John Waples



Profile:
Full name: John Waples

Area of interest: Business and finance

Journals: The Sunday Times

Email: [mailto:john.waples@sunday-times.co.uk john.waples@sunday-times.co.uk]

Website: Business / Columnists

Blog:

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Biography:
Education:

Career: Harlow and Bishop's Stortford Gazette and Estates Times; joined The Sunday Times, 1994: city correspondent, deputy city editor, promoted to business editor in September 2005

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The Sunday Times: 'Agenda'
Column remit: Business and finance

Section: Business

Role: Business editor

Pen-name:

Email: [mailto:john.waples@sunday-times.co.uk john.waples@sunday-times.co.uk]

Website: Business / Columnists

Commissioning editor:

Day published: Sunday

Regularity: Weekly

Column format: Lead item, plus two, three, or four more items

Average length:



Articles:

 * shows fragility of recovery'' - At the heart of recovery must be a determination to root out corruption and open its markets to international business - 31st January 2010
 * go global on bank reforms'' - When an issue like banking reform is hijacked by a politician bent on winning back support, we should be concerned - 24th January 2010
 * time to step up or ship out'' - One thing stands between Irene Rosenfeld, chief executive of Kraft, and her ambition to take over Cadbury — price - 17th January 2010
 * time for Osmond’s distressed asset fund'' - The corporate world is full of companies bought in deals financed with only a sliver of equity and the remainder with debt - 10th January 2010
 * and opportunity meet in 2010'' - A number of companies have managed to paper over the cracks but for those on the wrong end, it will not be a happy scenario - 3rd January 2010
 * that lie ahead are very real'' - If you take the view that next year will be bumpy, take a look at the Bank of England’s last Financial Stability Report - 20th December 2009
 * Darling's coup is a body blow to London'' - The City can win back its reputation but it should do so under the umbrella of international and unilateral regulation - 13th December 2009
 * bonuses next under spotlight'' - The focus has been on bankers, but remuneration packages enjoyed at public companies will soon come to investor attention - 6th December 2009
 * debt crisis is a lesson to us all'' - If the overborrowed emirate state can flirt with bankruptcy, then why not overborrowed Ireland, Greece, Iceland - and Britain? - 29th November 2009
 * time for Cadbury to show flakiness'' - The group is beginning to look like a victim in this drawn-out bid battle, not the iconic international confectioner that it is - 22nd November 2009
 * So much is owed to so few'' - The timing of the deal is unfortunate. It will add to the hue and cry over excessive bonuses and general fat cattery - 15th November 2009
 * to the bosses’ optimism'' - When three chief executives call an end to the recession — even though it has not officially ended — we should take heart - 8th November 2009
 * wants BP revolution to last'' - BP’s chief executive aims to end the man-made disasters which has repeatedly destroyed all the good work done by the oil giant - 1st November 2009
 * Sachs bonuses should lead to a windfall tax'' - Goldman Sachs’s ability to convince some that the tax paid to the UK Treasury was justification for its huge profits is flawed - 18th October 2009
 * high earners could cost us all dear'' - The government needs to tread a fine line between balancing the books and stifling growth that will get us out of recession - 11th October 2009
 * Fraud Office’s phoney war will end in settlement'' - One thing puzzles me about the Serious Fraud Office’s pursuit of BAE Systems, our biggest defence contractor. If investigators have established a solid case against the company, then why not simply press charges? - 4th October 2009
 * needed for poisoned chalice'' - ITV doesn’t do happy endings. Whoever takes the chairman’s or the chief executive’s job always ends up with a knife in their back - 27th September 2009
 * Ball’s talent match his arrogance?'' - The search for ITV’s new chief executive has been a long-running saga that would have done Coronation Street proud - 20th September 2009
 * survival rests on Todd Stitzer’s vision'' - Todd Stitzer must convince investors he can achieve his ambition of growing margins to 15% by 2011 and share prices can lift - 13th September 2009
 * must join government scheme'' - For all the bluster about the cost of joining the government’s asset protection plan, Lloyds has little choice but to sign up - 6th September 2009
 * to the top job need not be rocky'' - Succession planning is always a tricky, when it involves a chief executive stepping up to chairman it can become a minefield - 30th August 2009
 * slow to forgive recession losers'' - If a businessman has been associated with a corporate disaster, investors are usually reluctant to see them return to power - 23rd August 2009
 * on bonuses could destroy City'' - The unpalatable truth about big City bonuses is that they are unstoppable. The model mimics what has happened in football - 16th August 2009
 * isn’t sexy, but vital to the UK'' - The contribution made by the insurance sector is largely invisible, but that doesn’t mean the government shouldn’t nurture it - 26th July 2009
 * resolution must quit Guernsey'' - Until Cowdery agrees to move acquisition vehicle’s domicile, Friends shareholders should give him a wide berth - 19th July 2009
 * Walsh tries to wrestle BA out of its nosedive'' - His frank appraisal of the airline’s future — “a fight for survival” — jars with staff and some shareholders - 12th July 2009
 * Carroll's job is on the line'' - Carroll is under pressure after making enemies within the company - and some investors believe cost savings are coming too slowly - 28th June 2009
 * banking control needs global solution'' - To prevent another economic downturn, the financial sector must avoid a knee-jerk response and not rush into new regulation - 21st June 2009
 * Bob Diamond took Barclays into the top league of investment banks'' - The deal with Lehman is still the talk of the town - 14th June 2009
 * it in New York and you can make it anywhere'' - Barclays has set out ambitious plans to become a top three global investment bank. That is a vision not without risk - 14th June 2009
 * of open-ended pension promises are over'' - The decade of easy profits and cheap credit are over, the bubble has been pricked and it will not be reinflated any time soon - 7th June 2009
 * it’s the fallout we should worry about'' - There is a limit to what our government can do to resist redundancies at Vauxhall - 31st May 2009 (see: General Motors to file for bankruptcy)
 * leading L&G would be the best insurance'' - There is a huge shortage of people in financial services whose reputations have not been tarnished by the crash - 24th May 2009
 * Brom’s painful reminder of our woes'' - The financial shock at West Bromwich is more a tremor than an earthquake. But we should not underestimate its importance - 17th May 2009
 * Bank and the need for a sacrificial lamb'' - Is the top team at Lloyd's Bank the right one to lead the group forward? - 10th May 2009
 * success comes at a price for business'' - Banks pick and choose whom they lend to and it is becoming daylight robbery. Days of banking relationships have gone forever - 3rd May 2009
 * high premium on success'' - Those who say it only captures a minority miss the point. It is the message sent out which is the most damaging element - 26th April 2009
 * now make the calls at BT'' - In the Verwaayen era it appears BT was long on strategy, spin and optimism, but short on financial delivery. The share price says it all - 12th April 2009
 * success is also a triumph for the City'' - The fundraising can already be called a triumph — not just for the bank but also for London - 5th April 2008
 * hopes that recovery is around the corner'' - All we have achieved so far is to make the banks strong enough to to endure the economic blitz that is starting to unfold - 29th March 2009
 * must pick winners from the car crash'' - Talk of a brave new world of electric vehicles cannot disguise the fact that British carmaking is gripped by a crisis - 22nd March 2009
 * at heart of the global economy'' - The government must ensure that our industrial base is fit and the downturn does not damage our long-term competitive future - 15th March 2009
 * 1980s-style slump may be as bad as it gets'' - The HBOS takeover may prove to be viable over time, but the dilution of ordinary investors means they are unlikely to enjoy it - 8th March 2009
 * triumph has been to stay independent'' - The benefits of avoiding government cash are huge - 1st March 2009
 * genie can’t be put back into the bottle'' - Bankers are often their own worst enemies but it’s important to get this row over bonuses into context - 15th February 2009
 * in the lion's den as takeover turns sour'' - It was only last October that Eric Daniels, chief executive of Lloyds TSB, was hailed as a hero when he rescued HBOS from oblivion - 15th February 2009
 * genie can’t be put back into the bottle'' - Bankers are often their own worst enemies but it’s important to get this row over bonuses into context - 8th February 2009
 * firm against protectionism'' - The free movement of labour must be encouraged within the EU and any move towards protectionism must be stamped on - 1st February 2009
 * crisis an issue of credibility'' - The blunt truth is that Barclays has a credibility issue; the City does not believe it has owned up to the scale of its problems - 25th January 2009
 * a financial meltdown?'' - The market is convinced Barclays is sitting on a toxic timebomb. That’s why its shares cratered 25% on Friday - 18th January 2009
 * plc is at the mercy of auditors'' - There are firms where auditors will be reluctant to sign off accounts without a full explanation, and it will spook investors - 11th January 2009
 * pragmatism will get us out of this mess'' - I knew the warning signs were flashing, but had no idea about the enormity of what was to unfold - 4th January 2009
 * UK carmakers need a financial jump start'' - The factories stand idle at the moment only because of a once-in-a-lifetime collapse in sales caused by the banking crisis - 14th December 2008
 * look after themselves'' - Companies around the world are now starting to realise that radical action is needed to prepare for such unprecedented events - 7th December 2008
 * Albanese wield the axe at Rio'' - The abandoned takeover of Rio Tinto highlights how the business world has switched from one of unlimited opportunity to one of retrenchment - 30th November 2008
 * must help business - big and small'' - 23rd November 2008
 * a state bank herald a return to the 1970s?'' - 16th November 2008
 * plotters don’t know what lies beneath'' - HBOS needs a strong balance sheet, as does Lloyds, and the combined entity stands a better chance of prospering than do two marooned independent banks - 9th November 2008
 * proves UK is not in control'' - British investors' pockets are not as deep as the Saudi's and Barclays has gone to where the new wealth and economic power is - 4th November 2008
 * the truth makes grim reading'' - Anyone hoping that problems have been solved and that we'll not have problems in the wider economy is living in cloud cuckoo land - 19th October 2008
 * accounting for bankers’ greed'' - We have had a period of reckless overlending, and now we'll have the opposite - overcharging dressed up as cautious banking - 5th October 2008
 * a hint of weakness is fatal in this market'' - The extraordinary events of the past 12 months have proved one thing - perception is enough to kill - 28th September 2008
 * all pay for damage to the wider economy'' - 21st September 2008
 * can only blame itself for disaster'' - The bank could still re-emerge a very powerful firm, but its fall from grace shows how brutal the global liquidity crisis is - 14th September 2008
 * times ahead for the first dame of the LSE'' - Clara Furse, head of the London Stock Exchange, has shown she can handle herself in battle, but now she has to do it again - 7th September 2008
 * plc has fewer reasons to be cheerful'' - Companies are accepting that they will have to hunker down for the next 18 months - 24th August 2008
 * not competition, will shape airports'' - When the Competition Commission decrees that BAA’s monopoly of airports should be broken up, the news will be met with glee - 16th August 2008
 * used to volatility: the hedgies are in control'' - The days of the fund managers controlling the destiny of our corporate giants are long gone - 27th July 2008
 * roulette as oiligarchs battle over TNK'' - After the destruction of Yukos and marginalisation of Royal Dutch Shell at the Sakhalin gas field, TNK is next on the list - 20th July 2008
 * Why Texas was the right decision for Bradford & Bingley - 8th June 2008
 * Here comes the wave of profit warnings - 1st June 2008
 * Big boardroom pay deals can still make sense - 25th May 2008
 * British Airways will stay on course despite the turbulence - 18th May 2008
 * Charles Dunstone keys into the laptop phenomenon - 11th May 2008
 * Alastair Darling must stop multinationals moving their tax domiciles - 4th May 2008



Links:




Business & City Editors:

 • Damian Reece (The Daily Telegraph) • Mark Kleinman (The Sunday Telegraph) • David Wighton (The Times) • John Waples (The Sunday Times) • John Willman (Financial Times) • Deborah Hargreaves (The Guardian) • Ruth Sunderland (The Observer) • Jeremy Warner (The Independent) • Margareta Pagano (The Independent on Sunday) • Michael Williams (Wall Street Journal Europe) • Alex Brummer (Daily Mail) • Stephen Kahn (Daily Express)'''