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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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%.

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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".

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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.

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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. 

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F1 Owner CVC Eyes Bid For Blatter Sports Firm

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

The largest shareholder in Formula One motor racing is among a pack of suitors circling a sports rights firm headed by the nephew of Sepp Blatter, the controversial head of football's world governing body.

Sky News has learned that CVC Capital Partners is among a group of potential buyers of Swiss-based Infront Sports & Media, whose clients include FIFA and dozens of other owners of lucrative sports franchises around the world.

Infront is headed by Philippe Blatter, and has been majority-owned by Bridgepoint, a London-based private equity firm, since 2011.

Sources said that Lazard, the investment bank, had asked bidders to submit initial offers during the course of last week, with CVC and CAA, the talent management company which also has a presence in the sports arena, among those interested.

A number of other buyout firms including Blackstone and Bain Capital are understood to have decided not to bid.

It was unclear on Monday whether IMG, which is backed by US-based investment firm SilverLake Partners, made an offer.

CVC, which owns more than 30% of F1's parent company, was one of the bidders for IMG last year.

Among Infront's most important contracts is the right to sell World Cup television rights in a number of Asian countries for the 2018 and 2022 tournaments, the latter of which has been riddled with controversy because of FIFA's decision to award the tournament to the Gulf state of Qatar.

Among Infront's strategic initiatives since Bridgepoint's takeover was a joint venture to launch in Qatar struck towards the end of last year.

Infront is also the media adviser to Serie A, Italian football's top division, the French team entry to the America's Cup and the majority of the Winter Olympics sports federations.

In a letter to clients quoted by Reuters last month, Mr Blatter said:

"Bridgepoint and the Infront Management... commenced a process to review different options for the company to find the appropriate support for its next phase of growth."

"Encouragingly, a substantial number of organisations have already actively expressed their interest in supporting the company, which makes us consider the overall current market situation as favourable for this review."

Sources said that Bridgepoint and its advisers were looking for offers of around £850m, or roughly double what it paid to acquire Infront three years ago.

Since then, the value of many sports media rights has continued to rise significantly, although the Infront chief executive and his uncle, who has run FIFA since 1998, have faced criticism over Infront's work on FIFA properties.

Bridgepoint and CVC declined to comment.

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FTSE Slips To One-Year Low On Growth Fears

The FTSE has closed at its lowest level in nearly a year with a crisis of confidence over the global recovery.

It came as there were warnings about a triple-dip recession in the Eurozone at the IMF's annual conference in Washington.

Data from Europe's biggest economy, Germany, points towards a serious slowdown, with exports falling 5.8% in August - the biggest monthly fall in five years.

The FTSE 100 Index ended the week 91.9 points lower at 6340.

It leaves London's top 100 listed companies worth £140bn less than they were just over a month ago, and at their lowest ebb since last October.

Video: The Week's Big Business Stories

Worries about the global economy, particularly in Europe and Asia, have been accompanied by a wave of selling in energy and commodity stocks due to a sharp fall in the price of oil.

The Ukraine crisis and spread of the deadly ebola virus have also added to fears.

Wall Street saw its worst week since May 2012, with the Dow Jones industrial average down to 16,544.

Germany's Dax was down 2%, extending its losses for the week to 4%, and France's Cac 40 fell by more than 1% on Friday.

On Wednesday, the IMF downgraded global growth for this year and next, and lowered its assessments of Germany, France and Italy.

However, it kept its UK growth estimate for this year static at 2.7%.

That prompted Chancellor George Osborne to warn: "I'd be the first to say we're at a critical moment because the Eurozone risks slipping back into recession and crisis and that is already having an impact on the UK."

Around 50% of UK exports go to the EU.

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