Interest-Only Borrowers Face 'Wake-Up Call'

Homeowners with interest-only mortgages due to be paid before 2020 need to "act now" to ensure they have enough money to pay their loans back, a report says.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) fears that consumers are under-estimating the scale of the problem, with around 260,000 people thought to have no strategy in place for repaying their loan.

Consumer campaigners also raised concerns that a "significant" number of people claimed to be unaware how their loan was meant to be paid back when they took the product out and called for further work to make sure some borrowers were not mis-sold deals.

13% of borrowers were unaware they needed an interest-only repayment plan

Mortgage lenders have agreed to alert their most at-risk customers to help them avoid "payment shocks". Some of them could end up having to sell their home to pay the loan back if they do not take stronger control of their repayment planning.

Around 2.6 million interest-only mortgages are due for repayment over the next 30 years but research has revealed that one in 10 people on such a deal have no plan for paying the money back.

The report said it was not clear how well some borrowers understood the discussions about how the mortgage was meant to be repaid when they took the deal out.

Some 13% of interest-only borrowers said they were not aware when they took out the deal that they needed a plan in place to repay the whole amount borrowed, not just the interest - and a further 6% were unsure.

However, those who said they were unaware of the need for a repayment strategy were more likely to have taken out the deal longer ago and just one in 40 people (2.5%) who said they were unaware still has no repayment plan in place.

Richard Lloyd, executive director of consumer group Which?, said: "We're worried that a significant proportion of consumers say they did not know they needed a separate repayment plan on their interest-only mortgage."

The FCA said that the regulator is concentrating its efforts on making sure that the people whose interest-only mortgages are maturing will have a way of paying their loan back.

Mortgage lenders will contact homeowners considered most at risk

It is thought that despite the report's findings, there are no particular jumps in mortgage complaints figures to suggest that the way that interest-only mortgages were sold was a widespread problem.

A Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) spokeswoman said that the body's focus will be on helping those who still have no strategy in place for repaying their mortgage.

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Petrol: New Round Of Price Cuts At Pumps

Further cuts to petrol and diesel prices have been launched amid fierce competition among supermarkets.

Morrisons sparked a likely supermarket round of cuts today by announcing a reduction in its fuel prices for drivers from 3pm on Thursday.

It would take up to 2p a litre off petrol and 1p a litre off diesel costs, the company said.

The move is the latest in a series of reductions by supermarkets over the last few weeks as wholesale costs have fallen.

Morrisons petrol director Mark Todd said: "With a sunny bank holiday weekend predicted, we're expecting to see high numbers of motorists filling their tanks for family trips out.

"That's why we're passing on these savings in time for the pre-bank holiday shop."

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Shell Boss To Retire For 'Lifestyle Change'

The chief executive of Shell Peter Voser has stunned investors with a surprise announcement that he is to retire next year.

Peter Voser, who is 54, said his decision was driven by a desire for a change of lifestyle.

Voser has run Europe's top oil company since 2009 and led it to a position of sector leader in the burgeoning industry of liquefied natural gas.

He said: "After almost 10 years as CEO and CFO and more than 25 years in Shell, I have elected to retire in the first half of 2014.

"After such an exciting executive career I feel it is time for a change in my lifestyle and I am looking forward to having more time available for my family and private life in the years to come."

Shell, the last of the western world's top four oil companies to report results, joined its peers in delivering a result that topped market expectations, thanks in part to strong refining and trading performances, and despite production troubles in Nigeria and lower oil prices.

Adjusted net profit on a current cost of supply basis rose to $7.5bn (£4.82bn) in the quarter from $7.3bn a year ago.

Shell did not take a writedown on its unsuccessful Alaskan drilling programme as some analysts had expected but it was the retirement announcement which dominated talk after the results were released.

Shares rose slightly in value when the FTSE 100 opened for business.

Shell chairman Jorma Ollila praised Voser's leadership of the Anglo-Dutch company.

He said: "Peter's leadership of Shell over the last four years has been impressive, reorganising the company, delivering growth, and developing a clear forward strategy with a strong portfolio of new options.

"I have enjoyed working with Peter, in a period of great change and progress for Shell, and I wish him well for the future."

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Charity Warns Recession Is Scammer Boom Time

Con artists in the UK are thriving during the recession by coming up with new ways to profit from the financial misery of others, Citizens Advice has warned.

The charity said 22,000 scams were reported to it in England and Wales in the last 12 months.

Financial desperation is making people more vulnerable to scams that offer loans or employment opportunities, it added.

"Opportunistic con artists are targeting people who have fallen on hard times with offers of phoney jobs, training and debt scams," Citizens Advice said in a statement.

Typical scams include persuading victims to pay upfront fees to qualify for non-existent loans or to reserve places on fictitious professional training courses, the charity said.

Citizens Advice CEO Gillian Guy said: "Scammers have never had it so good.

"For most people the recession has been really tough but it's a different story for rogues and tricksters as they've cashed-in on other people's misfortune.

"We're seeing people who have been dealt a double-blow by losing their job and then losing money while trying to find a new one."

Citizens Advice will run a campaign throughout May to raise awareness of potential scams.

Leon Livermore, from the Trading Standards Institute, said: "Trading standards officers see first hand the impact these unscrupulous fraudsters are having on often the most vulnerable in our communities. We are working hard with other authorities to stop them."

Citizens Advice said it was worried con artists were already dreaming up new schemes to profit from proposed benefit changes, specifically the so-called Bedroom Tax and the localising of council tax support.

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Apple Bond Sale To Reward Shareholders

Apple has sold $17bn (£10.9bn) in the largest non-bank bond deal in history as it moves to placate frustrated shareholders.

The move, to raise money to pass along to investors through dividend payments and stock buy-backs, is part of an effort to reverse a 37% drop in Apple's stock price during the past seven months.

It took advantage of low interest rates through the sale despite having $145bn in cash - more than enough to cover the $100bn cash return programme.

However, most of its money sits in overseas accounts and the company doesn't plan to bring it to the US unless the federal corporate tax rate is lowered.

Raising the money through a corporate bond sale also gave Apple a tax benefit because interest payments on corporate debt are tax-deductible.

The plunge in Apple's stock has been attributed to intensifying concerns about the company's shrinking profit margins as it faces more competition in the mobile computing market.

Last week, Apple confirmed its first drop in quarterly profits for a decade.

Rajeev Sharma at First Investors Management said: "Apple made its intentions clear that this deal is for shareholder-friendly activity, but they have tremendous metrics and brand recognition.

"Apple is something everyone wants in their portfolio," he concluded.

Apple's stock added $12.66, or nearly 3% on Tuesday, to close at $442.78.

The shares have now risen by 9% since Apple announced its plan to return $100bn to stockholders.

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Energy Firms 'Failed To Meet Consumer Targets'

The energy regulator is investigating six suppliers, saying they have failed to meet their targets on providing consumers with efficiency measures.

Ofgem said that while the sector had achieved 99% of energy efficiency targets set by the Government, some firms had not met their obligations to customers.

It named British Gas, Drax, Scottish Power and SSE as among the companies which had missed the targets, aimed at helping households lower their energy bills and reduce carbon emissions.

Under the measures, energy suppliers were obliged to provide customers, and in particular vulnerable consumers such as people on low incomes or the elderly, with insulation for their lofts and walls and replace inefficient boilers.

Energy firms are under pressure to help bring bills down

The investigation is a sign that the Government and regulator are taking an increasingly tough stance against energy suppliers after a series of fines for mis-selling and at a time when energy bills are rising.

Ofgem said EDF Energy, Eggborough Power, E.On and nPower had all met their responsibilities.

Sarah Harrison, Ofgem's senior partner for enforcement, said: "Ofgem's role is to ensure that consumers do not lose out by the failure of firms to deliver all the help required."

Under the Consumer Energy Saving Programme, British Gas was found to have met just 62.4% of its target while Scottish Power managed 70%.

SSE, which was recently fined £10.5m for mis-selling, achieved a figure of 90.9%, the regulator said, while EDF, E.On and Scottish Power all exceeded their targets.

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Moody's Raises Fears Over Italy Bailout Needs

A senior official with rating agency Moody's has said it is not yet possible to exclude Italy from being forced to ask for a future eurozone bailout.

Moody's said it will monitor the ability of the newly formed Italian government to overhaul the economy, it told an Italian newspaper on Monday.

"We will have to verify the commitment of the new government and its ability to resolutely pursue the huge structural reforms the country needs to improve its creditworthiness," Moody's senior credit officer Dietmar Hornung told La Repubblica.

"For now the situation remains difficult," Mr Hornung said.

It said help may be needed through the European Central Bank and the European Stability Mechanism.

But Italian 10-year bond yields dropped more than 2% in early trading as markets opened and the MIB stock exchange was up more than 1.5%, on news of the government deadlock being broken.

The ratings agency said on Friday it had kept Italy's sovereign debt rating at Baa2 thanks to the country's reasonably low current cost of funding and its primary surplus.

But Moody's maintained its negative outlook for Italian sovereign debt because of prolonged economic crisis.

Last week, after weeks of political deadlock, Italy elected Enrico Letta of the centre-left to become the new prime minister.

Mr Letta, a 46-year-year-old leftist moderate, leads a broad-coalition government backed by his own Democratic Party and the conservatives of former prime minister Silvio Berlusconi.

A general election in February proved inconclusive, with the electorate split among three main blocs and no party winning enough of the vote to muster majorities in parliament.

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Greece Votes In New Law To Axe 15,000 Jobs

The Greek parliament has voted in a new law that will allow dismissal of 15,000 civil servants as part of austerity measures imposed by the country's international creditors.

After heated debate during an emergency session, 168 deputies voted for the bill late on Sunday, with 123 voting against and one abstaining.

The opposition proved powerless to stop cuts the government insisted were needed to keep the country afloat.

On Monday the Greek finance minister also said that the Eurogroup Working Group will meet to approve a 2.8bn-euro (£2.3bn) aid tranche.

The newly agreed Greek law overturns what had been a guarantee of a job for life for workers in a notoriously bloated civil service.

Around 800 people turned up outside the parliament to protest against the measure in a demonstration called by trade unions.

The bill provides for the dismissal of 15,000 civil servants by the end of 2014, including 4,000 this year, to meet terms set by Athens's creditors for billions in bailout loans.

Civil service trade confederation Adedy condemned what it called the "politicians who are dismantling the public service and destroying the welfare state".

Private union GSEE said the bill would only worsen Greece's dire unemployment rate, which currently stands at 27%.

Slashing an unwieldy public service is a condition set by Greece's so-called "troika" of creditors - the International Monetary Fund, European Union and European Central Bank - to unlock loans of 8.8bn euros (£7.4bn).

The EU and IMF have committed a total of 240bn euros (£200bn) in rescue loans since 2010, with the heavily indebted country obliged to pursue austerity measures in exchange for the international aid it needs to avoid bankruptcy.

The new law will speed dismissal procedures, which previously made it impossible to sack civil servants and saw the public sector swell over the years as every new administration brought in its own people.

Employees who have been disciplined for corruption or incompetence and those working for one of dozens of shuttered government agencies will be the main targets.

The law, which was written in a single article to force politicians to adopt all its provisions together, also extends weekly working hours for teachers, opens a number of professions to competition and reduces a controversial property tax by 15%.

Another section creates new payment terms for unpaid taxes, intended to help the government recover billions of euros owed by indebted companies and households.

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Greggs Shares Go Cold Over Profit Warning

High street baker Greggs has seen its share price slide more than 7% after it issued a profit warning over poor winter trading.

Britain's biggest seller of food-on-the-go said it expected full-year profit to be down this year, partly blaming the adverse weather in January and March for keeping shoppers out of its stores.

"Although we are only four months into the year, based on current own shop like-for-like performance we believe that profits for the year are likely to be slightly below the lower end of the range of market expectations," the firm said.

It said the range for the year to December 28 was £47.5-55.2m.

Greggs said sales at stores open over a year were down 4.4% in the 17 weeks to April 27.

"We are continuing to experience lower footfall across much of the estate although average transaction values have increased marginally," it said.

Greggs said a higher proportion of promotional deals meant a slight impact on margin, a trend it expected to continue throughout the year.

The firm said total sales in the period rose 3%, helped by a net 10 new shop openings and a 2.9% increase in wholesale and franchise sales.

Shares in Greggs closed on Friday at 462.5 pence, valuing the business at 467.9 million pounds.

But by 9.15am on Monday shares had shed 33p to 429.5p.

:: Construction giant Balfour Beatty saw its share price plunge 11% on Monday after it issued a profit warning.

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US Economy Misses Forecasts In Last Quarter

The US economy has expanded at a rate below that forecast by economists, the latest official figures have shown.

Although economic growth regained speed in the first quarter, it was not as much as expected, heightening fears the already weakening economy could struggle to handle deep government spending cuts and higher taxes.

Gross domestic product (GDP) expanded at 2.5% annualised rate in the first three months of 2013, according to the Commerce Department.

The figure was up on the previous quarter, after growth nearly stalled at 0.4%.

The latest increase, however, missed economists' expectations for a 3% growth pace.

Part of the acceleration in activity reflected farmers' filling up silos after a drought last summer decimated crop output.

Removing inventories, the growth rate was reduced to a tepid 1.5%.

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