Written By Unknown on Senin, 05 Januari 2015 | 16.01
By Mark Kleinman, City Editor
The Anglo-South African financial services group Investec has joined a cluster of international banks eyeing bids for the international arm of Coutts, the wealth manager whose customers include Her Majesty The Queen.
Sky News understands that Investec is among at least half a dozen parties to have expressed interest in buying Coutts International, which has been put up for sale by its owner, Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS).
Coutts International is expected to change hands during the course of 2015, having been identified as non-core by Ross McEwan, RBS' chief executive.
The sale will form part of a wider retrenchment from the global empire-building which became the hallmark of Fred Goodwin, the former RBS boss who took the Coutts brand to mainland China in an attempt to tap demand from the country's fast-growing middle classes.
It is unclear exactly how much the Coutts International business is worth, although analysts have speculated that it could fetch between £500m and £650m.
Video:Coutts CIO On European economy
A sale will not include a licence to use the famous wealth management brand, which will remain attached to Coutts' UK operations.
RBS is retaining the domestic franchise, which is among the world's oldest private banks, with a heritage dating back to the late 17th century.
Investec, which is understood to have hired advisers to help it plot a takeover, has been expanding its wealth management activities rapidly in recent years, with profits rising sharply as a result.
It will face stiff competition for the Coutts International unit, however.
The Singaporean bank DBS and French lender Societe Generale are in talks to team up to buy the business and carve it up along geographical lines.
Other bidders are said to include Intesa Sanpaolo, the Italian bank, Brazil's BTG Pactual, and Julius Baer, the Swiss private bank.
Goldman Sachs, the investment bank, is overseeing the auction.
Five Tory Cabinet ministers led by Chancellor George Osborne are to launch an assault on Labour spending plans they claim will be based on costings carried out by the Treasury.
Mr Osborne, Theresa May, William Hague, Nicky Morgan and Sajid Javid will claim Labour's commitments for its first year in office alone total many billions of pounds.
The Conservative attack will coincide with Ed Miliband launching Labour's General Election campaign, claiming the election will be a once in a generation fight about who the country works for.
Ed Miliband will launch Labour's election campaign
"It is a choice between a Tory plan where only a few at the top can succeed and our public services are threatened - or a Labour plan that puts working people first, deals with the deficit and protects our NHS," he will say.
:: Click here for the In The Margins console
Video:In The Margins: 150 Key Seats
The clash will come on what is effectively day one of the general election campaign, in which the Conservatives want the economy to dominate the agenda and Labour the National Health Service.
The Conservatives claim their analysis of Labour spending is based on official HM Treasury Opposition Policy Costings and other reliable sources.
They say Labour's unfunded commitments for the year 2015-16 total some £20.7bn.
"When we took office four and a half years ago, we were left a note by the Labour Party saying simply: 'there's no money left'," said a Conservative spokesman.
"The mess we were left behind by Labour threatened this country's economic security and the economic security of everyone living here.
"But the evidence we will produce shows that Labour have not demonstrated the fiscal discipline or economic competence that earns an opposition the credibility to form a government.
"The chaos of unfunded spending promises, higher taxes and more borrowing offered by Labour is a risk to economic recovery. Competence or chaos. That is the choice for the British people at the election."
Video:David Cameron's New Year Message
But Labour's Shadow Chief Secretary Chris Leslie has already hit back, saying: "It is David Cameron and George Osborne who have made over £7bn of unfunded tax promises.
"These could only be paid for by another Tory VAT rise, even deeper cuts to public services or both.
"Labour has made no unfunded commitments. In fact the Institute for Fiscal Studies said last month that we had the most cautious approach and, unlike the parties, had promised no net giveaways."
Speaking to a rally in Manchester, Mr Miliband will urge activists and supporters to mobilise for an unprecedented four million doorstep conversations with voters in the next four months.
"We will offer hope, not falsehood," he will say. "We know the depths of our values matter more than the depth of our opponents' pockets. We will win this election, not by buying up thousands of poster sites, but by having millions of conversations."
Attacking the Tories on the economy, the Labour leader will say: "It's the first time since the 1920s that working people will be worse off at the end of a parliament than they were at the beginning.
"At a time when education and training are critical to the chances of earning a decent wage, tuition fees have trebled and apprenticeships for young people are falling.
Video:Ed Miliband's New Year Message
"And think what has happened to our NHS: longer to wait to see your GP, longer to wait in A & E, longer to wait for your operation - an NHS without time to care. The Tories have damaged the NHS in these five years. Give them five more and the NHS, as we know it, just won't be there."
The Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg will attack both the major parties on the economy.
On Ed Balls' claim that Labour is now in the centre ground of politics, he will say: "It's like waking up to find a late night voicemail from an ex saying that they've changed and it will all be different if only you give them one more chance."
And on the Conservatives' boasts about economic recovery, Mr Clegg will say: "It's a con. It's like a mobile phone salesman offering to renew your existing contract and then cutting the amount of calls you can make."
:: Follow Sky News presenters and correspondents from 6am on Monday as we launch our multi-media project In The Margins - examining 150 key marginal constituencies across the country. Watch live on Sky News, skynews.com and our mobile apps - channels Sky 501, Virgin Media 602, Freesat 202, Freeview 132.
The euro has dropped to a nine-year low against the US dollar as investor fears over growth prospects continue to grow.
On Monday morning the currency dropped 1.2% in value to €1.19, the weakest spot exchange rate since early 2006.
The pound was worth almost €1.28 on spot markets - helping UK travellers to the continent.
The euro sell-off comes amid doubts that a new quantitative easing (QE) programme, hinted at by European Central Bank (ECB) boss Mario Draghi, will help the ailing currency.
Concerns have also been raised about a Greek left-wing government taking power - cutting austerity reforms - just months after it clawed its way out of a lengthy recession.
The latest sell-off comes as a poll by the Financial Times of 32 leading eurozone economists casts doubt on the effectiveness of any QE programme by the ECB.
A majority believe the ECB will launch a major recovery plan this year, as growth and inflation both continue to weaken in the 19-nation currency bloc.
Some put a possible QE programme at €500 (£390bn) while others believe it may top €1tn (£780bn).
The ECB previously said it and Mr Draghi supported an extension of its monetary policy to help the eurozone recover.
Written By Unknown on Minggu, 04 Januari 2015 | 16.01
By Mark Kleinman, City Editor
Vince Cable has summoned Britain's biggest banks for fresh talks about branch closures after their bosses refused to renew a promise not to close hundreds of rural outlets.
Sky News has learnt that the Business Secretary has asked executives from the five largest high street lenders to attend a meeting later this month following initial discussions in December.
Mr Cable wants the banks, including Barclays, Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS), to make a binding commitment not to close branches when they are the last one remaining in a local community.
However, letters from senior bankers make it clear that rapid technological changes, with customers now performing billions of transactions remotely each year, have rendered such a pledge obsolete.
A sign in the window of a shut bank branch
Figures compiled by community banking campaigners suggest that half of the UK's bank branches have shut since 1989.
Lloyds alone has said that it will close 200 branches during the next three years, although this will be partly offset by 50 new sites to be opened by the taxpayer-backed bank.
Instead, insiders said the banks have agreed to draw up a framework covering circumstances in which they could close a community's last branch.
This would include better information for customers about alternative banking arrangements in their area.
A broader partnership with the Post Office to utilise its 11,500-strong network, as well as the concept of shared branches, are also under discussion.
Mr Cable says communities must not be cut off from basic banking services
Speaking to Sky News, Mr Cable said: "There are a lot of people who are not connected who also need to do basic banking functions, and we mustn't be in a position where large numbers of villages and other small communities are effectively being cut off from banking.
"If the banks cannot perform that service we need an adequate substitute, and they've got a responsibility to help provide it."
In his letter to the banks, he added that they should "think about… how to address any additional financial and operational burdens on the Post Office", implying that they could face a substantial bill.
Last month's meeting convened by Mr Cable included representatives from consumer groups, the Competition and Markets Authority and the British Bankers' Association (BBA).
In a response to Mr Cable, Antony Jenkins, Barclays' chief executive, said the bank "aimed to leave no community without the ability to transact - meaning that, if we do choose to close a branch, we work closely with the local community to determine if there are other ways to support its day-to-day banking needs".
Ross McEwan, chief executive of RBS, said the bank had seen a 30% decline in branch usage since 2010, adding that it would be spending £1bn to improve physical and digital banking infrastructure for customers.
The acceleration of branch closures fits against a broader backdrop of financial inclusion, with major banks under political pressure to continue serving unprofitable customers even as regulators demand that they hold more capital to protect them in the event of another industry crisis.
Last month, the nine biggest high street lenders said they would launch fee-free basic bank accounts as part of an agreement engineered by the Treasury.
A lawsuit has been filed against Apple, accusing the technology giant of promising more available storage space than it actually delivers in its iPhones, iPads, and iPod touch devices.
The plaintiffs argue that while Apple advertises 16 gigabytes of digital storage on lower price models of gadgets such as iPhones, about a fifth of that is eaten up by the latest operating software.
The percentage of space touted as available for digital content such as photos, video, or music shrinks further on Apple gadgets built with eight gigabytes of storage, it is claimed.
Apple's latest operating system, iOS 8, which was beset with problems when it launched in September, takes up as much as 23.1% of storage capacity on some devices.
The lawsuit is being brought on behalf of two men from Florida, Paul Orshan and Christopher Endara, in a District Court in Northern California.
They also complain that once Apple gadget owners reach limits to data storage, they are prompted to pay monthly fees for digital locker space online at the Californian based-firm's iCloud service.
The lawsuit says: "Using these sharp business tactics, (Apple) gives less storage capacity than advertised, only to offer to sell that capacity in a desperate moment, eg when a consumer is trying to record or take photos at a child or grandchild's recital, basketball game or wedding.
"Each gigabyte of storage Apple shortchanges its customers amounts to approximately 400-500 high resolution photographs."
Lawyers behind the suit are seeking class action status along with punishments that include Apple turning over all profits from sales of gadgets at issue in the case.
Apple has so far declined to comment to the media on the matter.
Apple has been embroiled in countless lawsuits with tech rival Samsung over recent years. The smartphone and tablet makers have accused each other of infringing patents in intellectual property battles around the world.
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Video:Cap Pledge On Public Sector Payouts
A cap would be introduced to curb hefty six-figure redundancy pay-offs for public sector bosses the Tories have promised, if they are returned to office in May.
The party will pledge in its election manifesto to impose a £95,000 limit on payments in the public sector, according to Conservative Treasury Minister Priti Patel.
The move comes in the wake of a string of controversial taxpayer-funded golden goodbyes.
These include severance payments of more than £450,000 in the Civil Service, £500,000 in the NHS, and £1m in the BBC.
Latest figures show the national average redundancy payout is £13,396.
1/9
Gallery: Big Public Sector Payouts
George Entwistle, former director general of the BBC Paid £475,000 after just 54 days in the job
Mark Byford, former deputy director-general of the BBC Pay-off of £949,000
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Caroline Thomson, ex-chief BBC operating officer Paid £670,000
]]>
Katherine Kerswell, former managing director of Kent Council Paid £420,000 and later given civil service job
]]>
Michael Lockwood, chief executive of Harrow Council Given £168,000 when role made redundant, then rehired to same position
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Under the Conservative plan, public sector staff earning less than £27,000 will be exempt from the cap in order to protect the small number of low-paid, long-serving public servants who might otherwise have been hit.
Latest figures show the average redundancy payout is £13,396.
Ms Patel told Sky News: "This is a clear commitment by the Conservative Party, for our next manifesto, to bring an end to this culture where people who are highly paid in the public sector receive these automatic redundancy payments that are extremely high, compensation payments and pensions pots, that are funded by hard-working taxpayers."
The Minister said the cap would not apply to MPs losing their seat at the next election, as they were regulated under a different system operated by the parliamentary watchdog.
Members failing to be re-elected at the May poll will receive a resettlement grant based on length of service, up to a maximum of six months salary - £33,530 based on current pay.
Video:Tory Redundancy Cap Plan Criticised
Labour's Shadow Health Minister Jamie Reed argued the Conservatives should have acted sooner to tackle the issue of redundancy payouts
He said: "David Cameron can't get away from the fact that this horse has already bolted.
"He wasted £1.6bn on redundancy payouts to NHS managers as part of his reckless reorganisation.
"Frontline NHS staff found it galling that 4,000 managers who received pay-offs are now back in NHS jobs."
And unions point out the proposed cap will not apply retrospectively, meaning that those who have already received pay-offs will be able to keep them.
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Tory Vow To End Hefty Taxpayer-Funded Payouts
We use cookies to give you the best experience. If you do nothing we'll assume that it's ok.
Video:Cap Pledge On Public Sector Payouts
A cap would be introduced to curb hefty six-figure redundancy pay-offs for public sector bosses the Tories have promised, if they are returned to office in May.
The party will pledge in its election manifesto to impose a £95,000 limit on payments in the public sector, according to Conservative Treasury Minister Priti Patel.
The move comes in the wake of a string of controversial taxpayer-funded golden goodbyes.
These include severance payments of more than £450,000 in the Civil Service, £500,000 in the NHS, and £1m in the BBC.
Latest figures show the national average redundancy payout is £13,396.
1/9
Gallery: Big Public Sector Payouts
George Entwistle, former director general of the BBC Paid £475,000 after just 54 days in the job
Mark Byford, former deputy director-general of the BBC Pay-off of £949,000
]]>
Caroline Thomson, ex-chief BBC operating officer Paid £670,000
]]>
Katherine Kerswell, former managing director of Kent Council Paid £420,000 and later given civil service job
]]>
Michael Lockwood, chief executive of Harrow Council Given £168,000 when role made redundant, then rehired to same position
]]>
Under the Conservative plan, public sector staff earning less than £27,000 will be exempt from the cap in order to protect the small number of low-paid, long-serving public servants who might otherwise have been hit.
Latest figures show the average redundancy payout is £13,396.
Ms Patel told Sky News: "This is a clear commitment by the Conservative Party, for our next manifesto, to bring an end to this culture where people who are highly paid in the public sector receive these automatic redundancy payments that are extremely high, compensation payments and pensions pots, that are funded by hard-working taxpayers."
The Minister said the cap would not apply to MPs losing their seat at the next election, as they were regulated under a different system operated by the parliamentary watchdog.
Members failing to be re-elected at the May poll will receive a resettlement grant based on length of service, up to a maximum of six months salary - £33,530 based on current pay.
Video:Tory Redundancy Cap Plan Criticised
Labour's Shadow Health Minister Jamie Reed argued the Conservatives should have acted sooner to tackle the issue of redundancy payouts
He said: "David Cameron can't get away from the fact that this horse has already bolted.
"He wasted £1.6bn on redundancy payouts to NHS managers as part of his reckless reorganisation.
"Frontline NHS staff found it galling that 4,000 managers who received pay-offs are now back in NHS jobs."
And unions point out the proposed cap will not apply retrospectively, meaning that those who have already received pay-offs will be able to keep them.
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Written By Unknown on Kamis, 01 Januari 2015 | 16.01
Next has reported it enjoyed strong sales growth in the run-up to Christmas and has now raised its annual profits guidance.
The retailer confirmed it was to pay a fourth special dividend of the year while announcing a 2.9% increase in full price sales between 28 October and Christmas Eve - with total sales for the year to 24 December rising 7.7%.
Next Directory, which incorporates its online and catalogue offerings, drove the performance with sales in the division rising 7.5% in the pre-Christmas period alone.
The company said it now expected its full-year profit guidance "to be within £10m either side of £775m" - a £5m increase on the midpoint range it had expected in October.
Surplus cash would again be returned to investors, Next said, with its fourth special dividend of the year worth 50p per share.
That development and the wider Christmas cheer boosted its shares by as much as 4% in early trading on the FTSE 100 and gave a lift to rival Marks & Spencer too.
Retailers are on track for a record December following the success of Black Friday sales the previous month, but there are signs that cold weather and some stock shortages may have hit high street sales since Boxing Day.
Next warned that it remained "very cautious" about the year ahead.
The firm said the outlook for UK consumers appeared "relatively benign" with low inflation, wages starting to recover, available credit and strong employment painting a "somewhat more positive picture than recent years".
But the group said it faced comparisons with a strong spring and summer in 2014 while uncertainty in the UK and global economy - with a general election looming - presented risks.
It is expecting sales growth for 2015/16 of between 2.5% and 7.5%, compared with the latest expectations for 2014/15 of 6-8%.
UK house price growth eased to its weakest annual pace for 13 months in December, according to Nationwide.
The building society's monthly index showed that property prices lifted by 7.2% annually this month to reach £188,559 on average, slowing from an 8.5% annual rate of growth in November.
The average cost of a home edged slightly lower from the record high of £189,388 measured the previous month.
Nationwide's report named London as the UK's "top performer" for price growth in 2014, with prices there up by 17.8% year on year, reaching £406,730 typically.
Wales was the weakest-performing region, with values having increased by 1.4% annually to reach £141,631 on average.
Activity in the housing market slowed following the introduction of tougher mortgage affordability checks but Nationwide forecast a return to stronger growth in 2015 because of stamp duty reforms and improved levels of construction.
Its chief economist Robert Gardner said: "The slowdown in housing market activity is surprising given further steady gains in employment, a pickup in wage growth (albeit from low levels) and the continued low level of mortgage rates.
"Moreover, surveys suggest consumers remain in high spirits – a view reinforced by robust retail spending growth in November, which was at its highest for over a decade.
"If the economic backdrop continues to improve as we and most forecasters expect, activity in the housing market is likely to regain momentum in the months ahead.
"Supply side developments will be crucial in determining the trajectory for prices."
The administrators of courier firm City Link have announced 2,356 job losses after a bid to buy the company failed.
Many workers found out about the firm's collapse on Christmas Day and had been warned to expect "substantial redundancies".
Announcing the job losses on New Year's Eve, the administrators at EY said an offer that was made for City Link had not been acceptable.
The bid, made by a consortium, "offered no money up front and significantly undervalued the assets to be acquired", the administrators said.
They said: "The administrators proposed an alternative structure that would be acceptable and common in these situations.
Video:Dec 29: Workers Protest At Depots
"The consortium, despite attempts to make them reconsider, declined to amend their original offer."
Coventry, where the firm has its head office, faces the highest number of redundancies, with 350 jobs lost.
There have also been more than 100 job losses in Hatfield, Heathrow and Warrington.
The administrators said 371 people have been retained to deal with remaining parcels and to help with winding down its operations.
Hunter Kelly, joint administrator of City Link Limited, said: "The company endured substantial losses, which ultimately became too great for it to continue as a going concern, and City Link Limited entered administration following an unsuccessful sale process."
RMT union general secretary Mick Cash said: "The confirmation from the administrators that they have just sacked 2,400 staff and are pulling the plug on any efforts to save City Link is a disgraceful and cynical betrayal that will wreck the lives of our members, many of whom are owed thousands of pounds.
"RMT does not believe that those pulling the strings had any interest in saving this business and were happy to cut and run leaving a trail of human misery in their wake.
"The City Link collapse has blown the lid off the cosy relationship between bandit capitalism and the political elite."
Business Secretary Vince Cable said: "This is very sad news for the City Link workers and their families at a particularly difficult time of year.
"The Government has put arrangements in place to help employees who are made redundant and we stand ready to help."
Around 30,000 parcels are waiting to be collected from City Link depots.
Administrators say they expect depots to remain open until "approximately" 6 January.
Written By Unknown on Rabu, 31 Desember 2014 | 16.01
Next has reported it enjoyed strong sales growth in the run-up to Christmas and has now raised its annual profits guidance.
The retailer confirmed it was to pay a fourth special dividend of the year while announcing a 2.9% increase in full price sales between 28 October and Christmas Eve - with total sales for the year to 24 December rising 7.7%.
Next Directory, which incorporates its online and catalogue offerings, drove the performance with sales in the division rising 7.5% in the pre-Christmas period alone.
The company said it now expected its full-year profit guidance "to be within £10m either side of £775m" - a £5m increase on the midpoint range it had expected in October.
Surplus cash would again be returned to investors, Next said, with its fourth special dividend of the year worth 50p per share.
That development and the wider Christmas cheer boosted its shares by as much as 4% in early trading on the FTSE 100 and gave a lift to rival Marks & Spencer too.
Retailers are on track for a record December following the success of Black Friday sales the previous month, but there are signs that cold weather and some stock shortages may have hit high street sales since Boxing Day.
Next warned that it remained "very cautious" about the year ahead.
The firm said the outlook for UK consumers appeared "relatively benign" with low inflation, wages starting to recover, available credit and strong employment painting a "somewhat more positive picture than recent years".
But the group said it faced comparisons with a strong spring and summer in 2014 while uncertainty in the UK and global economy - with a general election looming - presented risks.
It is expecting sales growth for 2015/16 of between 2.5% and 7.5%, compared with the latest expectations for 2014/15 of 6-8%.
