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Credit & Finance

  • Euler to cut SCC credit in line with trade levels
    Euler Hermes is planning to cut the level of credit insurance provided to SCC’s suppliers by 30% as it continues to downgrade exposure to the IT sector.
  • CBI upbeat about recovery but calls for more credit
    A consensus is building that the recession is going to be less severe than had been feared and as a result hundreds of thousands of jobs could be saved.
  • RBS changes could hit SME channel customers
    Small businesses in the channel that bank with Royal Bank of Scotland could find things getting more difficult after the bank moved to set up a separate SME division.
  • Late payments continue to blight life for SMEs
    There are increasing calls of alarm at the growing number of SMEs being impacted by late payments.
  • Cost of credit continues to rise
    The cost of credit has risen across Europe as a result of the downturn adding to the pressure on cash strapped channel firms looking for finance.
  • Tories to scrutinise IT spending as part of thrift economy
    Conservative leader David Cameron has put IT savings at the heart of his attempts, if elected, to reduce government debt levels as part of his focus on "thrift".
  • Insolvency Service to publish pre-pack figures
    The government is planning to publish annual reports on the extent of the use of pre-pack administrations to try and monitor the number of companies resorting to using the measure.
  • Credit insurance scheme not necessarily magic bullet
    The channel has been warned that the government credit insurance top-up scheme is not necessarily going to be an answer for everyone.
  • Worst of recession over, says CBI
    The UK economy hit rock bottom during the first month of 2009 as the recession deepened beyond all expectations but according to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) the worst of the quarterly falls “is now behind us”.
  • Cisco adds third layer to channel finance scheme
    Cisco Capital is adding another weapon to its armoury with the launch of a 2% rebate scheme for deals valued at £50,000 to £500,000 that comprise over 50% Cisco kit.
  • Darling aims to save £15bn in Budget
    The chancellor Alistair Darling is expected to announce savings of £15bn as a result of improved efficiencies in government departments in the Budget later this week chiming in with calls already raised in the channel for the government to use technology to improve government services.
  • Capital drying up for tech companies
    The venture capital money that often greases the wheels of commerce in the channel has become harder to access and its absence is undermining the ability for some companies to operate.
  • Corporate credit availability shows signs of improving
    The availability of corporate credit appears to be easing slightly with financial directors reporting the first improvements for just under two years.
  • Chinese money could rescue handset market
    With the mobile handset market in freefall in recent months, Chinese telecommunications equipment and network solutions provider ZTE is offering to remedy the slump.
  • Get the facts on insolvency bargains
    As insolvencies increase, stronger companies have the potential to grow through acquisition or by buying liquidated assets and customer lists. Legal expert John Davies offers a guide to the pitfalls and opportunities.
  • HP talks up need for upturn investment
    Hewlett-Packard has used a customer event promoting improvements in its product line as a call to users to invest in technology.
  • HP weighing up possibility of extending 0% financing
    Hewlett-Packard has indicated that it is in the process of evaluating the success of its zero financing on PCs, servers and storage before extending the offer across other products.
  • Putting a brave face on Britain’s economic freeze
    Extreme weather ground Britain to a halt, mirroring the big freeze in the markets
  • Overland cuts salaries as sales and profits dive
    Overland has highlighted slowing sales in the data storage sector, in particular to its larger OEM customers, as it sunk to a net loss of $5.2m (£3.5m) for its second quarter to the end of December.
  • Cisco may face lay offs as profits plunge
    Cisco boss John Chambers has been forced to go back on previous vows to avoid redundancies, raising the spectre of mass lay offs after announcing the networking bellwether’s second quarter profits had dropped by 27%.
  • WAN gear still top priority, says Riverbed
    A swathe of networking numbers out this week continued after WAN optimisation outfit Riverbed weighed in with fourth quarter and full year numbers pointing to solid levels of demand for its kit in spite of the economic downturn.
  • Writedown masks Alcatel-Lucent recovery
    Ben Verwaayen’s recovery strategy at Alcatel-Lucent has faltered after a €3.9bn impairment charge against the value of its assets knocked otherwise solid Q4 numbers for six.
  • Government planning credit insurance fund
    Resellers will be watching with interest if mooted government plans to step in and offer credit insurance to firms becomes a real policy later this month.
  • Cost of snow runs into billions
    The costs of the worst snowfalls for two decades is running into billions for small companies as workers stay at home and customers are kept away by the treacherous conditions.
  • Downturn starts to impact network numbers
    Stock in Juniper Networks has slipped after the company reported preliminary financial results for its Q4’08, warning its sales growth has come in below previous estimates, amid mounting evidence that customer spend on networks is slowing in some areas.
  • Recession doesn’t faze UK tech firms
    British technology companies are more concerned with maintaining their sales rates, than the effects of the credit crunch, according to accountancy practice BDO Stoy Hayward.
  • Help during taxing times
    HMRC has set up a support service to help businesses pay their tax, national insurance or VAT.
  • Asset protection scheme latest government move to restore lending
    The government has launched its latest attempt to try and get the banks lending again to small businesses.
  • Mid-market keeping tech acquisitions going
    The mid market continues to be the playground for those looking at making mergers and acquisitions as the mega deals between multinational IT players dries up.
  • Will government’s £20bn be enough?
    With the £20bn loan scheme for SMEs, the banks should ease up funds, but is it sufficient?
  • Planning for tough times ahead
    If you can tailor your business to survive a depression, you should be in a strong position for the upturn
  • Government on brink of £20bn SME loan scheme
    The government is expected to unveil plans to increase the loan fund available for SMEs from the current £2m to around £20bn to ease the flow of credit.
  • SMEs finding credit harder to come by
    Despite interest rates being cut to the lowest they have been for 315 years resellers are still struggling to get their hands on credit.
  • Vendors urged to plug SME credit gap
    Vendors will need to step in to provide finance for SMEs as credit becomes harder to get hold of for smaller companies.
  • Redstone slashing costs after loss
    IT and comms solutions provider Redstone is attempting to slash up to £7m from its cost base by the end of December after posting its net profit over the six months to the end of September collapsed.
  • CMI issues gloomy forecast for ‘09
    The Chartered Management Institure (CMI) has compounded fears for businesses in the IT sector after publishing research today that showed managers and business leaders were very nervous about the coming 12 months.
  • eBuyer has credit limits halved
    eBuyer has downplayed the impact that a reduction in credit insurance will have on its business after both Euler Hermes and Atradius slashed limits on the company by 50% following the disclosure of its preliminary results to them.
  • Atradius calls for more transparency
    Resellers have been advised to put their suspicions to one side when a credit insurer comes knocking for fresh financial information or management data according to Atradius, one of the big three underwriters in the UK channel.
  • Euler issues profit warning on back of Woolies collapse
    Euler Hermes, the largest credit insurer in the channel has issued a profit warning after being hit by the bankruptcy of Woolworths and a steep rise in claims that will drag down its profits for the year.
  • SME lobby group calls for more VAT help
    The Forum of Private Business has called on an extension of payment terms next month to help SMEs get to grips with the changes in VAT.
  • Amlin pulls out of offering IT credit insurance
    Credit insurer Amlin has confirmed this morning that it will honour existing contracts with clients but will withdraw its credit insurance services to prospective clients, reducing the number of underwriters in the UK.
  • VAT cut not likely to have channel impact
    The impact of the VAT cut on the channel is not likely to be anything major with expectations in the industry that the small drop in prices will make little difference.
  • SME lobby groups back pre-budget report
    Small business groups have welcomed moves made by the Chancellor in yesterday’s pre-budget report to ease life for SMEs.
  • Chancellor delivers £1bn SME finance fund
    The Chancellor, Alistair Darling has showed that he has the ability to listen to small business demands after unveiling a £1bn SME finance package.
  • Small business group lists pre-budget wish list
    As could be expected the wish lists have started to come out in the run up to the pre-budget report, which will be announced towards the end of the month.
  • Intel profit warning hammers tech stocks
    Intel stock hit a 12-year low yesterday as the chip vendor revealed fourth quarter numbers will come in below previously announced expectations. It cited weakening semiconductor demand and said aggressive reduction of component inventories in the PC supply chain was taking its toll.
  • BT readies 10,000 P45s
    BT’s recent channel shopping spree has come back to haunt it as the telecoms behemoth admitted that staff costs before leaver costs increased by 2% to £1.32bn in the three months to the end of September.
  • NetApp Q2 figures show buoyancy in storage
    Those operating in the storage world have always known that with data growing and compliance regulations fuelling tighter backup strategies that the market looks relatively stable.
  • Vodafone to shore up against recession
    Vodafone has vowed to head off the credit crunch at the pass after unveiling a pre-emptive restructuring programme in the wake of a 35% profit slump in the first half.
  • Insolvencies rise amid warnings to focus on credit
    The number of IT companies falling into insolvency has risen by just shy of 5% adding to the growing evidence that companies are finding it harder to stay in business.
  • Lenovo to respond ‘aggressively’ as profit slumps 77%
    Lenovo president and CEO William Amelio today pledged to “aggressively pursue growth opportunities” during the coming recession as the slowing PC market knocked back its Q2 2009 numbers.
  • Acer delivers Q3 profits and bullish outlook
    Acer delivered a profit in the third quarter and gave retailers reason to cheer if its bullish forecasts for the final trading period of 2008 are to be believed.
  • British SMEs to get £4bn in aid
    Chancellor Alastair Darling revealed today he has secured around £4bn of lending for UK businesses from the European Investment Bank (EIB) up to 2011.
  • Alcatel-Lucent sees green shoots of recovery
    CEO Ben Verwaayen accentuated the positive as he delivered his first set of quarterly results in charge of Alcatel-Lucent this morning, with evidence of a recovery in the firm’s fortunes at long last on the horizon.
  • Juniper boss sees potential despite crunch
    As another turbulent week on the stock markets draws to a close and politicians begin to openly talk about a recession, Juniper Networks has bucked the downward trend.
  • UK economy on the brink of recession
    The economy is on the brink of recession with the first slowdown for 16 years capping a week of falling exchange rates and panic following the use of the dreaded R word by the prime minister and the governor of the bank of England.
  • Cautious Microsoft embarks on cost-cutting drive
    Microsoft plans to wring out a cost saving of $400m to $500m (£248m to £309.6m) this fiscal year and next by reviewing its hiring plans and the amount spent on marketing.
  • Ingram Micro still haunted by freight charging
    Ingram Micro’s EMEA operation posted a $4.7m loss in the third quarter as it admitted the decision this summer to increase freight charges and walk away from unprofitable business took their toll in a weakening market.
  • Investment tumbles as economic crisis bites
    Business investment in the channel is dropping according to Siemens Financial Services which has forecasted tough times for the second half of the year.
  • Tech executives optimistic about medium-term recovery
    Despite the avalanche of gloomy surveys and news reports there continues to be a degree of optimism in the senior levels of the IT industry.
  • IT dealers bear brunt of slowdown, says report
    Business rescue and restructuring consultants Begbies Traynor have singled out the IT sector as one of the verticals most severely affected in Q3 by the gathering economic storm.
  • Logicalis delivers solid interim for first six months
    Logicalis has indicated that the UK market has remained sold for the six months ended 30 August as it reports its interim results.
  • IBM looks to emerging markets for growth
    After having revealed the main details of its quarterly figures last week, in a move to shore up its share price, IBM was again talking up its position on the day it was meant to have released its figures.
  • Computacenter interm statement upbeat despite hit from banking collapse
    Computacenter has provided some cheer for those looking for signs of robustness in the IT sector with a fairly upbeat interim management statement despite revealing the impact of the collapse of one major financial cuctomer.
  • Forrester warns of longer downturn in IT spending
    The IT market is set for several quarters of declining revenue as a result of the global recession rather than just a sticky end to the year and the first half of 2009.
  • IT executives call for leadership in the face of meltdown
    Executives in the IT sector are calling for calm in the face of a growing sense of alarm and panic in the business community.
  • IBM moves to rally share price with early Q3 preview
    IBM provided some cheer for those looking for signs of resilience in the IT world with better than expected Q3 figures.
  • Phoenix warns of softening in half year figures
    Phoenix IT services has unveiled a picture of the half year that show growth but contain the signs of continued softening in the market.
  • SEC probes Jobs heart attack
    US financial regulators are said to be investigating the possibility that last week’s report that Steve Jobs had suffered a heart attack was an attempt to manipulate Apple’s stock price for financial gain.
  • SAP shares slide following gloomy prelim statement
    Warnings from SAP that its business took a hit in the third quarter sent the vendors shares plummeting and indicated that most of the confidence that had been washing around the high-end of the software market has vanished.
  • British Chambers of Commerce calls for confidence
    were looking tough, has issued its latest quarterly survey indicating that recession has arrived for its members.
  • Corel warns of tougher times to come
    Corel has joined the lengthening list of vendors displaying caution about the rest of the year.
  • Financing still on the table for the channel
    There are encouraging sings that those responsible in the US for lending money to resellers and customers have not cut back their credit limits despite the meltdown on Wall Street.
  • Energy costs growing at a worrying speed
    Businesses are fighting an uphill battle to contain and reduce power consumption in data centres with figures from IDC revealing the amount of energy they require is "climbing at a worrying speed" and rose by more than 13% between 2006 and 2007.
  • Ballmer goes from upbeat to talk of non-immunity
    Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft, arrives in London tomorrow and will struggle to get the attention onto the software plus services message with most of the attention being on his view of the economy.
  • Channel will feel the pinch
    Financial crisis could lead to higher rates of consolidation among ICT companies.
  • Ballmer upbeat about IT industry prospects
    Those in the channel looking for some good cheer will have been cheered by comments made by Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer about the state of the economy.
  • IBM put on short-selling protection list
    The move to ban short-selling, the practice of trading shares on the presumption that a company will drop in value, has been the focus of moves made by the government to shore up the markets.
  • Financial meltdown impacts channel order books
    The meltdown in the global financial market has created a tidal wave of uncertainty among IT buyers that were already twitchy about ripples in the global economy, dramatically altering resellers’ and integrators prospect lists.
  • Nortel to quit metro Ethernet biz as noose tightens
    Nortel Networks has become the latest tech company to cry foul over the worsening economic climate, after revising its full-year outlook downwards, and has admitted it is seeking to explore a divestiture of its metro Ethernet network (MEN) unit.
  • Dell stocks collapse after trading update
    Shares in Dell have taken a battering; falling to their lowest level in years after the vendor reported it too was seeing softening demand in the current quarter.
  • IT sector showing signs of credit crunch with as costs of borrowing rise
    Despite the apparent optimism and talk of certain sectors being immune from the pressures of the downturn the ICT market is being hit badly by the credit crunch.
  • Small dealers secure after Wall Street turmoil
    The message to resellers concerned about the liquidity of business banking facilities after the collapse of Lehman Brothers and Monday’s rescue of Merrill Lynch, is not to panic.
  • Credit crunch starts to show in contract delays
    A report by Forrester Research into IT services spending, overall services, strategies and priorities has confirmed the toll the economic downturn is taking on IT budgets.
  • Economic think tank piles on the gloom
    Fresh from the gloom spread by a Panorama special on living with the credit crunch a global economic think tank has predicted the recession will start in the UK this year.
  • US economy suprises with growth
    Those industry analysts that wondered where the optimism expressed by Cisco CEO John Chambers in its most recent financial filing came from might understand more clearly after the US economy reported stronger than expected growth.
  • Late payment problem continues to worsen
    The issue of late payments has been ongoing this year, made more acute by the pressure of the credit crunch, and shows no signs of improving.
  • Fat order book best protection against downturn
    IT services providers have continued to report strong order books insulating them from the growing effects of the downturn, as Anglo-Dutch services outfit Logica and managed security services provider Integralis both filed their first half results.
  • Credit crunch provides some with opportunity
    The credit crunch is proving to be a benefit to those that are pushing services and products that might face a tougher sales pitch if buyers were sticking with the status quo.
  • Ease targets, vendors urged
    The channel has called for vendors to start factoring the economic slowdown into their sales forecasts, as sales are on average five to 10 per cent below expectations, according to industry sources.
  • Avaya extends 0% offer
    Avaya has introduced a 0% financing offer on its IP-communications products in a move that it hopes will encourage end-users to lease Avaya kit with no interest charges or upfront costs.
  • Brother launches SME leasing
    Brother has unveiled a leasing sales model to revitalise the printer market and tap into the current demand in the SME market for pay-as-you-go economic models.
  • Late payments threaten SMEs
    The increasing problem with late payments threatens to impact smaller businesses
  • Results roundup shows mixed fortunes
    Those studying the IT market will have found reasons to cheer and frown with the latest set of market announcements
  • This is a squeeze even the profitable will feel
    Banks put squeeze on good as well as bad businesses.
  • Credit crisis bites
    Banks demanding greater credit insurance as credit brokers turn resellers away.
  • Resellers warned over cash flow
    Cash flow problems could drag resellers into the credit crisis.
  • When it comes to the crunch
    Peter Austin, general manager of Siemens Financial Services, recommends asset finance.
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