Thomas Cook collapses, leaving thousands of travelers stranded

[ForceFate]

Dominc Raab indicated that the govt will only bale out companies if its in the national interest. Holiday companies dont qualify.

Even the Tories will bale out a company, it its in the national interest. Whatever that means

Banks, insurance companies, large airlines , etc perhaps?

 

[Gordon_R]

As usual the hedge-fund vultures stand to gain. Link may be paywalled: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...lapse-sets-up-250-million-hedge-fund-windfall

Not everyone lost out with the collapse of 178-year-old Thomas Cook Group Plc that put 21,000 jobs at risk and left travelers around the world stranded.

Speculators including Sona Asset Management and XAIA Investment GmbH stand to earn as much as $250 million from the bankruptcy.

They invested in derivatives that pay out when a company defaults. The fate of those securities was at the heart of the battle over whether Thomas Cook lived or died.

Thomas Cook will be the latest of several big payouts this year for hedge funds and traders who bought these so-called credit-default swaps. The list includes U.K. fashion retailer New Look and Rallye SA, parent of French supermarket chain Casino Guichard-Perrachon SA. More are set to follow as Europe’s economy slows and a growing number of companies come under stress.

The decision to trigger payouts on Thomas Cook CDS lies with a panel of traders called the Determinations Committee. The group is meeting on Monday to debate whether last week’s Chapter 15 U.S. bankruptcy filing was sufficient for payment. Now, it’s also being asked to assess Thomas Cook’s liquidation.

CDS are a popular way for hedge funds to bet on companies facing difficulties with their balance sheets. They don’t always pay out in the event of default, however.

Thomas Cook’s rescue could have rendered CDS on the debt worthless and investors including Sona had threatened to block it. Holders of CDS were concerned about a technicality related to plans to convert Thomas Cook debt into shares, leaving the CDS with nothing to insure.

“It’s certainly a relief for the hedge funds that Thomas Cook has filed and they haven’t had to push the company into administration,” said Marc Pierron, a senior credit analyst at Spread Research in Lyon.

Alternative source for article text: https://www.fin24.com/Companies/Tra...s-up-250-million-hedge-fund-windfall-20190923

 

[rietrot]

As usual the hedge-fund vultures stand to gain. Link may be paywalled: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...lapse-sets-up-250-million-hedge-fund-windfall




Alternative source for article text: https://www.fin24.com/Companies/Tra...s-up-250-million-hedge-fund-windfall-20190923

Lol @ vultures. I assume whoever wrote that has no Idea how short selling works.

 

[The_Right_Honourable_Brit]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1176157884142538757

 

[zippy]

Thomas Cook collapse: Repatriation to take two weeks

The Civil Aviation Authority launches the UK's biggest ever peacetime repatriation to bring more than 150,000 holidaymakers home.

news.sky.com

"Brexit is 'good' for the nation". RIiiiiiight!!

Don’t be so thick. This has nothing to do with Brexit. They where in trouble long ago.

 

[Zoomzoom]

Don’t be so thick. This has nothing to do with Brexit. They where in trouble long ago.

Try reading the multiplicity of articles which clearly indicate Brexit has been a factor. Companies can recover from being in trouble but not if other events start conspiring against them. Obviously there are other factors, but one of the final nails in their coffin has been the reluctance of people to travel in the face of all the uncertainty. When you add reduced sales to an already troubled balance sheet you are in big trouble. And you can't recover if there are no customers.

 

[TheMightyQuinn]

do you like not read? Brexit and people's reluctance to travel in face of all the uncertainty has been mentioned more than once as a factor in its demise.

People aren't reluctant to travel...there's even 600 000 people currently overseas that actually used Thomas Cook. But these are probably all pensioners or the older generation.

The rest of the world uses modern methods to organize travel.

Stop talking kuk, please...

 

[TheMightyQuinn]

Try reading the multiplicity of articles which clearly indicate Brexit has been a factor. Companies can recover from being in trouble but not if other events start conspiring against them. Obviously there are other factors, but one of the final nails in their coffin has been the reluctance of people to travel in the face of all the uncertainty. When you add reduced sales to an already troubled balance sheet you are in big trouble. And you can't recover if there are no customers.

Places like Thomas Cook are irrelevant relics within the travel world. They are not required anymore.

Post #65 should cast some light on it for you.

It has fukkal to do with Brexit.

 

[SweetFennyAdams]

Brothels will always be viable.

Not at all.
Traditional brothels are falling by the wayside after the event of escort directory websites where working girls can work solo by placing a cheap ad online. Many also have their own websites and social media handles.

No more need for a venue like a brothel to work from and to forfeit a large percentage (up to 50%) of their booking fee to the venue. Brothels are often owned and run by some seriously dodgy people involved in the underworld, who often abuse the girls or keep them hooked of drugs in an eternal repayment loop.

Law enforcement at individual working girl homes rarely happen, but cops regularly raid brothels.

The demand for working girls is still high.

Modern society with its rabid feminism, loud cries against human trafficking etc has made visiting brothels a high risk hobby for naughty men. Men are now choosing girls online in privacy and preferring to visit them at residential venues in a more discreet manner.

Brothels in SA are dwindling and solo girls are increasing.

 

[Zoomzoom]

READ!!! With COMPREHENSION!!!


London (CNN Business)Thomas Cook's dramatic collapse follows years of mismanagement at the tour operator and a failure to keep pace with online rivals. Brexit didn't help either.

Analysts say it was one of several factors that led to the 178-year old travel company's demise, which has left 150,000 UK holidaymakers stranded abroad and cost thousands of employees their jobs.

Brexit hits travel spend

Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group, said in a blog post that the steep drop in the value of the pound following the 2016 Brexit referendum had piled the pressure on the heavily indebted and "struggling" Thomas Cook.

"All of the travel industry costs are in dollars — for example fuel maintenance and airplane leasing. With the weaker pound, the cost of everything has skyrocketed. For Thomas Cook, this has proved terminal," Branson said, adding that he was "saddened" to see the end of "the pioneer of organized travel."

The roughly 20% fall in the pound's value also meant less spending power for UK travelers abroad. That led them to demand better deals, independent aviation analyst Chris Tarry told CNN Business. This hurt margins at Thomas Cook, which sold flights on its own airline, along with hotel rooms, from brick-and-mortar stores.

"Brexit squeezed demand and made what Thomas Cook were trying to upsell on — that is, the heritage and service — less relevant to consumers. With a less ideal cost base, they couldn't compete simply on price with new entrants," said Richard Clarke, an analyst at Bernstein.

Thomas Cook said in its annual Holiday Report in 2019 that fluctuations in the value of the pound had reduced demand for travel to countries that use the euro. All the while, it has been fighting competition from online booking agencies and discount carriers.

One more problem: Continued uncertainty over Brexit had scared away some potential customers.
"There is now little doubt that the Brexit process has led many UK customers to delay their holiday plans for this summer," Thomas Cook chief executive Peter Fankhauser said in an earnings statement in May.

Brexit's role in Thomas Cook's demise

Thomas Cook's dramatic collapse follows years of mismanagement and a failure to keep pace with online rivals. Brexit didn't help.

edition.cnn.com

One of a bunch of factors!!! I'm not a bleeding idiot, unlike some of the ardent 'experts' who like to argue with me.

 

[ForceFate]

READ!!! With COMPREHENSION!!!


London (CNN Business)Thomas Cook's dramatic collapse follows years of mismanagement at the tour operator and a failure to keep pace with online rivals. Brexit didn't help either.

Analysts say it was one of several factors that led to the 178-year old travel company's demise, which has left 150,000 UK holidaymakers stranded abroad and cost thousands of employees their jobs.

Brexit hits travel spend

Richard Branson, founder of the Virgin Group, said in a blog post that the steep drop in the value of the pound following the 2016 Brexit referendum had piled the pressure on the heavily indebted and "struggling" Thomas Cook.

"All of the travel industry costs are in dollars — for example fuel maintenance and airplane leasing. With the weaker pound, the cost of everything has skyrocketed. For Thomas Cook, this has proved terminal," Branson said, adding that he was "saddened" to see the end of "the pioneer of organized travel."

The roughly 20% fall in the pound's value also meant less spending power for UK travelers abroad. That led them to demand better deals, independent aviation analyst Chris Tarry told CNN Business. This hurt margins at Thomas Cook, which sold flights on its own airline, along with hotel rooms, from brick-and-mortar stores.

"Brexit squeezed demand and made what Thomas Cook were trying to upsell on — that is, the heritage and service — less relevant to consumers. With a less ideal cost base, they couldn't compete simply on price with new entrants," said Richard Clarke, an analyst at Bernstein.

Thomas Cook said in its annual Holiday Report in 2019 that fluctuations in the value of the pound had reduced demand for travel to countries that use the euro. All the while, it has been fighting competition from online booking agencies and discount carriers.

One more problem: Continued uncertainty over Brexit had scared away some potential customers.
"There is now little doubt that the Brexit process has led many UK customers to delay their holiday plans for this summer," Thomas Cook chief executive Peter Fankhauser said in an earnings statement in May.

Brexit's role in Thomas Cook's demise

Thomas Cook's dramatic collapse follows years of mismanagement and a failure to keep pace with online rivals. Brexit didn't help.

edition.cnn.com

One of a bunch of factors!!! I'm not a bleeding idiot, unlike some of the ardent 'experts' who like to argue with me.

To wade in and share my 2c, Brexit may have hammered the final nail but it's in no way the cause of their problem.

‘You're not listening!’ Ferrari scolds caller who blames Thomas Cook collapse on Brexit

THOMAS COOK’s collapse was blamed on Brexit by one frustrated LBC caller which resulted in Nick Ferrari snapping at him insisting “Brexit wasn’t invented” at the time of the companies problems.

www.express.co.uk

What's to blame for Thomas Cook's collapse? Mostly its debt | Nils Pratley

Bad management, the banks, Brexit and online rivals also played a role in the travel firm’s demise

www.theguardian.com

Brexit, risk-averse banks, summer heatwaves, the rise of Airbnb, the long-term triumph of budget airlines. All contributed to the collapse of Thomas Cook. But one factor towers above others: the huge pile of debt – £1.7bn at the last count – that the tour operator has been attempting to shoulder for the past decade.

 

[Gordon_R]

Mentour Pilot video explains some of the technicalities:

 

[MidnightWizard]

Mountain out of a molehill -- to reinforce and justify a certain agenda ?
From inconsequential to -- End of the World
BREXIT will also be blamed for unwanted pregnancies ...........

 

[Jopie Fourie]

Mentour Pilot video explains some of the technicalities:

Listening to his explanation, this is probably the best thing that could have happened to Thomas Cook and the other airlines that went down. Thomas Cook, if influenced by Brexit, operated on the exact same method as pyramid schemes & scams. Peoples money were squandered and they relied on new bookings to pay for older bookings.

We do not need such businesses, the same as we do not need pyramid schemes. Hope people end up in jail in the UK for this scam.

 

[Zoomzoom]

To wade in and share my 2c, Brexit may have hammered the final nail but it's in no way the cause of their problem.

I never claimed otherwise, but some people won't admit it even had a part to play. (and worse want to argue with me about it).

 

[TheMightyQuinn]

I never claimed otherwise, but some people won't admit it even had a part to play. (and worse want to argue with me about it).

 

[NarrowBandFtw]

I never claimed otherwise, but some people won't admit it even had a part to play. (and worse want to argue with me about it).

It had no part to play whatsoever, Thomas Cook has not been a viable business for over a decade, it's a blight on the free market system that it has been allowed to limp along until now, should have failed ages ago.

No amount of CNN / The Guardian / <insert your bullshyte source to spew the anti-brexit agenda here> makes the slightest bit of difference to the truth. Yet you keep repeating the narrative ad nauseum without engaging your own brain, ironically telling others to "comprehend"

If there was any noteworthy "reluctance to travel" other travel companies would also be folding, they're not, because there isn't.

Now, with that out of the way, Thomas Cook failing is a massive gain and huge positive step for the free market, it must be celebrated. Whoever caused it to finally fail is a national hero!

 

[NarrowBandFtw]

BREXIT will also be blamed for unwanted pregnancies ...........

That's more rational than blaming it for Thomas Cook. Every time I imagine a no deal brexit with German car manufacturers heading to the EU parliament with their begging bowls I must admit I get a little hard

 

[The_Right_Honourable_Brit]

I never claimed otherwise, but some people won't admit it even had a part to play. (and worse want to argue with me about it).

None of what you say adds up. You say that due to Brexit, Brits are taking fewer holidays but that isn't true.

Yet Thomas Cook’s woes are not a sign that package holidays are in decline; if anything, the industry is enjoying a resurgence. Half of Britons’ trips abroad are still part of packages, according to the Association of British Travel Agents, an industry group. The number of Britons going abroad on “inclusive tours” has risen from 14.3m in 2010 to 18.2m in 2018. It is still cheaper to buy a family holiday as a package than book the components individually. Analysts say that, in part, this is because TUI and Thomas Cook are able to use their scale to negotiate lower prices when booking hotel rooms and seats on flights. The number of younger package holidaymakers is growing particularly fast. Many travel agents attribute this to the popularity of “Love Island”, a reality-television show featuring buff bodies and plenty of snogging set in a holiday villa in Mallorca.

Now we get to the real reasons:

Thus it is mainly Thomas Cook’s own poor business decisions that are to blame for its demise. The firm inherited a mountain of debt when it merged with MyTravel Group, a rival package-holiday firm, in 2007. An ill-judged series of takeovers then added to it. The company could never shake off this debt, which had reached £1.9bn by March. Its 550 branches on British high streets also swelled its overheads and were an expensive liability to shut down.

New online-only travel agents, such as On the Beach and We Love Holidays, now Britain’s fourth- and fifth-biggest package-holiday operators, easily undercut Thomas Cook on price. A big bet on Tunisia as a destination just before a series of terrorist attacks that closed down the country’s industry, and a slowdown in holiday bookings last year due to good weather at home, did not help. The last straw was the £1.5bn in losses the company made in the six months to March, which damaged the company’s balance sheet.

Thomas Cook, the world’s oldest travel firm, collapses

Why the package-holiday firm went bust despite a booming travel market

www.economist.com

 

[tRoN]

I truly believe no airline makes real money and unless they get bailed out somewhere like SAA then all will go bust