Lloyds Bank: More Than 200 Branches To Close

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

Britain's biggest retail bank will set out plans next week to close more than 200 branches under a blueprint that will also see 9,000 jobs disappear.

Sky News understands that Lloyds Banking Group will say that a significant minority of its 2,250 branches across the UK will be shut by the end of 2017, ending a three-year moratorium on such closures.

The focus of the axe will be on urban centres where there are already multiple branches under Lloyds' individual brands operating in close proximity, according to one source.

Lloyds has roughly 1,300 branches under its own name, 670 as Halifax and 290 using the Bank of Scotland brand.

While the issue of bank branch closures is a sensitive one, Lloyds hopes that it will escape widespread criticism because its plans will not, for example, leave rural communities without access to their existing nearest branch.

Lloyds has already offloaded more than 630 branches as part of a state aid settlement with Brussels which resulted in TSB being spun out as an independent high street bank.

The plans will be presented to the City by Antonio Horta-Osorio

Adding a further 200 to that figure would mean that approximately 30% of the group's branches would have been offloaded or closed since the merger of Lloyds TSB and HBOS during the 2008 financial crisis.

Insiders said that Lloyds, which is 25%-owned by taxpayers, would also open some new branches during the next three years, with the exact net closures figure unclear this weekend.

The group would continue to operate the UK's largest branch network even after the plans are implemented, the source added.

People close to the situation pointed out that Lloyds was trying to be transparent by outlining a formal branch closures number, while some rival banks had been closing small numbers of branches on a regular basis but without making public announcements about their actions.

The plans, which will be presented to the City by Antonio Horta-Osorio, Lloyds' chief executive, will demonstrate the bank's vision for automating its customer-facing operations during a period when digital banking is forecast to continue its explosive growth rate.

Sky News revealed during the week that the revised strategy would trigger around 9,000 job losses.

Earlier this year, the British Bankers' Association (BBA) published research showing that UK-based customers conducted almost 40 million mobile and internet banking transactions each week in 2013, a huge increase on the previous year.

The job cuts at Lloyds, which employs roughly 80,000 people, will be on a smaller scale than the cull which has taken place since the merger of Lloyds TSB and HBOS.

Since then, tens of thousands of jobs have been axed at the combined group, and at rivals including Barclays, HSBC and the state-backed Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS).

It was unclear on Wednesday how many of the 9,000 roles affected would be in branches and how many in support roles at, for example, call centres.

The strategy update, which will be unveiled alongside results for the third quarter of 2014, is unlikely to include details of a return to the dividend list, with Lloyds expected to have to wait for the outcome of a Bank of England stress test in mid-December.

A spokesman for Lloyds declined to comment.

18.56 | 0 komentar | Read More

Over Five Million Britons In Low-Paid Jobs

A record five million UK workers are now in low-paid jobs, according to a new report.

The Resolution Foundation think-tank said the number of people earning less than £7.69 an hour increased by 250,000 last year to reach 5.2 million.

The increase partly reflected growth in employment, but there was also a reverse in the previous year's slight fall in low-paid work.

Workers in Britain are more likely to be low paid than those in comparable economies such as Germany and Australia, said the Resolution Foundation.

The think-tank's chief economist, Matthew Whittaker, said: "While recent months have brought much welcome news on the number of people moving into employment, the squeeze on real earnings continues. While low pay is likely to be better than no pay at all, it's troubling that the number of low-paid workers across Britain reached a record high last year.

Video: Cameron On Employment

"Being low paid - and getting stuck there for years on end - creates not only immediate financial pressures, but can permanently affect people's career prospects.

"A growing rump of low-paid jobs also presents a financial headache for the Government because it fails to boost the tax take and raises the benefits bill for working people."

He added: "All political parties have expressed an ambition to tackle low pay. Yet the proportion of low-paid workers has barely moved in the last 20 years.

Video: Survey: Scottish Job Growth Slowing

"A focus on raising the minimum wage can certainly help the very lowest paid workers in Britain, but we need a broader low-pay strategy in order to lift larger numbers out of working poverty.

"Economic growth alone won't solve our low-pay problem. We need to look more closely at the kind of jobs being created, the industries that are growing and the ability of people to move from one job or sector to the other, if we're really going to get to grips with low pay in Britain today."

Video: Angry Exchanges Over Job Creation

18.56 | 0 komentar | Read More

Dozens of European Banks Fail Health Checks

One in five banks in the Eurozone would be unable to survive another major economic crisis, and some institutions could be shut down if their finances do not improve.

A detailed report by the European Central Bank has revealed that 25 banks are in poor financial health - and that 13 of those desperately need to strengthen their buffers against losses.

If the failing banks are unable to raise more cash in the next nine months, they could be forced to shut down.

The financial institutions affected are mainly based in Italy, Greece and Cyprus - and a stress test to ascertain the resilience of British banks is only due to take place in December.

It is hoped that the in-depth review, which covered 130 of the biggest European banks, will help to identify potential vulnerabilities in the banking system, give companies better access to credit, and strengthen the bloc's economy.

The ECB, which is based in Frankfurt, is set to become Europe's central banking supervisor on 4 November. It organised the test so it would become aware of any weaknesses before it gained regulatory powers.

One of the organisation's main tasks is to help small and medium-sized companies across Europe find it easier to get accepted for credit from their bank of choice, enabling them to expand and stay in business.

A lack of available credit has been blamed on the Eurozone's stagnation - with the group of 18 nations using the euro showing no growth whatsoever between April and June.

"This review of the largest banks' positions will boost public confidence in the banking sector," said Vitor Constancio, the vice president of the ECB. "It will help repair balance sheets and make the banks more resilient and robust."

More follows...

18.56 | 0 komentar | Read More

UK's Surcharge Row: Your Questions Answered

What is the European Commission asking for from the UK?

Britain has been told it has to pay an extra £1.7bn (€2.1bn) towards the European Union budget.

This is being called a one-off bill which would add about a fifth to the UK's annual net contribution of £8.6bn.

Why the increase?

The extra money is being demanded because the UK economy is doing better relative to other countries in Europe.

The surcharge also comes from changes in how the EU calculates countries' gross national income (GNI), including more hidden activities like illegal drugs and prostitution.

The European Commission's statistics agency Eurostat looked at how member economies have performed since 1995.

And they re-adjusted the contributions according to the pace of their growth in recent years.

A statement on the EC website read: "On 17 October the Commission adopted its draft amending budget 6 for 2014.

"Though the overall GNI-based own resource does not increase, DAB6 proposes to amend Member State's GNI contribution to the EU budget based on the latest data on the evolution of Member States' wealth."

Do any other countries have to pay more?

The Netherlands has been asked to stump up an extra €642m into the EU budget.

Do any countries have to pay less?

France is set to get a rebate of €1bn and Germany is due to receive a €779m rebate as they have been overpaying.

A graph shows the gross national incomes of the UK, France and Germany

Why is the UK government angered by the extra demand?

A Downing Street source said: "It's not acceptable to just change the fees for previous years and demand them back at a moment's notice."

Video: Farage: EU Surcharge 'Outrageous'

"The European Commission was not expecting this money and does not need this money and we will work with other countries similarly affected to do all we can to challenge this."

Britain is now facing calls to refuse to pay the extra money and David Cameron is sure to challenge the additional demand at a meeting now in Brussels.

The surprise demand was also branded "outrageous" by Eurosceptic MPs in Mr Cameron's Conservative Party.

And it will pile more pressure on the Prime Minister as he fights to defend the seat of Rochester and Strood from UKIP in a by-election on November 20.

What does UKIP think?

Leader Nigel Farage said: "David Cameron once claimed that he had reduced the EU budget - but the UK contribution went up - and now, quite incredibly, our contribution goes up a second time. It's just outrageous.

"The EU is like a thirsty vampire feasting on UK taxpayers' blood. We need to protect the innocent victims, who are us."

Maybe the UK should pay the extra money?

Lecturer Isabelle Hertner said she was in favour of the surcharge. She told Sky News: "It is fair because for many years Britain had a rebate that was negotiated by ex-PM Margaret Thatcher and paid less into the EU budget than it should have paid.

"Whereas Germany and France paid as much as it should have paid, so in a way this is a give-and-take relationship. Sometimes you pay in more, sometimes less.

"For me this is fair and it was a rule that was agreed by the British government and other EU governments in the past."

What does the European Commission say?

Patrizio Fiorilli, an EC spokesman, said the request for more funds "reflects an increase in wealth".

He said: "Just as in Britain you pay more to the Inland Revenue if your earnings go up."

The EC also said the EU budget was about €144bn in 2013 - which it claimed was very small compared to the sum of the 28 EU countries' national budgets (over €6,400bn).

It added that total government expenditure by the 28 EU countries is almost 50 times the EU budget.

When does the UK have to pay the extra money?

Britain will have to make the top up payment by 1 December.

18.56 | 0 komentar | Read More

EU Wants An Extra £1.7bn Payment From UK

Britain is facing a demand from the European Union for an extra £1.7bn because of the growth of the economy.

The increase would add almost a fifth to the UK's annual contribution of £8.6bn.

A spokesperson for the European Commission said it was fair because it was like personal taxation - the more a person earns, the more they have to pay.

Commission spokesperson  Patrizio Fiorilli said: "Britain's contribution reflects an increase in wealth, just as in Britain you pay more to the Inland Revenue if your earnings go up."

The demand is intended to reflect improvements to Britain's economy since 1995.

Video: What Does EU Surcharge Mean For PM?

Prime Minister David Cameron has demanded an urgent meeting of EU finance ministers to discuss the demand .

Interrupting talks at an EU summit in Brussels, he told European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso he had "no idea" of the impact the news would have on public opinion in the UK.

The change in each state's contribution is a result of changes in the way the EU calculates gross national income.

A Commission spokesman said it was mainly due to the fact that the economic strength of EU's member states had increased or decreased relative to each other.

Preliminary figures seen by the Financial Times suggest Britain is facing the largest adjustment in the amount it must pay compared to other members states.

Video: Farage: EU Surcharge 'Outrageous'

The Netherlands is being asked for an extra £509m.

By contrast, France is due to receive a rebate of £0.8bn, Germany £618m, and Poland £250m.

Britain's surcharge is due for payment on 1 December - just days after the crunch Rochester and Strood by-election.

The vote to decide who takes the seat hangs on a knife edge with David Cameron's Tories struggling to fight off a challenge from anti-EU UKIP.

Mr Cameron held talks on Thursday evening with Dutch counterpart Mark Rutte, who is also facing a large demand for more cash, on what can be done to challenge the demands.

Video: Osborne: Recovery At Crucial Phase

The surcharges are likely to overshadow a European Council summit in Brussels, where Mr Cameron is meeting leaders of the 27 other EU States, some of which are looking forward to reductions in their contributions.

Several Conservatives MEPs have already spoken out against the surcharge, saying Britain is being punished for its success.

A Downing Street source insisted it would be challenged, say: "It's not acceptable to just change the fees for previous years and demand them back at a moment's notice.

"The European Commission was not expecting this money and does not need this money and we will work with other countries similarly affected to do all we can to challenge this."

Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls told Sky News: "In Europe, you've got to build alliances, you've got to win arguments, you've got to be listened to and taken seriously," he said.

Video: Does EU Membership Benefit UK?

"If people aren't listening, and you've got no friends or allies, you get ignored and time after time David Cameron is being ignored."

UKIP leader Nigel Farage told Sky News: "It just leaves Mr Cameron in a hopeless condition, because don't forget, one of his big claims was he'd cut the EU budget.

He added: "The EU is like a thirsty vampire feasting on UK taxpayers' blood. We need to protect the innocent victims, who are us."

18.56 | 0 komentar | Read More

Economy: Third Quarter Growth Slows To 0.7%

UK economic growth slowed in the third quarter of the year, according to the first official estimate of GDP for the period.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) measured Gross Domestic Product growth of 0.7% in the period, down from output growth of 0.9% in the previous three months.

It charted a slowdown in manufacturing, saying expansion - at 0.3% - was its weakest for 18 months amid concerns for the world economy and the euro area in particular - the country's biggest trading partner.

The service sector, which accounts for more than 75% of the country's total output, showed growth of 0.7% during the three months to September - down from 1.1% in the previous quarter.

Construction output continued to grow

It meant, the ONS said, that annual growth was 3%, down from 3.2%, though total economic output was 3.4% bigger than its pre-crisis peak in 2008.

All the figures are subject to revision but the status quo still leaves manufacturing 4.1% behind and construction 8.2% short of their peaks.

Video: Govt 'Out Of Touch' On Economy

Construction output grew 0.8% in the third quarter.

The performance was widely expected by economists, given forecasts suggesting the eurozone may slip back into recession.

The data for the service sector suggests businesses will be more wary about spending while consumers remain hit by weak wage rises.

Chancellor George Osborne said: "Today's strong growth figures show that the UK continues to lead the pack in an increasingly uncertain global economy.

"With all the main sectors of the economy growing, it's clear that our recovery is broadly based.

"But the UK is not immune to weakness in the euro area and instability in global markets, so we face a critical moment for our economy.

"If we want to avoid a return to the chaos and instability of the past, then we need to carry on working through our economic plan that is delivering stability and security."

Labour's shadow chancellor Ed Balls responded: "For all George Osborne's claims that the economy is fixed most people are still not feeling the recovery.

"Working people are over £1,600 a year worse off since 2010 and these figures now show a concerning slowdown in economic growth too.

"We need a strong and balanced recovery that works for all working people, not just a few at the top."

18.56 | 0 komentar | Read More

Lloyds To Cut 9,000 Jobs In Three-Year Plan

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

Lloyds Banking Group is to cut approximately 9,000 jobs - equating to just over 10% of its workforce - as part of moves to automate consumer-facing services at the UK's biggest high street lender.

Sky News has learnt that Lloyds will disclose plans for the cuts, which will take place over a three-year period ending in December 2017, alongside its third-quarter results next Tuesday.

The numbers are still being finalised ahead of next week's announcement, but sources confirmed that 9,000 was the most likely jobs figure to be outlined by the bank.

A target for branch closures would also be announced, according to one insider, but this was likely to be smaller than some reports had suggested.

"This is about responding to customer behaviour and ensuring that Lloyds is in the right shape for the next 20 years of consumer banking," they said.

Lloyds is understood to have more than 10 million customers who actively use online banking services, including 4.5 million mobile banking users - a level which has quadrupled during the last three years.

All of the major high street banks are shedding jobs and pruning branch networks, a trend exacerbated by the explosion in the number of banking transactions now conducted online and on mobile devices.

Lloyds is led by Antonio Horta-Osorio

Earlier this year, the British Bankers' Association (BBA) published research showing that UK-based customers conducted almost 40 million mobile and internet banking transactions each week in 2013, a huge increase on the previous year.

The job cuts at Lloyds, which employs roughly 80,000 people, will be on a far smaller scale than the cull which has taken place since the merger of Lloyds TSB and HBOS during the banking crisis of 2008.

Since then, tens of thousands of jobs have been axed at the combined group, and at rivals including Barclays, HSBC and the state-backed Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS).

It was unclear on Wednesday how many of the 9,000 roles affected would be in branches and how many in support roles at, for example, call centres.

Lloyds, led by chief executive Antonio Horta-Osorio, has also shed hundreds of branches as part of a state aid settlement with Brussels during the last five years.

His strategy update, which will be unveiled alongside results for the third quarter of 2014, is unlikely to include details of a return to the dividend list, with Lloyds - alongside other banks - facing European and UK stress tests between now and mid-December.

A spokesman for Lloyds, which is 25%-owned by taxpayers, declined to comment.

18.57 | 0 komentar | Read More

Tesco Profits Plunge 92% In Accounting Chaos

Tesco chairman Sir Richard Broadbent is to quit as an inquiry into its accounting practices reveals a £263m profit overstatement, resulting in a 92% fall in first-half profits.

The supermarket chain said an internal investigation by Deloitte into its procedures had found historic failures in its UK food business going back a number of years.

It had suggested in September that the error was a one-off but said today the overstatement figure reflected previous reporting periods too.

Its share price fell 7% when the FTSE 100 opened for business in the wake of the statement but later eased back.

A wider sell-off of supermarket stock saw £1bn wiped off the value of Tesco, Sainsbury's and Morrisons combined.

Phillip Clarke was sacked as chief executive

Eight senior executives had been suspended pending the outcome of the inquiry, which examined how Tesco logged suppliers' rebates and if they were reported in the correct accounting period.

Tesco said there was no evidence anyone at Tesco had sought to gain personally but the findings raise questions about the leadership of former chief executive Philip Clarke, who stepped down in the summer before the accounting issues were made public.

Video: Ex-Investor Wants Tesco Redress

Tesco said his pay-off - and that of former finance chief Laurie McIlwee - was being delayed until such time as inquiries were complete.

Sir Richard said his decision to stand down reflected "the important principle of accountability."

The business, which has been battling hard discounters and strong competition from other major chains, made the announcements as it confirmed the effect on its current half-year results.

Pre-tax profits fell 92% to £112m while UK trading profit was down 55.9% to £499m.

UK like-for-like sales were 4.6% lower - slightly better than expected.

Chief executive Dave Lewis said: "We know that we have got a lot of work to do.

Video: Waitrose Wins As Tesco Struggles

"We know what it is we need to do to turn the business around".

Tesco's market value - which has lost £17.6bn in the last five years - has plunged more than 50% in the past 12 months alone as a consequence of its UK dominance being eaten away by rivals.

It had previously admitted taking its eye off the ball while hunting growth overseas though its big investment in America fell flat.

The results statement said: "We have three immediate priorities. The first is restoring competitiveness in our core UK business.

The second is protecting and strengthening our balance sheet. The third is to begin the long journey of rebuilding trust and transparency in the business and the brand."

Mr Lewis later told reporters he was planning no potential price cuts until after his business review had been completed.

Video: How Tesco's Cheese Is Made

18.57 | 0 komentar | Read More

Profit Fall Points To Scale Of Tesco Chief’s Task

There's no getting away from it: today's numbers from Tesco are horrible, whichever way you look at them.

First, the positive spin.

A 4.6% fall in UK like-for-like sales was - astonishingly - better than many analysts had forecast, while a £937m group trading profit was substantially higher than the City expected.

But those glimmers of light will not put the underlying task facing Tesco's new boss Dave Lewis in the shade.

The UK performance in the six months to August 23 was dreadful, and it will take a miraculous transformation to show a significant improvement by the time the company reports full-year results next spring.

Video: Ex-Investor Wants Tesco Redress

Tesco said the like-for-like sales fall was the result of "strong competition across the grocery market, headwinds from price cuts and fewer untargeted promotions".

For most of the last 20 years we became accustomed to hearing those gripes from Tesco's rivals, not the market leader: in itself, that illustrates just how far Tesco has fallen amid intense competition from much smaller rivals in the shape of Waitrose, Marks & Spencer (at the premium end of the market) and discounters Aldi and Lidl.

By one measure - statutory pre-tax profit, which includes one-off nasties - earnings slumped by almost 92%.

Under Philip Clarke, who was sacked as chief executive in the summer, profit declines became wearily familiar to Tesco shareholders, but not on this scale.

Improving things will be made much harder by the absence of eight key executives from the business during the most crucial trading period of the year.

Their enforced (temporary?) departure is the result of an accounting scandal now being probed by the Financial Conduct Authority and other regulators.

Video: Waitrose Wins As Tesco Struggles

Tesco disclosed today that profits had been overstated by a total of £263m, the majority of which relates to the current financial year but some of which dates to prior periods.

That casts a pall over the reign of Mr Lewis's predecessor, Mr Clarke, and explains why the board has decided to delay 'liquidation' payments to him and the former chief financial officer, Laurie McIlwee.

"To be clear, we are not saying that they won't be paid, but the board has made a decision to withhold those payments until the investigations are concluded".

There's further boardroom upheaval in store. Tesco confirmed Sky News' report from earlier this week that chairman Sir Richard Broadbent is to step down next year.

The arrival of a new chief executive and chief financial officer (Alan Stewart, most recently of Marks & Spencer) would, Sir Richard said, "mark the beginning of a new phase for the company".

Tesco shareholders certainly hope so.

18.57 | 0 komentar | Read More

US Firm Bolsters Ebola Vaccine War Chest

The race to develop the first vaccine to combat Ebola has intensified, with a US firm investing a further $200m (£120m) to accelerate testing.

Johnson & Johnson (J&J) said it was aiming to produce one million doses to protect against the virus next year, 250,000 of which are expected to be available by May, if clinical trials in January are successful.

But it warned it would need additional partners to speed up production and its trial programme.

There is currently no proven vaccine against the deadly disease but several companies are developing products - vaccines which have provided protection against the aggressive strain in monkeys.

Clinical tests on two - from GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) and NewLink Genetics - are already under way with trials also due to get underway at the beginning of 2015.

Video: British Troops Leave For Africa

The World Health Organisation (WHO) hopes that tens of thousands of people in West Africa, including frontline healthcare workers at high risk of infection, can start receiving Ebola vaccines from January as part of large-scale clinical trials.

West Africa's Ebola outbreak began in March and has killed more than 4,500 people, most of them in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, according to the WHO.

It believes that up to 1.4 million could have been affected by the virus by 2015.

1/11

1. Gallery: The Desperate Fight To Contain The Ebola Outbreak

   A man rests outside the clinic.

2. A woman is comforted after medical officials remove her husband, who is suspected of having the disease.

3. Officials try to prevent themselves from spreading the disease.

4. A local who has just brought his brother to the centre. He had to rely on plastic bags tied around his hands to try to protect himself.

5. A man thought to be infected with ebola waits for treatment.

6. Patients wait to be seen by medical staff.

7. Workers try to decontaminate themselves.

8. A worker with a child who may have caught ebola.

9. A makeshift hand-washing station in Monrovia.

10. Decontaminated boots of medical staff.

11. The basic conditions make containing the disease very difficult.

J&J, which is best-known in the UK for its range of consumer products including soaps and cleaning wipes, said on Wednesday that it would test its vaccine for safety and immune response in healthy volunteers in Europe, the US and Africa.

Its chief executive Alex Gorsky said: "We have an important responsibility as a leading global healthcare company to do all we can to address this urgent unmet medical need."

18.56 | 0 komentar | Read More

Homebase: A Quarter Of Stores To Be Closed

The owner of the DIY chain Homebase is to close a quarter of its stores over the next three years, leaving thousands of jobs hanging in the balance.

Home Retail Group (HRG), which made the announcement as it confirmed its half-year results, said it planned to shut 25% of its 323 stores by 2018 through scheduled lease expirations and sales.

It said a review of the business had found Homebase was saddled with "inconsistent store operating standards" as well as "a large estate with low sales densities that result in a challenged financial model."

The chain, which currently employs 17,000 people, is to lose its managing director Paul Loft in the wake of the findings.

A spokesperson told Sky News: "HRG has announced a three-year plan for Homebase to revitalise the business for the future.

Argos, also owned by HRG, was already getting a digital makeover

"Part of the plan will be to right-size the store estate through scheduled lease expiries and a series of sales to other retailers.

"Once they are identified, our colleagues will be the first to be informed about any of the affected stores, and where possible we will redeploy colleagues to other stores within the Group, or encourage retailers buying our leases to offer roles within their businesses locally".

The transformation to a greater digital offering was confirmed against a backdrop of rising sales at Homebase.

Home Retail said group underlying first-half profit rose 13%, particularly reflecting sales growth at Argos.

Profit before tax reached £30.9m in the six months to 30 August though its full-year result would depend on Argos' Christmas trading, HRG said.

Argos has itself undergone a turnaround, with Home Retail moving away from its traditional catalogue store offering towards digital click & collect.

Argos saw sales from mobile and tablet devices rise by 45%.

Homebase like-for-like sales grew by 4.1% over the six-month period while its improved website helped multi-channel sales rise 12%.

John Walden, chief executive of HRG, said "Homebase is a good business with the basis for future growth.

"In this context, Homebase will pursue a three-year plan through to the end of 2018 to improve the productivity of its store estate, strengthen its propositions and accelerate its digital capabilities by leveraging Argos' investments.

"This will position Homebase as a smaller but stronger business, ready for investment and growth."

18.56 | 0 komentar | Read More

Apple Warns Users Over Chinese iCloud Attack

Apple has acknowledged the iCloud security threat for the first time, posting a new security warning for users of its online service.

In a post on its support site the technology giant said: "We're aware of intermittent organised network attacks using insecure certificates to obtain user information, and we take this very seriously.

"If users get an invalid certificate warning in their browser while visiting www.icloud.com, they should pay attention to the warning and not proceed."

Attempts to log in to Apple's iCloud service in China have seen users directed to a spoof website which may be harvesting passwords.

iCloud users are being asked to be vigilant

Web connections to the login page are blocked and a dummy site that looks virtually identical is presented instead.

Those using Chrome and Firefox browsers are automatically notified that they are no longer on Apple's website, but users of Chinese browser Qihoo will see no indication of the issue.

Apple said its servers have not been compromised in any way.

Since details of the attacks first emerged, some internet activists have claimed that China is behind them.

However, Hua Chunying, a spokesman for China's foreign ministry, said the government was "resolutely opposed" to hacking.

State-owned internet provider China Telecom added that the accusation was "untrue and unfounded".

18.56 | 0 komentar | Read More

Royal Mail And Amazon Create 32,000 Xmas Jobs

More than 30,000 temporary jobs are to be created for the Christmas postal rush, it has been announced.

Royal Mail said it would take on 19,000 additional workers and online retailer Amazon wanted 13,000 staff.

Privatised last October, Royal Mail said the jobs will start in the middle of November and end in January, with the peak staffing period in December.

The roles will be in support of the company's 124,000 full-time sorting and delivery personnel.

Royal Mail chief operations officer Sue Whalley said: "Christmas is the busiest time of the year for Royal Mail and we plan all year round to help ensure we deliver the best possible service to our customers.

Amazon said it needed thousands of jobs at its warehouses

"Every Christmas, we make a substantial financial commitment in additional resources to handle the festive mailbag, including the recruitment of thousands of temporary workers."

Meanwhile, Amazon said it needed seasonal roles to be filled at eight warehouses around the country and at its customer service centre in Edinburgh.

Video: Royal Mail Brings Some Xmas Cheer

The announcement comes a week after it said it needed 1,000 new permanent positions at its warehouses.

UK operations director John Tagawa said: "Last year, on the busiest day in the run up to Christmas, our customers ordered 4.1 million items - that's about 47 items ordered per second."

It said "hundreds" may end up with permanent positions as a result of the temporary work.

Delivery services have seen a huge demand in recent years amid the rise on online purchasing by consumers.

New services have also been set up to try and alleviate the problem of deliveries when recipients are not at home.

Network Rail launched a 3,000-staff recruitment drive for Doddle, which allows commuters to pick up parcels at train stations.

And Amazon has its own locker pick up points, at certain supermarkets and at some London Underground stations.

18.56 | 0 komentar | Read More

Comparison Sites Under Fire Over 'Kickbacks'

Price comparison websites have been accused of hiding the best energy deals from consumers.

Instead, tariffs are promoted from providers who are paying the sites up to £60 commission when a user switches, according to consumer group The Big Deal.

It claimed CompareTheMarket, uSwitch, Confused.com, GoCompare and MoneySuperMarket use search options that filter out the best non-commission offers.

The Big Deal, which uses an alternative of collective bargaining to negotiate with providers, said some websites have option boxes such as switch "now" or "today", showing only providers that pay commission.

The group's Will Hodson told Sky News: "We're calling on the competition authorities to crackdown on this kickback culture."

"The claim that they are consumer champions has to be challenged - these guys put commission first and consumers second."

It said better switching offers are available that can save consumers up to £200 a year.

The websites said their services were transparent, operating within existing guidelines and saving consumers money.

Uswitch's Ann Robinson told Sky: "The people who use our site save an average £200, and 10% of our users save over £300."

MoneySuperMarket said filter results were "not a loophole" and CompareTheMarket added that "suppliers sometimes stipulate which tariffs they wish to sell on price comparison websites".

Confused.com added that it was "committed to transparency in everything we do".

A spokesman for GoCompare said: "Consumers have to bear in mind that this is a highly orchestrated PR campaign being run by a company with a vested interest in moving customers away from comparison sites to their own collective switching model.

"The Big Deal also makes its money by being paid a commission by the energy supplier to which its customers switch."

The energy watchdog Ofgem said it was considering a regulation overhaul of the sector.

In January, the boss of Co-operative Energy told Sky News comparision websites were misleading customers and pushing up energy bills.

Profits for the so-called big five comparison sites have climbed 400% since 2005, reaching a combined total of £170m last year.

The Big Deal said it has written to the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) over the hidden cost claims of the comparison firms.

The CMA is currently investigating the energy market over concerns of tariff and previously said the big energy providers could be split up, separating retail arms from their supply divisions.

The big six providers currently supply around 92% of all consumers - down from 99% five years ago - according to recent estimates.

Energy costs for consumers have more than doubled in the last decade, despite falling inflation and a squeeze on wages since the financial crash.

18.56 | 0 komentar | Read More

Major Fire Rips Through Didcot Power Station

Firefighters are investigating the cause of a major blaze that took hold of Didcot Power Station last night.

The fire began in one of the gas-fired cooling stations and was described by Oxfordshire Fire And Rescue as "very serious".

Twelve fire engines, 65 firefighters and three hydraulic platforms were sent to the site around 8pm.

The fire was contained within the station cooling tower module

Officials at the RWE npower owned site managed to shut down the site quickly to stop the incident turning into an inferno.

The moment the power station came offline from the National Grid power was provided by another plant.

1/6

1. Gallery: Major Fire At Didcot Power Station

   A major fire broke out at the Didcot Power Station in Oxfordshire about 8pm on Sunday. Pic: Jess Collins

2. The blaze - described by Oxfordshire Fire And Rescue as "very serious" - began in one of the gas-fired cooling stations. Pic: @markydavidb

3. Twelve fire engines, 65 firefighters and three hydraulic platforms were dispatched. Pic: Zainab Mirmalek

4. The scale of the damage became apparent by the morning.

5. Firefighters are now working to establish the cause of the blaze.

Energy Secretary Ed Davey insisted electricity supplies would not be affected and that engineers would work to get the site up and running as soon as possible.

"My priority is to understand the cause of the fire and get the affected unit back generating electricity as soon as it's safe to do so," he said.

Oxfordshire's chief fire officer, David Etheridge, said his team were hampered by high winds before bringing the blaze under control.

"It was a very serious fire. Our crews have been working very hard in very difficult conditions," he told Sky News.

Video: Resident Describes 'Massive Blaze'

"These fires are always very tricky for us. Water and electricity don't mix but we've worked with the site management on plans and we do exercises to make sure that when we do get an incident such as this we can all work seamlessly together to get it under control."

Thames Valley Police advised residents to close windows and remain indoors.

Site operators RWE Generation told Sky News no one had been injured. Spokesman Dan Meredith said: "We have taken the precaution to shut down safely the station and all our employees are accounted for."

He said the the fire was contained within the cooling tower module - there are a number of modules that form part of the site.

Video: Power Station Shut Down Amid Blaze

Mr Meredith added that an inquiry would be launched into how a blaze was allowed to begin in Station B, which opened in 1997 and can power millions of homes.

Zainab Mirmalek, who lives opposite the power station, said: "About 9pm you could see a massive blaze but now you can see loads of hoses, lots of steam and smoke and water gushing, though there is still lots of orange."

Natural gas powered Didcot B, which opened in 1997, generates up to 1,360 MWe of electricity - enough to power a million homes.

18.56 | 0 komentar | Read More

Bank 'Gloomier' As Economy Woes Hit Markets

The Bank of England's chief economist has spoken of his concerns for the UK's economic outlook as it writhes in both "agony and ecstasy" alongside weaker global growth.

Andy Haldane told a business audience the Bank may need to keep interest rates lower for longer than previously thought to reduce the chance of the economy slipping into long-term stagnation.

He cited greater financial and political risks and the danger that wages and productivity might continue to fail to recover as forecast.

"Put in rather plainer English, I am gloomier," he said.

Andy Haldane is the Bank of England's chief economist

"This implies interest rates could remain lower for longer, certainly than I had expected three months ago."

His remarks came at the end of a week in which stock markets tumbled and pushed back their expectations for the timing of the first UK rate rise to towards the back end of next year.

Video: Investing? Stocks, Savings Or ISAs?

Fears of recession in the eurozone, weakness in the US and China and an end to the US Federal Reserve's quantitative easing (QE) programme contributed to the sell-off that saw £50bn wiped from the value of the FTSE 100 in just two days.

The London market was over 1% higher on Friday and the pound lost half a cent against the dollar in the wake of Mr Haldane's comments.

He said Britain's economy was "writhing in both agony and ecstasy" amid the volatility and raised the spectre of "secular stagnation", meaning a long period of negligible growth as a result of the world's woes.

"If there is genuine uncertainty about the path of the economy, the optimal policy response may be to avoid the worst outcomes", he said.

The UK's economy has been growing steadily this year - outperforming the G20 - with growth of 0.9% measured in the second quarter and unemployment falling to a 6% rate.

But wage growth remains muted and inflation is falling - with both factors a problem for a recovery largely built on consumer spending.

While they formed part of Mr Haldane's argument on UK policy, the country's economic performance is in stark contrast to that of its biggest trading partner, the eurozone.

The IMF recently forecast a 40% chance of eurozone recession - with even Germany on the brink - as the area battles low inflation, high unemployment and higher risks associated with the west's sanctions against Russia over Ukraine.

It was revealed on Thursday that five nations using the single currency had slipped into deflation while Greece's borrowing costs rose to 9% - a level seen as unaffordable again amid concerns relating to its bailout programmes.

The European Central Bank is under pressure to launch its own programme of QE to provide stimulus.

18.56 | 0 komentar | Read More

Tesco Profit Shortfall 'Better Than Feared'

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

A shortfall in half-year profits at Tesco which plunged Britain's biggest retailer into crisis is next week expected to be disclosed to have been smaller than initially feared.

Sky News understands that the supermarket chain plans to announce alongside its first-half results on Thursday that it had previously overstated earnings by between £200m and £250m.

The final figure was likely to be somewhere close to the middle of that range, a banking source said.

The numbers are still being prepared by Tesco's auditors this weekend and a final figure for the mis-statement will not be identified until the middle of the week, according to the source.

If the accounting error is below the £250m figure indicated last month, however, the news will be greeted with relief by the City following speculation that it could have to inflate that number substantially.

Dave Lewis, Tesco's chief executive, told staff yesterday that he expected to be able to give a "clear and accurate indication" of the company's performance during the first half of the year.

An investigation being undertaken by Deloitte and Freshfields will not be completed in time for the results announcement but is understood to point towards there being no requirement at this stage for previous years' profits to be restated.

Eight executives have been asked to stand aside to facilitate the probe, which is focused on payments from Tesco's suppliers.

Sky News also understands that Tesco has asked Greenhill, the investment bank, to field offers from bidders for assets such as Dunnhumby, the marketing services group behind the grocer's Clubcard loyalty scheme.

Sources said that Advent International, TPG and at least one other firm had enquired about Dunnhumby's availability but were being told that Mr Lewis was not keen to hold talks about a deal at this time.

Tesco owns a number of businesses - including an Asian retail empire valued by some analysts at up to £10bn - which could be sold if its board decides it needs to raise capital.

The accounting crisis has triggered investigations by the Financial Conduct Authority and Financial Reporting Council, and raised questions about the future of chairman Sir Richard Broadbent.

Tesco declined to comment.

18.56 | 0 komentar | Read More

UK Firms Consider Paying For Egg Freezing

By Rhiannon Mills, Sky News Correspondent

British companies have said they would consider following Apple and Facebook's lead by paying for female staff to freeze their eggs.

With the US tech giants now offering the fertility treatment as a benefit, Sky News asked 18 city firms if they would consider providing the same perk.

Two said yes - Spacious, who provide office space, and the bike light company Blaze.

Its founder Emily Brooke said she would even like the option herself.

Facebook and Apple sparked a worldwide debate by offering the perk

She told Sky News: "It just gives you a little bit more freedom and takes the pressure off later on in life.

"The women in my team are just as ambitious as I am, they work incredibly hard and I wouldn't expect them to take up the opportunity, I wouldn't want them to necessarily, but I would like them to have the option."

Two years ago Sarah Brocklehurst had her eggs frozen. Now 43, she knows it isn't a guarantee she'll be able to conceive in the future but says it has given her a choice.

She said: "Just being able to freeze the eggs allowed me to take a little beat to relax, be able to look around sensibly at looking for a man that I wanted to be with, not just a man that I could have a child with, which is what I think - some women unfortunately fall into that trap.

"And also fix things like my career and my living situation. So I think it's the best thing I could have done really."

This week one of Europe's largest fertility clinics is opening on the edge of the city of London.

Video: New IVF Treatment Gives Women Hope

For £200 Create will offer businesswomen fertility tests in their lunch hour and the chance to freeze their eggs so they can concentrate on their careers.

But the centre's medical director believes all women over 29 should be routinely tested for free on the NHS to assess their chances of starting a family.

Professor Geeta Nargund said: "We need to be proactive if we want to help the nation's fertility in the long run and spend less in the long run on fertility treatments.

"We want to invest in proactive fertility screening on the NHS. Many times people say I wish I knew this, I wish I was able to find out about this five years ago."

Video: New Hope For Women Considering IVF

With so many advancements in fertility treatments there are some who believe couples may be relying too much on science as a quick fix if they delay having a family.

Professor Melanie Davies from the British Fertility Society said "I know there are social pressures and I know that one has to find Mr Right but if you're in a good situation a good relationship the best advice is to get on and have children naturally

"That is far more successful than freezing ones eggs and more successful than having IVF at a later stage."

At a cost of around £7,000 for three rounds of egg freezing, women will need a decent salary or generous employer to pay for it, but all experts agree that age is still likely to be the biggest factor when it comes to a couple's chances of starting a family.

18.56 | 0 komentar | Read More

UK Banks To Take Forex Fines Hit Within Weeks

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

Some of Britain's biggest banks will set aside hundreds of millions of pounds in the next few weeks as they prepare to settle with regulators after a probe into the manipulation of foreign exchange markets.

Sky News has learned that Barclays, HSBC and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) are all preparing to allocate substantial provisions ahead of a prospective deal with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Insiders said that at least one of the banks was likely to set aside a much higher figure than its anticipated FCA fine amid ongoing discussions with authorities in the US.

They added that the foreign exchange probe would see well over £500m set aside by the three banks in aggregate when they report third-quarter results within the space of a few days at the end of the month.

The provisions, which will follow similar moves this week by Citigroup and JP Morgan, follow crunch talks held between the banks and the FCA in September.

Sky News exclusively revealed details of those discussions, although sources said the aggregate penalty for the six banks in settlement talks was likely to be lower than the £2bn indicated at the time.

The so-called omnibus settlement, which the banks have been keen to coordinate with the FCA, will be the largest group penalty ever imposed by the City watchdog.

The FCA will find the banks guilty of a string of systems and control failures in their foreign exchange businesses following the emergence of concerns that currency markets had been manipulated in a similar way to interbank borrowing rates such as Libor.

The six banks, which also include UBS, are likely to finalise their settlement with the FCA by the end of next month, although the timetable could slip.

One executive said the fact that the regulator had indicated the scale of potential fines meant they were under pressure from auditors to set aside provisions in their third-quarter numbers.

The UK banks are still discussing internally whether to top up their warchests for regulatory settlements to encompass other national regulators as well as the FCA.

One source said at least one major British lender would also increase its compensation tab for mis-selling payment protection insurance in the coming weeks.

Barclays, HSBC and RBS declined to comment.

18.56 | 0 komentar | Read More

Bank 'Gloomier' As Economy Woes Hit Markets

The Bank of England's chief economist has spoken of his concerns for the UK's economic outlook as it writhes in both "agony and ecstasy" alongside weaker global growth.

Andy Haldane told a business audience the Bank may need to keep interest rates lower for longer than previously thought to reduce the chance of the economy slipping into long-term stagnation.

He cited greater financial and political risks and the danger that wages and productivity might continue to fail to recover as forecast.

"Put in rather plainer English, I am gloomier," he said.

Andy Haldane is the Bank of England's chief economist

"This implies interest rates could remain lower for longer, certainly than I had expected three months ago."

His remarks came at the end of a week in which stock markets tumbled and pushed back their expectations for the timing of the first UK rate rise to towards the back end of next year.

Video: Investing? Stocks, Savings Or ISAs?

Fears of recession in the eurozone, weakness in the US and China and an end to the US Federal Reserve's quantitative easing (QE) programme contributed to the sell-off that saw £50bn wiped from the value of the FTSE 100 in just two days.

The London market was over 1% higher on Friday and the pound lost half a cent against the dollar in the wake of Mr Haldane's comments.

He said Britain's economy was "writhing in both agony and ecstasy" amid the volatility and raised the spectre of "secular stagnation", meaning a long period of negligible growth as a result of the world's woes.

"If there is genuine uncertainty about the path of the economy, the optimal policy response may be to avoid the worst outcomes", he said.

The UK's economy has been growing steadily this year - outperforming the G20 - with growth of 0.9% measured in the second quarter and unemployment falling to a 6% rate.

But wage growth remains muted and inflation is falling - with both factors a problem for a recovery largely built on consumer spending.

While they formed part of Mr Haldane's argument on UK policy, the country's economic performance is in stark contrast to that of its biggest trading partner, the eurozone.

The IMF recently forecast a 40% chance of eurozone recession - with even Germany on the brink - as the area battles low inflation, high unemployment and higher risks associated with the west's sanctions against Russia over Ukraine.

It was revealed on Thursday that five nations using the single currency had slipped into deflation while Greece's borrowing costs rose to 9% - a level seen as unaffordable again amid concerns relating to its bailout programmes.

The European Central Bank is under pressure to launch its own programme of QE to provide stimulus.

18.56 | 0 komentar | Read More

Virgin Money Delays Float Amid Market Chaos

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

Virgin Money is extending the timetable for its £2bn stock market listing because of market volatility which has prompted the collapse of several high-profile City deals.

Confirming a report by Sky News the bank, which is part-owned by Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group, issued a statement on Friday saying that it will delay a plan to sell shares on the London Stock Exchange until after the end of this month.

"Virgin Money continues to progress its plan for an initial public offering, mindful of market conditions. It now expects admission to occur later than October 2014 and as soon as constructive market conditions allow," the company said.

Its chief executive, Jayne-Anne Gadhia, said:

"Virgin Money continues to perform strongly and we remain focused on delivering a successful initial public offering as soon as market conditions allow."

In a statement issued on 2 October, Virgin Money had said that it expected admission of its shares to the London market to take place before the end of October.

Sources insisted that the plan to raise £150m by selling shares in the company was still on track to take place following positive initial discussions with potential investors.

Earlier this week, Aldermore, another so-called challenger bank, said it was abandoning its flotation because of the tough equity market conditions which have seen the FTSE-100 have its worst week for many months.

Scotland's rejection of independence in last month's referendum and Virgin Money's strong recent trading had persuaded the bank's board to press ahead with a flotation this year, rather than waiting until 2015.

Virgin Group and WL Ross, a US-based investment vehicle, collectively own just over 90% of the bank, plan to educe their stakes in order to comply with listing authorities' requirements relating to the number of shares which must be freely floated.

Virgin Money declined to comment.

18.56 | 0 komentar | Read More

Bank 'Gloomier' As Economy Woes Hit Markets

The Bank of England's chief economist has spoken of his concerns for the UK's economic outlook as it writhes in both "agony and ecstasy" amid weaker global growth.

Andy Haldane told a business audience the Bank may need to keep interest rates lower for longer than previously thought to reduce the chance of the economy slipping into long-term stagnation.

He cited greater financial and political risks and the danger that wages and productivity might continue to fail to recover as forecast.

"Put in rather plainer English, I am gloomier," he said.

Andy Haldane is the Bank of England's chief economist

"This implies interest rates could remain lower for longer, certainly than I had expected three months ago."

His remarks came at the end of a week in which stock markets tumbled and pushed back their expectations for the timing of the first UK rate rise to towards the end of next year.

Fears of recession in the eurozone, weakness in the US and China and an end to the US Federal Reserve's quantitative easing (QE) programme have contributed to the sell-off that has seen £50bn wiped from the value of the FTSE 100 in just two days.

The London market was 1% higher on Friday and the pound lost half a cent against the dollar in the wake of Mr Haldane's comments.

He said Britain's economy was "writhing in both agony and ecstasy" amid the volatility and raised the spectre of "secular stagnation", meaning a long period of negligible growth as a result of the world's woes.

"If there is genuine uncertainty about the path of the economy, the optimal policy response may be to avoid the worst outcomes", he said.

The UK's economy has been growing steadily this year - outperforming the G20 - with growth of 0.9% measured in the second quarter and unemployment falling to a 6% rate.

But wage growth remains muted and inflation is falling.

While those factors formed part of Mr Haldane's argument on UK policy, the country's performance is in stark contrast to that of its biggest trading partner, the eurozone.

The IMF recently forecast a 40% chance of eurozone recession - with even Germany on the brink - as the area battles low inflation, high unemployment and higher risks associated with the west's sanctions against Russia over Ukraine.

It was revealed on Thursday that five nations using the single currency had slipped into deflation while Greece's borrowing costs rose to 9% - a level seen as unaffordable again amid concerns relating to its bailout programmes.

The European Central Bank is under pressure to launch its own programme of QE to provide stimulus.

18.56 | 0 komentar | Read More

Global Markets Q&A: What Is Causing The Fall?

Volatile trading has continued into a second day after weak growth reports sparked a big sell-off earlier this week. But what has caused the markets to get jittery?

:: Why are markets plunging?

Good question. As ever with global markets, there's no straightforward answer, but here are three likely factors: first, the economy in the eurozone is doing worse than many expected, so you would expect share prices, which have raced away in recent months, to come down.

Second, with the eurozone facing a possible recession, threatening to drag the rest of the world into a slump, and with China and other emerging economies weaker, it's not clear who will play the role of global economic powerhouse in the coming year.

Third, there are some who fear that the share price gains of the past few years are simply a temporary sugar high fuelled by central banks pumping cash into the system.

Video: Market Sell-Off: What Is To Blame?

:: But the UK is outperforming the G20, isn't it? So are we immune?

As a small, open, highly-financialised economy, Britain is highly sensitive to changes in the international economy – and nowhere more so than the euro area.

Just over 50% of UK goods exports go to the EU, compared with just over 13% to the US and just over 4% to China.

Indeed, economists think if there is a recession in the euro area that could cause annual UK GDP growth, currently more than 3% a year, to drop into negative territory.

:: To what extent has the ebola outbreak contributed to growth and investor concerns?

It has certainly added to the sense of unease, alongside the rise of Islamic State, the growth of extremist political parties in the EU and the prospect of a UK referendum on EU membership.

It is difficult to pinpoint precisely how much influence each factor has on confidence.

:: A core concern worldwide is low inflation. Surely weaker price increases is a good thing for me?

Well strictly speaking higher inflation tends to be good for debtors and bad for savers.

But the worry here is less about investors and more about what low inflation is telling us about the growth prospects of the eurozone.

Twelve of the 28 EU member states have zero inflation or deflation (falling prices), and falling prices (and wages) are usually a sign of an economy which is facing a pay cut and struggling to generate growth.

:: The eurozone looks to be heading towards recession again. Who is to blame?

For the time being, this is a different crisis to the existential crisis we saw a couple of years ago (where it looked like the single currency was about to break apart).

But now the eurozone's long-standing weaknesses (poor demographics, high public spending, unreformed labour markets) are coming back to haunt it.

Video: Market Jitters: US Growth 'To Win'

Those kinds of problems - as rife in France and Italy as other smaller, Mediterranean economies - will take years to resolve, and there is little sign politicians are getting any closer to doing so (certainly in France).

:: Germany is Europe's biggest economy. Why is it now suddenly facing a downturn?

Partly because its neighbours aren't doing all that well. Partly because it has been more affected than most by sanctions on Russia. Partly it has been affected by the relative strength of the euro in the past few years.

But there are also complaints that its government hasn't done enough to get growth going.

The International Monetary Fund, among others, believes it should be spending more on infrastructure to help kick-start economic activity.

:: Greece was the first euro nation to get a bailout during the debt crisis. Why is it still struggling when other nations such as Ireland have recovered?

Actually in some senses it is doing a lot better than expected.

Next year, according to the IMF, Greece will grow faster than any other eurozone economy apart from Ireland.

However, for one thing, unemployment remains eye-wateringly high. Second, and most worrying as far as markets are concerned, the coalition government looks weak, and could conceivably collapse in the coming months.

That brings its capacity to exit its bailout programme into question.

:: What measures/actions would you suggest to get the world economy moving forward?

As a mere journalist I would tend to leave such judgements to actual policymakers and economists.

However a few ideas that have been suggested include: quantitative easing (eg money creation) from the European Central Bank - though that is fraught with difficulties, notably the refusal of the Bundesbank to co-operate.

Clearly some euro members desperately need to reform their public sectors. But unfortunately there are no easy answers for the current malaise, which is why markets remain so concerned.

18.56 | 0 komentar | Read More

Virgin Money Delays Float Amid Market Chaos

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

Virgin Money is extending the timetable for its £2bn stock market listing because of market volatility which has prompted the collapse of several high-profile City deals.

Confirming a report by Sky News the bank, which is part-owned by Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group, issued a statement on Friday saying that it will delay a plan to sell shares on the London Stock Exchange until after the end of this month.

"Virgin Money continues to progress its plan for an initial public offering, mindful of market conditions. It now expects admission to occur later than October 2014 and as soon as constructive market conditions allow," the company said.

Its chief executive, Jayne-Anne Gadhia, said:

"Virgin Money continues to perform strongly and we remain focused on delivering a successful initial public offering as soon as market conditions allow."

In a statement issued on 2 October, Virgin Money had said that it expected admission of its shares to the London market to take place before the end of October.

Sources insisted that the plan to raise £150m by selling shares in the company was still on track to take place following positive initial discussions with potential investors.

Earlier this week, Aldermore, another so-called challenger bank, said it was abandoning its flotation because of the tough equity market conditions which have seen the FTSE-100 have its worst week for many months.

Scotland's rejection of independence in last month's referendum and Virgin Money's strong recent trading had persuaded the bank's board to press ahead with a flotation this year, rather than waiting until 2015.

Virgin Group and WL Ross, a US-based investment vehicle, collectively own just over 90% of the bank, plan to educe their stakes in order to comply with listing authorities' requirements relating to the number of shares which must be freely floated.

Virgin Money declined to comment.

18.56 | 0 komentar | Read More

Markets Fall Further As Global Weakness Hits

The sharpest fall in European stocks since 2011 has been followed by a second day of steep drops as investors flee risk because of global economic weaknesses.

Many stock markets, including the FTSE 100, recovered some ground lost on Wednesday in early Thursday trading - helped by some encouraging corporate results- though jitters soon outweighed the search for bargains.

The FTSE 100 was down 2% in late-morning trade after a 2.8% drop on Wednesday.

It was a series of weak reports on the health of the two biggest economies in the world that sparked the big sell-off.

Hours after Chinese inflation data disappointed - falling to a near five-year low - it was revealed that US retail sales and producer prices both dropped last month.

Video: Sell? It's A 'Buying Opportunity'

The woeful economic signals started a safe-haven rally in US Treasuries while a sharp fall in the dollar lent modest support to oil prices, though Brent crude still shed 1.1% to $82.72-a-barrel as weak demand continued to dominate pricing.

Investors were already worried about the looming end to the US Federal Reserve's programme of quantitative easing (QE) this month before the global growth fears properly surfaced.

It was euro area weakness that dominated trading on Thursday.

The latest inflation figures for the eurozone showed annual growth of just 0.3% across the single currency bloc, doing nothing to dispel fears the European Central Bank's (ECB's) previous rate measures to boost activity had failed to make the grade.

It is facing increasing demands to start a programme of quantitative easing.

The International Monetary Fund recently forecast a 40% chance of eurozone recession though German Chancellor Angela Merkel used a speech on Thursday to urge euro nations not to try and spend their way back to prosperity.

He told an audience Europe must push ahead with efforts to cut public deficits and improve competitiveness, warning that the debt crisis had not yet been overcome and its causes eliminated.

While the UK's own economic performance is outstripping many of its major competitors, the FTSE 100 has hit 15-month lows on the back of the wider world's problems because of the market's exposure to mining and other commodity stocks.

Chancellor George Osborne has acknowledged that the stagnation in the eurozone is a major threat to the UK's recovery.

There is immediate concern about Greece.

Its main stock market fell 10% at one point on Wednesday as it also got to grips with worries its government may collapse next year, putting the country's crucial bailout programme in danger.

Greece's anti-establishment and anti-austerity party, Syriza, has established a solid lead in the polls and the country's 10-year bond yield - the interest rate it pays to service its debts - climbed to 8.9% on Thursday as shares continued to bleed value.

18.56 | 0 komentar | Read More

BSkyB Reports Rise In Revenue And Profit

BSkyB, the home entertainment company which owns Sky News, hailed strong demand from customers for new products as it unveiled quarterly revenue growth which beat City estimates.

The company said first-quarter sales in the three months to the end of September increased by 6% to £1.926bn, slightly ahead of analysts' forecasts.

Pre-tax profit during the period rose by 6% to £417m, while operating profit increased by 11% to £316m.

The stronger performance was driven by the addition of 760,000 paid-for subscription products, including Sky Go Extra, which enables customers to watch content on mobile devices.

Revenue from the on-demand service Sky Store more than doubled during the quarter.

BSkyB chief executive Jeremy Darroch

There was also a £429m gain in BSkyB's statutory profit figure from the sale of a 6.4% stake in ITV, the commercial broadcaster, to Virgin Media's owner, Liberty Global.

BSkyB announced the results just weeks before the acquisition of Sky Italia and a majority stake in Sky Deutschland are due to be completed.

Jeremy Darroch, BSkyB chief executive, said that following a year of investment in new technology and products, the company was "seeing the returns coming through".

"This strong financial performance was fuelled by continued operating momentum," he said.

"We are seeing broad customer demand for our products whilst opening up new revenue opportunities.

"The investments that we have made in new connected TV services are delivering growing benefits to our business."

Mr Darroch added that the benefits of diversifying BSkyB's product base were driving "connected customers [to] watch more TV, spend more with us and are more loyal".

18.56 | 0 komentar | Read More

Bank Raises Fixed Pay As Crackdown Looms

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

Some of London's top bankers are being handed pay rises as European regulators demand restrictions on allowance awards which enable lenders to pay bigger bonuses.

Sky News has learnt that Nomura, the Japanese bank which acquired the European operations of Lehman Brothers after its collapse in 2008, is poised to award backdated fixed salary increases to a handful of its most senior City-based employees.

The awards are designed to align the Nomura executives more closely with the pay of competitors, and are the first confirmation that Brussels' efforts to curtail banks' award of periodic allowances for staff will result in inflating their fixed costs.

The allowances were introduced earlier this year by most of the world's top banks operating within the European Union (EU) after the advent of rules restricting bonuses to 100% - or, with shareholders' approval, 200% - of an individual's salary.

The cap, which has been legally challenged by George Osborne, the Chancellor, prompted banks to introduce monthly or quarterly payments to staff according to their seniority.

The payments count towards the fixed pay element of the bonus cap ratio - enabling the payment of larger bonuses.

However, this week the European Banking Authority (EBA) said it believed that many of the role-based allowances were illegal because they were variable rather than fixed, and demanded that national banking supervisors take necessary steps to outlaw them.

In the UK, the Prudential Regulation Authority gave permission for the allowances to be paid earlier this year, and has yet to respond to the EBA's opinion.

Sky News can also reveal that a number of banks which are due to pay allowances in the coming weeks will continue to do so despite this week's judgement.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch, for example, is understood to be planning to pay the sums to eligible staff in its November payroll, while Morgan Stanley, which pays them on a monthly basis, is also expected to continue doing so.

Barclays and Goldman Sachs are among the other banks which are likely to have to rethink the structure of the allowances if the PRA accedes to the EBA's demands.

The Treasury is opposing the EU bonus cap because it argues that it undermines the status of London as Europe's most important financial centre.

Nomura, BAML, Barclays, Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley all declined to comment.

18.56 | 0 komentar | Read More

Jobless Total Back Below Two-Million Mark

The latest unemployment figures show the jobless total below the two-million mark for the first time since 2008.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said unemployment fell by 154,000 in the three months to August to 1.97 million, with the jobless rate falling by more than expected to 6% - its lowest level since October 2008.

But the figures also highlighted continuing concerns about wage growth - measured at just 0.7% on an annual basis between June and August.

It meant that earnings were still failing to keep pace with inflation despite annual living cost increases being calculated on Tuesday at just 1.2%.

The ONS statistics also showed that growth in employment had slowed to its weakest pace since May 2013 though it took the total in work to a new UK record of 30.7 million.

The fall in the number of people claiming unemployment benefits in September was the smallest since April last year, down 18,600 month on month.

There are fears the UK's economic recovery risks being damaged by renewed weakness globally - with some economists forecasting a new recession in the UK's biggest market, the eurozone.

Unemployment has fallen by 538,000 over the past year, the biggest annual reduction since records began in 1972.

Prime Minister David Cameron reacted to the figures by tweeting: "The biggest-ever fall in unemployment in history, taking it below two million, is great news. Our plan is working, but there's still much more to do."

The statistics showed progress on the crisis in youth unemployment - which covers 16 to 24-year-olds - easing by 88,000 over the quarter to 733,000.

There were 162,000 unemployed 16-and-17-year-olds, down by 11,000 on the previous three months.

But the number classed as economically inactive increased by 113,000 in the latest quarter to more than nine million - a figure that risks damaging the Government's attempts to bring down the UK's welfare bill.

18.56 | 0 komentar | Read More

Apple And Facebook Pay To Freeze Staff Eggs

Facebook and Apple are giving female staff the opportunity to delay plans to start a family by paying for them to freeze their eggs.

The firms are covering up to $20,000 (£12,600) for the procedure and annual storage costs, according to reports.

The employment perk is expected to help the companies attract more women into the male-dominated sector, in the face of concerns over workforce diversity.

Experts warn freezing eggs is not a guarantee of motherhood. File pic

It is also set to be seen as a further sign of the so-called "perk arms race" as Silicon Valley firms battle to recruit and retain top talent.

Other benefits offered by companies to keep workers happy include free lunches, dry cleaning, yoga and massages.

Facebook recently began covering the costs of egg freezing and Apple will begin in January, NBC said.

In a statement, Apple said it "cares deeply about our employees and their families, and we are always looking at new ways our health programs can meet their needs".

It added: "We continue to expand our benefits for women, with a new extended maternity leave policy, along with cryopreservation and egg storage as part of our extensive support for infertility treatments.

"We also offer an adoption assistance program, where Apple reimburses eligible expenses associated with the legal adoption of a child."

Shelley Correll, a sociology professor and director of the Clayman Institute for Gender Research at Stanford University said: "Anything that gives women more control over the timing of fertility is going to be helpful to professional women.

"It potentially addresses the conflicts between the biological clock and the clockwork of women's careers."

However, experts point out freezing eggs is a relatively new procedure that does not guarantee a successful pregnancy.

Corey Whelan, of the American Fertility Association, said: "It's really, really important for women to know it's not a guarantee of motherhood.

"Some women consider it an iron-clad insurance policy. It's not."

The procedure is gaining popularity as more women put motherhood on hold.

A post on the online forum eggsurance.com says: "Women today are at a cultural and generational crossroads. We have the same career expectations and demands as men.

"As our biological clocks tick away, we must establish ourselves in the workplace, find the right mate and become financially secure enough to establish a family."

Microsoft reported earlier this month that only 29% of its staff were women, while at Google it was 30%.

Some 31% of Facebook employees are women, but just 15% are in technical jobs.

18.56 | 0 komentar | Read More

Sainsbury's Endures Backlash On Nectar Cuts

Sainsbury's customers have threatened to shop elsewhere after the supermarket chain confirmed it was planning cuts to its Nectar reward points.

The company, which announced the changes in an email, said it was halving points to one per pound spent in store or online from 11 April 2015.

It also planned to stop rewarding customers with points for using their own bags but would continue to award one point for each litre of fuel bought from its pumps.

Sainsbury's insisted there would be "lots of opportunities to boost your balance faster and more value when you spend your points" but recipients of the email took to Twitter to complain.

Chris Whitehead tweeted: "Hey @Sainsburys if I enter into a relationship with an agreed expectation of loyalty, then you change it, expect divorce. Hi @Ocado."

Anna McNally wrote: "So @Sainsburys will no longer be giving me nectar points for reusing my bags but will be giving out extra points on fuel. Sounds very green."

A Sainsbury's spokeswoman said: "We are changing the way customers earn Nectar points and launching more high-value bonus events, like Swipe to Win, 10xpoints on fuel and adding more categories to our Christmas 'Double Up' event so that customers can make their points go even further."

It claimed the changes were a "redistribution" of points rather than a saving on the scheme and said there were no cost savings to the retailer in the first 12 months.

Sainsbury's - like its biggest rivals Tesco and Morrisons - have been losing ground to hard discounters such as Aldi and Lidl in a fierce price war.

Of the 'big four' chains, only Asda has grown its share in recent months.

The new Sainsbury's boss, Mike Coupe, has previously warned that the supermarket sector is facing its most turbulent period in three decades.

18.56 | 0 komentar | Read More

Tesco Suspends More Execs Over Profits Row

Tesco has suspended another three executives as it continues its investigation into a £250m profit black hole.

Sky Sources suggest they are Dan Jago, head of beer, wine and spirits and director of convenience Sean McCurley.

The other man is understood to be another category director, William Linnane.

It brings to eight the total number of executives suspended by Britain's biggest retailer over the crisis.

A Tesco spokesperson said today: "We have asked three employees to step aside to facilitate the investigation into the potential overstatement of profits in UK food for the first half of the year.

Philip Clarke stepped down as Tesco CEO in July

"We will provide an update on the investigation with our interim results on 23 October".

The company said it had commissioned its own independent inquiry into the causes behind the accounting error when it made the details public on 22 September.

The City watchdog, the Financial Conduct Authority, later said it would also launch its own "full investigation" into the issue.

The £250m figure relates to how it logs suppliers' rebates and if they were reported in the correct accounting period.

The four senior executives previously suspended include UK managing director Chris Bush.

It also emerged the company had not had a finance chief in place for months.

Tesco said a day later that its new incoming finance chief Alan Stewart, who was not due to start until 1 December, would commence work two months early.

18.57 | 0 komentar | Read More

Inflation Falls To Five-Year Low Of 1.2%

Plunging fuel costs and a supermarket price war are being credited for the latest dip in the annual rate of inflation.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) measured a 1.2% rise in consumer prices in the 12 months to September - its lowest level for a decade if the September 2009 figure is excluded.

The easing from a rate of 1.5% in August was much stronger than economists had predicted and highlighted the extent of the grip on price pressures currently being exerted by major supermarkets.

The sector, which imposed a new round of cuts on petrol pump prices on Tuesday, has been battling an in-store challenge from hard discounters such as Aldi and Lidl.

The major supermarket chains are competing fiercely to counter discounters

Price cuts to help keep customers from making a switch have been made at a time of wider price falls in commodities such as wheat and oil - the latter falling to four-year lows.

While cutting their margins does little for supermarket profits, the war for market share is seen as more important with Tesco and Morrisons currently losing ground.

A separate report on Tuesday by the British Retail Consortium suggested warm weather in September helped push retail sales to their weakest level for almost six years.

It said while people delayed buying goods like coats and footwear there was also a significant hit to sales values from the supermarket price war.

Supermarkets have led the way in slashing fuel costs

While the inflation figure is good news for every family - despite earnings growth still lagging behind inflation - pensioners also learned today how much more they would receive next spring.

The CPI figure means that state pensions will rise by 2.5% or £2.85 a week as the Government's so-called 'triple lock' ensures an increase of whichever is the greater out of average earnings, September's inflation rate or 2.5%.

The ONS said that food and non-alcoholic beverage prices fell by 1.4% year on year, the steepest drop since June 2002 and the fifth month in a row that they have not risen on an annual basis.

It is the longest sustained period of flat or falling food prices since the end of 2004, the body said.

Petrol fell by 0.8p per litre in September compared with the previous month and diesel by 0.7p.

Sea and air fares fell more steeply than at the same time last year while laptops and tablets, computer games, games consoles, books and e-books also contributed to the inflation slowdown.

The ONS said that were it not for the impact of falling food and motor fuel prices - the latter of which were down 6% - the rate of inflation would be around a third higher at 1.6%.

The pound fell sharply after the figures were released as the sharper-than-expected drop meant it was less likely that the Bank of England would need to take action soon to raise the base rate of interest from its five-year low of 0.5%.

18.57 | 0 komentar | Read More

Three Big Six Firms Face Watchdog Meter Probe

The energy regulator is investigating three 'Big Six' energy firms over a slow roll-out to businesses of advanced electricity meters.

Ofgem said British Gas, E.ON and npower were the poorest performers in terms of completion rates.

Under the Labour Government's advanced meter roll-out scheme, which began in 2009, suppliers had to take all reasonable steps to fit 155,000 business customers with, and supply electricity through, advanced electricity meters by April 2014.

Ofgem said the roll-out was only 75% complete in electricity, compared to 86% complete in gas and the three firms accounted for over half of the 40,000 advanced electricity meters still waiting to be installed. 

It was also watching other suppliers and urged all firms to continue to fit the meters in an effective and timely manner.

Rachel Fletcher, senior partner at the regulator's markets division, said: "We are disappointed in the overall performance of the majority of suppliers concerning the roll-out of advanced meters to business customers.

"These new meters offer real benefits to customers including saving money through reduced energy consumption and ending estimated billing.

"Regulatory and government programmes are not optional and failure to meet these in a timely way causes consumer harm.

"All suppliers can and must learn the lessons from the roll-out of meters for business customers and apply them to the domestic smart meter roll-out."

Ofgem monitored suppliers' progress throughout the roll-out and said it repeatedly reinforced the need to deliver on time.

A similar programme for domestic customers is due to get underway - with firms obliged to ensure that gas and electricity smart meters are installed by the end of 2020.

The Government has estimated the business scheme should save firms a combined £40m annually.

A British Gas spokesman said: "British Gas is a committed advocate of smart and advanced metering.

"Since 2008 we've made significant efforts to ensure that all our business customers can benefit from advanced metering, which will put them even more in control of their energy consumption and help them keep their bills down.

"We remain very aware of our obligations and will continue to work hard to overcome obstacles to the roll-out of this technology.

"We'll co-operate fully with the Ofgem investigation".

18.57 | 0 komentar | Read More

Amazon To Create 1,000 UK Warehouse Jobs

Amazon has announced plans to hire a further 1,000 staff for its UK warehouse operations.

The online retailer, which just a month ago said it was expanding its UK office operations, said the separate announcement would boost staffing levels across its eight existing distribution sites.

It said the new roles would be full-time and successful applicants would start on an average £7.39 per hour and earn up to £8.90 per hour after two years.

The company, which has battled industrial unrest in a number of countries over pay and conditions of service at its so-called fulfilment centres, said it had "continued to implement new programmes and ways of working for the benefit of its entire workforce".

These included, Amazon said, staff now working four ten-hour shifts per week "meaning they benefit from three days off every week".

The retailer pointed out that the change meant "associates" would save both time and money through fewer visits to work.

John Tagawa, Director of UK Operations at Amazon, said: "Over the past two years, we have added well in excess of 2,000 new employees to our workforce and we are delighted to be able to add a further 1,000 to that number over the coming months.

"We have continued to focus day in, day out on providing the very best shopping experience for our customers and as we see greater demand, we are able to rapidly grow our talented team across the UK".

The US-based firm said the jobs would be created across its service centres at Doncaster, Dunfermline, Gourock, Hemel Hempstead, Milton Keynes, Peterborough, Rugeley and Swansea Bay.

Amazon became the latest multinational last week to be investigated by the European Commission over its tax affairs.

It will examine a 2003 agreement between Luxembourg and the retailer because it said most of Amazon's European profits are recorded in Luxembourg but are not taxed in the state.

Amazon said it had received "no special tax treatment from Luxembourg - we are subject to the same tax laws as other companies operating here", it added.

18.57 | 0 komentar | Read More

FTSE 100 Directors' Earnings Up 21% In A Year

A steep rise in long-term incentives meant directors at FTSE 100 companies earned 21% more in the last financial year, a report has found.

The study by employment research specialists Incomes Data Services (IDS) suggests average annual earnings for directors was £2.43m, with chief executives picking up £3.34m.

IDS said earnings pegged to long-term incentive plans, which include share options, rose by 44% and bonuses were up 14% in 2013/14.

Basic salaries gained only 2.5% over the period.

The figures highlight attempts, in the wake of the financial crisis, to end the potential for rewarding failure as share options are linked to long-term performance targets.

But they still contrast sharply with levels of pay across the UK's workforce, with official statistics showing a fall of 1.6% over the same 12 month period - with annual pay growth, including bonuses, most recently being measured at just 0.6%.

The report was released as hundreds of thousands of health workers went on strike in protest at the Government's decision not to give them a 1% pay rise.

Research by Sky News found the total pay package of the best paid CEO in the FTSE 100 index last year, Sir Martin Sorrell of WPP, equals the combined salaries of 1,403 newly qualified NHS midwives.

Editor of the IDS pay report, Steve Tatton, said: "FTSE 100 directors have seen their total earnings jump sharply in the last year, fuelled by a rise in the value of share-based awards.

"Bonus payments have also recovered strongly following a downturn last year.

"The pattern of pay growth highlights the complex make up of directors' remuneration.

"Salary rises may be modest but this can be more than made up for by the receipt of incentive payments.

"When such incentives pay out, they can pay out substantial sums, giving a significant boost to directors' earnings."

Chief executives at media, marketing and telecoms companies earned most in 2013/14, IDS said, with an average £6.98m.

CEOs at retail and distribution companies were found to be the lowest in the rankings with a median of £1.31m.

The report also showed the gap between chief executive pay and the rest of the workforce had widened significantly.  

Heads of FTSE 100 companies earned 120 times more than full-time employees on average, against a 47% difference in 2000. 

18.57 | 0 komentar | Read More