AFP

Donna Corrigan pops into her local supermarket to pay OneBanks a visit, laden with a heavy box of coins to deposit into her bank account.

After the closure of its last bank branch in 2018, the Scottish town of Denny has welcomed a hi-tech startup offering everyday banking services inside the town’s Co-op grocery store.

Looking onto shelves filled with Heinz baked beans and Kinder Surprise chocolate eggs, OneBanks’ kiosk — comprising staffed counter services, a cash machine and two computer tablets — opened in late 2020.

The kiosk offers Denny’s 8,000 inhabitants an alternative to traditional bank branches after the rise of online banking allowed lenders battered by the global financial crisis more than a decade ago to save costs by permanently closing outlets.

This is continuing to occur in big numbers.

Among Britain’s biggest banks, HSBC and Lloyds last month said they would close a further 129 branches combined as customers increasingly switched to online banking during the pandemic.

OneBanks, which has raised around five million pounds ($6.6 million, six million euros) from various investors, acts as a go-between for more than 30 banks and their customers.

– ‘Like a regular bank’ –

The OneBanks kiosk “can do everything — it’s like a regular bank for me”, Corrigan, 40, told AFP.

“I’m not a business, I’m just a normal customer who just wants to withdraw cash. So it’s useful for me.”

Behind the counter, a staff member drops spare change into a money-counting machine while making small talk.

OneBanks gives customers physical access to banking services for free. Banks subscribe to the startup’s services to connect with their clients.

Customers can deposit or withdraw cash and pay bills, while advisors provide help to the less tech-savvy.

The disappearance of Denny’s banks left inhabitants with a 20-minute drive to the nearest branches in Cumbernauld, Falkirk or Stirling near to Glasgow.

British consumer group Which? predicts about 5,000 UK bank branches, around half the total, will have disappeared between 2015 and 2022, with Scotland worst affected.

– Dependent on cash –

Swathes of Britain’s population remain dependent on cash, despite the surging popularity of both internet use and contactless payments during the coronavirus pandemic.

The Royal Society of Arts charity estimates almost 20 percent of Britons — particularly the elderly and those in rural areas — would find it hard to cope without cash.

Yet in Denny’s neighbouring town of Bridge of Allan, there is not a branch in sight.

The last bank “closed about four years ago”, said hardware store manager Jennifer Wilson.

“A lot of our customers prefer to pay in cash to keep an eye on what they’re spending,” she added.

Wilson takes 40 percent of payments in cash.

– ‘Cold and sterile’ –

Retired university professor Richard Kilborn laments the lack of human contact now that Bridge of Allan’s three branches have vanished.

“As a member of the older generation, you get used to certain changes, but I also actually relished the person-to-person contact within the bank,” he told AFP.

“Now things have become cold and sterile.”

OneBanks hopes to change that with plans to roll out about 15 additional UK banking kiosks by the end of the year, on top of the three that it has in Scotland.

The group also has international ambitions.

“The problem that banks have — in terms of needing to close branches but also still needing to have some sort of physical presence — is a global problem,” OneBanks founder and chief executive Duncan Cockburn told AFP.

“And therefore I really do see OneBanks as a global solution.”

The broader UK finance sector is working towards addressing the problem.

Top lenders like Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds and NatWest have agreed to fund alternative solutions.

The industry tested various options including OneBanks kiosks. It also wants to improve post office facilities and has trialled banking hub services in conjunction with lenders.

Lab-made diamonds, recycled plastic and 3D printing: this year’s Geneva watch fair was teeming with timepieces crafted from new materials, aimed at seducing a new generation of luxury watch connoisseurs.

H. Moser, a niche brand producing 2,000 watches a year for wealthy collectors, this year presented a watch covered in Vantablack, a super-black coating that absorbs nearly all light.

Perched against a black background, the watch, which is still in the concept stage, creates the illusion of a black hole, with only the coloured hands visible to the naked eye.

The material, consisting of carbon nanotubes and made by NanoSystems, is considered the darkest pigment in the world.

“I wanted to bring something different than what will be on display in shop windows three months from now,” company chief Edouard Meylan told AFP at the Watches and Wonders fair.

“I wanted to show the future of materials,” he said adding that he had aimed to provide a view to how the watch industry might look five years down the line. 

While the luxury brand has already used Vantablack in its clock faces, this exhibit model is completely covered.

For now, it cannot be touched since the material could lose its properties. More work is needed before it can actually be worn.

– Handcrafted technology –

Black is in high demand this year with new luxury virtuosos, according to Vincent Gregoire, who heads men’s fashion and accessories for the Parisian fashion consultancy NellyRodi.

“This is a clientele that wants beauty, hyper-luxury, with materials of the future, full of technology, but expertly handcrafted,” he said.

Their taste evokes the “Anish Kapoor universe”, he said, referring to the British sculptor who sparked a scandal in 2016 when he bought the exclusive right to use Vantablack in the art field.

A new generation of luxury lovers is emerging, Gregoire said, including a category of “agitators” who are fans of street culture and salvaging, and who want to use their purchasing power for “activist action”.

At a stand dedicated to innovation, the Oris brand is showing off how it recycles plastic waste, shredding it to make a material that resembles multi-coloured marble for its clock faces.

– Lab diamonds-

Tag Heuer, owned by French luxury group LVMH, has meanwhile broken an industry taboo by, for the first time, using diamonds made in a laboratory in one of its flagship models.

These diamonds, crafted from chemical deposits, have not been used to replace their shiny, mine-derived peers.

Instead, they have been chosen to explore how the new technology, which can produce uniquely shaped stones, can provide the dial with a new light-catching texture.

The brand hopes this new technology will allow it to explore new possibilities while remaining firmly anchored in high-end luxury. 

This watch carries a price tag of 350,000 Swiss francs ($380,000, 345,000 euros).

“Lab diamonds have a place in the market,” said Tobias Kormind, head of online jewellery retailer 77Diamonds, enthusing over the watch displayed on Tag Heuer’s website.

“People buy lab diamonds for many reasons, some for affordability reasons, some for environmental reasons,” he said.

He stressed though that “over the long term, natural diamonds are the ones that remain rare and investable.”

Cartier’s stand certainly sparkles with plenty of natural diamonds.

But the jeweller, owned by Richemont, has also dabbled in new technologies this year.

Using 3D printing, it has created a new collection called “Coussin”, with a casing that cedes slightly to pressure before plumping back to its initial shape, like the cushion it is named after.

Oil prices extended gains Tuesday on the prospect of further sanctions on Russia for alleged “atrocities” in some occupied Ukrainian cities, while equities edged up after a rally in New York and Europe.

European Union officials were discussing new measures against Moscow after reports — denied by the Kremlin — that troops had executed civilians.

Among the punishments could be a ban on imports of Russian crude, following a similar move by the United States and Britain.

White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan also signalled more US sanctions were on the way this week.

While Europe’s economy — particularly Germany’s — relies heavily on energy from Russia, the possibility of an embargo sent both main contracts sharply higher Monday, and they continued their rise in Asia, putting on more than one percent.

That pared some of the sharp losses seen Friday in reaction to a pledge by Washington and other major economies to unleash millions of barrels from their stockpiles to keep a lid on prices, which are fanning already high inflation.

It also offset an expected hit to demand in China from lockdowns in parts of the country — including Shanghai, the biggest city — sparked by a wave of Omicron outbreaks.

“In the wake of ‘Russian atrocities’ claims and the ensuing public outrage, there is a strong chance we could see another layer of sanctions on Russian energy,” said SPI Asset Management’s Stephen Innes. 

“The receptiveness on the part of Europe (including Germany) to refrain from importing Russian gas has put a bid under and should keep energy prices supported.”

The continued uncertainty caused by the war in Ukraine, and the blow to the global economy it is expected to deal, was unable to prevent another healthy performance on Wall Street, where the Nasdaq’s surge led all three main indexes higher.

“Despite all the concerns, equities remain the best bet to achieve returns above today’s elevated inflation,” said markets strategist Louis Navellier.

Trade was tepid in Asia, with Hong Kong, Shanghai and Taipei closed for holidays but most markets rose.

Tokyo, Sydney, Seoul, Singapore, Jakarta, Bangkok and Wellington were slightly up, though Mumbai and Manila dropped.

London, Paris and Frankfurt all opened on the front foot.

Traders will be keeping a close eye on the release this week of minutes from the Federal Reserve’s most recent policy meeting, hoping for an insight into officials’ thinking over monetary policy.

After last month’s expected 0.25 percentage point interest rate hike, there are increasing bets on a half-point lift in May in light of soaring inflation and strong jobs data that suggest the economy remains robust enough to absorb higher borrowing costs.

And National Australia Bank’s Tapas Strickland added: “Profit reporting season in the US kicks off next week and it will be interesting to see how firms are interpreting the tea leaves, and whether earnings guidance is revised down.”

– Key figures around 0720 GMT –

Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.2 percent at 27,787.98 (close)

Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: Closed for a holiday

Shanghai – Composite: Closed for a holiday

London – FTSE 100: UP 0.1 percent at 7,567.98

Brent North Sea crude: UP 1.6 percent at $109.20 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.6 percent at $104.93 per barrel

Euro/dollar: UP at $1.0984 from $1.0978 late Monday

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3142 from $1.3114

Euro/pound: DOWN at 83.56 pence from 83.65 pence

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 122.66 yen from 122.78 yen

New York – Dow: UP 0.3 percent at 34,921.88 (close)

Until recently, the incessant bustle of Ecuadoran banana plantations provided evidence of the industry’s robust export business. But from one week to the next, the groves have fallen silent — trade victims to a conflict half a world away.

Ecuador is the world’s largest banana exporter, but the sector has been hammered by the war in Ukraine. Now, with nowhere to send them, containers of the rotting fruit are piling up not far from where they were originally harvested.

“One in every five bananas produced in Ecuador goes to Ukraine and Russia,” said Franklin Torres, president of Ecuador’s FENABE banana producers federation.

“This war really affected us in that sense.”

The vast majority of that portion goes to Russia, where banana sales are worth $698 million a year to Ecuador, which usually sends almost two million boxes of bananas a week to the eastern European neighbors.

But due to international transport sanctions over its invasion of Ukraine, Russia is not receiving its cargos of bananas.

The conflict has put the brakes on production in El Triunfo, close to Guayaquil, the site of Ecuador’s main port..

“The banana producers are finished, I have not processed a single box for three weeks,” said Mireya Carrera, 62, the owner of the Thalia banana plantation.

“The staff are leaving on their own without being fired because I cannot pay them.”

She used to fill three containers with 3,000 20-kilogram (43-pound) boxes of bananas from her 28 hectare plantation.

“Now I have 7,000 bunches with no buyer,” she told AFP.

– ‘Price crisis’ –

The industry had already been hit by falling prices.

Torres said it costs $5.50 to produce a box of bananas, and even though the internal sales price is $6.25, “right now we’re receiving less than $2 for each box of bananas, we’re receiving $1 or $1.20.

“Truly it’s an insult to any type of business. What we’re receiving is shameful and it’s not even worth picking them.”

He said the industry has lost “more than $10 million in three weeks.”

“Every year we have the problem of low prices, but now it has become impossible to get a contract for bananas. I prefer to give them away,” said Carrera.

Seeing Ecuador’s surplus of bananas, other markets “have started reducing their price offers,” said Richard Salazar, president of the ACORBANEC association for banana commercialization and export.

According to Jose Antonio Hidalgo, director of the AEBE association of banana exporters, within a week of the war starting, the bananas destined for Russia and Ukraine needed a new market, “causing a price crisis.”

Around a million boxes have remained unsold in the last month.

Faced with the prospect of a surplus sending the domestic price plummeting, the banana business union decided to donate them to local food programs.

Ecuador has 160,000 hectares of banana plantations that in 2021 generated almost $3.5 billion in sales around the world.

The South American country has more than 260 banana exporters.

– Unrealistic utopia –

The banana industry generates 50,000 direct jobs and 250,000 indirect ones in Ecuador.

The war has already cost around 6,000 permanent employees their jobs, according to ACORBANEC.

The difficulties have also impacted he El Porvenir plantation in neighboring Puerto Inca, which neighbors Guayaquil.

Having sold a container with more than 1,000 boxes “what we received is to pay salaries,” said the plantation’s administrator Lourdes Cedeno.

El Porvenir already had to halve salaries in March as it was.

Banana producers, who protested in Guayaquil last week, want the government to help them out by buying their fruit for its food programs.

President Guillermo Lasso said that “is not realistic. We need to place them in other markets in the world.”

But for Salazar, “Putting them in other markets is utopian. There’s no other market in the world that can buy as much as Russia,” he said.

Oil prices extended gains Tuesday on the prospect of further sanctions on Russia for alleged “atrocities” in some occupied Ukraine cities, while equities struggled to build on a rally in New York and Europe.

European Union officials were discussing new measures against Moscow after reports — denied by the Kremlin — that troops had executed civilians.

Among the punishments could be a ban on imports of Russian crude, following a similar move by the United States and Britain.

White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan also signalled more US sanctions were on the way this week.

While Europe’s economy relies heavily on energy from Russia, the possibility of an embargo sent both main contracts sharply higher Monday, and they continued their rise in Asia, putting on more than one percent.

That pared some of the sharp losses seen Friday in reaction to a pledge by Washington and other major economies to unleash millions of barrels from their stockpiles to keep a lid on prices, which are fanning already high inflation.

It also offset an expected hit to demand in China from lockdowns in parts of the country — including Shanghai, the biggest city — sparked by a wave of Omicron outbreaks.

The continued uncertainty caused by the war in Ukraine, and the blow to the global economy it is expected to deal, was unable to prevent another healthy performance on Wall Street, where the Nasdaq’s surge led all three main indexes higher.

“Despite all the concerns, equities remain the best bet to achieve returns above today’s elevated inflation,” said markets strategist Louis Navellier.

However, trade was tepid in Asia, with Hong Kong, Shanghai and Taipei closed for holidays.

Tokyo, Sydney, Singapore, Jakarta and Wellington were slightly up, while Seoul and Manila dropped.

Traders will be keeping a close eye on the release this week of minutes from the Federal Reserve’s most recent policy meeting, hoping for an insight into officials’ thinking over monetary policy.

After last month’s expected 0.25 percentage point interest rate hike, there are increasing bets on a half-point lift in May in light of soaring inflation and strong jobs data that suggest the economy remains robust enough to absorb higher borrowing costs.

And National Australia Bank’s Tapas Strickland added: “Profit reporting season in the US kicks off next week and it will be interesting to see how firms are interpreting the tea leaves, and whether earnings guidance is revised down.”

– Key figures around 0200 GMT –

Tokyo – Nikkei 225: UP 0.1 percent at 27,756.54

Hong Kong – Hang Seng Index: Closed for a holiday

Shanghai – Composite: Closed for a holiday

Brent North Sea crude: UP 1.7 percent at $109.31 per barrel

West Texas Intermediate: UP 1.7 percent at $105.00 per barrel

Euro/dollar: DOWN at $1.0969 from $1.0978 late Monday

Pound/dollar: UP at $1.3117 from $1.3114

Euro/pound: DOWN at 83.62 pence from 83.65 pence 

Dollar/yen: DOWN at 122.60 yen from 122.78 yen

New York – Dow: UP 0.3 percent at 34,921.88 (close)

London – FTSE 100: UP 0.3 percent at 7,558.92 (close)

The newly installed interim chief executive of Starbucks Howard Schultz announced Monday he will suspend a share repurchase program as the chain navigates a challenging landscape amid a growing unionization push.

“Starting immediately, we are suspending our share repurchasing program,” the 68-year-old billionaire said in a letter to employees after he resumed leadership of the coffee giant he ran two times previously.

“This decision will allow us to invest more profit into our people and our stores — the only way to create long-term value for all stakeholders.”

Shares fell sharply on the news.

Buyback programs are popular with investors and generally have an appreciative impact on share price. 

But the buybacks have been a target of company critics, including union backers, who say they demonstrate the company’s indifference towards workers. 

Starbucks announced in October 2021 that it was reinstating its buyback program, planning $20 billion in repurchases and dividends over the next years, and as recently as last month confirmed the plans were still in place as it announced Schultz’s appointment as interim CEO and the departure of Kevin Johnson from the company’s helm.

Starbucks has struggled of late to manage rising costs, a tight labor market and supply chain problems caused by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

– Rising union movement –

The company has largely been viewed positively by many political progressives in the United States for its stance on gay marriage, race relations, the environment and other issues. 

But the firm has struggled to find an effective response to the campaign by organized labor, which picked up momentum in December when two stores in upstate New York became the first in the United States to vote to unionize. 

The movement — which has been propelled by mostly younger staff frustrated over pandemic working conditions and seeking more say — has now spread to more than 150 stores.

“We are overworked, exhausted and still being asked to pick up the slack,” workers at a Boston store wrote in a letter to Schultz that announced a unionization campaign and was posted on Twitter by Starbucks Workers United.

“You and your company have said and written a lot about how much you care about your employees, and your vision for a company that does everything through the lens of humanity,” the letter read. “We simply want to help you make that vision a reality.”

Labor backers have also complained of illegal firings of union supporters.

Progressive Senator Bernie Sanders, who has criticized the share buybacks, slammed “union busting” at Starbucks and last month called for the company to recognize a “unionized workforce that can collectively bargain for better wages, better benefits, safer working conditions and reliable schedules.”

The coffee chain has said it respects the right of workers to organize, but that the issues raised by workers do not justify a union. It has also defended the company’s right to speak out against unionization.

Schultz, who grew Starbucks from a small Seattle coffee chain into a global juggernaut in his two prior stints as chief executive, did not mention the union in his missive, but said he would work to improve employee morale.

“My first work is to spend lots of time with partners. To lift up voices,” Schultz said as he called “for us each to be transparent with one another and become accountable for building the future of our company.”

A note from Briefing.com described Schultz’ announcement on buybacks as a “surprise” that “is leaving a bad taste in shareholders’ mouths today.”

Shares closed 3.7 percent lower at $88.09.