debts with the authority.

A bankruptcy order was yesterday made against David Beveridge, of Main Road in Duston, after a number of failed attempts to make him pay an outstanding council tax bill of £5,571,05.

More such petitions are expected in the next few months.

Council leader Tony Woods (Lib Dem, St David's) said: "Bankruptcy is a serious matter. We don't take this course of action lightly, but we have a duty to pursue those who don't pay.

"Mr Beveridge has not responded to any of our attempts to resolve the situation.

"Arrangements can be made to help people who are in financial difficulty and I would urge them to talk to us straight away. Don't ignore the problem and hope it will go away."

Nik Jacob, appearing at Northampton County Court for the council, yesterday successfully applied to District Judge Ian Murdoch for a bankruptcy order against Mr Beveridge.

Mr Jacob said: "There may be more of these petitions coming in the next few months."

He said Mr Beveridge had been served personally with documents relating to the petition.

The action came after Mr Beveridge was sent countless letters, as well as a statutory demand in January. In June he was served a notice entitling the council to present a petition for bankruptcy.

Mr Beveridge did not attend the short hearing.


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KPMG is hopeful it will soon complete a deal to sell building products supplier Panaloc, which was taken into administration three months ago after its shipping tycoon backer declined to pump in more cash.

A spokeswoman for the firm said advanced negotiations were under way with a potential buyer who wants to take over the business as a going concern. Around 180 jobs have gone and 20 staff remain to complete a contract at the company's Trafford Park factory.

A report from administrators reveals that Panaloc's problems reached crisis point after its Liberian-registered parent company, Paragon Maritime Inc, withdrew cash support.

Panaloc, founded by joiner Eric Dean, lost £5m in the nine months to January and was experiencing cash flow problems after spending heavily on staff, machinery and premises but taking longer than expected to secure contracts for its pre-fabricated building system. Paragon, controlled by a ship owner and based at an address in Broad Street, Monrovia, had already invested £15m in the business.

The KPMG report says: “As a result the directors explored whether any third party could be found who would inject further monies into Panaloc. A number of parties, both trade and venture capitalists, expressed an interest in the business but no firm offer was forthcoming.

Winding-up orders

The situation worsened when creditors issued two winding-up orders, forcing the firm's bank General Capital to call in administrators in May 2008, although the company continued to trade with reduced staff.

A statement of affairs prepared by KPMG's Paul Dumbell, Brian Green and Paul Flint reveals that creditors are owed a total of £21.4m, including a claim for £15m from Panaloc Holdings Ltd, whose key shareholder is Paragon. Assets are estimated to realise £2.6m.

Panaloc, founded in 2004, designs and makes wall panels, roofs, pods and ceilings from orientated strand board (OSB). The company's chief innovation is in the way the layers of board are glued together. Panaloc owns the sole UK rights to import OSB4, an advanced version of the material, from Swiss manufacturer Kronoply.

In February, the equivalent of 160 truckloads of the material was delivered from the German port of Rostock by the 3,130 tonne bulk carrier Neptun, the largest vessel to navigate the Manchester Ship Canal in 25 years.

Prison cell concept

Panaloc invested more than £12m in a 320,000 sq ft head office and factory on Alba Way, off Barton Dock Road, where the OSB was made into products for use in homes, hospitals, hotels and offices.

In a company news release, Dean said Panaloc's process “combines the best in terms of CAD-CAM and CNC machining, but which does so as a means of producing structural components that quite simply fit together like Lego.

“It is quite feasible for us to design almost any type of building, or interpret those from a third party, and engineer the complete structure for delivery and erection onsite. Such is the sophistication of our process technology, we can turn an architect's drawing into a 3D model accurate to plus or minus 1mm.”

Clients have included Taylor Woodrow, which is using Panaloc products on rebuilding projects at hospitals in Whiston and St Helens on Merseyside.

Creditor Paul Watson, of Wentworth Communications, said he had no ill feelings towards Dean despite being owed £20,000 for public relations work. Watson said Panaloc's product was the best he had come across in 20 years of working for construction industry clients.

“They had a very, very marketable and potentially successful product, even given the fact that the building industry is struggling,” said Watson. “It's the most remarkable building system I have seen, much better than traditional timber frame. It's not as though the system isn't proven — that is the tragedy behind it all.”

Watson said Dean was developing the business further and was working on a prison cell concept which would have involved inmates building their own accommodation. “Eric had some great ideas,” he added.


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Two Bedford based companies offering franchise business opportunities have been placed in liquidation by the High Court following an investigation by Companies Investigation Branch ('CIB') of the Insolvency Service.

Queensbury Franchise (UK) Limited ('Queensbury') and The Richmond Franchise Co Ltd ('Franchise') sold franchise businesses which supplied various products such as confectionaries and toiletries from vending machines placed in numerous locations across the UK. Each franchise business was advertised for sale for up to £24,995 but some franchisees paid more due to purchasing more than one franchise area.

Both Queensbury and Franchise were operated and owned by the same director, Neil Richmond, who made various untried and untested claims in marketing material, sent to potential franchisees as to the expected earnings of the franchise businesses. However, the investigation found that many of the claims made were misleading and that the companies had failed to comply with their contractual obligations by not supplying the franchisees with all their vending machines and to address or provide them with adequate on-going support and training.

In relation to both companies, Mr Richmond had failed to keep adequate accounting records and to fully to co-operate with the investigation. As a result, it was not possible to establish the exact level of losses sustained by franchisees.

Queensbury Associates (UK) Limited was incorporated as a private limited company on 29 January 2004 and The Richmond Franchise Co Limited on 27 June 2006. The registered office for both companies is at 7 Mill Street, Maidstone, Kent ME15 6XW.

The petitions to wind up both companies in the public interest were presented on 23 June 2008 under Section 124A of the Insolvency Act 1986. The companies were compulsorily wound up by the Court on 23 July 2008


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THE news last week that more people were made bankrupt between April and June this year than in any previous three-month period was predictable but shocking.

Changes to insolvency legislation introduced at the beginning of April, making it easier for individuals to declare themselves bankrupt, ensured that the second quarter of this year was always going to show a rise in personal insolvencies.

However, it was the scale of the increase that was truly alarming. There was a 44 percent increase on the previous quarter and a 104 per cent increase in the numbers of those being sequestrated against an almost static figure for individuals taking out a protected trust deed (PTD).

The long-term trend is undoubtedly upwards and we predict that around 18,000 Scots will be made bankrupt by the end of 2008 compared with nearly 14,000 in 2007.

The acceptance of severe indebtedness is a comparatively new situation. Just ten years ago, there were just 4,465 personal insolvencies in the whole of 1998 and now we have a higher figure for a three-month period.

Of course there has always been borrowing – on mortgages, cars or home improvement loans – but the past five years has witnessed a marked shift in the level and ease of borrowing.

This period has come to an abrupt halt and those who perhaps over-indulged in borrowing in the recent past now have a severe financial headache to deal with. That the system just made it much easier to clear all debts is possibly an unfortunate coincidence.

With lenders now tightening the screws on their creditors by increasing the cost of borrowing, many already hard-pressed individuals will be facing an autumn and winter of rising repayments of increasingly insurmountable debts.

For example, one credit card company has increased the APR on some of its products to 35 per cent. This rate will be applied to those with the poorest credit record and consequently the least options, resulting in even small amounts of debt accumulating ever-larger interest payments.

We analysed the debt profile of individuals at the point of bankruptcy and found that the average debt was just over £40,000. A 35 per cent APR on a debt of this size will incur interest charges of £14,000 per year. That means that for an individual to have their debt stand still they will be paying just under £270 a week in interest with little hope of ever making a dent in the debt total. Therefore, the option of bankruptcy becomes compelling, particularly now that the discharge period is just a year.

There is also evidence that severe indebtedness has a much wider social profile than before. Homeowners make up a third of bankrupts and people from all walks of life are being affected by debt.

The present combination of higher utility costs, soaring fuel prices and increasing food bills is likely to result in many more people being tipped over the edge into insolvency.

While the changes to the insolvency legislation – primarily the LILA (low income low asset) option – will benefit those with little income or assets, for others the options may not be quite so clear-cut.

Although the most recent figures indicate a shift toward sequestration, for many others a better option would be to take out a PTD. Interestingly, the average pay-out to creditors is higher for PTDs than for sequestration, yet creditors have increasingly been opting for the latter.

There are signs that creditors are keener to send out a message that they are not soft touches for money than to get back more money. But with a PTD, the debtor gets a more controlled form of bankruptcy, which allows them to get back on top of their finances by paying a reduced fixed total negotiated by a trustee over a set period.

This can be helpful for future creditworthiness and can also help individuals eventually regain control of the way they handle money. Easing bankruptcy proceedings may well have been seen as a useful tool to help individuals get out of their financial black hole, but it may also be simply encouraging a cycle of indebtedness and, ultimately, impoverishment. We should be helping people understand that while debt is an inevitable and acceptable part of life, it should be undertaken in a measured way.


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Kerry Katona has been given more time to find the cash to settle an unpaid tax demand.

The reality star now has until 21 August to pay £157,000 of a £417,000 bill or face being declared bankrupt.

The mum-of-four's lawyers have managed to convince the registrar to give her extra time as she's waiting to receive payments amounting to £291,000 for work already completed.

If the money doesn't arrive, there is unlikely to be another 'short adjournment'.

‘I am going to mark it [the case] for settlement of the balance,’ registrar Nicholls announced, reports the BBC. ‘I am going to mark it final.’

Kerry, 27, who had the bankruptcy petition filed against her in January, was not at the hearing at London's High Court.



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Quarry businesses could shed up to 700 jobs in NI this year because of the economic downturn, it has been claimed.

The Quarry Products Association, whose members supply materials to builders, said 300 jobs had gone since the beginning of the year.

Its regional director Gordon Best said it was the worst situation faced by the industry in over 25 years.

"With no end in sight to the credit crunch and high energy costs, the short to medium future looks grim," he said.

"The stark reality is that in a core, capital intensive industry like ours where you have a rapidly declining customer base and sales, together with rapidly increasing raw material and energy costs, then jobs go and companies go out of business.

"In the past nine months, the industry has experienced a drop in business of over 30% together with an increase in production energy costs of 86% with transport costs increasing by 46%."

Mr Best called on the executive to consider "fast tracking" a number of the major infrastructure projects within the Northern Ireland Investment Strategy.

He also urged politicians to work with banks to protect companies from insolvency.



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Carlisle's Liberal Club in Lowther Street will shut unless a buyer comes forward within four weeks.

Debts of £300,000 and mounting losses have forced the club, which dates from 1881, to the brink of insolvency.

A general meeting of members has been called for Wednesday, September 3.

It will almost certainly cease trading immediately unless a sale is agreed beforehand.

At least one potential buyer is in talks who, it is understood, would continue to run the club for the benefit of its 1,996 members.

Daryl Warwick, corporate recovery and insolvency partner at Armstrong Watson in Carlisle, has been called in to advise the directors.

He said: “Despite their best efforts, I can confirm that Armstrong Watson has been instructed to assist the directors in placing Carlisle Liberal Club Ltd into a members’ voluntary liquidation.

“Unfortunately, the club has extensive debts approaching £300,000 and has been losing on average £40,000 per year.

“This financial position is unsustainable.

“There is no other option than to wind up the business before it becomes insolvent and unable to pay its debts.”

He added: “We are in the early stages of discussing the club’s sale to an independent purchaser and we expect to have more concrete information ahead of the members’ meeting on September 3.”

Mr Warwick invited other potential purchasers to contact him through Armstrong Watson, on 01228 591000.

Carlisle Liberal Club underwent a £250,000 refurbishment in 1999.

The extent of its financial problem is revealed in the latest accounts for 2007.

These report a loss after tax of £37,063, following a £9,657 loss in 2006. There is also a substantial bank loan, secured on the building, which will require repayments of £400,000 over the next five years.

Two directors resigned last month, David Mostyn on health grounds and chairman Richard Dodds for “personal reasons”.

Mr Dodds has been replaced as chairman by Colin Hetherington.



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The number of companies in administration jumped by 60% in the second quarter in a sign of deepening economic gloom, according to official figures published today.

Statistics from the Insolvency Service showed that 938 companies in England and Wales were in administration in the three months to the end of June - up from 585 in the same quarter last year. Today's figures bring the total in administration so far this year to 1,796 - up 42% on the first half of 2007.

The data also shows that the number of company liquidations rose 15.6% in the second quarter, to 3,689 - the highest quarterly figure in five years.

Individual insolvencies in England and Wales fell slightly in the second quarter of the year to 24,553, while the number of people declared bankrupt fell by 1.3% over the quarter to 15,297. This marks a 5.7% fall since the second quarter of 2007.

Howard Archer, chief economist at Global Insight, said UK firms were suffering in the face of a "toxic combination" of slowing demand, higher costs and tighter credit conditions. "Company liquidations seem certain to trend significantly higher over the coming months, given that recession is now looking more likely than not," he added.

The figures showed that the total number of corporate insolvencies, including liquidations, administrations and receiverships, rose by 11% year-on-year in the second quarter, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Mike Jervis, PwC's partner in the business recovery services practice, said this rise was comparative with increases in insolvencies seen during times of recession.

"There are significantly more companies in distress now - last month was the busiest July we have seen for many years," he said.

Retail, construction, property and leisure were among the worst affected sectors in the face of a slowdown in consumer spending and housing market downturn. Manufacturers also suffered, with 157 in administration over the quarter.

A raft of retail brands have collapsed this year as the consumer belt tightening has taken its toll. Companies that rely on people moving homes have been particularly badly hit. The Liverpool-based discount retailer Ethel Austin went into administration in April and Britain's biggest wood and laminates flooring retailer, Floors-2-Go, called in administrators last week.



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HSBC today abandoned offering car loans to poor and credit-impaired Americans as it revealed the credit crisis wiped a further $10.1 billion (£5.1 billion) from its profits.

Britain's biggest bank posted a 28 per cent slide in first half pre-tax profits to $10.2 billion and said it planned to put its $13 billion US car finance operation into orderly run-off.

HSBC declined to say whether the losses from its disastrous push into lending to poorer Americans had definitely peaked, but the latest half year provision of $6.8 billion for US consumer finance, up 85 per cent up on the first half of last year, was down 15 per cent from the second half.

The bank said bad debts in the auto finance arm were actually down in the first half, but that the division did not have sufficient critical mass or pricing power, "So we will not be originating further loans."

After scaling back mortgage lending and now auto finance, the US consumer finance business is now focused on credit cards and personal loans.

HSBC aggressively pushed into lending to people with impaired credit records in the US with the £9 billion acquisition of Household International in 2003. Today, it wrote down the value of that purchase by a further $527 million.

HSBC also wrote down an additional $3.9 billion on credit trading, exposures to monoline insurers and leveraged buy-out debt in the first half, sending profits in its global banking and markets division 35 per cent lower.

Profits in Europe, which includes the core UK high-street bank, were up 51 per cent to $5.2 billion and they also rose in all regions except North America.

HSBC chairman, Stephen Green, described financial markets as "the most difficult for several decades" and warned that the global economy could get worse before it got better. "HSBC was not immune from the turmoil," he said, though he rated the overall performance as resilient.

The outlook was challenging, he said, but he expected activity in the bank's emerging markets heartlands to hold up reasonably well. HSBC, because of its strong balance sheet, had the opportunity to deploy capital when rivals were constrained.

Traders gave the figures a lukewarm reception, marking the shares 14.5p lower to 822.5p.

A second interim dividend was set at 18 cents. Together with the first interim dividend, the pay-out is up 6 per cent on the first half of 2007.

Michael Geoghegan, chief executive at HSBC, said the bank met its targets on cost efficiency, total shareholder return and capital strength.

It missed its total shareholders' equity target of 15-19 per cent, achieving only 12.1 per cent, "but we would expect that in these difficult times," he said.

Mr Geoghegan said that 80 per cent of the $13 billion US auto loan portfolio would be run off within three years. The US mortgage book was reduced by 13 per cent to $31 billion during the half year.

Ahead of the figures, analysts had forecast pre-tax profits between $8.9 billion and $11.7 billion, down from $14.2 billion last time. HSBC had already taken $15.4 billion of provisions in the past 15 months.

It also emerged today that HSBC is pushing for a cut in the $6.3 billion price it agreed to pay for control of Korean Exchange Bank.

Sources close to the proposed deal confirmed HSBC was attempting to renegotiate the purchase price after a July 31 deal deadline expired with no approval from the South Korean Government.

HSBC first struck a deal to buy a 51 per cent stake in KEB last September from Lone Star, the US private equity group, but the transaction has been plagued by regulatory problems.

The passing of last Thursday's deadline with no approval from the Korean Financial Services Commission leaves HSBC and Lone Star each free to walk away.

HSBC said it was discussing with Lone Star how the transaction might be taken forward. It said it had not terminated the acquisition agreement and had not received notice of termination from Lone Star.

However, HSBC is understood to want to wrest a significant cut in the purchase price to reflect the deterioration in conditions in the banking sector over the last 11 months. KEB shares have fallen around 13 per cent since last September, including a 3 per cent drop in trading today.

The proposed KEB acquisition would give HSBC a major foothold in Asia's fourth biggest economy and demonstrate its commitment to returning to its emerging markets roots.



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The number of people becoming insolvent in Scotland has hit an all-time high, according to analysis of new figures.

Insolvency Service statistics showed there were 4,735 personal insolvencies in the second quarter of 2008, up 35.4% on the same period last year.

Accounting firm PKF said the second quarter of 2008 had seen the highest ever quarterly figures for personal insolvency in Scotland.

New bankruptcy legislation came into force in April.

The change brought Scotland into line with the rest of the UK and means the period a person has to spend as a bankrupt has been reduced from three years to 12 months.

Other legislation, which also came into force at the same time, gave a wider group of people access to the bankruptcy process.

Instead of having to wait for court action against them, certain debtors can start the process themselves.

Matt Henderson, business recovery and insolvency partner with accountants Johnston Carmichael, said he expected the number of Scots going through the bankruptcy process to reach "record levels" in 2008.

He added: "I really do wonder if the pendulum has been allowed to swing too far to the benefit of debtors.

"For some people the access to relief from their debts is just too easy."

Mr Henderson said the credit crunch had worsened the position for people in financial difficulty.

"These latest statistics could well get much worse due to the effect of increased household energy costs and higher borrowing costs", he said.

Business liquidations

Meanwhile, figures also showed that the number of Scottish businesses falling into liquidation rose by almost 30% in the second quarter of 2008.

In Scotland, the number of businesses going into liquidation topped 132 between April to June, compared to 102 between January and March this year.

According to Blair Nimmo, head of restructuring for KPMG in Scotland, "there can be little doubt that the credit crunch is now really beginning to bite".

The worst failure rates in Scottish business came from the property, construction and real estate markets, which saw 60 businesses go under, while hospitality saw 12 and retail saw 11.


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Crippling debts caused by the unprecedented housing market crash are thrusting leading Northern Ireland developers to the brink of bankruptcy.

The stagnant market has left several top property developers near the point of ruin.

The sheer scale and speed of the decline has taken many unawares.

An industry source revealed the utter ferocity of the initial Northern Ireland housing market growth peaked anything experienced in Europe, and now the downturn is proving to be just as dramatic.

The slump has reduced the price of some properties by as much as £500, daily.

And now many developers, who in some instanced turned over millions of pounds during the boom, cannot afford to pay staff.

Many are still trading at the mercy of their banks, according to experts.

There has been a notable knock-on effect for businesses operating around the industry.

Removal firms, estate agents and builders are feeling the tremors of the property market smash, which has resulted in a steady stream of job losses.

There is some good news however, albeit for first time buyers - reduced prices.

The misery felt by thousands was summed up in a Bloomberg report, published this week, entitled 'Housing Slump Hits Northern Ireland Economy Harder Than Bombs'.

The reported suggested house prices in the Province are falling almost five times faster than in the rest of Great Britain.

Yesterday, a body representing developers, suppliers, surveyors and other key stakeholders in the housing market, revealed that 50 Construction & Property Group members have slashed their workforce by 70% in the last year.

This resulted in 1,550 redundancies over the past 12-months.

Lobbyist Brendan Cunnane said this figure has increased since July, with many building firms telling workers not to return after the Twelfth holidays.

Mr Cunnane called on the Stormont Assembly to take action. He has appealed to the government to invest public money into buying-up housing stock, currently floundering on the market.

Mr Cunnane insisted many developers are not far from liquidation.

He said: "I would say that a lot of them are living on borrowed time because they're not meeting their interest payments already.

"The developers have realigned their prices but there is not much more that they can do and survive - they are at rock-bottom prices."

If developers go bankrupt banks will have to contend with "huge losses", according to Mr Cunnane.

He said this means it is "in the banks' own interest" to free up the mortgage market again to assist developers.


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The Labour Party still owes almost £19 million to creditors, despite a series of cuts and attempts to impose greater financial discipline.

The party managed to reduce its debts from £24.5 million last year but Jack Dromey, the party’s treasurer, admitted yesterday: “Significant problems remain.” According to its accounts, the cash-strapped party finished last year with debts of £18.9 million, although it had a surplus of £7.5 million and £5.8 million in cash.

Labour paid off an £854,000 loan from Sir Christopher Evans – the biotech tycoon who was arrested, but not charged, during the cash-for-peerages” police inquiry – and partially repaid a loan from Gordon Crawford, the software millionaire.

The party still owes £15 million to other businessmen, including Sir Gulam Noon, the curry magnate, and Rod Aldridge, the former boss of Capita, the outsourcing firm, who resigned after it emerged that he had given cash to Tony Blair. On top of that are loans from Sir David Sainsbury and Lakshmi Mittal, the steel tycoon.

The Prime Minister recently announced that the party would have no spring conference next year in a cash-saving measure. Donations from wealthy businessmen have slowly dried up, forcing Labour to rely on trade unions for funding.

According to the Electoral Commission, the unions, including Unite and the GMB, contributed between them 92.6 per cent of the party’s total funds in the first three months of this year.

Meanwhile, David Cameron slashed the Conservatives’ debts and boosted staff numbers as he readied the party for a general election. Tory accounts showed a reduction in debt from £9 million to £7.75 million during 2007 and a surplus of £1.57 million.


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Yohan, the long standing distributor of foreign books and magazines in Japan, went into bankruptcy today and all their employees were dismissed at once, the office was closed down immediately and the website appears to be closed.
It is understood that it has gone down the bankruptcy route, rather than a supervised corporate reorganization. Yohan did not have any significant property and assets and reports suggest that there will be no payment of debts.

The affiliated bookshop chains, Aoyama Book Center and Ryusui Shobo are applying to the Corporate Reorganization Law to try and keep going. The bookstores are still operating and it is believed that the name of the company that will take on the business will be announced shortly.

It really is getting tough out there...everywhere.


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This column took a tough line against David Cameron's proposal last week that we should import the US Chapter 11 approach to corporate bankruptcy.
But even if Chapter 11 does not provide the answer, it is nevertheless becoming apparent that our insolvency laws are not really designed to cope with some of the stuff now being thrown at them.

They were framed for an age when banks were the only corporate creditors, lending against the security of assets so that when things went wrong they moved in and sold the assets to get their money back.

Keeping the business going was rarely a priority. Creditors lower in the pecking order than whomever appointed the receiver also had to take their chances.

But the world has moved on. The greater sophistication of the debt markets and the boom in private equity and leveraged buy-outs mean that companies which are in need of financial restructuring today often have capital structures of quite bewildering complexity.

No one knows who is in charge, or who has what rights. What they do know is that it is often in the interests of the majority of creditors to restructure the debt and keep the business going. But it is not clear how the majority voice can make itself heard.

Four Seasons, the care home business, is a case in point. It was a ludicrously over-ambitious private equity deal of which its architects should be truly ashamed, because roughly £100m of earnings was expected to support more than £1bn of debt.

That debt comes in 12 different tranches, each with different rights and obligations from senior bonds down to piks - payment in kind notes. The debt holders make strange bedfellows too, from Royal Bank of Scotland through to hedge funds.

This is a business that has more than 20,000 employees caring for thousands of elderly residents in scores of homes. It makes an operating profit but has been sunk by its financial structure, so somehow it has to be kept going while debt is swapped for equity.

But how do all those 12 different classes of debtor, to say nothing of the shareholders, decide how they will share the pain - or indeed how they will value the surviving business? They might be able to agree among themselves, and even persuade the shareholders that they are turkeys who should vote for Christmas. We shall see.

But it is also easy to have sympathy for the High Yield Association which argues that it would be administratively an awful lot easier if such complex big company restructuring was governed by the law, administered by the courts and there was a judge on call to bang heads together when needed.

Tape issue calls for strong nerves

The stockbrokers' trade association Apcims gave the great and the good of the Financial Services Authority a hard time yesterday morning at the regulator's annual public meeting - and they were particularly vexed about how much harder it is to keep track of share prices now there are so many venues on which the shares are dealt - and with the prospect of more to come.

International investment banks can afford the technology to keep abreast of everything as and where it happens, as they are obliged to do so they can be sure of providing their clients with the best possible prices.

But it is a big and costly stretch for a small private client focused firm. So Apcims wants the regulator to demand or facilitate the provision of a consolidated tape - one data feed bearing all share prices no matter where from.

Whether this is a reasonable thing to ask is a moot point, and it seems premature to demand FSA intervention before markets have had an opportunity to find their own answers.

But having said that, the consolidated tape debate is becoming vigorous between those who want it and those like the London Stock Exchange who don't - so the FSA will need strong nerves to stay on the sidelines.

The consolidated tape is one of those things that seem superficially attractive, but the devil is in the detail. Thus the LSE is not just being Luddite in its opposition, though it possibly feels it has most to lose.

But there is no reason why it, as a commercial organisation, should want make it easy for new rival markets to piggy-back on its tape.

But there is another more valid danger. The standards applied to data by markets are so varied that true price comparison will continue to be difficult. Worse, there is a danger that the integrity of the whole tape would be undermined. This is a real risk.

Witness the complaints of investors in the US, who are far from happy with the quality of information on the consolidated tape operating there


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