Grangemouth's Future Saved In Last-Minute Deal

Grangemouth petrochemicals plant has been saved following a last-minute deal.

The 800 workers who were due to lose their jobs at the Falkirk plant - Scotland's largest industrial site and its only refinery - were told the news at 11am on Friday.

It came after the Unite union confirmed it would now "embrace" a survival plan in an effort to reverse a decision by Swiss-based owner Ineos to close the business.

Calum MacLean, chairman of Ineos' petrochemicals division, told a news conference a "great cheer" went up from workers as he told them their jobs were safe.

But he said "very limited redundancies" would have to be made.

Asked by one reporter if he had held a gun to Scotland's head, he replied: "I don't think that's the case."

He pointed out that Ineos had invested £1bn in the business and would invest another £300m to secure its future for at least the next 15 years.

Another £300m will be invested at the site, Ineos says

He said it was "only right" that by making such a "huge investment" the company had to make sure it had a "long-term sustainable base".

The agreement was to see fuel production resume at the company's oil refinery on Friday after a shutdown of more than a week.

The closure would have been a major setback for the Scottish National Party, which is leading the campaign for Scotland's independence from the UK.

Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond said: "This news is a tremendous fillip for the workforce and the whole Grangemouth community, following what could have been a potential disaster."

Later, in an interview with Sky News, Mr Calum MacLean declined to say how many redundancies would be made. He said the £300m would be spent on building a new gas terminal at the site.

Asked what he thought of union tactics during the negotiations, he said it would have "saved a lot of traumatic effects" if union officials had begun the talks a week ago with the same attitude they had had over the past two days.

The closure would have been a huge blow for Alex Salmond

Jim Ratcliffe, chairman of Ineos Group, said: "This is a victory for common sense. Unite advised employees to reject change and vote for closure. Thank goodness people finally came to their senses. Grangemouth now has a great future."

Ineos said Unite had made a "dramatic U-turn" and had agreed to a three-year pay freeze, no strikes for three years, and moving to a "modern" pension scheme.

Earlier, Unite's general secretary Len McCluskey said shop stewards had decided to accept the company's survival plan "warts and all" in the wake of the closure decision.

Unite's Scottish secretary, Pat Rafferty, said: "Grangemouth is the powerhouse of the Scottish economy - it now has a fighting chance of upholding this crucial role into the future.

"Obviously today's news is tinged with sadness - decent men and women are being asked to make sacrifices to hold on to their jobs, but the clear wish of our members is that we work with the company to implement its proposals."

Ineos caused shockwaves on Wednesday when it announced it could not continue to operate its loss-making petrochemicals division, leaving hundreds of staff at risk and many more contractors facing the axe.

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UK Economy: GDP Growth Accelerates To 0.8%

The Chancellor claims there is now "real momentum" in the UK's economic recovery after GDP growth of 0.8% was measured in the third quarter.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said it marked the strongest period of growth in more than three years - with services, construction and manufacturing all expanding.

It was also the third successive period of improving output, in line with the expectations of economists, though some had forecast growth to have reached 1%.

The ONS said construction - a sector bolstered by Government initiatives such as Help to Buy - surged by 2.5%.

George Osborne said: "This shows that Britain's hard work is paying off & the country is on the path to prosperity."

Prime Minister David Cameron tweeted: "Today's encouraging #GDP growth figures are another sign we are turning a corner."

Labour argued the growth was "long overdue".

Overall GDP was 1.5% ahead of the same period last year - a time when the economy was being boosted by the Olympics and Paralympics.

But the economy remains 2.5% off its pre-recession peak at the start of 2008.

During the third quarter, construction was boosted by new work on private housing and private commercial building as well as domestic home repair and maintenance but remained 12.5% off its 2008 high.

Housebuilders have been buoyed by the Government's Help to Buy scheme, which recently launched a new phase offering mortgage guarantees.

Production grew by 0.5%, though this remains 12.8% off its 2008 level, while within this manufacturing improved 0.9% in the third quarter.

The powerhouse services sector, which represents three-quarters of economic output, grew by 0.7% and is now 0.6% above its pre-crisis peak.

The largest contributions here came from business services and finance, followed by distribution, hotels and restaurants.

But the wider statistics highlighted one piece of bad news - in terms of UK growth.

The contribution from utilities - including gas and electricity - tumbled by 6.8% in the period, possibly a result of the warm summer compared to the same period last year which was largely a washout and cool.

The figure was seen as a potential factor behind the decision among energy suppliers to increase household bills - to make up for lower demand.

Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit, said: "Britain is booming again with the economy showing the most sustainable and robust-looking upturn since the financial crisis."

But Alan Clarke of Scotiabank said the figure was a "tad disappointing" - given survey data indicating growth nearer 1% - and "wasn't a home run".

Shadow chancellor Ed Balls said: "After three damaging years of flatlining, it's both welcome and long overdue that our economy is growing again.

"But for millions of people across the country still seeing prices rising faster than their wages this is no recovery at all."

Dave Prentis, general secretary of the Unison union, said growth figures will "mean nothing to the vast majority of people in this country faced with mounting household bills and stagnant wages."

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Family Not Seeing 'Green Shoots' Of Recovery

By Emma Birchley, East Of England Correspondent

The green shoots of economic recovery might be growing stronger but the Horton family is not feeling the effects.

"It's been really, really tough. We are struggling to make ends meet," said Spencer, 39, from Felixstowe.

He has his own recording studio and band, Mohawk, but he makes much of his money from teaching guitar, bass and drums as well as vocal coaching.

The past year has been difficult as the luxury of music lessons has been dropped by those struggling to meet the cost. Pub closures mean fewer gigs.

But there are tentative signs that things may be on the up.

He said: "The lessons have started picking up in the last month or so. I've got five new students so that helps but I don't know how much of that is a sign that the economy is improving."

His wife, Morgan, is training to be a counsellor and volunteers her skills, but is also a self-employed massage therapist and has seen her business suffer.

She said: "I used to have a lot of clients who have a massage as a luxury or to treat chronic back pain but it got to the point that they had to make a choice because of money and the massage went.

"We have both chosen to be in professions that give back to the community and that keeps us going yet the Government does not value or recognise that."

The couple have two children, April, five, and Coby, two.

Keeping the house warm and the family well fed has meant putting up with increasing costs.

Mrs Horton said: "We don't buy luxuries very often and our food bill is still big. It's gone up by about a third in the last year or so.

"Energy is really expensive too. They say the national average is £1,400 a year and we pay close to double that in gas and electricity."

Keeping up with the bills meant they recently had to get a £10,000 loan.

She added: "It really frustrates me because I wanted to spend it on doing up the house but the overdraft kept creeping up so we had to pay that off."

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Samsung And Microsoft Report Rising Profits

Samsung achieved a new quarterly profits record in its third quarter while Microsoft has also impressed with better earnings than forecast - as sales of devices dominates.

But Samsung Electronics, which is now the world's largest maker of smartphones, memory chips and televisions, credited the surge on sales of cheaper smartphones - rather than its premium products.

Chip sales and a revival in its semiconductor business also boosted the performance.

Net profit for the July-September period rose 26% over the previous year to $7.5bn (£4.6bn) - just ahead of expectations - though sales of premium smartphones were flat, having been the driver of profits growth in previous quarters.

The new curved Galaxy Round will be available only in South Korea

Growth in demand for the Galaxy S4 and the Galaxy Note 3 ground to a halt during the third quarter, perhaps feeling the heat from Apple's latest models, and the firm forecast that overall smartphone sales growth would remain at less than 5% for the remainder of the year.

Samsung's mobile business contributed nearly 70% of the company's total operating profit.

Steve Ballmer is to leave Microsoft in 2014

However, growth in premium smartphones, the Galaxy S4 and the Galaxy Note 3, came to a halt during the third quarter, staying at the same level as the previous quarter.

Before Microsoft's earnings update attention was focused on who might succeed current boss Steve Ballmer following confirmation of his intention to retire but there was no update on the process.

Investors welcomed a 17% rise in profits and healthy forecast with shares rising almost 7% in after-hours trading.

The quarterly revenue and earnings report easily topped Wall Street forecasts, marking a healthy start to a company-wide overhaul announced by Ballmer in July that should help the software giant transform into a devices and services company.

Microsoft's first quarter net profit came in at $5.24bn (£3.23bn) while revenues topped $18bn with its Surface tablets bringing in $400m.

That was helped by a price cut to its slimmed down Surface RT model in July.

Amazon also updated the market on its third quarter progress - reporting a narrower group net loss of $41m (£25m) on stronger sales.

In the UK, the online retailer said its best sellers were dominated by big video game releases and Kindle books.

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UK Economy: GDP Growth Accelerates To 0.8%

The UK economy achieved growth of 0.8% in the third quarter - marking a slight acceleration in the recovery across 2013 as a whole.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said it marked the strongest period of growth in more than three years - with services, construction and manufacturing all expanding.

It was also the third successive period of improving output but in line with the expectations of economists though some had forecast growth of 1%.

The ONS said construction - a sector bolstered by Government initiatives such as Help to Buy - surged by 2.5%.

Chancellor George Osborne said of the GDP figure on Twitter: "This shows that Britain's hard work is paying off & the country is on the path to prosperity."

The housing market recovery is reflected in the GDP growth

Overall GDP was 1.5% ahead of the same period last year - a strong comparison with a time when the economy was boosted by the Olympics and Paralympics.

But the economy remains 2.5% off its pre-recession peak at the start of 2008.

During the third quarter, construction was boosted by new work on private housing and private commercial building as well as domestic home repair and maintenance but remained 12.5% off its 2008 high.

Housebuilders have been buoyed by the Government's Help to Buy scheme, which recently launched a new phase offering mortgage guarantees.

Lower gas and electricity demand over the hot summer hurt growth

Production grew by 0.5%, though this remains 12.8% off its 2008 level, while within this manufacturing improved 0.9% in the third quarter.

The powerhouse services sector, which represents three-quarters of economic output, grew by 0.7% and is now 0.6% above its pre-crisis peak.

The largest contributions here came from business services and finance, followed by distribution, hotels and restaurants.

But the wider statistics highlighted one piece of bad news - in terms of UK growth.

The contribution from utilities - including gas and electricity - tumbled by 6.8% in the period, possibly a result of the warm summer compared to the same period last year which was largely a washout and cool.

The figure was seen as a potential factor behind the decision among energy suppliers to increase household bills.

More follows...

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'Heat Your Homes' To Stop Winter Deaths

People are being urged by the Government keep their homes heated and get their flu jabs this winter in a drive to prevent thousands of deaths.

The Cold Weather Plan For England says people should keep their houses warm, with living room temperatures of 21C (70F) and bedrooms and the rest of the house heated to 18C (65F).

The Government's winter advice says temperatures above this "may waste money" but below this "may risk your health".

The plan also says if people are unable to afford to heat all their rooms, they should heat their living room during the day and bedrooms just before going to bed.

The Government's advice - which also mentions loft insulation, keeping curtains closed to trap heat and eating hot food - comes as households face significant increases to their energy bills this winter.

Consumer groups and charities are warning that many will be forced to choose between "heating or eating".

Bosses of Britain's "Big Six" energy firms have been summoned to appear before MPs next week to explain a new round of price rises after SSE, British Gas, npower and ScottishPower all announced increases of more than £100 per household a year.

As public anger over rising energy prices intensified, Mr Cameron surprised MPs this week when he made an apparent U-turn on costly green levies, saying he would roll back some of the measures following mounting claims by providers that they are one of the main factors forcing up prices.

Fuel poverty campaigners, under an alliance called the Energy Bill Revolution, have urged the Prime Minister to invest in "super insulation" for homes to solve the "national crisis" of cold homes.

Energy Bill Revolution campaign director Ed Matthew said: "Our political leaders are falling over themselves to come up with headline-grabbing ways to cut energy bills yet they fall woefully short of a true solution to the energy bill crisis.

Four of the "Big Six" energy firms have raised their prices so far

"By far the biggest opportunity to cut energy bills is to fully insulate the UK's leaky homes."

The Government's health advice said there are "too many avoidable deaths each winter", with just over 24,000 each year in England and Wales.

The "causes are complex, interlinked with fuel poverty, poor housing and health inequalities, as well as circulating infectious diseases, particularly flu and norovirus, and the extent of snow and ice", it added.

Public health minister Jane Ellison said: "The elderly and those with long-term illnesses are particularly at risk during the winter months so it's crucial that people stay warm and that we all find time to check in on those who may be vulnerable."

She added: "We are also investing £500m over the next two years to help ensure A&E departments are well prepared for winter."

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Marikana Massacre: 'Damning' Evidence Emerges

By Alex Crawford, Special Correspondent

The Marikana Miners Support group has called for South African police to be prosecuted after apparently unearthing new evidence which disputes the authorities' version of what happened on the day more than 30 striking miners were shot dead by police.

The evidence was uncovered by a film-maker - who is also a member of the campaign group - while he was doing research for a documentary on the incident at the Lonmin mine in August 2012.

It appears to throw more doubt on the police claim that they acted in self-defence when they opened fire on striking miners.

As well as the 34 miners killed, nearly 80 others were left wounded.

The footage has been submitted to the Commission of Inquiry which is continuing into just what went wrong at Marikana.

Film-maker Rehad Desai called it "damning" evidence which showed - in his opinion - that the police had not only engineered the situation which led to the miners being shot, but had then lied repeatedly to the South African public and the inquiry to cover up their actions.

New video shows a miners' leader (circled) who was shot dead minutes later

The footage is shot from what Mr Desai called a "fourth" angle that was mostly unseen and unexamined.

It depicts a large group of the miners being led away from the hillock, or koppie as it is known in South Africa, where they had been demonstrating.

They are filmed walking away slowly, apparently passively and quietly, as they are shepherded by their leaders towards the informal settlement where many of them lived.

The footage, which is shown in the order which it was filmed and apparently has an embedded time code showing what time it was recorded, then shows increased activity among the police.

They are seen moving armoured police vehicles to block the miners' path and forming a barrier between them and the informal settlement.

The footage shows police with guns drawn, apparently before trouble started

The miners are corralled down a relatively narrow path alongside police vehicles and in the direction of a waiting line of armed police.

As they pass a row of police trucks, one policeman can be seen to the left of the picture shooting birdshot into the crowd of passing miners.

Other police then follow suit. The miners, who are already cowering with some crouching over, then start to panic.

One can be seen turning towards the police who are side-on to the crowd and firing his handgun directly at the police.

There is some smoke seen which is thought to be tear gas. Miners start running away from the gas and the shooting coming at them from the side.

Film-maker Rehad Desai says the new evidence is 'damning

They run directly towards the line-up of police and within seconds, a cacophony of noise is heard as the police open fire with live ammunition.

The latest allegations follow a statement by the Commission a few weeks ago that it had managed to obtain documents which the police had previously said did not exist.

The Commission also managed to get access to police computer hard drives.

At the time, it issued a statement saying: "We have obtained documents which in our opinion demonstrate that the (police) version of the events at Marikana ... is in material respects not the truth."

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UK Car Production Back At Pre-Recession Level

High demand for cars built in the UK has helped production return to pre-recession levels, according to industry figures.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said production soared last month and has now topped the one million mark for the year so far - 1.5 million over the past 12 months which is its best performance since 2008.

A total of 140,888 cars were built in the UK in September 2013 - 9.9% more than in September last year, the SMMT said.

But manufacturing of commercial vehicles slumped more than 27% as companies continued to hold back on investment - particularly on the continent.

A total of just 67,609 such vehicles have been produced in the year to date - down 17.9% on the first nine months of last year.

Nissan's Sunderland operation has grown to build new models

On the car production figures SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said: "Boosted by strong domestic demand, September's 9.9% rise in car manufacturing reinforces how the sector is one of the UK's biggest success stories of recent years.

"This year alone, more than £2.6bn has been committed across the UK automotive sector, from the supply chain to global car manufacturing brands.

"This long-term financial commitment and robust demand for UK-built products demonstrate the global appetite for high-quality, desirable products borne of the UK's world-class design, research and development and engineering."

Prime Minister David Cameron welcomed the news, writing on Twitter: "Great to see a sharp rise in car manufacturing in the UK.

"More than a million cars have been made so far this year. #GlobalRace."

Mr Hawes went on: "Commercial production remained subdued in September, with continuing uncertainty in the EU and restructuring of UK operations.

"While the overall market is striving against tough conditions, there remains cause for optimism in some areas, with the truck sector out-performing the market in September."

The SMMT also announced that a total of 230,743 engines were manufactured in September - up 8.3% on the September 2012 figure.

Year-to-date growth of 1.2% sees UK engine output approach two million units for 2013.

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Grangemouth Plant Closure U-Turn Is Possible

The owner of the Grangemouth petrochemicals plant says it could reverse Wednesday's decision to close it if "substantive" talks today yield "very significant" union concessions.

Sources at Ineos were speaking to Sky News ahead of a meeting with Unite which began at 8am but they insisted that any agreement on reopening the chemical side of the operation at the peace talks would have to be rubber-stamped by a full meeting of Ineos shareholders.

The company had announced that it could not continue to operate the loss-making petrochemicals division, leaving 800 jobs at risk at the plant with many more contractors facing the axe too.

Ineos also confirmed that while it was not planning to close down the oil refinery, which produces 80% of Scotland's fuel supplies, it would remain shut for now pending reassurances from Unite that there would be no strike action.

The union's general secretary Len McCluskey arrived at Grangemouth this morning to join local efforts to resolve the dispute, hours after officials accused Ineos owner Jim Ratcliffe of deliberately engineering the chemical plant's closure.

It said on Wednesday that it had put a "plan to save jobs" to the company.

Unite's Scottish secretary Pat Rafferty added: "The ball is now in the court of Jim Ratcliffe and the respective governments in Edinburgh and Westminster and we await their responses."

Ineos argued it was left with no alternative but to close the petrochemical business, which makes products used in the manufacture of household goods such as plastic packaging.

The firm cited a failure to persuade its staff to accept a survival plan, which included a pay freeze, ending of a final salary pension scheme and other changes to terms and conditions.

Ineos said white-collar workers such as administration staff had backed the plan but workers represented by Unite had rejected it.

Politicians had urged the two sides to resume talks to prevent the closure, while efforts are expected to continue to find a potential buyer in case the peace efforts fail.

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Energy Bills: Major Calls For 'Windfall Tax'

By Jon Craig, Chief Political Correspondent

Former Prime Minister Sir John Major has dropped an energy price hike bombshell on David Cameron by calling for a windfall tax on power companies this winter.

In a move that stunned the Tory high command, he said the recent price rises were unacceptable and many people would have to choose between heating and eating.

And he said that if there was severe cold weather this winter and the Government had to help vulnerable people it should impose an "excess profits tax" on the energy companies.

But within an hour the former Prime Minister was slapped down by Downing Street, with the Prime Minister's spokesman declaring: "We have no plans for this."

Labour seized on the apparent disarray.

Ed Miliband, whose price freeze pledge has put the Government on the defensive for weeks, tweeted: "Sir John Major makes Labour's argument: David Cameron stands up for the energy companies not hard-pressed families."

Ed Miliband said Sir John was making "Labour's argument"

Sir John's shock intervention in the energy price row came in a comeback speech to political journalists at Westminster in which he made a passionate plea to the Tories to win back the support of blue collar voters.

Asked about energy price hikes of up to 10%, Sir John said: "I do not see how it can be in any way acceptable that with energy prices rising broadly 4% in terms of costs that the price to the consumer should rise by the 9-10% that we are hearing.

"I do not regard that as acceptable at all by the energy companies.

"And it is not acceptable to me, it ought not to be acceptable to anyone, that many people are going to have to choose between keeping warm and eating. That is not acceptable.

"So if we get this cold spell the government, I think, will have to intervene and if they do intervene, and it is costly, I for one would regard it as perfectly acceptable for them then, subsequently, to levy and excess profits tax on the energy companies and claw that money back to the Exchequer, where their primary job is to get the economy working and people back to work."

Asked if he was backing the Labour leader, the former Prime Minister said: "When Ed Miliband made his suggestions just a few weeks ago I think his heart was in the right place but his head had gone walkabout.

"But he did touch on an issue that's very important. The private sector is something the Conservative party support but when the private sector goes wrong or behaves badly I think it is entirely right to make changes and put it right."

David Cameron's spokesman said it was an "interesting contribution"

Sir John told reporters that with interest rates at a record low, energy companies should be looking to borrow money to pay for investment rather than funding it "out of the revenue of families whose wages have not been going up at a time when other costs have been rising".

"I believe there will be difficulties this winter without action and, if there are those difficulties, the Chancellor will have my total support if he acted in the way I suggest and imposed an emergency impost upon the energy companies to claw back the money that we will have to give to people to help them see the winter in any form of warmth," he said.

Shortly after Sir John's speech, Mr Cameron's spokesman told reporters: "The Prime Minister's view on this is that this is an interesting contribution. We have no plans for this.

"What the Government is doing is legislating around forcing energy companies to put customers on their lowest tariffs and more competition in energy markets."

Asked about Sir John's concerns about people having to choose between eating and heating this winter, the spokesman said: "There are a number of initiatives that the Government has to support vulnerable people, such as the cold weather payments.

"We have a range of ways in which support is given and those are the right ones."

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