Civilisation/Business
Business Terms
Abenomics – the name given to a suite of measures introduced by Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe after his 2012 re-election. His aim was to revive the sluggish economy with ‘three arrows’: a massive fiscal stimulus, more aggressive monetary easing from the Bank of Japan, and structural reforms to boost Japan's competitiveness
Affinity fraud – investment frauds that prey upon members of identifiable groups, such as religious or ethnic communities, language minorities, the elderly, or professional groups. The fraudsters who promote affinity scams frequently are – or pretend to be – members of the group
Animal spirits – the term John Maynard Keynes used in his 1936 book The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money to describe emotions which influence human behaviour and can be measured in terms of consumer confidence
Assumptive selling – the practice of trying to sell something by acting as though the person that you are trying to sell it to has already decided to buy it
Balance of payments – an accounting record of all monetary transactions between a country and the rest of the world
Black–Scholes model – a mathematical model of the market for an equity, in which the equity's price is a stochastic process
Black swan – an unexpected event in the stock market
Boiler room scam – share scams where the operator will sell worthless shares at inflated prices to investors that are impossible to sell
Cap and trade – scheme under which firms are issued with certificates allowing them to emit a limited amount of harmful gases each year (the cap). ‘Clean’ firms can store up pollution credits, which ‘dirty’ firms can then bid for, in order to avoid a fine for exceeding their quota
Carousel fraud – occurs where fraudsters obtain VAT registration to acquire goods such as chips and mobile phones VAT-free from other Member States. They then sell on the goods at VAT inclusive prices and disappear without paying over the VAT paid by their customers to the tax authorities. Also known as missing trader fraud
Carry trade – a trade where you borrow and pay interest in order to buy something else that has higher interest, e.g. borrowing in Japan where interest rates are low
Chicago school of economics – a neoclassical school of thought within the academic community of economists, with a strong focus around the faculty of The University of Chicago, some of whom have constructed and popularized its principles
Consolidated Fund – the British government's central bank account
Contract for difference (or CFD) – a contract between two parties, typically described as buyer and seller, stipulating that the buyer will pay to the seller the difference between the current value of an asset and its value at contract time. If the difference is negative, then the seller pays instead to the buyer
Cost-benefit analysis – an economic tool to aid social decision-making, typically used by governments to evaluate the desirability of a given intervention in markets
Credit easing – the practice in which central banks purchase private sector assets with a view to adding liquidity to a troubled market and so easing the flow of credit and lending in the economy
Dark pool – a private forum for trading securities that is not openly available to the public
Dead-cat bounce – describes a pattern wherein a moderate rise in the price of a stock follows a spectacular fall, with the connotation that the rise does not indicate improving circumstances
Derivatives – financial contracts that derive their value from other underlying instruments
Diffusion line – a secondary line of merchandise created by a high-end fashion house or fashion designer that retails at lower prices. These ranges are separate from a fashion house's ‘signature line’ or principal artistic line that typically retail at much higher prices
Dog stocks – underperform when the market is riding high and come into their own when others fare badly
Drip pricing – the price of an item increases during the buying process and depending on the profile of the internet user
Dutch disease – a concept that explains the apparent relationship between the increase in exploitation of natural resources and a decline in the manufacturing sector. The term was coined in 1977 by The Economist to describe the decline of the manufacturing sector in the Netherlands after the discovery of a large natural gas field
Economic sectors:
1.Primary: Involves the retrieval and production of raw materials, such as corn, coal, wood and iron
2.Secondary: Involves the transformation of raw or intermediate materials into goods e.g. manufacturing steel into cars, or textiles into clothing
3.Tertiary: Involves the supplying of services to consumers and businesses, such as baby-sitting, cinema and banking
Euro Interbank Offered Rate (Euribor) is a daily reference rate based on the averaged interest rates at which Eurozone banks offer to lend unsecured funds to other banks in the euro wholesale money market (or interbank market)
Eurodollars – time deposits (bonds) denominated in U.S. dollars at banks outside the United States, and thus are not under the jurisdiction of the Federal Reserve
Fiscal cliff – a neologism referring to the effect of a number of laws which (if unchanged) could result in tax increases, spending cuts, and a corresponding reduction in the budget deficit beginning in 2013
Flash crash – a very rapid and deep fall in stock or security prices, followed by an immediate rebound to approximately the previous price
Fractional-reserve banking – the banking practice in which only a fraction of a bank's demand deposits are kept as reserves (cash and other highly liquid assets) available for withdrawal
Freebie marketing, also known as the razor and blades business model, is a business model wherein one item is sold at a low price (or given away for free) in order to increase sales of a complementary good, such as supplies
Front running – the illegal practice of a stock broker executing orders on a security for its own account while taking advantage of advance knowledge of pending orders from its customers
Going long – betting that a share price increases
Going short – betting that a share price decreases
Gold standard – a monetary system in which the standard economic unit of account is a fixed weight of gold and currency issuers guarantee, under specified rules, to redeem notes in that amount of gold
Greenmail – the practice of purchasing enough shares in a firm to threaten a takeover, thereby forcing the target firm to buy those shares back at a premium in order to suspend the takeover. Portmanteau of greenback and blackmail
Gresham’s Law – ‘Bad money drives out good’. Applies specifically when there are two forms of commodity money in circulation which are forced, by the application of legal-tender laws, to be respected as having face values in a fixed-ratio for market-place transactions
Hedge fund – a mutual fund that takes considerable risks, including heavy investment in unconventional instruments, in the hope of generating great profits. Alfred Winslow Jones, an ex-communist activist and friend of Ernest Hemingway, is credited with inventing hedge funds in 1949
Hire purchase – (HP, colloquially ‘never-never)’ is the legal term for a contract, in which persons usually agree to pay for goods in parts or a percentage at a time
Institutional economics – focuses on understanding the role of the evolutionary process and the role of institutions in shaping economic behaviour
Interest rate swap – an agreement between two parties where one stream of future interest payments is exchanged for another based on a specified principal amount. Mis-sold by banks as customer has to pay more if interest rates fall
Kondratiev waves – (also called supercycles, great surges, long waves, K-waves or the long economic cycle) are described as sinusoidal-like cycles in the modern capitalist world economy. Averaging fifty years in length, the cycles consist of alternating periods between high sectoral growth and periods of relatively slow growth
Laffer curve – a representation of the relationship between possible rates of taxation and the resulting levels of government revenue
Laissez faire economics – used to refer to various economic philosophies which seek to minimize or eliminate aspects of government intervention
Law of diminishing returns – in a production system with fixed and variable inputs (say factory size and labour), beyond some point, each additional unit of the variable input yields smaller and smaller increases in output. Conversely, producing one more unit of output costs more and more in variable inputs
Leverage – the degree to which an investor or business is utilizing borrowed money
Lowballing – the submission of falsely low rates for Libor
Macroeconomics – the branch of economics concerned with large-scale or general economic factors, such as interest rates and national productivity
Mezzanine capital – a subordinated debt or preferred equity instrument that represents a claim on a company's assets which is senior only to that of the common shares. Mezzanine financings can be structured either as debt or preferred stock
Microeconomics – the part of economics concerned with single factors and the effects of individual decisions
Misery index – an economic indicator, created by economist Arthur Okun, and found by adding the unemployment rate to the inflation rate
Mixed economy – an economic system in which both the state and private sector direct the economy, reflecting characteristics of both market economies and planned economies
Mobile commerce (M-commerce) – business that is conducted on the Internet through the use of cell phones or other wireless, handheld electronic devices
Monetarism – an economic doctrine that stressed the importance of the money supply as an instrument of economic policy. Monetarists, notably Milton Friedman, believed that if governments simply left the economy alone and instructed the central bank to control the money supply, inflation would be banished, entrepreneurial activity would thrive, economic growth would take off and unemployment would disappear
Monoline – insurers who operate just one line of business (insuring bonds)
Moral hazard – a situation where a party will have a tendency to take risks because the costs that could result will not be felt by the party taking the risk
Multiplier – a factor of proportionality that measures how much a variable changes in response to a change in some other variable
New Economy – a term to describe the result of the transition from an industrial / manufacturing-based economy. This particular use of the term was popular during the Dot-com bubble of the late 1990s. The high growth, low inflation and high employment of this period led to overly optimistic predictions and many flawed business plans
On margin – buying stocks using borrowed money
Pac-Man defence – a defensive option to stave off a hostile takeover in which a company that is threatened with a hostile takeover ‘turns the tables’ by attempting to acquire its would-be buyer
Paradox of thrift – If everyone tries to save more money during times of recession, then aggregate demand will fall and will in turn lower total savings in the population because of the decrease in consumption and economic growth. Popularized by JM Keynes
Peer-to-peer lending – (P2P lending) is the practice of lending money to previously unrelated individuals or ‘peers’ without the intermediation of traditional financial institutions (banks). The first company to offer peer-to-peer loans in the United Kingdom was Zopa
Phillips curve – a historical inverse relationship between the rate of unemployment and the rate of inflation in an economy
Pigou effect – refers to the stimulation of output and employment caused by increasing consumption due to a rise in real balances of wealth, particularly during deflation
Ponzi scheme – a fraudulent investment operation that involves paying abnormally high returns to investors out of the money paid in by subsequent investors, rather than from net revenues generated by any real business. Named after Charles Ponzi
Purchasing power parity – a condition between countries where an amount of money has the same purchasing power in different countries. The prices of the goods between the countries would only reflect the exchange rates
Pyramid scheme – a non-sustainable business model that involves the exchange of money primarily for enrolling other people into the scheme, usually without any product or service being delivered
Quantitative easing – a tool of monetary policy. A central bank injects new money into the financial system, in order to increase the supply of money. 'Quantitative' refers to the money supply; 'easing' refers to reducing the pressure on banks
Resale price maintenance – (RPM) is the practice whereby a manufacturer and its distributors agree that the distributors will sell the manufacturer's product at certain prices
Scrip issue – an issue of shares made by a company free of charge to existing shareholders. Also called a bonus issue
Short selling – the sale of a security made by an investor who does not own the security. The short sale is made in expectation of a decline in the price
Specific tax – a system of taxation where the level of tax is fixed independent of the value of the item being purchased
Stagflation – a term coined in the 1970s for the twin economic problems of stagnation and inflation
Stoozing – the act of borrowing money at an interest rate of 0%, a rate typically offered by credit card companies as an incentive for new customers. The money is then placed in a high interest bank account to make a profit from the interest earned
Subprime mortgage lenders – firms targeting customers with poor credit histories
Supply side economics – a school of macroeconomic thought that argues that economic growth can be most effectively created using incentives for people to produce (supply) goods and services
Tax inversion – the relocation of a corporation's headquarters to a lower-tax nation, or corporate haven, usually while retaining its material operations in its higher-tax country of origin
Tobin tax – the suggested tax on all trade of currency across borders. Named after the economist James Tobin, the tax is intended to put a penalty on short-term speculation in currencies
Tontine – an investment scheme for raising capital, devised in the 17th century. It combines features of a group annuity and a lottery. Each subscriber pays an agreed sum into the fund, and thereafter receives an annuity. As members die, their shares devolve to the other participants, and so the value of each annuity increases. On the death of the last member, the scheme is wound up
Toxic assets – loans sold to a third-party which cannot be repaid
Transfer pricing – the price that is assumed to have been charged by one part of a company for products and services it provides to another part of the same company, in order to calculate each division's profit and loss separately
Trickle-down economics and trickle-down theory – terms of political rhetoric that refer to the policy of providing across the board tax cuts or benefits to businesses, such as tax breaks, in the belief that this will indirectly benefit the broad population. The term has been attributed to humorist Will Rogers, who said during the Great Depression that "money was all appropriated for the top in hopes that it would trickle down to the needy”
Truck system – an arrangement in which employees are paid in commodities or some currency substitute (referred to as scrip), rather than with standard money. This limits employees' ability to choose how to spend their earnings. In the UK the Truck system was sometimes referred to as the Tommy system
Value at Risk – (VaR) is a widely used risk measure of the risk of loss on a specific portfolio of financial assets
Value chain – a concept from business management that was first described and popularized by Michael Porter in his 1985 best-seller, Competitive Advantage: Creating and Sustaining Superior Performance. A value chain is a chain of activities for a firm operating in a specific industry
Volcker rule – aims to restrict United States banks from making certain kinds of speculative investments that do not benefit their customers
White Knight – a person or company making an acceptable counter-offer for a company facing a hostile takeover bid
Working capital – current assets minus current liabilities
Zero-based budgeting – every line item of the budget must be approved, rather than only changes
Banks
Bank of England founded by Williaqm Patterson in 1694. The Bank's original home was in Walbrook in the City of London. Current headquarters are on Threadneedle Street
John Houblon was the first Governor of the Bank of England, from 1694 to 1697
John Kendrick was first Chief Cashier of Bank of England
Bank of England financed Royal Navy in 1694, via creation of the National Debt
The Chief Cashier is the person responsible for issuing banknotes at the Bank of England. Since 1870 the Chief Cashier's signature has been printed on all bank notes issued by the Bank of England
World Bank was created at the 1944 Bretton Woods Conference. The World Bank is based in Washington, D.C. The World Bank, as it is commonly referred to, consists of two agencies of the five that comprise the World Bank Group: The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and The International Development Association (IDA)
European Central Bank was established by the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1998, and is headquartered in Frankfurt. The primary objective of the European Central Bank is to maintain price stability within the Eurozone, which is the same as keeping inflation low
Institute for the Works of Religion, commonly known as the Vatican Bank, is a privately held institute located in Vatican City
ABN AMRO is a Dutch state owned bank with headquarters in Amsterdam. It was re-established, in its current form, in 2009 following the acquisition and break up of ABN AMRO Group by a banking consortium consisting of Royal Bank of Scotland Group, Santander and Fortis
Bankia is a Spanish banking conglomerate that was formed in December 2010, consolidating the operations of seven regional savings banks. In May 2012, Bankia requested a bailout of €19 billion, the largest bank bailout in the nation's history
Barclays traces its origins back to 1690 when quakers John Freame and Thomas Gould started trading as goldsmith bankers in Lombard Street
Gurney’s Bank was a family bank founded in 1770 in Norwich. It merged into Barclays Bank in 1896
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Ltd. (ICBC) is the largest bank in the world by profit and market capitalization. It is one China's 'Big Four' state-owned commercial banks (the other three being the Bank of China, Agricultural Bank of China, and China Construction Bank
Lloyds Bank was founded in Birmingham in 1765. Antonio Horta-Osorio is the current chief executive
NatWest was established in 1968 by the merger of National Provincial Bank (established 1833) and Westminster Bank (established 1834)
Royal Bank of Scotland own Coutts, which was founded in 1692
Santander is the largest bank in the Eurozone by market value. Banco Santander was founded in 1857. Current CEO is Ana Botin
UniCredit – Italy’s largest bank. Founded in 1473 as Rolo Banca. UniCredit Group was the outcome of the 1998 merger of several Italian banks
Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) was created in 1974. The Basel Committee formulates broad supervisory standards and guidelines and recommends statements of best practice in banking supervision
Basel I is the round of deliberations by central bankers from around the world, and in 1988, the Basel Committee published a set of minimal capital requirements for banks
Stock markets and exchanges
The Royal Exchange in the City of London was founded in 1565 by Sir Thomas Gresham
London Stock Exchange was founded in 1801. Moved from Old Broad Street to Paternoster Square in 2004
Stockjobbers were institutions that acted as market makers in the London Stock Exchange. Prior to ‘Big Bang’ in 1986, every stock traded on the Exchange passed through a jobber's book, where they acted as intermediaries between stockbrokers
FTSE 100 index began on 3 January 1984 at the base level of 1000. The index is maintained by the FTSE Group, a now wholly owned subsidiary of the London Stock Exchange
FTSE techMARK 100 is an index derived from the FTSE techMARK All-Share Index, which represents the performance of innovative and technology companies that are listed on the London Stock Exchange's techMARK market
The London Metal Market and Exchange Company was founded in 1877. At first only copper was traded. Lead and zinc were soon added but only gained official trading status in 1920. Many deals are made for commodities to be delivered in three months' time. The custom stems from the time that copper cargoes originally took in 1877 on their voyage from the ports of Chile. Now known as the London Metal Exchange (LME), it is the futures exchange with the world's largest market in options and futures contracts on base and other metals. Headquarters are on Leadenhall Street
The London Gold Fixing (or Gold Fix) is the procedure by which the price of gold is determined twice each business day on the London market by the five members of The London Gold Market Fixing Ltd
Dow Jones Industrial Average was created by Charles Dow. It was first published in 1885. Consists of 30 large publicly owned companies
Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), established in 1848, is the world's oldest futures and options exchange
VIX is a trademarked ticker symbol for the Chicago Board Options Exchange Market Volatility Index, a popular measure of the implied volatility of S&P 500 index options. Often referred to as the fear index or the fear gauge, it represents one measure of the market's expectation of stock market volatility over the next 30 day period
When the NASDAQ began trading in 1971, it was the world's first electronic stock market. NASDAQ eventually assumed the majority of major trades formerly executed by the over-the-counter (OTC) system of trading
NASDAQ bought Philadelphia Stock Exchange in 2008
In 2007, NYSE Group, Inc. merged with Euronext N.V. to form the first global equities exchange. In February 2012, the European Union blocked the planned merger between NYSE Euronext and Deutsche Boerse. In December 2012, the boards of directors of both IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) and the NYSE Euronext approved an $8 billion acquisition of NYSE Euronext, and the acquisition was completed in 2013. In June 2014 Euronext was split from ICE through an initial public offering
Euronext N.V. is a European electronic stock exchange based in Amsterdam, and with subsidiaries in Belgium, France, Netherlands, Portugal and the United Kingdom. In addition to equities and derivatives markets, the Euronext group provides clearing and information services
The Amsterdam Stock Exchange is considered the oldest in the world. It was established in 1602 by the Dutch East India Company for dealings in its printed stocks and bonds. It was subsequently renamed the Amsterdam Bourse and was the first to formally begin trading in securities. It is now known as Euronext Amsterdam
Stock market indices –
All Ordinaries – Australia
S&P/TSX Composite – Canada (Toronto)
SSE Composite – China (Shanghai)
CSI 300 – China
CAC 40 – France
DAX – Germany (Frankfurt)
Hang Seng – Hong Kong
TA-100 – Israel (Tel Aviv)
Nikkei 225 – Japan
Straits Times Index – Singapore
KOSPI – South Korea
International organisations
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) was a multilateral agreement regulating international trade. GATT was signed by 23 nations in Geneva in 1947 and took effect on January 1, 1948. It lasted until the signature by 123 nations in Marrakesh in 1994 of the Uruguay Round Agreements, which established the World Trade Organization (WTO) on January 1, 1995. 160 members
The Doha Development Round of World Trade Organization negotiations aim to lower trade barriers around the world, permitting free trade between countries of varying prosperity. Talks have been hung up over a divide between the European Union and the United States and the major developing countries
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) was created at the 1944 Bretton Woods Conference. The IMF is based in Washington, D.C. The organization's objectives are: to promote international economic cooperation, international trade, employment, and exchange-rate stability, including by making financial resources available to member countries to meet balance-of-payments needs. 188 members
Mercosur is a Regional Trade Agreement between Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Paraguay, founded in 1991 by the Treaty of Asuncion, which was later amended and updated by the 1994 Treaty of Ouro Preto. Its purpose is to promote free trade and the fluid movement of goods, peoples, and currency
The Paris Club is an informal group of financial officials from 19 of the world's richest countries, which provides financial services such as debt restructuring, debt relief, and debt cancellation to indebted countries and their creditors. Debtors are often recommended by the International Monetary Fund after alternative solutions have failed. The club grew out of crisis talks held in Paris in 1956 between the nation of Argentina and its various creditors
The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) is an international economic organization of 34 countries founded in 1961 to stimulate economic progress and world trade
The European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was an international organisation serving to unify European countries after World War II. It was formally established by the Treaty of Paris of 1951, which was signed by Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. The ECSC would ultimately lead the way to the founding of the European Union
The European Economic Community (EEC) was an international organization created by the Treaty of Rome of 1957. Upon the formation of the European Union in 1993 following the Maastricht Treaty, the EEC was incorporated and renamed as the European Community (EC). In 2009 the EC's institutions were absorbed into the EU's wider framework and the community ceased to exist
The Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (Comecon) was an economic organization from 1949 to 1991 under the leadership of the Soviet Union that comprised the countries of the Eastern Bloc along with a number of socialist states elsewhere in the world. The Comecon was the Eastern Bloc's reply to the formation of the OECD in Western Europe
Eurogroup is a meeting of the finance ministers of the eurozone, i.e. those member states of the European Union which have adopted the euro as their official currency
Credit agencies
The Big Three credit rating agencies are Standard & Poor's, Moody's Investor Service, and Fitch Ratings. They began life as small publishing firms in the 19th century that printed compendiums of information about companies seeking to borrow money from investors – mostly for building railways
In the United Kingdom, the three credit reference agencies are Experian, Equifax and Callcredit, which works closely with its US partner, TransUnion
Companies
Abbey National Building Society demutualised in 1989 and became a public limited company, Abbey National plc. It was the first of the UK building societies to demutualise. Became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Spanish Santander Group in 2004
Accenture is the world's largest consulting firm as measured by revenues. Formerly known as Andersen Consulting
Accolade Wines is a major global wine business. It grew from Thomas Hardy and Sons founded by Thomas Hardy in 1853 in Adelaide to become Australia's largest winemaker
Adidas was founded in 1949 by Adolf Dassler, following a family feud between him and his older brother Rudolf. Rudolf had earlier established Puma, which quickly became the business rival of Adidas. Adidas bought Reebok in 2005
Agip (General Italian Oil Company) is an Italian automotive gasoline and diesel retailer established in 1926. Agip was acquired by Eni in 2003
AgustaWestland NV is a British-Italian multinational helicopter design and manufacturing company, and a wholly owned subsidiary of Finmeccanica
American International Group (AIG) was bailed out by the United States Federal Reserve Bank in 2008. It had sold credit protection through its London unit in the form of credit default swaps (CDSs) on collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) but they had declined in value
Airfix was founded in 1939 by a Hungarian businessman called Nicholas Kove, initially manufacturing rubber inflatable toys. The brand name Airfix was selected to be the first alphabetically in any toy catalogue. In 1947, Airfix introduced injection moulding, initially producing pocket combs. In 1949, it was commissioned to create a promotional model of a Ferguson tractor. Airfix was owned by Humbrol from 1986 until Humbrol's financial collapse in 2006. Since 2007, Airfix has been owned by Hornby
Aldi (Albrecht-Discount) – grocery chain named for founders Karl and Theo Albrecht
Amer Sports has brands including Salomon and Wilson. Established in 1950, the company is based in Helsinki
Anheuser-Busch InBev's North American headquarters are located in St. Louis, Missouri. The brewery was opened in 1852
Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG) is a sporting and music entertainment presenter and a subsidiary of The Anschutz Corporation. The company owns or operates several major entertainment/sporting venues, including Staples Center and the Home Depot Center in America, and The O2
Arcadia Group includes Topshop, BHS and Dorothy Perkins. Philip Green is CEO
Asda Stores Limited was founded as Associated Dairies & Farm Stores Limited in 1949 in Leeds. The adoption of the Asda name occurred in 1965 with the merger of the Asquith chain of three supermarkets and Associated Dairies; Asda is an abbreviation of Asquith and Dairies
Aquascutum founded in 1851 by John Emary in Regent Street. Owned by Jaeger
Associated British Foods brands include Allinson and Ovaltine. It also owns Primark
Astrium is a European aerospace company. Subsidiary of EADS
Avon was founded by struggling door-to-door book salesman David McConnell in New York in 1886. It is the fifth-largest beauty company in the world and second largest direct selling enterprise in the world, behind Amway
BAE Systems is involved in several major defence projects, including the F-35 Lightning II, the Eurofighter Typhoon, the Astute-class submarine and the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers
Bang & Olufsen was founded in Denmark in 1925
BASF originally stood for Baden Aniline and Soda Factory. Formed in Mannheim by Friedrich Engelhorn in 1865 for the production of dyes. In 1867, research into synthesis of the dye indigo was successfully concluded. The development of the Haber process from 1908 to 1912 made it possible to synthesize ammonia
Baskin-Robbins is the world's largest chain of ice cream specialty shops and is based in Canton, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1945 by Burt Baskin and Irv Robbins
Bauer Media Group is a large European-based media company, headquartered in Hamburg, which manages a portfolio of more than 600 magazines, over 400 digital products and 50 radio and TV stations around the world
Bayer headquarters is in Leverkusen. Bayer's first major product was acetylsalicylic acid (originally discovered by French chemist Charles Frederic Gerhardt in 1853), a modification of salicylic acid or salicin, a folk remedy found in the bark of the willow plant. By 1899, Bayer's trademark Aspirin was registered worldwide for Bayer's brand of acetylsalicylic acid. Bayer marketed heroin as a cough treatment in 1895 and invented aspirin in 1897
Ben & Jerry's is a brand of ice cream, frozen yogurt, sorbet and ice cream novelty products, manufactured by Ben & Jerry's Homemade Holdings, Inc., headquartered in South Burlington, Vermont, and owned by Unilever. It was founded by Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield in 1978. One of the flavours is Black & Tan
Berlei is a brand of women's underwear and in particular bras and girdles. Founded by Frederick Burley in 1912
Berry Bros & Rudd wine merchants, oldest continuously trading shop in London
BHP Billiton is an Anglo-Australian multinational mining, metals and petroleum company headquartered in Melbourne. It is the world's largest mining company measured by 2013 revenues. In 2001 Billiton Plc merged with the Broken Hill Proprietary Company Limited (BHP) to form BHP Billiton
The Body Shop was founded in 1976 by Anita Roddick and is now part owned by L'Oreal
Boots was established in 1849, by John Boot. After his father's death in 1860, Jesse Boot, aged 10, helped his mother run the family's herbal medicine shop in Nottingham, which became Boot and Co. Ltd in 1883
Borsalino is the name of a hat company known particularly for its fedoras. Established in 1857, Borsalino produces felt from Belgian rabbit fur at its factory in Alessandria, Italy
BP was formerly known as British Petroleum. In 1901, William Knox D'Arcy was granted a concession by the Shah of Iran to search for oil which he discovered in May 1908. This was the first commercially significant find in the Middle East. In 1909, the Anglo-Persian Oil Company (APOC) was incorporated to exploit this. In 1935, it became the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company (AIOC). The AIOC became the British Petroleum Company in 1954
Britvic brands include Robinsons, J2O and Tango
BrightHouse is the largest rent-to-own company in the United Kingdom
Brompton Bicycle is the UK’s leading bike manufacturer. Makes folding bikes
Bulgari was founded by Sotirios Voulgaris in Greece in 1884. Taken over by LVMH in 2011
Burton built the world's first snowboard factory. It is the largest snowboard brand in the world. Founded in 1977
Cammell Laird, one of the famous names in British shipbuilding during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, came about following the merger of Laird, Son & Co. of Birkenhead and Johnson Cammell & Co. of Sheffield
Cargill is the largest privately held corporation in the United States in terms of revenue. Based in Minneapolis
Carnival Corporation is the world's largest cruise operator, based in Miami. Micky Arison is the Chief Executive Officer
Carphone Warehouse was founded by Charles Dunstone. Merged with Dixon Retail in 2014
Carpetright was founded by Lord Harris of Peckham in 1988 when he opened the first store in Canning Town
Chantiers de l'Atlantique is part of the South Korean STX Shipbuilding Group and one of the world's largest shipyards, based in Saint-Nazaire, France
Chorion Ltd owned Paddington Bear, Peter Rabbit, and The Mr. Men. The company also owned the rights to the Agatha Christie Estate (including the Miss Marple and Poirot characters), Raymond Chandler and Georges Simenon. Sold all assets in 2012
Chupa Chups is a brand of lollipo. Logo was designed in 1969 by Salvador Dalí
Citigroup was formed from one of the world's largest mergers in history by combining the banking giant Citicorp and financial conglomerate Travelers Group in 1998
Clearstream Banking SA is the clearing division, based in Luxembourg, of Deutsche Borse
Coca-Cola was founded by John S Pemberton in 1886. Bought out by Asa Candler
Coffee Republic was placed into administration in early July 2009 and trading in shares was suspended
Controlled Demolition, Inc. (CDI), founded by Jack Loizeaux in 1947, is a firm headquartered in Maryland
Countrywide Financial was purchased by Bank of America in 2008 for $4.1 billion. In 2006 Countrywide financed 20% of all mortgages in the United States
Davidoff is a Swiss luxury tobacco goods brand name, which sells a range of products including cigars, cigarillos, cigarettes and pipe tobaccos
Debswana is a giant mining company located in Botswana, and is the world's leading producer of diamonds by value. Debswana is a joint venture between the government of Botswana and the South African diamond company De Beers (founded by Cecil Rhodes in 1888)
Decca Records was founded in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Now part of the Universal Music Group which is owned by Vivendi, a media conglomerate headquartered in France
De La Rue sells high-security paper and printing technology for over 150 national currencies. They claim to be the largest such corporation in the world. De la Rue makes paper and prints banknotes for many banks worldwide, including the Bank of England
DFS was formerly Direct Furnishing Supplies First store was in Darley Dale
DHL Express is a division of the German logistics company Deutsche Post DHL. DHLwas founded by Adrian Dalsey, Larry Hillblom and Robert Lynn
Dixons was founded as a photographic studio by Charles Kalms and Michael Mindel in the High Street in Southend in 1937. In 1950 the company started selling cameras. Owned by DSG International before merger with Carphone Warehouse
Domino’s Pizza was founded by Tom Monaghan. Founded in 1960, Domino's is the second-largest pizza chain in the United States (after Pizza Hut) and the largest worldwide
Dupont was founded in Delaware in1802 as a manufacturer of gunpowder. Products include neoprene, nylon, Teflon, Mylar, Kevlar, Nomex and Lycra
EADS – European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company. Parent company of Airbus
Electricite de France (EDF) is a French state-owned power company
Enron scandal was revealed in 2001, and bankruptcy followed in 2004. Kenneth Lay was founder, chairman, and CEO. Jeffrey Skilling was COO
Entertainment Rights owned Postman Pat, Basil Brush and Rupert Bear. Now part of Dreamworks Animation
E.ON is the world's largest investor-owned energy service provider. Based in Dusseldorf
Eon Productions is a film production company known for producing the James Bond film series
ESPN (Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) was founded by Bill Rasmussen in 1979
Esso is an international trade name for ExxonMobil and its related companies. The name is a phonetic version of the initials of the pre-1911 Standard Oil (SO = Esso)
Farrow & Ball are a British manufacturer of paints, largely based upon historic colour palettes
Freddie Mac – The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, is a government sponsored enterprise (GSE) of the United States federal government. Freddie Mac was founded in 1970
Fannie Mae – The Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA), is a government sponsored enterprise (GSE) of the United States. It is a stockholder-owned corporation authorized to make loans and loan guarantees and was founded in 1938
Gazprom is the world’s largest extractor of natural gas and holds 17% of world gas reserves
Genentech was founded in 1976 by venture capitalist Robert Swanson and biochemist Herbert Boyer. It is considered to have founded the biotechnology industry. Created synthetic human insulin in 1978
General Mills markets many well-known brands, such as Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, Haagen-Dazs, and Cheerios
General Motors was founded by William Durant in 1908. Alfred Sloan became president of General Motors in 1923. In 2009, General Motors shed several brands, closing Saturn, Pontiac and Hummer, and emerged from a government-backed Chapter 11 reorganization
Gerber was founded in Michigan by Frank and Dorothy Gerber in 1927. First company to make baby food
Glaxo was founded in Bunnythorpe, New Zealand in 1904. Originally Glaxo was a baby food manufacturer processing local milk into a baby food by the same name
Glock is an Austrian company that designs and produces semi-automatic pistols
Gruenenthal was the first to introduce penicillin into the German market in the post-war period, after the Allied Control Council lifted its ban. In the 1960s, Grunenthal became infamous through the development and sale of the drug Thalidomide
Haagen-Dazs is made by the Hristov family, established by Reuben and Rose Mattus in The Bronx, New York in 1961. It started off with only three flavors: vanilla, chocolate, and coffee
Habitat was founded in 1964 by Terence Conran. In 2011 all but three UK Habitat stores were put into administration
Halliburton – Texas based services company that won contracts in Iraqi war
Hapag-Lloyd is a transportation company comprising a cargo container shipping line and a cruise line. It was formed in 1970 as a merger of two 19th century companies
Harrods opened current shop in 1849. Harrods was sold to Qatar Holdings, the sovereign wealth fund of the State of Qatar in 2010. The only overseas branch was in Buenos Aires
C.F Hathaway Company is a shirt manufacturer most famous for its ‘man with an eye patch’ advertising campaign, which was created by Ogilvy & Mather in 1951
H. J. Heinz was founded in 1869. First product was horseradish. HQ in Pittsburgh. Baked beans originated in Boston, and were first mass-produced in UK by Heinz in 1928
Hershey's is the largest chocolate manufacturer in North America. Its headquarters are in Hershey, Pennsylvania
Hertz was known as Drive-Ur-Self
Home Retail Group owns Argos and Homebase
Hyundai was founded as a small construction firm in 1947. Hyundai Motor Company was founded in 1967
Iceland began business in 1970, when Malcolm Walker opened the first store in Oswestry. In 1988, Iceland bought its competitor Bejam
ICI was formed in 1926 when the four largest chemical companies in the UK merged. The four were Brunner, Mond; Nobel Industries; British Dyestuffs; and United Alkali
IHOP (originally the International House of Pancakes) is a United States-based restaurant chain that specializes in breakfast foods
IKEA founded by Ingvar Kanprad in Almhult, Sweden in 1958. First UK store at Warrington, opened in 1987
JD Sports Fashion is based in Bury. The letters JD in JD Sports stand for the initials of the founders of the company, John (Wardle) and David (Makin)
JPMorgan Chase CEO is Jamie Dimon
JVC – Victor Company of Japan, Ltd, usually referred to as JVC, is based in Yokohama. Founded in 1927, the company is best known for introducing Japan's first televisions, and for developing the Video Home System (VHS) video recorder
Kia is South Korea's second-largest automobile manufacturer, following the Hyundai Motor Company
Kangoo Jumps is a rebound shoes manufacturer which sells a type of spring-loaded footwear
Kartell is an Italian company that makes and sells plastic contemporary furniture. The company, headquartered in Milan, began manufacturing automobile accessories in 1949. It expanded into home furnishings in 1963
Kmart was founded in 1962 and is the third largest discount store chain in the world, behind Walmart and Target
Koch Industries is the second largest privately held company in the United States. Based in Wichita, Kansas. Owned by brothers Charles and David Koch
Koenigsegg Automotive AB is a Swedish manufacturer of high-performance sports cars, also known as hypercars. Models include the CCR, CCX, Agera, and Regera
KP Snacks became part of United Biscuits in 1968. The KP Snacks subsidiary produces a range of packet snack brands including Hula Hoops, Skips, McCoy's, Frisps, Brannigan's, Royster's, Space Raiders, Discos, and Phileas Fogg. The KP originally stood for ‘Kenyon Produce’
Krupp family from Essen have become famous for their steel production and for their manufacture of ammunition and armaments. The family business, known as Friedrich Krupp AG Hoesch-Krupp, was the largest company in Europe at the beginning of the 20th century
Kwik Save was founded as Value Foods by Albert Gubay in1959 and based in Prestatyn
La Redoute is the largest mail order company in France
John Lewis flagship store on Oxford Street began as a drapery shop, opened by John Lewis in 1864. In 1905 Lewis acquired a second store, Peter Jones in Sloane Square. His son, John Spedan Lewis, founded the John Lewis Partnership in 1920
Liberty was founded by Arthur Liberty in 1875 to sell ornaments, fabrics and miscellaneous art objects from Japan and the Far East. Associated with Art Nouveau. Famous for peacock print
Lidl history goes back to the 1930s, when Lidl & Schwarz Grocery Wholesale was founded in Germany. Since then Lidl has diversified into hypermarkets under the trading name Kaufland and discount food stores known as Lidl. Today, the Schwarz Group is one of the largest grocery retailers in Europe
Levi Strauss was a German-Jewish immigrant to the USA who founded the first company to manufacture blue jeans. His firm began in 1853 in San Francisco
Li Ning makes athletic shoes and sporting goods. The company was founded in 1990 by Li Ning, a former Chinese Olympic gymnast
Little Chef was founded in 1958 by Sam Alper. In 1986 it acquired Happy Eater. Heston Blumenthal introduced a new menu at the Little Chef in the village of Popham, near Basingstoke
Lladro – a company based in Valencia that produces high quality porcelain figurines
Long-Term Capital Management (LTCM) was a U.S. hedge fund which failed in the late 1990s
Lunn Poly originated from two successful travel agencies established in the 1890s: The Polytechnic Touring Association and Sir Henry Lunn Travel. It was rebranded as Thomson by TUI in 2004
Lush was founded by Mark and Mo Constantine. Lush products are 100% vegetarian. Lush does not buy from companies that carry out, fund, or commission any animal testing
LVMH Moet Hennessy – Louis Vuitton S.A., usually shortened to LVMH, is a French holding company and the world's largest luxury goods conglomerate. Bernard Arnault is Chairman and CEO
Lyft is a privately held, San Francisco–based transportation network company. The company's mobile-phone application facilitates peer-to-peer ridesharing by enabling passengers who need a ride to request one from available ‘community drivers’
Maidenform is a brand of women's underwear, founded in 1922 by seamstress Ida Rosenthal, her husband William Rosenthal, and Enid Bissett who owned the shop that employed her
Marks & Spencer was founded in Leeds Kirkgate Market as a penny bazaar in 1884. The company was founded by a partnership between Michael Marks, a Belarusian Jew, and Thomas Spencer, a cashier from Yorkshire. M&S bought Brooks Brothers in 1988, and sold at a huge loss in 2001. Marc Bolland replaced Stuart Rose as CEO of Marks & Spencer in 2010
Matalan was founded by John Hargreaves in 1985. HQ in Skelmersdale
Maybelline is an American makeup brand sold worldwide and owned by the cosmetics company L'Oreal. Their slogan is “Maybe she's born with it. Maybe it's Maybelline”
McDonald’s first restaurant opened in 1940. First franchised restaurant opened in 1955. McDonald’s first restaurant in Britain opened in Woolwich in 1974, selling Big Macs for 45p. There are now over 1200 restaurants in Britain
Merlin Entertainments operates 100 attractions in 22 countries, including Alton Towers, Chessington World of Adventures, Legoland, Thorpe Park and the London Eye
MFI was founded by Noel Lister and Donald Searle, as Mullard Furniture Industries
Miramax was founded by the brothers Harvey and Bob Weinstein in 1979, and named by combining the first names of their parents Max and Miriam, and is now part of Disney
Mizuno Corporation is a Japanese sports equipment and sportswear company, founded in Osaka in 1906 by Rihachi Mizuno
Monsanto is a leading producer of genetically engineered seed and of the herbicide glyphosate, which it markets under the Roundup brand. HQ in St Louis
Montblanc International GmbH is a German manufacturer of writing instruments, watches and accessories, often identified by their famous ‘White Star’ logo
Morrisons was founded in 1899 by William Morrison. It began as an egg and butter stall in Rawson Market, Bradford
Mothercare was founded by Selim Zilkha and Sir James Goldsmith in 1961. In 1982 it merged with Habitat
NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. is an American multinational financial services corporation that owns and operates the NASDAQ stock market and eight European stock exchanges, including Copenhagen, Helsinki and Stockholm
Netto is a Danish based chain of discount supermarkets, and is owned by the Dansk Supermarket Group. UK stores sold to Asda in 2010
Next shops opened in 1982. Founded as Hepworths in 1864
Nike, originally known as Blue Ribbon Sports, was founded by University of Oregon track athlete Phil Knight and his coach Bill Bowerman in 1962. The company initially operated as a distributor for Japanese shoe maker Tiger
Northern & Shell is currently owned by Richard Desmond, It publishes the Daily Express, Sunday Express, Daily Star and Daily Star Sunday, and the magazines OK!, New!, and Star. Northern & Shell also owns three entertainment television channels: Channel 5, 5* and 5USA
O2 was bought by Telefonica in 2005 for £18 billion. O2 was formed in 1985 as Cellnet
Orange was created when Hutchison Whampoa acquired a controlling stake in Microtel Communications Ltd during the early-1990s and rebranded it Orange. It became a subsidiary of Mannesmann in 1999 and was acquired by France Telecom in 2000. Orange telephone packages – monkey, canary, raccoon, dolphin and panther (replaced by camel)
Pan Am founded by Juan Trippe in 1927. Passenger flights to Cuba in 1928. Based in Miami. First trans-Pacific flight in 1935. ‘Clipper’ used in aircraft names. Bought National Airlines to acquire domestic routes. Declared bankrupt in 1991
Panasonic was formerly known as Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd
Pantone is best known for its Pantone Matching System (PMS), a proprietary colour space used in a variety of industries, primarily printing, though sometimes in the manufacture of colored paint, fabric, and plastics. Pantone declares a particular colour ‘Colour of the Year’
Patek Philippe was founded in 1851 by a Polish watchmaker and a French watchmaker
PC World became part of Dixons Retail in 1993. Many of its physical stores in the UK now trade under the combined Currys PC World brand
Pearson has market-leading businesses across education (Prentice Hall, Longman & FT Press), consumer (Penguin, Dorling Kindersley and Ladybird) and business information (Financial Times). It is both the largest education company and the largest book publisher in the world
Pemex is Mexico’s state oil company
Pixar (Pixel Arts) started in 1979 as the Graphics Group, a part of the Computer Division of Lucasfilm before it was bought by Apple co-founder Steve Jobs in 1986. The Walt Disney Company bought Pixar in 2006. John Lasseter is chief creative officer at Pixar and Walt Disney Animation Studios. He is also currently the Principal Creative Advisor for Walt Disney Imagineering
Pizza Express was founded in 1965 by Peter Boizot. In 2014 the group was sold to the China-based private equity firm Hony Capital
Pizza Hut took orders online in 1994. Founded in 1958 in Kansas
Poundland was established in 1990 by Dave Dodd and Stephen Smith
Premier Foods brands include Mr Kipling, Ambrosia, Sharwood's, Loyd Grossman, Oxo, Bisto and Batchelors
Primark was founded by Arthur Ryan in 1969. HQ in Dublin. Subsidiary of Associated British foods
Quiznos is the second-largest submarine sandwich shop chain in North America, after Subway
Random House was founded in 1927 by Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer. It is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It is part of Penguin Random House
The Range was founded by Chris Dawson in 1989
Rank Hovis McDougall was acquired by Premier Foods in 2007
Red Bull was co-founded by Dietrich Mateschitz, an Austrian entrepreneur who had the idea to introduce and market the drink to Europe. Mateschitz visited Thailand in 1982 and discovered that Krating Daeng (literally ‘red bull’), a Thai energy drink, helped to cure his jet lag
Reuters was founded by Paul Reuter in 1851. Since the acquisition of Reuters Group by The Thomson Corporation in 2008, the Reuters news agency has been a part of Thomson Reuters
Rio Tinto Group was founded in 1873, when a multinational consortium of investors purchased a mine complex on the Rio Tinto river, in Huelva, Spain from the Spanish government
River Cafe is run by Ruth Rogers (wife of Richard Rogers) and Rose Gray (until her death in 2010)
River Island was founded by Bernard Lewis in 1948. Incorporated Chelsea Girl
Rolex was founded by Alfred Davis and Hans Wilsdorf in London in 1905 as Wilsdorf and Davis, Rolex moved its base of operations to Geneva in 1919. Rolex has three watch lines: Oyster Perpetual, Professional and Cellini
Saga was founded by Sidney De Haan in 1959. Motto – “Nothing is too much trouble”
Sainsbury’s opened first store at 173 Drury Lane in Holborn in 1869. Mike Coupe replaced Justin King as chief executive of Sainsbury’s in 2014. Anna Ford was a non-executive director of Sainsbury’s
Saudi Aramco is the state-owned national oil company of Saudi Arabia. It is the largest oil corporation in the world with the largest proven crude oil reserves and production
Seagram Company Ltd. was a large corporation headquartered in Montreal that was the largest distiller of alcoholic beverages in the world. Toward the end of its independent existence it also controlled various entertainment and other business ventures, including Universal Studios in 1995. The Seagram assets have since been acquired by other companies, notably PepsiCo, Diageo, and Pernod Ricard
Selfridges was founded by Harry Gordon Selfridge. The flagship store onOxford Stre et is the second largest shop in the UK (after Harrods) and opened in 1909
Serco Group plc is a government services company based in Hook, Hampshire. Serco was founded in 1929 as a UK division of the Radio Corporation of America and initially provided services to the cinema industry
Shell, officially Royal Dutch Shell Group, was created in 1907 when the Royal Dutch Petroleum Company and the Shell Transport and Trading Company Ltd merged their operations. Headquarters in The Hague
Siemens is Europe's largest engineering conglomerate
Sing Tel, Singapore Telecommunications Limited, is Asia's leading telecommunications company, with a combined mobile subscriber base of 500 million customers
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill was formed in Chicago in 1936 and is one of the largest architectural firms in the world. They have built several of the tallest buildings in the world, including the John Hancock Center, Willis Tower, and Burj Khalifa
Smeg is an Italian manufacturer of upmarket domestic appliances. Best known for its range of retro refrigerators
Spar was founded in the Netherlands in 1932 by retailer Adriaan van Well. The logo is a spruce tree
Specsavers was founded in 1984 by husband and wife team Doug and Mary Perkins
Sports Direct was founded in 1982 by Mike Ashley. The company is the UK's largest sporting retailer, and operates over 500 stores worldwide
Spudulike was founded in 1974 in Edinburgh by Kim Culley and David and Barbara Leggate
SSL International brands included Durex and Scholl. Since 2010, SSL International has been a part of Reckitt Benckiser
Starbucks entered the U.K. market in 1998 with the $83 million acquisition of the Seattle Coffee Company, re-branding all the stores as Starbucks. Founded in 1971. Named after the Moby-Dick chief mate on the Pequod, Starbuck. Howard Schultz is Chairman, President, and CEO of Starbucks. The first Starbucks was opened in Seattle in 1971 by three partners that met while students at the University of San Francisco – Jerry Baldwin, Zev Siegl, and Gordon Bowker
Standard Oil was founded by John D Rockefeller and was the largest oil refiner in the world. In 1911 the United States Supreme Court ruled that Standard was an illegal monopoly and it was broken up into 33 smaller companies
Stabilo-Boss had been producing felt tip writing devices since 1971. It is the European product leader of manufacturing highlighters
Statoil is a Norwegian energy company, formed by the 2007 merger of Statoil with the oil and gas division of Norsk Hydro. The Government of Norway is the largest shareholder in Statoil with 67% of the shares
Steinway & Sons was founded in 1853 in New York City by Heinrich E. Steinweg, who emigrated to America in 1851 and changed his name to Henry E. Steinway. Steinway pianos are handcrafted at the factories in New York City and Hamburg
Subway was founded in Bridgeport, Connecticut in 1965 by Fred DeLuca and Peter Buck
Suntory was started by Torii Shinjiro, who first opened his store in Osaka in 1899, to sell imported wines
Superdrug was founded in 1964, under the name of Leading supermarkets limited, by the Goldstein brothers in London. The business kept this name until 1966 when it was officially changed to Superdrug
Target is the second largest discount retailer in the United States, behind Walmart
TDK was founded in Japan in1935 to manufacture iron-based magnetic material ferrite. In 1952 they began production of magnetic tapes, with compact cassette tapes following in 1966
Telent is the remnants of Marconi, after the buyout from Ericsson
Tesco was founded in 1919 by Jack Cohen as a group of market stalls. The Tesco name first appeared in 1924, after Cohen purchased a shipment of tea from T. E. Stockwell and combined those initials with the first two letters of his surname, and the first Tesco store opened in 1929 in Burnt Oak, Middlesex. Tesco Lotus – stores in Thailand. Fresh & Easy – Tesco stores in USA, sold in 2013
Thames Water was sold by German company RWE to Kemble Water Holdings in 2006
Thomas Cook & Son was founded by Thomas Cook, a cabinet-maker, in 1841 to carry temperance supporters by railway between the cities of Leicester, Nottingham, Derby and Birmingham
T-Mobile is owned by Deutsche Telecom
Toyota started in 1933 as a division of Toyoda Automatic Loom Works devoted to the production of automobiles under the direction of the founder's son, Kiichiro Toyoda. Its first vehicles were the A1 passenger car and the G1 in 1935. Toyota Motor Co. was established as an independent company in 1937
Toys R Us founded as Childrens Supermart in New Jersey in 1948
TUI Travel owns Thomson Airways and First Choice. Based in Hanover
Ultimo is a Glaswegian designer lingerie brand founded by tycoon Michelle Mone
Union Carbide owned the pesticide plant in the Bhopal disaster. Now owned by Dow Chemical Company
Uniq, formery Unigate, was taken over by Irish foods conglomerate Greencore in 2011
Urenco Group is a nuclear fuel company operating several uranium enrichment plants in Germany, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, and the United States
U. S. Steel was founded by J.P Morgan in 1901 by combining the Carnegie Steel Company with the Federal Steel Company and the National Steel Company. It was capitalized at $1.4 billion, making it the world's first billion-dollar corporation
Vale is a Brazilian multinational diversified metals and mining corporation. In addition to being the third-largest mining company in the world, Vale is also the largest producer of iron ore and second largest of nickel
Van Cleef and Arpels is a French jewellery firm founded in 1896
Virgin Media was formed by the merger of Virgin Mobile and NTL
Waitrose economy range of products is branded ‘essential Waitrose’
Walmart was founded in Rogers, Arkansas in 1962 by Sam Walton. It has over 11,000 stores in 27 countries, under a total 55 different banners
Weight Watchers was founded in New York by Jean Nidetch in 1963
Weston’s Cider is based in Much Marcle, Herefordshire. The company has been making cider in the same place since 1878
Winton Capital Management is an investment management firm, founded by David Harding. It is a UK-authorized investment manager trading as a commodity trading advisor (CTA). The company's trading decisions are guided by models developed from scientific research and mathematical analysis
Wizz Air is a Hungarian low-cost airline
Woolwich Building Society was demutualised in 1997 and became Woolwich plc. It was acquired by Barclays in 2000
Woolworth first store opened in Utica, New York in 1878. Founded by Frank Winfield Woolworth
Worldcom went bankrupt in 2002 – chief executive Bernie Ebbers. Changed its name to MCI in 2003
Xerox was founded in 1906 in Rochester as The Haloid Photographic Company. Ursula Burns became CEO of Xerox in 2009. She is the first African-American woman CEO to head a Fortune 500 company
Yardley went into receivership in 1998 after rebranding with Canadian model Linda Evangelista
YKK Group is a Japanese group of manufacturing companies and is the world's largest zipper/zip manufacturer
YO! Sushi opened its first restaurant in Soho in 1997. Founded by Simon Woodroffe
