Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry

The Royal Commission into Misconduct in the Banking, Superannuation and Financial Services Industry, also known as the Banking Royal Commission and the Hayne Royal Commission, was a royal commission established on 14 December 2017 by the Australian government pursuant to the Royal Commissions Act 1902 to inquire into and report on misconduct in the banking, superannuation, and financial services industry. The establishment of the commission followed revelations in the media of a culture of greed within several Australian financial institutions. A subsequent parliamentary inquiry recommended a royal commission, noting the lack of regulatory intervention by the relevant government authorities, and later revelations that financial institutions were involved in money laundering for drug syndicates, turned a blind eye to terrorism financing, and ignored statutory reporting responsibilities and impropriety in foreign exchange trading.
The Honourable Kenneth Madison Hayne , the former Justice of the High Court of Australia, served as the sole commissioner and submitted an interim report to the Governor-General of Australia on 28 September 2018, which was tabled in parliament by the Government on the same day. The Royal Commission conducted seven rounds of public hearings over 68 days, called more than 130 witnesses and reviewed over 10,000 public submissions. Commissioner Hayne submitted a final report to the Governor-General on 1 February 2019 with 76 separate recommendations. The final report and the government's response to the report were made public on 4 February 2019.
Background.
Michelle Grattan has characterised the incoming Abbott Liberal-National government as being "determined to weaken protections" that Labor had introduced, although she noted these attempts were defeated by the Senate crossbench.
In light of an account fraud scandal at US-bank Wells Fargo, on 5 May 2014 ABC TV "Four Corners", in conjunction with Fairfax journalists, broadcast an exposé of a sales-driven culture within the Commonwealth Bank's (CBA) financial planning division, that was described as profit at all cost. Chaired by Labor Senator Mark Bishop, a subsequent Senate committee inquiry recommended a royal commission into the fraud scandal that left thousands of CBA customers millions of dollars out of pocket. The committee reported on the performance of the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC). Several days later, CBA chief executive Ian Narev apologised unreservedly to customers who lost money in the bank's financial planning scandal. Treasurer at the time, Joe Hockey, whose mother was impacted by the scandal, stated that the bank did not act quickly enough to address the problem. The CBA was subsequently embroiled in other matters including money laundering for drug syndicates, turning a blind eye to terrorism financing, ignoring statutory reporting responsibilities for more than three years on more than 750,000 accounts, and impropriety in foreign exchange trading.
The National Australia Bank (NAB) was implicated during 2015 in a series of scandals concerning financial planners where it was revealed that the NAB quietly paid millions of dollars in compensation to hundreds of clients for what it considered was inappropriate financial planning advice by its staff between 2009 and 2015. A whistleblower claimed that there was a volatile, toxic and Machiavellian culture within NAB. ASIC banned NAB staff who were previously licensed to provide financial advice. Subsequently, it was revealed that NAB were also implicated in impropriety in foreign exchange trading.
Westpac was implicated in allegations that it rigged one of Australia's key interest rates, the bank bill swap rate and was sued under responsible lending laws for using an automated process to decide whether peoples' home loan applications met lending criteria. Further, a Westpac banker was imprisoned for fraudulently lending millions of dollars to elderly pensioners. Following ASIC investigations, Westpac was instructed to make a donation of $3 million to Financial Literacy Australia after ASIC found that the bank's employees disclosed confidential details of their clients' orders to other foreign exchange traders. Westpac refunded $65 million to 220,000 customers after it failed to pass on benefits they should have received under package deals, including home loans, credit cards and transaction accounts, offered by the bank.
The ANZ Bank (ANZ) was also implicated in the bank bill swap rate scandal and settled with ASIC prior to the commencement of legal proceedings.
Macquarie Bank was implicated in the foreign exchange trading scandal and was instructed to donate $2 million to charity and to open up its foreign exchange arm to scrutiny after ASIC uncovered a series of breaches by its traders.
Appearing before the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics, chief executives of the ANZ, CBA, NAB, and Westpac advised that, despite consumer complaints, very few senior bank staff were dismissed due to misconduct; despite supervising more junior staff who had been dismissed.
In a 2016 speech before the National Press Club, opposition leader Bill Shorten outlined his plans for a royal commission into the banking sector, should Labor win government at the 2016 federal election. Meanwhile, Liberals Warren Entsch also supported calls for a royal commission; as well as CBA whistleblower, Jeff Morris, who, for eight years, since 2008, documented the industry's "systemic bad behaviour".
Despite an attempt launched in April 2016 to protect consumer interests, increase transparency and accountability, and build trust and confidence in banks, amidst growing community concerns, in January 2017 twenty-five members of the Australian Banking Association launched "Better Banking", an initiative aimed to provide improve products, service and culture, and to provide consumers with helpful information and resources. In April 2016 Steve Sedgwick , a former senior Australian public servant, was commissioned to conduct a review into bankers' pay and commissions; and recommended the termination of bonus payments to retail bank employees that are linked to sales performance. In March 2017 ASIC handed down a report on financial advice compliance in the sector; and in September 2017 the Turnbull government introduced legislation to establish the Australian Financial Complaints Authority, an external dispute resolution body aimed to simplify how customers resolve complaints with bank and other financial services organisations.
Over the preceding years, there had been widespread criticism of ASIC's activities as a regulatory body, including its supervision of banks.
In late 2017, as a backlash against the legalisation of same sex marriage, the Nationals threatened to introduce a private member's bill calling for a commission of inquiry into the banking system. It was reported that the bill would be co-sponsored by the Nationals, Labor, the Greens and Senate crossbench parties. Nationals Senator Barry O'Sullivan, and LNP MPs George Christensen and Llew O'Brien, together with the Greens, Labor, and Senate crossbench parties, had enough numbers to force the Turnbull government's opposition to a royal commission.
In the 2017 federal budget, the Turnbull government proposed the introduction of a bank tax (or levy) that applied to banks with liabilities of at least $100 billion. The levy came into effect on 1 July 2017.
With political pressure mounting, on 30 November 2017 Turnbull and his Treasurer, Scott Morrison, announced plans for a royal commission. The royal commission was established on 14 December 2017.
Terms of reference.
On 14 December 2017, the Governor-General Sir Peter Cosgrove issued Commonwealth letters patent appointing the commissioner and the commission's terms of reference. The commissioner was directed "to inquire into and report on misconduct in the banking, superannuation and financial services industry." It was due to table its final report on 1 February 2019, which had been noted to be not long before the 2019 Australian federal election.
Response.
The establishment of the royal commission was supported by the Opposition leader, Bill Shorten; however, opposition treasury spokesperson, Chris Bowen, stated that Labor disagreed with the terms of reference and wanted the Government to consult with consumer groups and those impacted by financial scandals. Meanwhile, the Greens sought to widen the commission's terms of reference. The Australian Banking Association, and some of its members, who initially opposed calls for a royal commission, supported the terms of reference; however the Association's CEO, Anna Bligh warned that the commission could push up interest rates.
As revelations of misconduct came to light during the hearings, political pressure was exerted on the Turnbull government that it had delayed the establishment of the Royal Commission; and Mathias Cormann, the Finance Minister, indicated that if Commissioner Hayne sought more time to extend the life of the Royal Commission, the government would respond positively.
Commissioner and executive.
On 1 December 2017 Turnbull announced the appointment of Kenneth Hayne as the sole commissioner for the royal commission.
Commissioner Hayne subsequently announced that he would be assisted by legal counsel including Rowena Orr QC, Michael Hodge, Albert Dinelli, Eloise Dias, and Mark Costello.
Powers.
The powers of Royal Commissions in Australia are set out in the enabling legislation, the Royal Commissions Act 1902.
Royal Commissions, appointed pursuant to the Royal Commissions Act or otherwise, have powers to issue a summons to a person to appear before the Commission at a hearing to give evidence or to produce documents specified in the summons; require witnesses to take an oath or give an affirmation; and require a person to deliver documents to the Commission at a specified place and time. A person served with a summons or a notice to produce documents must comply with that requirement, or face prosecution for an offence. The penalty for conviction upon such an offence is two years imprisonment. A Royal Commission may authorise the Australian Federal Police to execute search warrants.
Submissions.
The Commission invited individuals or entities to make public submissions using an online form, with provision for those who require further assistance via email or by telephone. The purpose of the submissions was to identify the nature of alleged misconduct, the factors that led to the misconduct occurring, and the steps taken to resolve the complaint and the outcomes of the complaint. The role of the Commission was not to resolve individual complaints, yet to come to an understanding of the systematic failures that may have led to the complaint occurring.
The Royal Commission conducted seven rounds of public hearings over 68 days, called more than 130 witnesses and reviewed over 10,000 public submissions of which the leading matters related to personal finance, superannuation, and small business finance.
The commissioner identified a number of themes, as follows:
Public hearings.
Initial proceedings commenced on 12 February 2018. Key comments made by the Commissioner during this hearing and elsewhere include:
Consumer lending practices.
The first round of public hearings commenced on 13 March, and these were focused on consumer lending practices within the context of credit products such as home loans, car loans and credit cards. Over fourteen days, the Royal Commission heard from executives from ANZ Bank, APRA, ASIC, Aussie Home Loans, Citigroup, Commonwealth Bank, the Finance Sector Union, ING Bank, NAB, Smartline HomeLoans and Westpac. Before the Royal Commission:
The Royal Commission heard that ANZ had failed to accurately verify the living expenses of home loan customers referred to the bank by mortgage brokers, believing that this was the responsibility of the brokers, in spite of a conflict of interest in doing so; and that, due to processing issues, it had charged nearly 500,000 home loan customers the incorrect interest rate for more than ten years, leading the bank to overcharge customers by approximately $90 million.
Commissioner Hayne questioned whether the CBA was "economical with the truth" in failing to tell customers the value of commissions it pays to mortgage brokers in return for selling its products. The Royal Commission also heard that due to a system of trailing commissions paid to mortgage brokers, the CBA rewarded brokers for encouraging customers to enter into larger homes loans and for longer terms than needed. The Royal Commission heard that the CBA-owned Aussie Home Loans retained commissions where broker agreements were terminated following detection of alleged fraudulent activity; and that it failed to refer such brokers to the industry association for disciplinary action.
However, when queried on the matter by Counsel Assisting that "...there was fraudulent conduct engaged in by NAB bankers and by introducers... We see no reference here to any fraudulent conduct. In fact the language is very qualified in the description of the conduct here... the conduct was in breach of the group's policies and processes including provision of potentially unsuitable loans, reliance on potentially false documentation, use of correct income figures, potentially dishonest application of customers' signatures, and a potential misstatement of some loans in loan documentation. Now, what I want to put to you is that NAB knows and you know that there were unsuitable loans, there was false documentation, there was dishonest application of customers' signatures on consent forms and there was the misstatement of some loans in loan documentation. All of those things occurred, did they not?" NAB's Mark Waldron agreed that conduct was fraudulent and beyond misconduct; "Yes, we can now say that they have occurred." It was reported that NAB employees in greater western Sydney were accepting bribes in order to facilitate loans they knew were based on false documentation in order to reach lending targets and to collect personal bonuses; and up to 15 per cent of all home loans approved did not meet NAB's standard criteria for valuation, serviceability and document verification.
The Commission heard that, similar to ANZ, Westpac believed that it was not its responsibility to verify loan applicants' personal expenses, with this responsibility resting with brokers, especially for car loans originated by motor vehicle dealers acting as brokers; and that financial kickbacks to car dealers reflected a conflict of interest.
Financial planning and wealth management.
In mid-April 2018, the second round of hearings, focused on the financial planning and wealth management industry commenced. During this round, on 20 April 2018 Craig Meller resigned as CEO of AMP Limited after it was revealed in a public hearing before the Royal Commission that AMP charged clients for financial advice which was not provided, and misled ASIC on numerous occasions.
In August 2018 it was revealed that NAB subsidiary, MLC Limited, had charged some of its customers "adviser contribution fees" and "employer service fees" on its superannuation products. By its own admission, NAB executives told the Royal Commission that the customers may have not received any service, in spite of being charge a fee. NAB tried to disguise these fees as commissions. The following month ASIC commenced civil proceedings in the Federal Court alleging that NAB-owned superannuation entities had deducted $100 million in fees from more than 300,000 customers where services were not provided. Appearing before the Royal Commission in November 2018, NAB Chief Executive Officer Andrew Thorburn defended the fees-for-no-service issue as a “process issue” rather than dishonesty. Days earlier, NAB Chairman and former Secretary of The Treasury Ken Henry defensively appeared before the Royal Commission, with some tense exchanges between Henry and Orr.
Small and medium enterprises.
The third round of hearings commenced in mid-May 2018 and was focused on small and medium enterprises.
Implications: SMEs are now looking towards other sources of finance; shadow lenders, private loans, bonds etc. The commission has also brought about changes in the provision of lending under the new industry code and granted ASIC new enforceable code of provisions.
Financial services and Indigenous communities.
In July, proceedings moved to Darwin to examine financial services, particularly funeral insurance, and how they impacted on Indigenous communities. The Royal Commission did not consider consumer leases, payday loans or in-store credit arrangements' impacts on Indigenous communities because they are not within the terms of reference.
The discrepancy between average life expectancy of an Indigenous individuals and non-indigenous, highlights a fault in the superannuation system, where essentially individuals are restricted access to their super until 60 years. For many this is way too late and individuals need access to these funds to support themselves, their family and their community. To put this in perspective, the average life expectancy of an Indigenous male in the NT is 63.6 years.
Reports.
On 28 September 2018 Commissioner Hayne submitted an interim report on progress of the Commission to the Governor-General. The interim report, together with a volume each of case studies and appendices was tabled in Parliament on the same day. In its interim report, the Commissioner noted that some (mis)conduct by financial services entities was known to regulators and that the Commission had also unearthed other conduct that brought public condemnation. The interim report focused on two key issues; why did it happen, and what can be done to avoid it happening again?
In responding to the issue of 'why', the Commissioner determined that:
In responding to the issue of 'what now', the Commissioner opined that:
The Commissioner detailed that there would be a further round of public hearings to consider these and other questions, for consideration in the Commissioner's Final Report. The interim report contained substantial findings against banks, insurance companies, and financial planners.
Commissioner Hayne handed his final report to the Governor-General on 1 February 2019. The final report comprised a 496-page document together with seven themes and 76 separate recommendations, supported by a volume each of cases studies and appendices. On 4 February 2019 the government issued its response to the Commissioner's recommendations.
Feedback on the final report.
Commissioner Hayne did not make or name any specific individual who should face criminal charges. Instead, his report made 24 recommendations relating to institutions and individuals about dishonest misconduct and charged the regulators with the responsibility for taking action. Some media feedback was that this approach was part of the problem, citing that ASIC, in particular, had a long history of not proactively enforcing its powers. Some of Hayne's most scathing comments were reserved for NAB's chair, Ken Henry, and CEO, Andrew Thorburn:
Despite initially defending their positions, by 7 February both Henry and Thorburn had announced their resignations.
Financial markets initially responded positively to the final report, having earlier factored in that banks and other financial institutions would be severely penalised. Markets viewed the response from the government as measured and a view that some recommendations would help the financial services sector.


New Hampshire Provincial Regiment

The New Hampshire Provincial Regiment was a provincial military regiment made up of men from the New Hampshire Militia during the French and Indian War for service with the British Army in North America. It was first formed in 1754 with the start of hostilities with France.
1755.
In 1755 Col. Joseph Blanchard was given command, and the regiment sent a company under Robert Rogers to build Fort Wentworth on the upper reaches of the Connecticut River before joining Sir William Johnson's army at Fort Edward in New York. During the Battle of Lake George, Col. Blanchard was in command at Fort Edward. When he heard the battle commence and saw the smoke of burning ox-carts he sent a company under Nathaniel Folsom to reinforce Sir William Johnson's army away. Capt. Folsom's company was able to capture the French baggage train and the French commanding officer Jean Erdman, Baron Dieskau, as the French and Indian forces tried to disengage from Sir William Johnson's main force. After the battle a second battalion was raised under the command of Col. Peter Gilman and sent to reinforce the army at Lake George. Both battalions left Fort Edward in December to return home to New Hampshire except for Robert Rogers' ranger company that stayed behind as part of the winter garrison.
1756.
In the spring of 1756 two more battalions were raised, with Col. Nathaniel Meserve in command. The 1st battalion was sent to Nova Scotia and the 2nd to the newly built Fort William Henry.
1757.
For the 1757 campaign two more battalions were raised. The 1st would again go to Halifax and the 2nd battalion under the command of Lt. Col John Goffe to Fort William Henery. Of the 200 men from the New Hampshire Provincial Regiment at Fort William Henry 80 were killed in the siege and massacre that followed. With the 1st battalion in Nova Scotia and the 2nd battalion regrouping at Fort Edward a new 3rd battalion of infantry with two attached companies of Dragoons was quickly raised under the command of Maj. Thomas Tash and sent to Fort at Number 4 to protect the western frontier of the state.
1758.
For the 1758 campaign again two battalions were raised. The 1st under Col. John Hart would join General Jeffrey Amherst in the capture of Fortress Louisbourg and the 2nd under Lt Col. Goffe was sent to join Gen. James Abercrombie in the defeat at the Battle of Carillon. The regiment and the attached rangers stayed on the flanks during the main assault and covered the retreat of the British Army preventing a complete disaster.
1759 & 1760.
In 1759 the 1st Battalion went with Gen. James Wolfe to Quebec City and the Battle of the Plains of Abraham serving in a support role followed by the Battle of Sainte-Foy and the subsequent siege of Quebec. Meanwhile, the 2nd battalion was with Gen. Amherst at the capture of Fort Ticonderoga and Fort St. Frédéric, driving the French from the Lake Champlain valley. In 1760, with the continuation of the 1759 Lake Champlain campaign, Col. Goffe commanded the New Hampshire troops who built the Crown Point Military Road from the Fort at Number 4 to the new English fort at Crown Point in forty days during the spring and at the Siege of Montreal and the fall of New France later that year.
In 1759 one-third of all able-bodied males of military age in New Hampshire were serving in the British military.
1762.
Volunteers from the regiment were with the British Army that captured Havana, Cuba, from the Spanish on August 10, 1762.
Other notable members of the regiment were John Stark, William Stark, James Reed, Timothy Bedel, Isaac Wyman, Enoch Hale, Hercules Mooney and Abraham Drake. All of these men would go on to serve as officers during the American Revolutionary War.


Ashley Landing

Ashley Landing (originally opened as Ashley Plaza and later known as Ashley Plaza Mall) is a shopping mall in Charleston, South Carolina, United States. It was the first indoor shopping mall in the West Ashley area of Charleston when the complex was fully completed in 1972. The center, located at 1401 Sam Rittenberg Boulevard (S.C. Highway 7) at the fork of Old Towne Road (S.C. Highway 171) was developed by Gate City Realty Company of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Ground was broken for the complex in 1962 with Ashley Plaza opening on April 16, 1964. At its opening the shopping center consisted of J.M. Fields Department Stores joined to a Pantry Pride supermarket, built at a cost of $1.75 million and owned by Sumar Corporation of South Carolina. The locally owned Condon's Department Store, constructed adjacent to Pantry Pride as a freestanding building, became the third tenant when it opened in 1970. The center, originally known as "Ashley Plaza" was noted for its large red and white neon pylon "Ashley Plaza" sign in the center of the parking lot that remained until 1989 when it was destroyed by Hurricane Hugo.
Expansion and mall addition.
In April 1972 an indoor shopping mall that was created by adding on to the shopping plaza and enclosing the area between Pantry Pride and Condon's Department Store opened. The mall featured a number of local retailers as well as nationally known retailers and specialty shops and a dual screen General Cinemas (which was later expanded to three screens). A third department store, the locally owned Edward's was also added at this time. With the completion of the enclosed mall came a new name, Ashley Plaza Mall.
Turbulent 1970s and 1980s.
The mall thrived for many years during the 1970s, but was dealt several blows beginning in the late 1970s. Perhaps the most devastating was the bankruptcy and subsequent closure of J.M. Fields and Pantry Pride leaving one entire wing of the shopping complex vacant. Locally owned Edward's, on the opposite end of the mall, was purchased by the Kuhn's-Big K Corporation who renamed the store "Big K-Edwards." The changes were in name only as the merchandise mix was not altered with the sale. Big K was subsequently sold to Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. who closed the Big K-Edwards store as it was not large enough to operate as a Wal-Mart. This left another large vacancy on the other end of the shopping center.
The mall's owners worked diligently to secure replacement anchor tenants for the vacant buildings and were successful in leasing the vacant J.M. Fields building to the F.W. Woolworth Company which opened a Woolco Department Store in the building. The Pantry Pride store was leased to a local businessman who opened Jameson's Red & White Supermarket in the vacated space. The former Edward's store remained vacant for a number of years before finally being subdivided and leased to a mattress shop and an unfinished furniture store. While all appeared to be on the upswing for the newly invigorated mall, change was again in store and would deal another devastating blow to the mall.
Woolco closure and Citadel Mall opening.
The early 1980s brought a surprising announcement when the F.W. Woolworth Company announced that it was closing all Woolco stores in the United States in 1983. The big box store would again be left vacant which made a tremendous impact on traffic at the mall. Two years before Woolco closed, the new 100-store Citadel Mall opened less than three miles (5 km) away from Ashley Plaza Mall. Many of the major national retailers pulled out of Ashley Plaza Mall and opened new locations in the much larger, more modern Citadel Mall. The mall struggled to survive as occupancy rates fell significantly. The supermarket space that formerly housed Pantry Pride and later Jameson's Red & White was leased to another locally based supermarket retailer known as The Big W Food Warehouse and ultimately closed. This space would later temporarily become a locally operated fruit and vegetable retailer for a short time.
A large portion of the mall, including the space formerly occupied by Edward's, was closed in the late 1980s and vacant stores were combined and reconfigured for a Burlington Coat Factory store leaving only one small wing of the indoor mall operating with a handful of merchants.
Hurricane Hugo.
On September 22, 1989, the mall was dealt another tremendous blow with the arrival of Hurricane Hugo which caused severe roof and water damage to many of the stores and destroyed some of the exterior facades. It would be several months before the majority of the stores could be repaired and reopened. The exterior was given a fresh new look with synthetic stucco and paint and redesigned storefronts and the remaining interior mall wing was updated with lighter floors and decor. The mall was renamed Ashley Landing (complete with new signage) to honor its close proximity to the nearby Charles Towne Landing state historic site, and "mall" was officially dropped from the name. The remaining indoor mall wing was closed within a short period of time and the individual store spaces combined and converted into space for another discount retailer, 50-Off Stores, which also ultimately closed, thus ending the mall's classification as a true indoor mall.
Conversion to a strip shopping center.
With the mall's two concourses now combined to make space for big box retailers, the shopping center returned to its original roots as a strip shopping center. The former Woolco space had been subdivided into two smaller spaces and a portion was leased to Brendle's Catalog Showroom and the remaining space to a regionally owned clothing store, United Clothing Company. The clothing store closed within a year of opening although Brendle's, which had opened in the late 1980s, was rebuilt after Hurricane Hugo and reopened a newly designed store. The store remained at Ashley Landing until the company's subsequent bankruptcy in the mid-1990s. Discount retailer Big Lots leased the former grocery store space and remains there today. Upon Brendle's departure, the subdivided space that originally housed J.M. Fields and later Woolco was once again converted back into a single building and leased in 1997 to Carolina Pottery, a large regionally based importer of pottery, housewares and china.
Carolina Pottery remained at the center until 2001 when they suddenly broke their lease and departed resulting in a lawsuit filed by the center's owner, Ashley Plaza Mall Associates. The Carolina Pottery space was once again subdivided - this time into 3 separate buildings, with portions being leased to Dollar Tree and Pivotal Fitness, with a remaining space leased to NAPA Auto Parts.
Another dispute emerged between original anchor, Condon's Department Stores, and Ashley Plaza Mall Associates over the center's construction of a new Publix Super Market addition that left large piles of dirt in the parking area, which Condon's claimed blocked customer access to their store and created a dangerous situation for customers. The dispute ultimately led to the Condon's store closing after their lease was not renewed.
Ashley Landing today.
The center still suffered from an identity crisis in 2000 when the City of Charleston, in conjunction with the adjoining residential neighborhoods conducted a design charrette for the Ashley Landing site and recommended a number of improvements to the shopping center's owners for revitalization. The city proposed an extensive overhaul of the property in an attempt to make it a neighborhood gathering place, complete with redesigned buildings that would include retail, offices and residences. Design elements such as new store facades, extensive landscaping and brick pedestrian crosswalks were proposed. Representatives from The Cordish Company indicated that they were interested in the city's plans but could not commit to any revitalization efforts due to existing store leases.
It was announced on February 5, 2014 that Faison Enterprises Inc. of Charlotte, NC acquired Ashley Landing for $19.2 million. Faison is currently undertaking an extensive renovation, revitalization and expansion of the property and adding new tenants that are better suited to the area. While initial and substantial improvements are underway, Faison has indicated that this is a long-term redevelopment project. In conjunction with the redevelopment plans, Faison also acquired the adjacent vacant former Piggly Wiggly building and adjoining property located on Sumar Street, which was later sold to the City of Charleston. Faison Enterprises spun off a majority of its retail holdings in 2017, including Ashley Landing, to a newly formed sister company, Wintergreen Capital.


Tiger economy

A tiger economy is the economy of a country which undergoes rapid economic growth, usually accompanied by an increase in the standard of living. The term was originally used for the Four Asian Tigers (South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore) as tigers are important in Asian symbolism, which also inspired the Tiger Cub Economies (Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines). The Asian Tigers also inspired other economies later on; the Anatolian Tigers (certain cities in Turkey) in the 1980s, the Gulf Tiger (Dubai) in the 1990s, the Celtic Tiger (Republic of Ireland) in 1995–2000, the Baltic tigers (Baltic states) in 2000–2007, and the Tatra Tiger (Slovakia) in 2002–2007.
In the 1960s, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Myanmar were billed as the next East Asian Tiger Economies as all three countries were experiencing high growth. Internal issues however led to the economies of all three countries to falter. Israel's rapid economic growth in the 1990s, and again in the 2000s and 2010s following a brief recession, earned it a reputation as a tiger economy, and the term "Hebrew tiger" was dubbed in one newspaper. Bangladesh has been described as an emerging "Asian tiger" in recent years due to its high economic growth and industralisation which bear many similarities to the way the Four Asian Tigers industralised between the 1960s and 1990s.
Yet another tiger economy is that of Armenia. Because of the remarkable, often two-digit economic growth that Armenia showed until the 2007-08 financial crisis, it emerged as the Caucasian Tiger. Economic stability, moderate fiscal deficits and external debt, as well as declining poverty rates were a result of the sustained economic growth during this period.
Similar.
In Latin America, the fast-growing & emerging economies, oriented to free trade and free market development are called the Pacific Pumas of which consist of Mexico, Chile, Peru & Colombia.
For emerging economies in Africa, the term "lion economy" is used as an analogy. Countries considered to be "lion economies" are South Africa, Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Botswana, Egypt, Mauritius, and Tunisia.
The term "wolf economy" is used to describe Mongolia's rapidly growing economy.


Sugar King Park

Sugar King Park is a municipal park located in Garapan, Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands across from the NMI Museum of History and Culture. The park was named in honor of the "Sugar King" Haruji Matsue, director of the South Seas Development Company.
The park has a statue of Matsue; a small, wood-burning locomotive; Komainu; a hexagonal hall of prayer with a peace bell; and a German period concrete stairway. The Saipan Katori Shrine in the park was rebuilt in 1985 to replace the original Katori Jinja from the Japanese period. The Nanmeido or Saipan International House of Prayer is a temple located in the park. Historical sites in the park are listed on the Garapan Heritage Trail, a project of the Northern Marianas Humanities Council with financial support by the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Office of Insular Affairs, United States Department of the Interior. The park hosts the annual Japanese Autumn Festival and Katori Jinja ceremony in October. The Northern Marianas-Japan Cultural Center is in the park.
The park is operated by the CNMI government with support from the Marianas Visitors Authority, NMI Museum of History and Culture, Japanese Society of the Northern Mariana Islands, Katori Shrine Association of Japan, and other organizations. Local schools have field trips at the park. Students from Japan, China, Korea, and other countries in East Asia visit the park as part of exchange programs.
The Sugar King Foundation was established in 1997 under the laws of the CNMI as a non-profit organization to assist in the preservation and maintenance of the park.
History.
In October 2004, the 19th Annual Japanese Autumn Festival was held in the park. The festival featured games for children, a yard sale, live entertainment, Shichi-Go-San rites, and Japanese delicacies. About 50 professional dancers from Hokkaido, Japan performed various numbers at the event.
In July 2005, a Japanese crew visited the park and interviewed residents and filmed for a documentary about the sugar industry in the Northern Marianas. Other members of the Japan contingent were president of Suehiro Sake Brewery Ltd., president of Aizu Brewery Union, president of Synergy Inc. In November 2005, the mayor of Aizuwakamatsu visited the park and planted a breadfruit tree next to the Matsue statue.
In June 2011, the Hokkaido Gokokujinja Memorial Group visited the park. In January 2012, students from Moon Deok Elementary School in Korea toured the park.
In June 2014, the Marianas High School Japanese Language Club held a play in the park. In March 2017, the MYWAVE clubs of Saipan Southern High School and Marianas High School
Visited the park as part of an island tour sponsored by Marianas Tourism Education Council and Marianas Visitor’s Authority.
In January 2020, Saipan International School students visited the park. In February 2020, students from South Korea part of Saipan International School's "Welcome to the Marianas” program visited the park.
Shrine.
The Saipan Katori Shrine, also known as the Saipan Katori Jinja, was built on a small hill on Saipan in 1914. It was the first Shinto shrine built in the Japanese-controlled South Seas Islands. The shrine was moved to Sugar King Park in 1931. It was destroyed during the Battle of Saipan in the Asia–Pacific War. In 1985, the Katori Shrine Association of Japan, with the assistance of the CNMI government, reconstructed it.
A ceremony honoring the combatants and civilians who died during the Battle of Saipan is held at the shrine annually in October. Shinto priests and practitioners from Japan, the Japanese Society of Northern Marianas, and other organizations carry out the memorial services.
Temple.
The Nanmeido or Saipan International House of Prayer, built in 1990, is a non-sectarian temple located in the park dedicated to those who lost their lives in the Marianas in 1944. Inside the temple, a large peace bell hangs from the ceiling. It was donated as a wish for world peace by the Gifu Buddhist Association of Gifu, Japan in 2006.
Cleanup Projects.
In August 2004, crew members of the cruiser USS Vincennes (CG-49) volunteered and assisted the Saipan Mayor’s Office and the Environmental Interagency Cleanup Operation Team beautifying the park. In January 2005, officers from the USS Gary (FFG-51) participated in a cleanup drive at the park as part of community relations efforts. They trimmed trees, raked leaves and trash, cleared the drainage and cleared the overgrown nature trails, water blasted the slab pavements and parking lot, re-painted the historic buildings and structures in the area, and planted trees, flowers, and shrubs. In September 2008, crew members from the USS Rentz (FFG-46) cleaned up and landscaped the park. In March 2009, USS Frank Cable (AS-40) sailors participated in park landscaping.
In August 2015, Typhoon Soudelor damaged the Saipan Jinja, trees, railings, and other features in the park. Volunteers from the Marianas Visitors Authority, Japan Saipan Travel Association, and the Japanese Society of the Northern Mariana Islands helped clear debris and cleanup the park.


Raunds Co-operative Society

Raunds Co-operative Society Limited was a consumer co-operative society based in Raunds, Northamptonshire, founded in 1891.
The society operated a large supermarket and a department store in Raunds, and as of 2007 held of farmland at Northdale Farm, farming wheat and oilseed rape.
It had 4,297 members in 2003.
It was a subscriber to the Co-operative Party and a customer member (shareholder) of the Co-operative Wholesale Society.
In 1983, it merged with the Ringstead Distributive Co-operative Society.
In early 2007, directors of the society presented to members a plan to merge with the much large Midlands Co-operative Society,
but it did not reach the required vote of two thirds of members when put to a special general meeting on 5 July 2007.
However, a confirmatory meeting was held on 16 August and this time the vote to merge was carried.
The two societies merged on 26 August 2007.


List of supermarket chains in the United Kingdom

This is a list of supermarket chains in the United Kingdom. Grocery sales in the UK are dominated by Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's and Morrisons. These, dubbed the 'big four', had a combined market share of 73.2% of the UK grocery market in the 12 weeks ending 4 January 2015, a decline from 74.1% in 2007. Discounters Aldi and Lidl have seen a combined rise in market share from 4.8% to 8.3% over that time, while upscale grocer Waitrose's share rose from 3.9% to 5.1%. As of KANTAR data published on 24 March 2019, the market share is dominated by Tesco, with Asda being second, Sainsbury's third and Morrisons fourth.
The London Co-operative Society opened Britain's first fully self-service store in January 1948 in Manor Park, London. Premier Supermarkets, a subsidiary of Express Dairies, opened the UK's first supermarket in Streatham, South London in 1951. In early 2017, Tesco announced a deal to merge with Booker, the UK's largest wholesale food retailer, while Aldi became the 5th biggest supermarket.
List of defunct UK supermarket chains.
These supermarkets are either no longer trading, have been renamed, or have been taken over and rebranded.
Waitrose effect.
Proximity to a supermarket has been widely reported to be an amenity that can have a significant effect on residential property prices in Britain. Beginning under Andy Hulme and continuing under Mike Songer, the home mortgage unit of Lloyds Bank has published pricing research that examines the premiums commanded by homes in a given neighbourhood against comparables in the same post-code and correlates the difference in price with convenience of access to the various supermarkets. The following table averages information from neighbourhoods across England and Wales, compiled by Lloyds Bank for their 2016 report using supermarket location information from CACI Datalab and house price information from the UK Land Registry.


Dingles (department store)

E Dingle & Co was a department store chain with its flagship store in Plymouth, England. It is now part of House of Fraser group.
Early history.
Edward Dingle opened a drapery shop at 30 Bedford Street, Plymouth in 1880. By the next year the business had expanded and had over 27 employees. One of his staff, Tom Baker, became his brother-in-law when he married Edward's sister, and he was duly made a partner in the business.
By 1900, the store had expanded to include 29-31 Bedford Street and 6 Cornwall Street. The business then slowly grew and by 1926 it had taken up 28-31 Bedford Road and 4-6 Cornwall Street.
1935 onwards.
In 1935 E Dingle & Co was registered as a private limited company, and purchased its neighbour W J Vickery & Co Ltd, a gents' outfitters, who were based at 26-27 Bedford Street. The two Vickery brothers, Stanley and Ralph joined the board of Dingles. Before the breakout of the Second World War, Dingles had expanded further by purchasing the lease of 32 Bedford Street, and were operating eighty departments with a staff of over 500. The board had planned to rebuild the store, but this was prevented by the outbreak of the Second World War.
On 21 March 1941, German bombs fell on the nearby John Yeo department store, and the resulting fire spread and burnt the Dingle store to the ground. The company rented empty premises across Plymouth to continue business.
After the war the business was given a site close to their old premises as part of Patrick Abercrombie's plan for Plymouth.
To assist with reconstruction the company was restructured in 1948. In 1949 work commenced on building a new store.
The new Dingles opened in September 1951, becoming the first new department store to open in the UK since 1938. The building initially had four floors and 148,000 square feet of retail space. The design, however, purposefully allowed for the future upwards extension of the building and an additional three selling floors were added to the store in later years.
The business was floated as a public company in 1954, and entered a period of significant expansion during the 1960s, buying a number of independent department stores. The first of these new purchases, Cox & Horder of Falmouth, was completed in early 1961. Hawke & Thomas of Newquay was acquired later the same year. Criddle & Smith of Truro, John Polglase of Penzance and Barzillia Thomas of Helston had been added to the group by 1966. A further two businesses were acquired by the end of the decade, Henry Warren & Son and William Badcock & Son, both in Newton Abbot.
The expansion programme had been made possible through growing profits every year since the end of the Second World War, except 1951.
In 1970, E Dingle & Co bought the old-established Bath department store of Jolly & Son, with branches in Bristol and Cheltenham.
A year later, House of Fraser made moves to take over the business. As part of the discussions with Dingles' chairman, Winston Brimacombe, House of Fraser promised that the company would retain its own identity. Under House of Fraser, a further floor was added to the Plymouth store in 1975 and a new division within House of Fraser was created under the Dingles name. House of Fraser's existing department stores in the West Country which had been acquired as part of the J J Allen business were transferred into the new Dingles group as well as D H Evans in London and the two Devon department stores of J F Rockhey which had been part of the Harrods acquisition in 1959. The Welsh stores of Howells and David Evans were brought under Dingles management and, as House of Fraser extended its reach into southern England during the 1970s, further stores were added to the Dingles division from the acquisitions of Hide & Co. and Army & Navy Stores.
In December 1988, a fire devastated the Plymouth store destroying the upper half of the building. The floors were replaced at an estimated cost of £13,200,000. Also in 1988 the Dingles group company name was changed from E J Dingle & Co Ltd to House of Fraser (Twelve) Ltd, although the stores continued to trade as Dingles.
Since 2006 the Dingles name has been replaced by the national House of Fraser branding.


Institutional support for the queries on the independence of Catalonia

The Catalonian independence referendums of 2009–2010 have been carried out by civil society and the implications of public institutions for their organizations are persecuted by the Spanish State. But several city councils and comarcal councils have approved motions in favor of this referendum to be called a civil organization, supporting them in this way without violating the laws.


Mitsui family

The is one of the most powerful families of merchants and industrialists in Japan.
The Mitsui enterprise made its debut in 1673 when Mitsui Takatoshi (1622–1694), son of a sake brewer, established Echigo-ya, a dry goods department store in both Edo and Kyoto. Meeting with great success, Takatoshi extended his services to moneylending and exchange. In 1691 the Mitsuis were officially chartered as merchants of the Tokugawa shogunate, which ruled during that time. Three years later the family members set up their first constitution, which included details about the amount of property due to each branch as well as the duties of the family council, a periodical assembly that controlled business and other personal matters.
In the late Edo period, the Mitsuis were the richest and most eminent family in Japan, their business being thoroughly encouraged by the government of the time. After the Meiji Restoration, the family switched allegiance to the Meiji government.
In 1909, a Mitsui controlled holding company took over the business, with Mitsui thus becoming a zaibatsu of more than 150 companies operating financial, industrial and commercial industries.
Controversy.
As part of the Japanese plans for the exploitation of China, during the 1930s and 1940s the subsidiary tobacco industry of Mitsui zaibatsu had started production of special "Golden Bat" cigarettes using the then-popular in the Far East trademark. Their circulation was prohibited in Japan and was used only for export. Local Japanese secret service under the controversial Imperial Japanese Army General Kenji Doihara had the control of their distribution in China and Manchuria where the full production was exported. In the mouthpiece of each cigarette a small dose of opium was concealed, and by this subterfuge millions of unsuspecting consumers became drug addicted simultaneously creating huge profits. The mastermind of the plan, Doihara, was prosecuted and convicted for war crimes before the International Military Tribunal for the Far East, sentenced to death in "pursued a systematic policy of weakening the native inhabitants' will to resist ... by directly and indirectly encouraging the increased production and importation of opium and other narcotics and by promoting the sale and consumption of such drugs among such people"; but no actions ever took place against the company which profited from their production. According to testimony presented at the Tokyo War Crimes trials in 1948, the revenue from the narcotization policy in China, including Manchukuo, was estimated in 20 to 30 million yen per year, while another authority stated during the trial that the annual revenue was estimated by the Japanese military at US$300 million a year, a colossal amount for the time.
During World War II several of the Mitsui group companies, including Mitsui-Miike mining, used Allied prisoners of war as slave labor, during which the prisoners were subjected to brutal treatment and torture, while some of them were permanently maimed by Mitsui employees. One of the surviving prisoners, United States citizen Lester Tenney, sued Mitsui in 1999 for punitive damages and compensation. Federal judge dismissed the case, citing the 1951 peace treaty between the U.S. and Japan that barred private claims against Japan.
By the end of the war the Mitsui group included more than 270 companies. After the group was dissolved by the occupation forces at the end of war, the companies started to reassociate again in 1950, creating a corporate grouping, or "keiretsu".
A multinational group.
Today the group counts dozens of multinational companies in fields such as trade, banking, shipping, construction, mining, oil and gas, insurance, chemicals and real estate development. The three main branches are:


Sareb

Sareb is the bad bank of the Spanish government. Its purpose is to manage and disinvest high-risk assets that were transferred to it from the four nationalized Spanish financial institutions (BFA-Bankia, Catalunya Banc, NGC Banco-Banco Gallego and Banco de Valencia). The company was formed in 2012.
The main drivers of the 2008–2014 financial crisis in Spain were the weaknesses, lending practices and failures of the savings banks in Spain. It had its roots prior to 2008 which the credit crunch and sovereign crisis have exacerbated. With the Spanish Royal Decree-Law 24/2012 of 31 August 2012, Sareb was created. The Fund for Orderly Bank Restructuring (FROB) held a majority shareholding of the financial institutions which in the judgement of the Bank of Spain require restructuring or winding up in accordance with Spanish Law 9/2012 (Banco Mare Nostrum, CEISS, Caja3 and Liberbank). Private shareholders own 55% of Sareb and the remaining 45% is held by the FROB.
The creation of a separate asset resolution entity was an idea proposed by foreign specialists. Their proposals were initially contested and resisted by the Spanish authorities but later accepted as being the appropriate response to the crisis
Sareb was established as a condition set by the European Union in exchange for aid of up to 100 billion euros to the Spanish banking sector. It was designed and developed from the work of three independent specialists: Oliver Wyman, BlackRock and European Resolution Capital (ERC).
Sareb functions as a bad bank, acquiring property development loans from Spanish banks in return for government bonds, primarily with a view to improving the availability of credit in the economy. Over the 15 years Sareb has to dispose of all of its assets, its main objective will be to maximise its profitability. However, it does not possess a banking license. Sareb enjoys legal advantages which do not apply to other Spanish limited liability companies (Spanish: "Sociedad Anónima"), such as status as a preferential creditor for subordinated debt over other creditors. The Spanish central bank is to establish the exact price of assets transferred to the institution by Spanish banks.
History.
On 31 August 2012 the Spanish government approved a Royal Decree-Law creating a bad bank. The law established that the FROB had the administrative power to oblige financial institutions to transfer to an asset management company (Sareb) certain assets: particularly impaired assets and assets which could be considered a threat to the viability of an institution. The aim is to remove the assets from the balance sheets of the institutions to allow them to be independently managed. The asset management company may issues bonds and securities recognising or giving rise to debt. The law establishes that the assets are to be transferred to the asset management company without any need for consent from third parties. Prior to transfer the Bank of Spain will determine the value of the assets based on appraisal reports.
For several years prior to 2008, the Spanish authorities had decided to ignore the problems associated with the cajas. These problems were essentially due to easy access at low borrowing costs which facilitated uneconomic lending practices, overly encouraged by local and regional governments. This provisional of 'loose money' fueled the growth of the property and constructions sectors of the economy; eventually leading to an unsustainable overexposure to these sectors at classic speculative bubble. The scale of impaired and bad debts were masked by the initial growth and then exposed by the effects of The combination of the global Credit Crunch and then Sovereign Crisis of the Eurozone which revealed these domestic problems and the scale threatened the Spanish economy. The Spanish authorities and successive governments refused to tackle the widespread and increasing insolvency issue. Piecemeal actions were taken as individual cajas entered insolvency and administration under FROB (such as Unicam) at huge costs to taxpayers or were forced by mergers into non-viable entities, such as Bankia (which itself eventually collapsed).
The Spanish authorities changed position as the two-phase refinancing failed. The weaker banks remained exposed. Three specialist firms provided assistance to the Spanish authorities.
A bad bank and associated asset management structure was designed and put in place to resolve the rapidly increasing book of toxic property loan by establishing price and a process of resolution. In addition, a set of policies were enacted between competing ministries as well as the appointment of a new governor-general for the central bank (Banca de Espana).
This initiative was already being demanded by housing developers enable a flow of credit from financial institutions. This measure is considered fundamental by the People's Party government to the process of restructuring the Spanish banking system and reactivating the country's real estate market. This assumption failed since the flow of credit has already not recovered as of 2017, more bank failures have occurred, and government's financial aid to banks have mounted since then.
Structure.
Investors and shareholders.
In a press release issued on 17 December 2012, it was announced that Sareb had obtained 100% of its opening capital from 14 new investors, most of whom are private shareholders (55%), with the remainder coming from public capital (45%). The private shareholders are eight Spanish banks: Ibercaja, Bankinter, Unicaja, Cajamar, Caja Laboral, Banca March, Cecabank and Banco Cooperativo Español; two foreign banks: Deutsche Bank and Barclays Bank; and four insurers: Mapfre, Mutua Madrileña, Catalana Occidente and Axa. Six further banks later also became shareholders: the Santander Group, Caixabank, Banco Sabadell, Banco Popular, Kutxabank and Banco Caminos, along with the electricity company Iberdrola. From the end of 2012 to early 2013, the insurers Generali, Zurich, Seguros Santa Lucía, Reale, Pelayo Seguros and Asisa invested in the company through purchases of subordinated debt. Private investors have contributed 2.6 billion euros in capital and subordinated debt and the FOBR has contributed a further 2.2 billion.
Board of directors.
The board of directors consists of Belén Romana as chairwoman of Sareb and Walter de Luna as general manager. The rest of the board consists of eight proprietary directors (Rodolfo Martín Villa, Ana María Sánchez Trujillo, Remigio Iglesias, Antonio Massanell, Francisco Sancha, Miquel Montes, Antonio Trueba, Iker Beraza Perez, and José Ramón Montserrat) and five independent directors (Javier Trillo, Luis Sánchez-Merlo, Celestino Pardo, José Ramón Álvarez Rendueles and Emiliano López Achurra).
Acquisitions.
Before the end of 2012 Sareb acquired assets from four institutions (Bankia, Catalunya Banc, Novagalicia and Banco de Valencia) amounting to around 40 billion euros, in accordance with the restructuring plans approved by the European Commission on 28 November 2012.
In the first quarter of 2013 Sareb received assets from a second group, increasing capital and issuing subordinated debt in order to do so.
Financial plan.
Sareb aims to make a profit of 15% over its 15-year life, focusing on selling packages of assets at the best possible time to maximise their value.
Sareb manages real estate assets with a value of 40 billion euros, although they were recognised in the accounts of the transferring entities at 80 billion euros, implying impairment of 53%. At the start of 2013 the total assets under management rose to 55 billion euros following the acquisition of assets from 'Group 2' banks: Liberbank, CEISS, Banco Mare Nostrum and Caja3.
ECB comments.
On December 14, 2012, the European Central Bank (ECB) sent a report on Sareb, signed by its vice president, Vítor Constâncio, to the Spanish Ministry of the Economy in response to a request from the Spanish Secretary of State for Economic Affairs and Business Support for an opinion on the draft Royal Decree on the legal regime for asset management companies. Although the report was favourable it proposed limitations on dividend payments to ensure payment of the state-guaranteed debt used in the financing of Sareb. The report also warned of potential conflicts of interest at the shareholder banks and favoured vendor financing of assets.
The other point that the ECB focused on was how to facilitate potential purchases.
The ECB stated that it considered it would be easier to recover the value of the assets from the bad bank if they were grouped and managed by independent specialists and favoured separation of assets as a means to boost the system's credit capacity.
Background, the 2008 Spanish real estate crisis.
The first bad bank in Spain was created by Caja de Ahorros y Pensiones de Barcelona. By transforming Microbank into Criteriabank the creation of Caixabank was made possible, which excluded the real estate assets included in Criteria 2.0 Inmobiliaria. This bad bank, which is unlisted, took on both Servihabitat, a subsidiary operating in the real estate sector and the interests in Inmobiliaria Colonial and Metrovacesa, as well as much of the industrial portfolio : Gas Natural, Agbar, Abertis, Port Aventura and Mediterránea.
In mid-November 2011 BBVA created a unit in which it planned to accumulate 30 billion euros in real estate assets, representing 80% of such assets.
The institution born from the merger of the Galician savings banks created a bad bank with their toxic assets, bringing together 11.15 billion euros of loans, of which 3 billion corresponds to mortgage loans for land and 1.9 billion has no associated mortgage. Following the Bank of Spain's appraisal, which reduced the opening capital from 1.71 billion euros to just 181 million, the former savings bank was left with 6.8% of Novagalicia Banco.
In the opinion of the professor of the University of Valencia Joaquín Maudos, "the creation of a bad bank, by any means, is key to breaking the credit crunch."
Under the Irish model, the banking sector would transfer its assets to the state and receive in exchange government debt which could be used to obtain liquidity from the ECB and thus enable the sector to extend loans. Ireland broke its credit crunch, but many institutions went bankrupt and were nationalised with government debt. Under the German model, the state pays the banking sector the price on their balance sheets, minus any provisions made. In exchange, the sector assumes the risk that it will take some time for assets to return to the prices at which they were bought, with a distant cut-off set beyond which the institutions will assume the drop in value. In this model, the institutions agree to extend as much credit as they receive in aid.
Pedro Pablo Villasante, general secretary of the Spanish Banking Association () considers that the creation of a bad bank would be viable to assist unviable institutions, on the condition that they would accept to be absorbed by more solvent Spanish or foreign institutions.
The Platform for Nationalisation of Savings Banks () considers that the new rectifications made by the Spanish government, allowing public funds to injected into financial institutions in exchange for toxic assets, will be beneficial for the banking sector and detrimental for Spanish citizens.
The first attempt - real estate companies.
Luis de Guindos indicated that, since there would be no public money "The government won't create a bad bank, or anything of the sort".
Having ruled out the option of a bad bank Mariano Rajoy's government searched for a place where institutions could deposit real estate assets, many of which are covered by provisions, with the intention of selling them in the long term. This vehicle would not be a bad bank because it would not have a financial business. Real estate divisions were not suitable either, as they would be consolidated in balance sheets.
It was decided that banks would transfer their assets following an appraisal.
Theoretically, in being freed of the asset, the financial institution is also freed from the associated risk, and would thus no longer consume capital and would be able to extend loans to customers.
Spain is acting differently from the rest of Europe and the United States. In these areas the bad banks were created first, and then the financial system was recapitalised.
The government of José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero and the Bank of Spain believed the financial regulations in place before the crisis would act as a buffer, which did not exist in any other country. The buffer, however, proved insufficient.
The Spanish stock market crash in April 2012 reflected a failure of the reforms implemented by De Guindos to restore confidence in the country's financial sector. The key issue is the price at which the assets are bought and who will assume the loss. The European bailout fund will also need to make a contribution, perhaps of 100,000 million.
A bad bank or an asset management company?
The text agreed between Spain and the Eurogroup in the early hours of Tuesday 10 July 2012 included a commitment by the Spanish government to undertake substantial reforms of the country's financial sector. This reform, overseen by the European Central Bank, the European Commission and the International Monetary Fund includes the creation of a bad bank to group all of the toxic real estate assets weighing down banks' balance sheets.
This bad bank will receive funding from the European Union via two different means: a capital injection into the FOBR from the European bailout fund and acceptance by the ECB of the bonds issued as payment for supposedly impaired assets. Spain will thus have an additional 20 to 50 billion euros to finance the bad bank, which will become a vehicle for the government and the financial institutions to group the financial sector's undesirable assets and later sell them.
Any institution that receives EU funds of any sort will be required to transfer its assets to the bad bank. The transfer prices for the assets have yet to be set and the Spanish authorities will submit a proposal at the end of August to create the entity. which will start operating from November.
For Spain to receive a bailout of its banking system, 32 short-term conditions have been set. One of these conditions, number 7, refers to the bad bank. At the end of August the governing regulations must be ready, and by November it must be operational:
The new governor of the Bank of Spain, Luis María Linde, started work immediately, as he stated when appeared in the Congress of Deputies, assuring the house that the possibility of creating a bad bank or toxic asset management company was being studied. The governor of the Bank of Spain stated that he was working on the project but did not have the necessary skills to manage it.
The 30 billion euros from the FOBR will be distributed between Bankia, CatalunyaCaixa, Novagalicia Banco and Banco de Valencia.
Creation.
Spain's Ministry of the Economy took the first step on 25 August 2012 by setting out the plans for the bad bank, as was agreed with the European Troika formed by the European Central Bank, European Commission and International Monetary Fund.
The FOBR has therefore contracted the services of Álvarez & Marsal, the consultancy firm which oversaw the winding up of Lehman Brothers, which specialises in problem solving. According to Expansión, the firm in turn hired Nomura, PwC and Cuatrecasas.


Moraine Assembly

Moraine Assembly was a General Motors automobile factory in Moraine, Ohio, United States, a suburb of Dayton. A Frigidaire appliance plant had originally operated on the site from 1951 to 1979. Starting in 1981, the Chevrolet S-10 small pickup was produced. This same model was produced by Shreveport Assembly. In 1987 through 1994 the plant produced the rolling chassis for the Grumman LLV Postal Vehicle. From 2001 through 2008, the plant produced the GMT360 SUVs. The plant was closed in December 2008. In 2014, the facilities were acquired by Fuyao Glass to produce glass for vehicles.
Plant closure.
On June 3, 2008, GM Chairman Rick Wagoner announced that the Moraine plant would close in December, citing high fuel prices and decreased demand for the SUV and trucks produced by the plant. There were no plans to reconfigure the plant to produce other products. The last vehicle that rolled off the line was a white GMC Envoy.
Workers at the plant in Moraine were given a letter on October 3, 2008, informing them that the plant would close in December. It stated that the final day of production would be December 23. At that time, the plant employed 2400 people.
Originally, General Motors had planned several shutdown weeks in December. However, Lee said there would be no temporary shutdowns and the plant would operate until December 23. IUE-CWA President Jim Clark said, "IUE-CWA is deeply disappointed in General Motor's refusal to keep the Moraine Assembly plant open. The announcement that the plant will be closed much earlier than initially stated will further hurt our members, their families and a Dayton community already rocked by plant closings and layoffs."
Fuyao Glass.
In 2014, GM Moraine Assembly was purchased from IRG by China-based Fuyao Glass Industry Group Co. Ltd. Fuyao manufactures automotive glass for GM and other automakers. Operations at the Fuyao plant began in late 2015. Fuyao Glass America's first customer was Hyundai Motor Company; additional clients added since startup include GM, Volkswagen, Fiat Chrysler, BMW, Honda, and US replacement-glass chain Safelite. The Fuyao plant employs over 2,000 workers. Carillon Historical Park in Dayton displays the final SUV made at Moraine Assembly next to the first windshield made by Fuyao Glass America.
By the end of 2016 the plant brought an estimated $280 million to the Ohio economy. Fuyao has invested $1 billion in its U.S. subsidiary, with long-term plans to grow to 5,000 employees in the United States.
In popular culture.
Moraine Assembly's closing is the subject of the HBO short documentary, "". It was filmed by local directors Julia Reichert and Steve Bognar with the help of several Moraine Assembly workers. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary (Short Subject) in 2009.
The Fuyao Glass plant is the focus of Netflix's "American Factory", also made by Reichert and Bognar. It is the first film distributed by President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama's production company, Higher Ground Productions.


Food Basics (American supermarket)

Food Basics was a no-frills discount supermarket chain owned and operated by The Great Atlantic & Pacific Tea Company in the northeastern United States.
Food Basics carried major national brands, as well as A&P's portfolio of private labels, including "America's Choice", A&P's flagship private label, "Food Basics" and "Home Basics", "Live Better", and "Green Way". The stores also included brands usually not carried by other A&P family stores.
Food Basics, like the rest of A&P’s operations, was liquidated and closed in 2015. The name and trademark was purchased by Allegiance Retail Services, which also purchased the name and trademark for Food Basics’ former corporate sibling Pathmark.
History.
Canadian origins.
The Food Basics concept began in 1995, in Canada, where it was launched by A&P's Canadian subsidiary. As of 2009, the two chains were no longer connected, as the Canadian Food Basics stores are now owned and operated by Metro Inc., which purchased A&P's Canadian stores.
Bringing Food Basics to America.
In 2001, A&P brought the Food Basics concept to the U.S., reopening its closed A&P supermarket in Passaic, New Jersey, as its first Food Basics in the US. A&P was pleased with the results and within several months of opening the Passaic store, A&P decided to expand the Food Basics banner into nearby Paterson, and renovated an A&P store there.
A part of A&P's history.
Some of the new Food Basics stores had been part of the A&P family for decades, including the Paterson store mentioned above, with A&P's former Atlantic Regional headquarters nearby; in fact, before a separate building was constructed in the 1970s, A&P operated its store inside the headquarters building.
Other Food Basics stores, such as the Wallington, New Jersey, Food Basics store, became part of A&P when the chain purchased Stop & Shop's New York Metro division in 1982.
The shopping bag policy.
From its beginning, American Food Basics stores followed the same business plan as the Canadian stores; no in-store bakery or deli, some locations had no in-store butcher and customers were not given free plastic bags. In the latter case, customers were encouraged to bring their own bags, with a small discount for each bag used, or use cardboard boxes provided for free. A sturdier plastic bag than a typical supermarket shopping bag was available to customers for a small fee.
In the US, this was not a popular policy. Food Basics eventually stopped charging for shopping bags and started using the typical cheaply made plastic bags used by its competitors and its fellow A&P banner stores.
In its early years, all of Food Basics' stores in the United States had been small former A&Ps. In the mid-2000s, A&P expanded the Food Basics concept to larger stores, including a former A&P Food Market in North Bergen, New Jersey, a former Super Fresh Super Store in Northeast Philadelphia, a Pathmark Super Center in the Eastside section of Paterson (the city's second Food Basics store), and an A&P Super Foodmart in Bridgeport, CT.
In nearly all cases, the converted Food Basics stores were able to retain elements of the A&Ps they took over. The North Bergen and Paterson Eastside stores kept the pharmacy departments that their old stores had and were the only Food Basics to offer pharmacies. Five Food Basics kept the old stores' liquor licenses, with a sixth store selling only beer.
In 2006, A&P made changes to the Food Basics model, opening a prototype store in Glassboro, New Jersey. The newer format emphasized low pricing (or "best pricing"), fresh produce, cut meats, and a bakery. New signage, colors, and wide aisles were among the changes in the Glassboro store.
In 2014, A&P operated 10 Food Basics stores: seven in New Jersey, two in Philadelphia, and one in Brooklyn.
When A&P opted for liquidation in 2015, nine of the ten remaining Food Basics locations were sold to other operators. Key Food purchased several of these stores and rebranded the Paterson and Glen Rock, New Jersey stores under the Super Fresh banner, which was the name of A&P’s Philadelphia-area chain and which Key Food acquired in the bankruptcy auction for the company’s intellectual properties. The Passaic and Eastside Paterson stores were rebranded Gala Fresh, another Key Food brand concept, but neither store operates under this brand; the Eastside Paterson store rebranded as another Key Food marque, Food Universe, while the Passaic store was closed and subdivided; half of the store is now occupied by Dollar Tree and the other is home to that store’s sibling chain of variety stores, Family Dollar.


Richard T. Ely

Richard Theodore Ely (April 13, 1854 – October 4, 1943) was an American economist, author, and leader of the Progressive movement who called for more government intervention in order to reform what they perceived as the injustices of capitalism, especially regarding factory conditions, compulsory education, child labor, and labor unions.
Ely is best remembered as a founder and the first Secretary of the American Economic Association, as a founder and secretary of the Christian Social Union, and as the author of a series of widely read books on the organized labor movement, socialism, and other social questions.
Biography.
Early years.
Richard Theodore Ely was born on April 13, 1854, in Ripley, New York, the eldest of three children of Ezra Sterling and Harriet Gardner (Mason) Ely. Soon after Ely's birth, his father moved the family to a 90-acre farm near Fredonia, New York, where Ely would spend the next 16 years. The elder Ely was a self-taught engineer and lacked the skills and knowledge to farm successfully, relying too heavily on popular, sometimes erroneous, information he obtained from farm magazines.
Although harsh weather and fluctuating market prices provided further hardship to the family, Ely credited his early farm life with instilling in him many valuable qualities. From a young age he had numerous responsibilities in maintaining the farm, including carrying wood, churning butter, picking up rocks out of the fields, and milking the cows. His parents were Presbyterian but Ely transferred his affiliation to the Episcopal Church when in college.
Education and career.
Ely attended Columbia University in New York City, from which he received a bachelor's degree in 1876 and a master's degree in 1879. He received a Doctor of Philosophy degree in economics from the University of Heidelberg in that same year, where he had studied with Karl Knies, who belonged to the historical school of economics, and Johann Kaspar Bluntschli. He later received a Doctorate of Laws from Hobart College, receiving the degree in 1892.
Ely was a professor and head of the Department of Political Economy at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland from 1881 to 1892.
In 1885, Ely was a founder of the American Economic Association, serving until 1892 as the group's Secretary. He later served a term as President of the organization, holding that position from 1899 to 1901. The AEA Distinguished Lecture series was formerly known as the Richard T. Ely Lecture; it was re-named in 2020. Ely also founded Lambda Alpha International in 1930. Its purposes included the encouragement of the study of land economics in universities; the promotion of a closer affiliation between its members and the professional world of land economics; and the furtherance of the highest ideals of scholarship and honesty in business and the universities. Richard T. Ely is known as the "Father of Land Economics".
In April 1891, Ely was a founder and the first Secretary of the Christian Social Union, a membership organization advocating the application of Christian principles to the social problems of the world.
From 1892 until 1925, he was professor of Political Economy and director of the School of Economics, Political Science, and History at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. In 1894 an unsuccessful attempt was made by Oliver Elwin Wells, Superintendent of Public Instruction of Wisconsin and "ex officio" member of the University's Board of Regents to expel Ely from his chair at Wisconsin for purportedly teaching socialistic doctrines. This effort failed, with the Wisconsin state Board of Regents issuing a ringing proclamation in favor of academic freedom, acknowledging the necessity for freely "sifting and winnowing" among competing claims of truth.
In 1925, Ely moved to Northwestern University in Chicago, where he accepted a position as professor of Economics. He remained at Northwestern until his retirement in 1933.
Political views.
Although regarded as a radical by his detractors on the political right, Ely was in fact opposed to socialism. "I condemn alike," he declared, "that individualism that would allow the state no room for industrial activity, and that socialism which would absorb in the state the functions of the individual." He argued that socialism was not needed, and "the alternative of socialism is our complex socio-economic order, which is based, in the main, upon private property." He warned that the proper "balance between private and public enterprise" is "menaced by socialism, on the one hand, and by plutocracy, on the other."
Ely's critique of socialism made him a political target of the socialists themselves. In his 1910 book, "Ten Blind Leaders of the Blind", Arthur Morrow Lewis acknowledged that Ely was a "fair opponent" who had "done much to obtain a hearing for [socialism] among the unreasonable", but charged he was merely one of those "bourgeois intellectuals" who were "not sufficiently intellectual to grasp the nature of our position."
Ely was a product of the German historical school with an emphasis on evolution to new forms, and never accepted the marginalist revolution that was transforming economic theory in Britain and the U.S. He was strongly influenced by Herbert Spencer and strongly favored competition over monopoly or state ownership, with regulation to "secure its benefits" and "mitigate its evils". What was needed was "to raise its moral and ethical level." However, whereas Spencer believed that free competition was best served by deregulation and a smaller state, Ely believed that more regulation and a more interventionist state was the policy to follow. Also on social Darwinism, Spencer believed that the state should not get involved in supporting one ethnic group over another — whereas Ely believed that the state should support white "Nordic" people against people of other races (in line with the opinions of his colleagues at the University of Wisconsin, Edward Alsworth Ross and Charles R. Van Hise).
Ely favored eugenics, arguing the "unfit" should be kept from reproducing. Ely argued that blacks were "for the most part grownup children, and should be treated as such."
Ely did support labor unions and opposed child labor, as did many leaders of the Progressive Movement, and also some conservatives such as Mark Hanna. Ely was close to the Social Gospel movement, emphasizing that the Gospel of Christ applied to society as a whole, not merely to individuals; he worked hard to convince churches to advocate on behalf of workers. Ely strongly influenced his friend Walter Rauschenbusch, a leading spokesman for the Social Gospel.
During World War I, Ely worked to build popular support for the American war effort, taking part in the activities of the League to Enforce Peace. He headed the committee of arrangements for a "Win the War Convention" held in Madison from November 8–10, 1918. Ely's political activities during World War I included his campaign against Senator Robert M. La Follette. Although La Follette was a Progressive in politics, he did not support the war, and so Ely regarded him as unfit for office. Ely tried to have him removed from the United States Senate and end his influence in Wisconsin politics.
Ely edited Macmillan's "Citizen's Library of Economics, Politics, and Sociology" and its "Social Science Textbook Series" and Crowell's "Library of Economics and Politics", and was a frequent contributor to periodical literature, both scientific and popular.
Death and legacy.
Richard Ely died in Old Lyme, Connecticut on October 4, 1943. A large portion of his library was purchased by Louisiana State University and is now a part of LSU's Special Collections division.
Ely is honored together with William Dwight Porter Bliss with a feast day on the liturgical calendar of the Episcopal Church (USA) on October 8.
The American Economic Association instituted the annual "Richard T. Ely Lecture" in 1960 in his memory, which, unlike the Association's other honors is also open to non-American economists. It was re-named the AEA Distinguished Lecture series in 2020.
His former home, now known as the Richard T. Ely House, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The television series "Profiles in Courage" did an episode in 1964 titled "Richard T. Ely" about the "sifting and winnowing" incident. Ely was played by Dan O'Herlihy; Wells by Edward Asner; and Ely's attorney, former Congressman Burr Jones, by Leonard Nimoy.


Principal city

In the United States, a principal city is the core city in a metropolitan area. The largest city in each metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area is designated a "principal city." Additional cities qualify if specified requirements are met concerning population size and employment. The title of each metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area consists of the names of up to three of its principal cities and the name of each state into which the metropolitan or micropolitan statistical area extends.
In the United States and Puerto Rico, the Office of Management and Budget identifies principal cities for each Core Based Statistical Area (CBSA) and New England City and Town Area (NECTA). Principal cities are used primarily for naming CBSAs and NECTAs, as well as combined statistical areas and combined NECTAs.
Definition.
The largest incorporated place in a CBSA with a population of at least 10,000, or if no such incorporated place exists, the largest incorporated place or census-designated place in the CBSA is designated as the largest principal city. Additional principal cities can be included if they satisfy certain criteria depending on their population. These additional principal cities are: (a) incorporated or census-designated places that have a population of at least 250,000 in which the number of workers is 100,000 or more; (b) places with a population between 50,000 and 250,000 where the number of workers working in the place exceeds the number of working residents; and (c) places with a population between 10,000 and 50,000 where the number of workers working in the place exceeds the number of working residents and are at least one-third the population of the largest principal city. Principal cities encompass both incorporated places and census-designated places (CDPs). In addition to identifying the more significant places in each CBSA or NECTA in terms of population and employment, principal cities also are used in titling Metropolitan Divisions, Combined Statistical Areas, NECTA Divisions, and Combined NECTAs. The names of up to three principal cities are used in determining the title of the CBSA and NECTA. The first principal city named in the title is identified as the first principal city of the area.
Most recently on February 28, 2013, the Office of Management and Budget identified from one to 19 principal cities (in the Los Angeles metropolitan area) for each of the 929 CBSAs and 38 NECTAs of the United States and Puerto Rico.


INDIGO, Beijing

INDIGO, Beijing (), is a mixed use development in the Jiang Tai neighbourhood of Chaoyang District in Beijing, China. It comprises a large indoor shopping mall, a 25-storey office tower called One INDIGO, as well as a 369-room business and lifestyle hotel EAST, Beijing (北京东隅) run by Swire Hotels.
Location.
INDIGO, Beijing is located between the 4th and 5th ring roads in North Eastern Beijing, with the development located approximately a 15-minute drive from Beijing's Central Business District and a 15-minute drive from Beijing Capital International Airport. The development is also directly connected to Line 14 of the Beijing Metro, with visitors recommended to alight at exit C of Jiangtai station. INDIGO, Beijing is also easily accessible by public bus, with the closest bus stop Jiuxianqiao (酒仙桥), and is served by Beijing Bus numbers 401, 402, 408, 418, 621, 656, 659, 677, 688, 701, 909, 946, 955, 973, 976, 988, 991 and Yuntong 107.
History and construction.
Designed by architects Benoy, the centre officially opened in 2012 and was developed by Hong Kong-based Swire Properties and Sino-Ocean Group. The retail mall is approximately 940,000 sq ft (87,000 sqm) and features an outdoor park and a large indoor children's playground which is situated under a large glass roof. Large scale installations for Christmas and Chinese New Year are often installed here and are popular among local and expatriate families with young children In 2018, Indigo ran a NASA Neighborhood Earth experience in the outdoor park.
The hotel EAST, Beijing opened in late September 2012 and features paperless check-in as well as panoramic views.