Tag Archives: business
Banks Rediscover Love Of Solid But Dull Agri-Sector
Darragh McCullough – 17 October 2013 ‘You couldn’t walk a yard without hearing a fellow giving out about being turned down for a bank loan.” This was a typical comment at agricultural shows in recent years – until this year, that is. Several observers noted how little conversation the banks were generating at the Ploughing Championships this year. That’s a good sign. When the crunch came in 2008, every business was indiscriminately caught up in the paralysis that subsequently struck the banks. Solid agri-enterprises that had long-standing relationships with their bankers suddenly found their overdraft facilities being slashed and interminable delays in getting loans approved. Of course, farms were being treated no worse than any other business. There was also a small bubble of borrowing to be washed out of the agri-sector. The massive Farm Waste Management scheme that grant-aided a shed-building spree to the tune of 40pc led to a 25pc spike in overall borrowing in the sector for four short years. That has now fallen back to €4.5bn, according to the Central Bank. But the check in activity is much less pronounced than that in almost every other sector. Recent figures from the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) show that while lending to the agri-sector has fallen by 12pc since 2010, the equivalent figure for hotels, construction, retail, transport and professional services are all multiples of this value. Only manufacturing, with a fall of 7pc, had a lower value than agriculture. At least part of the reason for this is the general ramping up of the value and volume of output from Irish farms in the last few years. Booming food commodity prices are encouraging farmers to invest. Banks have suddenly rediscovered their love of the solid, if slightly dull, assets that underpin the sector. ESRI research shows that the agri-sector had the lowest rate of credit refusal, compared to any other. Indeed, it appears that farmers are enjoying some of the cosiest arrangements going in terms of their financing facilities. They paid the lowest rates of interest at an average 3.7pc, compared to 5.9pc for professional services, according to the ESRI report. “We suspect that this is due to the abundance of collateral these firms can offer as security in the form of both farmland and equipment as well as to the availability of risk-free income streams through EU subsidy supports,” commented the ESRI researchers. The average farm loan currently stands at €78,000, but in reality a huge proportion of farms have no borrowings at all. It is only the intensive pig, poultry, cereal, fruit and vegetable growers along with dairy and a handful of beef farmers that have the cashflows to allow any form of regular borrowing. The dairy sector is the one that interests the banks most at the moment, with 18,000 operators, most of whom are viable operations with one eye on expansion when quotas go in 2015. Bankers know that indebtedness on most dairy farms is relatively low. A good farmer can handle borrowings of €4,000 per cow. In other dairy nations, both inside and outside the EU, the figure is often a multiple of this. So the Irish dairy farmer is a good bet. He’s the guy out there buying land at €10,000 an acre and securing loans at interest rates of 3.7pc. There is some concern about a possible dairy bubble forming on the back of the record prices that farmers are getting for their milk at the moment. The only hope is that our bankers have learned their lessons from the last party. Irish Independent Continue reading
Visitors express amazement at ‘Dubai 24 Hours’
Visitors express amazement at ‘Dubai 24 Hours’ Staff Reporter / 17 October 2013 Eid visitors indulge in 24-hour shopping, although spending isn’t as high as expected Spend, shop, then drop Families and visitors have expressed their amazement at ‘Dubai 24 Hours’, the non-stop shopping initiative that is operational at eight leading malls in the emirate as part of the ‘Eid in Dubai — Eid Al Adha’ celebrations. However, although footfalls in shopping malls are on the higher side during ‘Dubai 24 Hours’ people are not buying as much as retailers expected. ‘Dubai 24 Hours’ started at 10am on the first day of Eid Al Adha on October 15 and ends at 10am on the third day of Eid on October 17. The initiative provides shoppers 48 hours of non-stop shopping. Participating malls are — The Dubai Mall, Mall of the Emirates, Deira City Centre, Mirdif City Centre, Dubai Festival City Mall, Oasis Centre, Arabian Centre and Lamcy Plaza. “Yes it is very crowded. People are walking in and out of malls, but are they aren’t buying as much as we expected,” Fatima N, a sales clerk in The Dubai Mall told Khaleej Times. “I am doing longer shifts and it will only be worth it if there are enough customers. As of yesterday and the day before, the sales were just as usual,” she added. A few other retailers in some of these malls expressed similar views. “I think it depends on the sales at the stores. Some stores look more crowded than the others and I think the hardest brunt is on us storekeepers,” added Jerome Abuago, an employee of a store at Deira City Centre. The eight participating malls are offering extended shopping hours during the other days of the Eid in Dubai celebrations from 10am to 2am, and dining hours are running till 3am. The initiative is organised by the Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE), an agency of the Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM), from October 10 to October 19. Several other malls including Mercato, Ibn Battuta Mall, BurJuman, Dubai Outlet Mall, Al Ghurair Centre, Wafi and Times Square Centre are offering extended shopping hours during the ‘Eid in Dubai — Eid Al Adha’ celebrations from 10am till midnight with some of them staying opening into the wee hours of the morning. Official sources have stated that shoppers were unanimous in lauding the non-stop shopping initiative. Some of the shoppers that Khaleej Times spoke to said the night is a good reason and excuse for younger generations to stay out. Fouad Al Arbash from Kuwait is visiting Dubai with his family to celebrate Eid Al Adha. Fouad’s family of five daughters, a wife and grandchildren, visit Dubai frequently. “We were here last Eid and we loved it. The ‘Dubai 24 Hours’ shopping experience is a brilliant idea. It’s great to have enough time to shop, and we wouldn’t mind shopping till the morning. However, we have children so we need to get some rest as tomorrow is yet another busy day for us. We plan to shop till 3am.” “The younger generations are the happiest. Look at them, out till 3am and parents are calm because mall environments are obviously safe. For adults its one in the same, but yes, for shopping we do go to stores that have the best sales,” said Keshav Manichandani, an Indian national and resident of Dubai. Fahad Al Baraz, with his wife and daughter, have also come from Kuwait after hearing the ‘Dubai 24 Hours’ shopping experience is back. “My wife loves to shop and my daughter loves to play. Despite the crowds we do enjoy our time during the ‘Eid in Dubai — Eid Al Adha’ celebrations and all that it offers”. Driving to Dubai from Riyadh, Ibrahim Mohammed Nasser and his family were here from day one of the celebrations, which commenced on October 10. “We always come to Dubai, but it’s the first time we visited the city during Eid Al Adha. The ‘Dubai 24 Hours’ shopping experience is really a great initiative. We come here mainly to shop and dine. Yet, my five children come first, so they get priority in terms of locations. Most of the malls have wonderful places of entertainment, and my children just love it. They know where they want to go, and the longer time they spend the better they feel about their holiday. I love to see them enjoying their time off from school while my wife is busy shopping endlessly”. From Jeddah, Um Nujjoud came to Dubai with her three children and her sister and nephews. “The last time we visited Dubai was eight years ago. When we heard about ‘Eid in Dubai — Eid Al Adha’ celebrations we decided to live the experience. As you can see I am thoroughly enjoying my shopping. I just love the mix of brands at the malls.” Ludmiala Gurbativuk and her daughter Kate were on a shopping spree at the Mall of the Emirates. “We are so tired but we need to shop till we drop because we’re only staying for a week. We love to shop here and we will probably keep on shopping till dawn. This is a great idea and tourists like us need it”. Sayed Nasser, who lives in Dubai with his wife and three boys, said: “It’s an awesome experience, and foremost going out to malls unites us as a family, and the longer the better as we get to spend more time with our boys. Although one tends to spend a lot of money, the shopping experience is worthwhile”. Sharjah-based resident Anith, who was visiting Dubai with and his family, said: “My brother came over from Doha to stay with us. We wanted him to go through the experience of non-stop shopping. We are here to shop and entertain”. news@khaleejtimes.com Continue reading
Renewable Fuel Standard Needs to Be Modified, Not Repealed, Experts Say
Oct. 15, 2013 — Congress should minimally modify — and not, as petroleum-related interests have increasingly lobbied for, repeal — the Renewable Fuel Standard, the most comprehensive renewable energy policy in the U.S., according to a new paper from two University of Illinois researchers. In the study, U. of I. law professor Jay P. Kesan and Timothy A. Slating, a regulatory associate with the Energy Biosciences Institute, argue that RFS mandates merely ought to be adjusted to reflect current and predicted biofuel commercialization realities. “The RFS is the first and only federal policy that directly mandates the use of renewable energy in the worthwhile effort to displace the use of fossil fuels for our energy needs,” said Kesan, who also is the principal investigator for the Biofuel Law and Regulation project at the institute. “As with any pioneering regulatory regime, unforeseen implementation issues will arise,” Kesan said. “But this does not justify throwing out the baby with the bath water. Every effort should be made to keep the RFS in place, but efforts should also be made to revise its regulatory regime to make it operate as efficiently as possible.” In the paper, Kesan and Slating contend that the RFS can serve as a “model policy instrument” for the federal support of all types of socially beneficial renewable energy technologies. “By mandating a market for emerging biofuels, it sends a clear signal that if they are produced, they will be effectively commercialized,” said Slating, who also is an adjunct professor in the law school. “This, in turn, provides the necessary certainty to free up credit constraints and incentivize investment in the socially beneficial biofuels industry. Additionally, it does so with very little impact on the federal budget because regulated parties bear its costs.” “While the federal government has traditionally incentivized renewable energy development through tax credits and funding R&D grants, these approaches are more costly than simply mandating a market,” said Kesan, who also holds U. of I. appointments in the College of Business, the Institute for Genomic Biology, the department of electrical and computer engineering, and the department of agricultural and consumer economics. The researchers also contend that the biofuel categories of the RFS ought to be expanded to encompass all emerging biofuel technologies, as well as having its biomass sourcing constraints relaxed. But while the current RFS policy is by no means flawless, and some of the current implementation issues would necessitate statutory changes, the authors say it would be more efficient for these changes to be made by the Environmental Protection Agency, as opposed to Congress. “We recommend that Congress simply amend the RFS’ statutory provisions to grant the EPA the authority to address its implementation issues via the regulatory rulemaking process,” Kesan said. “For example, the RFS’s volumetric mandates need to be adjusted to reflect current biofuel production realities. But since Congress has demonstrated an inability to properly set these mandates in the past, it would be more efficient for the EPA to set the RFS mandates for future years through a formal rulemaking process with input from all affected stakeholders.” “It’s clearly a step in the right direction that the EPA has finally initiated rulemaking to address the issue of RIN fraud and help promote liquidity in the RIN market,” Slating said. RIN stands for renewable identification number, a number assigned to a given amount of biofuel by the EPA so that its production, use and trading can be tracked. Although the biggest issue with traditional biofuels usually can be reduced to the food vs. fuel argument, the researchers stress that if the RFS is successful in achieving its goals, it will usher in the use of emerging biofuels that will have significantly less impact on food-related markets. “The ultimate goal of the RFS is to incentivize the increased commercialization of second-generation biofuels, such as cellulosic biofuels that do not rely on food-related feedstocks for their production,” Slating said. “But in order to efficiently accomplish this goal, the RFS also must continue to incentivize the use of first-generation biofuels like corn ethanol.” “In the short-term, if any food vs. fuel tradeoffs result from the RFS’ implementation, they will likely be minimal and probably justified in order to effectuate the long-term goal of facilitating the widespread adoption of second-generation biofuels.” Kesan and Slating’s study also notes that the RFS has only been fully implemented in its current form for three years, and legislatively revising it in an overly reactionary manner would be ill advised at this point. “Stakeholders and markets must be given time to adjust to the existing regime before serious and informed discussion about significantly altering the RFS, beyond what we propose, can be had,” Kesan said. “Likewise, you’ve got to allow some time for the maturation of this pioneering and socially beneficial renewable energy policy.” The research will be published in a forthcoming issue of the New York University Environmental Law Journal. The Energy Biosciences Institute, supported in part by BP, funded the study. Continue reading
