Twitter IPO: Firm In Stock Market Launch Bid

A Bite-Sized History Of Twitter

Updated: 4:46am UK, Friday 13 September 2013

Twitter came to life on March 21, 2006 when co-founder Jack Dorsey's account (@jack) automatically sent out the first tweet, which read: "just setting up my twttr."

Dorsey followed it up with the first "human-generated" tweet: "inviting coworkers."

Since then, more than 170 billion tweets have gone out worldwide, and Twitter has 500 million users, according to Dashburst.com, a website that monitors the social media industry. Officially, Twitter has only said it has "well over 200 million" users.

Here are some more Twitter facts: 

:: Justin Bieber (@justinbieber) has the most followers with 44,418,729, as of 11pm UK time on Thursday, followed by Katy Perry (@katyperry) with 42,603,233 and Lady Gaga (@ladygaga) with 40,094,580.

:: US President Barack Obama (@barackobama) is fourth with 36,493,643 followers; the announcement of his re-election victory in November 2012 was re-tweeted 802,624 times.

:: The average Twitter user has 208 followers and spends 170 minutes on the site every month.

:: There are more than 200 million active Twitter users, with 80% of all users access Twitter on mobile devices.

:: China is the country with the most Twitter users with 35.5 million, according to Dashburst.

:: About 20 million Twitter accounts are believed to be fake.

:: The hashtag (#) feature on Twitter which groups tweets by subject debuted in August 2007, proposed by a user.

:: In October 2009, Google and Microsoft began integrating tweets into their search products.

:: In January 2013, Twitter introduced Vine, which enabled users to make and tweet six-second looping videos. Some 12 million Vine videos are uploaded every day.

:: In July, 2013, Twitter was criticised for not taking stronger and swifter action against women who became the target of rape and death threats, and subsequently admitted to failing the victims.

:: Twitter is based in San Francisco, with additional employees in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Washington. Its total payroll exceeds 900.

:: Twitter was incorporated in April 2007; it was co-founded by Biz Stone, Evan Williams and Jack Dorsey -- @biz, @ev and @jack.

:: The initial Twitter logo was created by Stone, a former graphic designer.

:: Twitter chief executive Dick Costolo is a former improvisational comedian.

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Santander Bank Hacking Plot Foiled By Police

Twelve men have been arrested over an attempt to take control of a Santander bank's computer and steal millions of pounds.

The men allegedly fitted a computer within the branch in Surrey Quays shopping centre, southeast London, with a "keyboard video mouse".

The device, which can be purchased online for as little as £10, allowed them to transmit the contents of the computer's desktop and take control of the machine remotely.

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said it was not clear whether any money was taken.

However, he said detectives and bank officials had thwarted a "very significant and audacious cyber-enabled offence" that would have cost Santander millions of pounds. 

Officers arrested 11 men aged between 23 and 50 in Hounslow, while a 34-year-old was arrested in Victoria.

Searches were carried out at addresses in Westminster, Hounslow, Hillingdon, Brent, Richmond and Slough, where property was seized.

The men are currently in custody at a London police station.

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House Price Growth 'Should Be Capped At 5%'

A 5% cap should be placed on annual house price growth to prevent another property "bubble", surveyors have suggested.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) called on the Bank of England to limit yearly house price inflation to 5% in order to take the "froth" out of any future booms and put a stop to any "dangerous build-up in household debt".

It suggested the Bank could put the brakes on house price growth by imposing a ceiling on the amounts of money banks are allowed to lend.

It could also put caps on the term of a mortgage, the amount people can borrow in relation to their deposit or the sum they can borrow in relation to their income.

The request - an unusual one from an industry group that typically benefits from rising prices - comes months before the Government begins to offer mortgage guarantees to "riskier" homebuyers under its controversial Help To Buy scheme.

Fears have been raised that a recent surge in housing market activity will result in borrowers over-stretching themselves.

Recent figures from the Halifax showed house prices are 5.4% higher than last summer, and the RICS said 40% of surveyors have been seeing house prices rise rather than fall, the highest proportion in almost seven years.

Asking prices in London are up by 10% year-on-year, according to recent figures from property search website Rightmove.

BoE Governor Mark Carney has vowed to prevent any new property bubble

"Sending a clear and simple statement to the public that the Bank of England will not tolerate house price rises above 5% would help restrict excessive price expectations across the country," the RICS said.

"This policy would discourage households from taking on excessive debt out of fear of missing out on a price boom, and discourage lenders from rushing to relax their lending standards as they compete for market share."

The industry group noted that limits on property price inflation have been used by a variety of countries, including Canada between 2008 and 2012, when Bank of England Governor Mark Carney headed the country's central bank.

Speaking to a committee of MPs on Thursday, Mr Carney said the Bank was "acutely aware" of the potential threats and was watching the housing market closely as it recovers.

But he insisted the market pick-up should be seen in context and remains a third to a quarter below pre-crisis levels.

The Council of Mortgage Lenders added that talk of a housing boom was "premature".

In its regular "news and views" release, it said while the housing and mortgage markets were showing some initial signs of recovery this summer, current house sales were still at lower pre-crisis levels.

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CBI Survey Shows Firms Want UK To Stay In EU

Almost eight out of 10 British firms want the UK to stay in the European Union, according to a survey released by the Confederation of British Industry.

Just 10% believe it would be in their favour to leave the organisation and 71% said membership had been positive for their business.

An overwhelming majority (86%) said an exit would affect their access to trading markets and business investment and 59% said it would make the UK less competitive.

The survey comes after EU chief Jose Manuel Barroso hit out at anti-European sentiment and warned the Tories they could be eclipsed by UKIP.

More than 400 businesses that together employ more than 1.5 million people were polled over the summer.

Three-quarters (75%) of the firms questioned said leaving would have a negative impact on foreign direct investment in the UK, Only 9% thought it would increase investment.

More than a third (35%) also said they would be likely to cut their own business investment if Britain quit, compared to 51% saying nothing would change and 6% saying they would spend more.

David Cameron has promised to hold a referendum by 2017

Firms did back reform of Britain's relationship with the EU.

Some 46% calling for an end to "gold-plating" of Brussels legislation and 39% wanting to see EU rules applied evenly across all member states.

Other priorities for reform included reducing regulation (39%) and making structural reforms for a more competitive EU (36%).

CBI director general John Cridland said: "This sends a clear message that most CBI members, big and small, support UK membership of the EU.

"Firms want what is best for jobs and growth, and there is genuine concern that an exit would hit business investment and access to the world's largest trading bloc.

"The UK should take the lead on the push for reform and make sure rules are evenly applied across the EU. Businesses are also concerned about the UK gold-plating legislation from Brussels.

"Businesses do have some serious concerns about the EU, but ultimately they want the UK inside the tent winning the argument for reform."

David Cameron has promised to renegotiate the terms of Britain's membership and then hold an in-out referendum on EU membership by 2017 if the Tories win the next general election outright.

The Prime Minister is already working to secure reforms and is believed to have made restricting migrants' access to benefits a key plank of negotiations.

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Sunday Mirror Phone-Hacking Probe Launched

The publisher of the Sunday Mirror is being investigated over alleged phone-hacking by former employees at the newspaper.

Trinity Mirror said Scotland Yard had informed its national newspaper publishing subsidiary, MGN Limited, that a probe is under way to establish whether it is criminally liable for alleged unlawful conduct by former employees at the weekly tabloid.

A spokesman said: "Trinity Mirror plc notes that its subsidiary, MGN Limited, publisher of the group's national newspapers, has been notified by the Metropolitan Police that they are at a very early stage in investigating whether MGN is criminally liable for the alleged unlawful conduct by previous employees in relation to phone-hacking on the Sunday Mirror.

"The group does not accept wrongdoing within its business and takes these allegations seriously.

"It is too soon to know how these matters will progress and further updates will be made if there are any significant developments."

The development is thought to be the first formal confirmation that a newspaper group is being investigated as a corporate suspect for alleged phone-hacking by its journalists.

It was reported last month that Rupert Murdoch's News International had been placed under investigation, but the Metropolitan Police has yet to officially confirm that claim.

Several former Trinity Mirror employees have been arrested since the phone-hacking scandal began.

Morgan's claims on hacking were described as "utterly unpersuasive"

Former Sunday Mirror editor Tina Weaver, who worked at the paper between 2001 and 2012, was arrested in a dawn raid as part of the Metropolitan Police's Operation Weeting inquiry into phone-hacking in March.

At that time, lawyers representing victims of phone-hacking said they had been contacted by police to say they were looking into new claims relating to the now defunct News Of The World's feature desk and Trinity Mirror titles.

During his inquiry into press standards, Lord Justice Leveson described former Daily Mirror editor Piers Morgan's claim that he had no knowledge of alleged phone hacking at the newspaper as "utterly unpersuasive", and said the practice may well have occurred at the title in the late 1990s.

Trinity Mirror's announcement comes after former Sunday Mirror and News Of The World journalist Dan Evans was last week charged with phone-hacking offences.

A Met Police spokesman said he could not confirm Trinity Mirror's statement or whether News International, which has recently been rebranded as News UK, is under investigation as a corporate suspect.

He said: "As with any investigation we carry out, we do not identify suspects or anybody arrested or anybody we may we wish to speak to.

"That goes for corporations the same as it does for individuals."

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Royal Mail Sale To Begin Within Weeks

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

The Government has launched a £3bn stock market listing of Royal Mail in a move heralding the most ambitious privatisation for decades.

In a statement confirming Royal Mail's intention to float, ministers said the decision was an important step towards ensuring a "healthy future" for the company, despite intense opposition from trade unions which have pledged to ballot on industrial action in the coming weeks.

Under the proposed deal, members of the public will be able to apply for a minimum of £750-worth of shares in the newly-listed Royal Mail, while 150,000 of its UK-based employees will receive free shares likely to be worth roughly £2,000 each.

Endorsing a privatisation that eluded the last Labour government and which was rejected by Margaret Thatcher, Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, said it was "an important day for the Royal Mail, its employees and its customers".

"(The) Government is taking action to secure a healthy future for the company. These measures will help ensure the long-term sustainability of the six days a week, one-price-goes-anywhere universal postal service."

Many Royal Mail employees have opposed the privatisation

Royal Mail also confirmed Sky News' revelations that the company would adopt a robust dividend policy in which it would pay out in the region of 50% of its profits as dividends, and that it had lined up £1.4bn of new debt facilities from a syndicate of banks.

Royal Mail currently pays an average interest rate of 8.8% on loans from the Government, meaning its new borrowings will be on far more attractive terms to the company.

The exact size of the initial public offering (IPO) of Royal Mail shares will depend on the level of demand from investors, although Mr Cable said he expected a majority of the company to be in private hands by the time the share sale is completed in November.

The company will pay a dividend of £133m for the 2013-14 financial year, which it said would have been £200m if it had been listed throughout the year.

Thursday's announcement acknowledged that strike action was a possibility, and said Royal Mail had "contingency plans in place and will also consider its legal options".

"Negotiations between Royal Mail and the CWU are continuing and Royal Mail remains committed to reaching an agreement with the CWU and averting industrial action. However, there can be no guarantee that negotiations will lead to a successful outcome or the aversion of industrial action," it said.

Moya Greene, Royal Mail's chief executive, said she was determined to "deliver a revitalised company" and that the injection of private capital would help her to achieve that objective.

Royal Mail boss Moya Greene faces the prospect of strikes over the sale

"(Our) network and our strong brand, coupled with the high service quality delivered by our people enable us to take full advantage of the growth in UK e-commerce to further enhance our pre-eminent parcels business. Combining this UK presence with our pan-European parcels business GLS, should result in a financial profile that combines revenue growth and margin progression to underpin strong cash flow generation."

The flotation was attacked by Labour's shadow business secretary, Chuka Umunna, who said the sell-off was "politically-motivated".

"Ministers are pushing ahead with this politically-motivated fire-sale of Royal Mail to fill the hole left by George Osborne's failed plan," he said.

"This is taking place despite opposition from a huge coalition including the Conservative Bow Group, the Countryside Alliance, the National Federation of Subpostmasters, the cross party BIS Select Committee as well as Royal Mail employees themselves.

"The Government has not addressed the huge concerns which remain on the impact the Royal Mail sale will have on consumers, businesses and communities, but ministers are ploughing on regardless."

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HS2 Rail Link 'Will Boost Economy By £15bn'

The HS2 high-speed rail project will boost the UK economy by £15bn and will be completed within its £42.6bn budget, the Government is to claim.

New research shows the proposed link between London and cities in the Midlands and northern England will drive growth in the regions.

The announcement by Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin comes in the week the Commons spending watchdog issued a scathing report on the scheme.

It said the apparent benefits were dwindling as the costs spiralled.

Ministers' case for the massive project was based on "fragile numbers, out-of-date data and assumptions which do not reflect real life" with no evidence that it would aid regional economies rather than sucking even more activity into London, said the Public Accounts Committee report.

But Mr McLoughlin will point to a new analysis by KPMG, commissioned by HS2 Ltd, which shows that the boost to Birmingham's economy will be equivalent to 2.1% to 4.2% of the city region's GDP, there will be a 0.8% to 1.7% benefit to Manchester, 1.6% for Leeds and 0.5% for Greater London.

The proposed HS2 lines

"It addresses that vital question: will HS2 create jobs and growth in the North and Midlands, where they are needed most? The answer is absolutely clear. Yes," he will say.

The Exchequer could benefit from £5bn a year in extra tax receipts as a result of the boost to the economy, KPMG said.

The Transport Secretary's speech forms part of a campaign announced by David Cameron to make the case for HS2 in the face of what he called an "unholy alliance" of sceptics.

Recent critics have included Labour's Alistair Darling who first approved it as chancellor, and the Institute of Directors which dismissed it as "a grand folly".

It is also fiercely opposed by some Tory MPs - many representing communities which will be disrupted by construction work and train noise along the route.

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Cable Warns About 'Complacency' Over Economy

Vince Cable is to warn about "complacency" over Britain's economic recovery, insisting ministers cannot "rest on our laurels".

The Business Secretary will say later that a "few quarters of good economic data" does not mean the country is out of the woods.

The comments, in a speech to business leaders, come just two days after Chancellor George Osborne declared the economy was finally "turning a corner".

Mr Cable will also highlight the risks of the housing market "getting out of control", echoing critics of Mr Osborne's flagship Help-to-Buy scheme.

The senior Lib Dem's intervention is likely to revive old tensions with the Chancellor after several clashes in the past.

In his address at Warwick University, Mr Cable will admit there are "encouraging" signs on the economy, but declare there is still further to go.

"We can't rest on our laurels. The kind of growth we want won't simply emerge of its own volition. In fact, I see a number of dangers. One is complacency, generated by a few quarters of good economic data," he will say.

"It isn't difficult to see evidence of confidence returning, and there are positive trends in production. Taken together with success stories like the car industry and export growth in emerging markets, we have the beginnings of a recovery story.

"But there are risks, not least the housing market getting out of control. Recovery will not be meaningful until we see strong and sustained business investment - and this is still 13% down on its 2008 peak and, as a share of GDP, is currently the lowest in the G7."

George Osborne recently hailed the change in economic fortunes

Mr Cable will stress that the improving economic news does not mean that the need for long-term re-structuring and re-balancing could be forgotten.

"If we are to turn the British economy around on a sustainable basis there will have to be relatively rapid growth of exports and import substitutes," he will say

In a further sideswipe at Tory critics, he will also emphasise the need for the Government to have an industrial strategy, following a series of "classic market failures".

He will point out that Britain's growth rate for creating advanced skills put the UK just 20th out of the 27 Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development countries.

But he will also argue that his work on industrial strategy will last beyond the election because it is supported across the business world and political parties.

Shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna said Mr Cable had delivered an "embarrassing slap-down" to Mr Osborne.

However, he insisted the Lib Dems could not distance themselves from the Chancellor's economic strategy.

"It also reminds everyone that you can't trust a word the Lib Dems say. Vince Cable has supported the Chancellor's policies which choked off the recovery in 2010," he said.

"Three wasted years of flatlining that has left families worse off and done long term damage to our economy is his record and he should take responsibility for it."

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Economy: UK Jobless Rate Falls To 7.7%

The UK's unemployment rate has dipped to 7.7% for the first time since late 2012 amid improving signs for the labour market.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the rate fell in the three months to July from 7.8% previously as the number of people out of work fell by 24,000 to 2.487 million.

That was the lowest jobless rate since September-November period last year, the ONS said.

In another signal of continued recovery, the total claiming jobless benefit fell by 32,600 in August - the steepest decline since June 1997.

The monthly jobs data has taken on a new significance since the Bank of England pledged last month to keep the base rate of interest at its record low as long as the unemployment rate remained above 7%.

It does not expect to raise the rate until late 2016 though markets are pricing in the first increase in December 2014 as economic recovery gathers pace - bets that have led to rises in a range of market interest rates, including those that usually feed mortgages and other loans.

The ONS highlighted the continued squeeze on household incomes by measuring a 1.1% increase in average weekly earnings between May and July versus a year earlier.

That continues to lag inflation which is running at 2.8%.

The number of people working part-time because they cannot find a full-time job surged to 1.45 million - the highest since records began in 1992.

The ONS said that figure had doubled over the past five years.

More follows...

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Royal Mail Sale: Thursday Delivery Target

Some of the City's most prominent fund managers are lining up to back the £3bn privatisation of Royal Mail as ministers target Thursday morning to press the button on the historic sell-off.

Sky News understands that Lansdowne Partners and Standard Life Investments are among the City institutions which have provided positive indications of their appetite to invest in the company despite the looming threat of the first national strike by Royal Mail staff since 2009.

The pair is among scores of prospective investors with which the postal operator's executives and advisers have held discussions in recent months as the Government attempted to build enthusiasm for the initial public offering.

Investment bankers involved in the deal say they are surprised at the extent of the positive reaction to their initial soundings with investors, although the actual demand for shares will depend to a large extent on how they are priced.

Ministers are likely to take a final decision on Wednesday evening to press ahead with the privatisation, which will take place through a stock market flotation in London next month. A statement formally known as an Intention To Float announcement is expected at 7am on Thursday.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills insisted on Monday that no final decision had been taken about the timing of a deal. Other external factors such as the crisis in Syria and an impending announcement about the sale of part of the Government's stake in Lloyds Banking Group could yet alter the Royal Mail timetable, insiders said.

Strikes could be a major obstacle to privatisation plans

However, ministers have made it clear that they will not allow the Royal Mail privatisation to be distracted by the robust stance of trade unions.

Sky News revealed last week that Royal Mail would commit to a generous dividend policy in order to entice investors to back the flotation, with a commitment to a specific shareholder payout for the current financial year, as well as a general intention to distribute up to about 50% of its profits in the form of dividends in subsequent years.

"This will be an income stock for investors despite the continuing decline in the company's core letters business," said one person close to the group.

Royal Mail's board is understood to have backed the dividend pledge in principle and will meet on Wednesday to agree further details relating to the privatisation.

Postal operators in other European markets tend to pay out at least 40% of their earnings in dividends although Royal Mail would be expected to retain a large chunk of its future profits as it continues to invest in the modernisation of the company.

The company's flotation will include an eventual distribution of 10% of Royal Mail shares to 150,000 of its employees and an offer of shares to ordinary retail investors.

Royal Mail declined to comment on Monday.

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