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UK 'super-port' to open in 2013

2011-10-22T19:31:00.000-07:00

4 October 2011 Last updated at 10:25 GMT DP World says the project could add 32,000 jobs to the UK economy The owners of the London Gateway port say the project is due to open in the last three months of 2013.

DP World says the site will initially be able to handle 1.6 million standard shipping containers a year. Over time, the Dubai-headquartered group plans to raise capacity to 3.5m containers.

Construction work began near Thurrock, Essex, in January 2010 on the site of a former Shell oil refinery.

When complete, it will be the largest deep-sea port in the UK.

DP World says the Thames Estuary development has already created 600 jobs and it plans to increase that number by a further 1,000 over the coming months. Seven hundred of the new posts will be in construction, while the other 300 are described as port jobs.

The firm estimates that eventually, the port and a neighbouring logistics centre will help create 32,000 jobs, adding ￡3.2bn to the UK economy each year.

'Environmentally friendly'

The company says the project is also good for the environment. It says that by allowing the world's largest cargo ships to unload their goods next to a major distribution centre, 65 million road freight miles can be saved every year.

DP World's chief executive, Mohammed Sharaf, said: "London Gateway is a giant leap forward for the UK's supply chains and will benefit our customers tremendously through more efficient transportation of goods."

Business Secretary Vince Cable also welcomed the news, saying: "It will help Britain maintain its competitiveness, drive productivity, and crucially strengthen our links with Asia and beyond."

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Japanese manufacturers optimistic

2011-10-22T15:25:00.000-07:00

3 October 2011 Last updated at 02:40 GMT Japanese carmakers have seen their production levels return to pre-quake levels Japan's big manufacturers expect conditions to improve in the next three months, according to the Bank of Japan's Tankan survey.

The business sentiment index stood at plus two for September, up from minus nine in June, the survey showed.

Confidence was badly damaged by the March 11 earthquake, but factory output is now increasing as supply chains are restored and infrastructure rebuilt.

The survey is keenly watched and influences Japan's monetary policy.

"Manufacturers are planning a sizeable output expansion in the next few months, so we expect conditions to improve even further," Takuji Okubo of Societe Generale told the BBC.

External risks

However, despite the optimism, big firms in Japan revised down their plans for capital expenditure.

According to the survey, large businesses plan to increase capital expenditure for the current financial year by 3%, down from an earlier projection of 4.2%.

Continue reading the main story

The uncertainty over what is going to happen over the next few months seems to be hurting the sentiment”

End Quote Takuji Okubo Societe Generale Analysts said that while things have started to improve in Japan, external factors continue to dampen spirits.

There have been concerns that the ongoing debt crisis in Europe may hurt growth in the region. At the same time, economic problems in the US have raised fears of the world's biggest economy slipping into a recession.

"The biggest concerns are external, not internal, such as the impact of Europe's debt problems on global growth," said Yutaka Shikari of Mitsubhishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities.

There are fears that if growth in these regions slows, it would have an impact on consumer spending and hurt demand for Japanese exports.

Analysts said that until a long-term sustainable solution was found to these issues, they are likely to impact the expansion plans of Japanese companies.

"The uncertainty over what is going to happen over the next few months seems to be hurting sentiment," Societe Generale's Mr Okubo added.

Yen factor

The uncertainty surrounding the global economic outlook has also has a big impact on the Japanese currency. Investors have been flocking to the yen, considered as a safe-haven asset in times of economic turmoil.

That has seen the Japanese currency strengthen by as much as 8% against the US dollar in the past 12 months.

It does not bode well for the Japan's export-dependent manufacturers. A strong yen not only makes their goods more expensive but also hurts profits of companies when they repatriate their foreign earnings back home.

"If you look carefully, you can see the heavy burden of a higher yen, and their profits are under pressure," said Hideo Kumano of Daiichi Life Research Institute.

According to the Tankan survey, large manufacturers said they based their business plans on the yen averaging 81.15 against the US dollar for the current financial year. It was trading close to 77 yen against the US dollar in Asia trade on Monday.

The Japanese authorities have already intervened in the currency markets this year. Last week, the Finance Ministry said it was ready to act again and could spend another 15tn yen ($196bn; ￡125bn) to stabilise the currency.

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Arsenal financial future 'secure'

2011-10-22T12:08:00.000-07:00

Arsenal moved from Highbury to Emirates Stadium in 2006 Chief executive Ivan Gazidis has said Arsenal's financial future is bright despite a fall in turnover and profit.

The Gunners reported group turnover for the year ending 31 May as ￡255.7m, down from ￡379.9m in 2010, while profit was also reduced from ￡56m to ￡14.8m.

Gazidis told the club website: "We are very secure - it's a good set of results again.

"This is a very solid, very healthy set of results and it gives us a good platform to move forward from."

Continue reading the main story

Arsenal's accounts do not include the ￡30m gained from the sale of Cesc Fabregas, the ￡24m received for Samir Nasri or the ￡7m paid by Manchester City for Gael Clichy

A reduced income from property sales at the Highbury redevelopment and increase in player wages have played their part in the drops, but the figures do not include the sales of midfielders Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri to Barcelona and Manchester City respectively.

"We didn't have the same kind of profit from player sales that we had in the previous season and that explains the slight reduction in profit," added Gazidis.

"We haven't seen the same kind of profits from the property side that we have seen in the past but that was entirely to be expected. Our property business is debt-free so any new sales of property do accumulate cash, which is very positive for the future."

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Lecturers' pension action resumes

2011-10-22T07:21:00.000-07:00

6 October 2011 Last updated at 23:01 GMT The dispute could escalate to new strikes, the UCU said Lecturers at 67 UK universities are going to re-start a programme of industrial action from 10 October over changes to their pension scheme.

They will start a "work to contract" if the universities do not resume negotiations over the pension changes.

Substantial cuts to the benefits of the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS) were introduced on 1 October.

The University and College Union (UCU) said 40,000 members at the affected universities might eventually strike.

The union's general secretary, Sally Hunt, said the aim was to force the university employers to renegotiate some of the changes they have just brought in.

"There are key areas that we believe need to be looked at again," she said.

"Examples being accrual rates and another example being redundancy payments for those who are 50 and 55."

The dispute affects staff at the 67 traditional universities which were in existence before 1992, when the former polytechnics and higher education institutions were upgraded to university status.

'Sustained campaign'

The industrial action may be a precursor to more widespread action which has been threatened by unions with members in other parts of the public sector, such as local government, the civil service, NHS, schools, police and the fire service.

The government is trying to press ahead with substantial increases in staff pension contributions, to be followed by full-scale conversion of most of the schemes from their current final-salary basis to become less generous career average schemes.

The lecturers' industrial action will start with a "work to contract" which the UCU said would be the start of a "sustained campaign of industrial action".

Depending on local employment conditions, this might include union members working no more than their contracted hours, not covering other lecturers' classes, and refusing to carry out any additional duties or attend voluntary staff meetings.

"This will affect the universities in very different ways," said a spokesman for the employers body the UCEA (Universities and Colleges Employers Association).

"The changes would be considered moderate by many as they include the retention of a final salary pension for all existing USS members."

The UCU said if the employers refused to start negotiating again at a scheduled meeting later this month, the action might be escalated to a boycott of internal administration, student assessments and even rolling strikes.

Second campaign

The USS pension scheme has 137,000 contributing members at nearly 300 education institutions.

One-day strikes in March, at universities around the country, failed to deter the employers from pressing ahead with the bulk of their pension changes, which have been in train for three years.

So the UCU held a second industrial action ballot last month, which produced a 77% vote in favour on a 42% turnout - even higher than in the union's first ballot earlier this year.

The union said the some of its members would lose ￡100,000 of their pension income over their prospective retirement as a result of the changes.

It said the employers' private aim was to make huge savings by cutting their contribution rate from about 16% of staff salaries to just 10%.

This might be achieved, the UCU said, if the university employers were able, in a few years' time, to impose the career average scheme for new recruits on existing staff as well.

Big changes

The USS changes were brought in from 1 October in a separate process to the one the government has initiated for the other big public sector pension schemes.

The university pension changes were changes were:

A normal pension age of 65 came in for new entrants and for the future service of many existing members. The exceptions to this are those members who were in the scheme before 1 October - and who were also aged 55 or over at that date. They will be exempt from the normal reductions in their accrued pensions that will be imposed if they take their pensions before the age of 65. The normal USS pension age will rise in line with any increases in the state pension age, which is scheduled to rise to 66 by 2020. It is important to note that this will only affect pension built up after April 2020.The employee contribution rate for members of the final-salary section has gone up from 6.35% to 7.5%. Pension increases (for pensions in payment and deferred pensions) will now be inflation-proofed in line with increases in the consumer prices index (CPI) up to 5% a year. But for pensions earned after 1 October 2011, if inflation is more than 5% but less than 15%, the increase in pension will be 5% plus half of the increase above that level. And if inflation is more than 15%, there will be no extra pension increases - they will be capped at 10% a year.A career-average revalued earnings (CARE) benefits structure has been introduced for new entrants. The benefits are still be based upon a 1/80th accrual rate and cash lump sum of three times the pension.The contribution rate for members of the new CARE section is 6.5%. If the overall cost of the scheme rises above 23.5% of salaries, then "cost sharing" will be introduced. This means any further increases in contributions will be shared in the ratio 65:35 between employers and employees respectively.

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VIDEO: Rising inflation in the eurozone

2011-10-22T03:27:00.000-07:00

30 September 2011 Last updated at 09:39 GMT Help

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Top-four spot not vital - Gazidis

2011-10-21T23:48:00.000-07:00

Ivan Gazidis (left) has been at the north London club since 2008 Arsenal could still compete financially with their rivals if they missed out on a Champions League spot, according to chief executive Ivan Gazidis.

The Gunners earned ￡26m from Europe last season but Gazidis believes they could still keep pace with the top English clubs without it.

They currently sit 15th in the Premier League table, 12 points behind leaders Manchester United.

"Every club has the temptation to think that money is the answer," he said.

"We would rather qualify for it but we have a really sustainable model that can cope. Not just cope, but we can do well and compete.

"It would be very foolish to build a business model that relied on being in the Champions League for perpetuity and I don't think any clubs do that and, if they do, then they probably aren't being run as responsibly as they should be."

Arsenal - who have been in the Champions League in each of the past 14 seasons - bought in ￡64m in transfer fees in the summer and spent ￡48.3m, with over half of that spent on transfer deadline day as Arsene Wenger boosted his squad with the signings of Andre Santos, Per Mertesacker and Mikel Arteta.

Gazidis was also quick to add that the Gunners would be able to compete with Chelsea and the two Manchester clubs in terms of player wages.

"We don't have a salary ceiling, I don't know where that story comes from," said Gazidis, who was speaking at Leaders in Football conference.

"We have a very sophisticated business model that looks at what we need to do to compete today and what we need to do to compete next year and five years from now."

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VIDEO: Mid-East unrest over cheap housing

2011-10-21T19:26:00.000-07:00

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AUDIO: Euro fund 'like a Ponzi game'

2011-10-21T14:42:00.000-07:00

30 September 2011 Last updated at 16:11 GMT Help

The euro bailout fund cannot work because already indebted countries like Spain and Italy are contributing to it.

That's the view of Satyajit Das, author of "Extreme Money - Masters of the Universe and the Cult of Risk".

Speaking to the BBC's Mike Johnson, Mr. Das, a derivatives trader in Sydney for 30 years, said the European Financial Stability Facility is like 'a ponzi game', and that Europe's financially troubled countries will end up borrowing from themselves.

Transcript is below

Satyajit Das: What they have been trying to do is replace the lenders. So because the commercial lenders, which is banks and investors, will no longer buy debt issued by Greece, Ireland or Portugal and increasingly are questioning Spain and Italy, they had to find somebody else to give them the money. The problem is who is going to give them the money?

So they have patched together this European Financial Stability Fund which is a very tenuous process, because it doesn't have any money either, but it's guaranteed by a bunch of countries. But the problem here is that those countries themselves are in need of the money from the funds. It's almost a surreal secularity.

Then there is now the suggestion which was foisted on the Europeans by Timothy Geithner, the U.S. Treasury's Secretary that they ought to take the European Financial Stability Fund and the catch phrase being leverage. So we take a vehicle which doesn't have any money backed by dodgy guarantees, but then they will go and borrow even more money. So, basically, it's almost like a Ponzi game on a large scale.

Mike Johnson: It's an extraordinary thing to get your head around. Let me just get this clear, what we are going to have is a situation where countries which are on the verge of bankruptcy are going to be borrowing money effectively from themselves?

Satyajit Das: That's exactly what's going to happen. I will give you the picture. The European Financial Stability Fund is guaranteed by a whole bunch of countries including, interestingly enough, Spain and Italy. Spain and Italy between them make up 30% of the guarantee of the European Financial Stability Fund.

Now what they are going to do is then the European Financial Stability Fund is going to borrow from the European Central Bank, which has also obviously got support from Spain and Italy, and then lend the money to Spain and Italy. It's almost self dealing raised to an art form. It's abstraction on a level of money which is almost incomprehensible.

Mike Johnson: And is there anyone out there who think this is actually going to work?

Satyajit Das: The only people I think who think that are the politicians in Brussels and a few policymakers because to be very honest they don't have any solutions, and they are now playing almost confidence games to try to actually convince people that this will work. And ultimately it won't work because it all boils down to a simple fact.

At the end of the day, if you are going to do the shuffling of debt, you are going to have to have somebody who is good for the debt and we all know who that is, it is Germany. So they have to actually step up and their taxpayers, their savings have to be used to prop up these other countries. Now the body politic in terms of voters aren't willing to do that.

Mike Johnson: You think Germany, the German people will run out of patience with all of this before long, do you?

Satyajit Das: Well, before they run out of patience, they will run out of money because in the end if you actually look at the amount needed just to get through the next two or three years, if you take Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Spain and Italy, they have maturing debt. This is debt they have issued, about $1.5 trillion between now and the end of 2013.

So all of that money has to be found and at the end if Germany and France and the stronger countries start to take on that burden, their own credit worthiness will be called into question. And if they lose their triple-A ratings, well then the whole game starts to unravel yet again, and it's very difficult to see this having what could be called a happy ending.

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Southern Cross homes transferred

2011-10-21T10:00:00.000-07:00

30 September 2011 Last updated at 08:46 GMT Southern Cross is to be wound up by the end of the year A third of Southern Cross care homes have been transferred to new operators, the company has announced.

Southern Cross said the transfer of 250 homes would be followed by further transfers in October and November.

Southern Cross was the UK's biggest care home operator, with 752 homes, but ran into difficulties when it was unable to pay its rent to landlords.

In July, the firm said it was to cease trading after all of its landlords said they wanted to leave the group.

The first "wave" of homes have been transferred to about 18 different operators.

Its largest landlord, NHP, which owns 249 of the homes, will be included in the second wave.

NHP is forming a new company, HC-One, with turnaround specialists Court Cavendish to run the homes itself.

HC-One is headed by the former boss of the Priory chain of clinics, Dr Chai Patel.

Winding up

Southern Cross said it had entered unconditional business purchase agreements covering 70% of its homes, with the remaining 30% still in progress.

It said all the homes would be transferred by the end of the year and the company would be wound up.

The firm has said that landlords are committed to providing continuity of care to its 31,000 residents, and that residents should notice no changes on a day-to-day basis.

It maintains that no homes will close and says the "vast majority" of its 43,000 staff will have their jobs protected, with care home workers transferring to the new operators.

The 200 Darlington-based back office workers will transfer to HC-One.

The company also announced the resignation of it chairman, Christopher Fisher, who stepped into the role in April to oversee the restructuring process.

"Now that the transfer of homes has commenced, I consider my role complete," Mr Fisher said.

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High Street bookshops in decline

2011-10-21T06:28:00.000-07:00

4 October 2011 Last updated at 01:42 GMT The Book Warehouse saved Notting Hill's Travel Bookshop earlier this month The number of bookshops on UK High Streets is in steady decline, according to The Booksellers Association.

Membership of the body, which represents 95% of booksellers in the UK and Ireland, has continued to fall over the last six years.

Since 2006, the total number of members, not including supermarket outlets, has fallen by 20%.

Independent bookshop membership has fallen by over a quarter during the same period.

Chief executive officer Tim Godfray has called for the government and publishers to step in to stop the decline.

"At a time when literacy is an issue and libraries are under threat from government cuts, we need to build a coalition of publishers, government and consumers to provide opportunities for the passionate and creative entrepreneurs who run bookshops on our High Streets to thrive," he said.

In 2006, there were 4495 outlets who held memberships with the Booksellers Association, including 1483 independents.

By June this year, the total number had fallen to 3683, while independents dropped to 1099.

Last year, 50 new independent bookshops opened across the UK but 72 closed, confirming an overall decline for the third year running.

One of the most high profile shops to close this year was The Harbour Bookshop in Dartmouth, founded by the son of Winnie the Pooh author AA Milne in 1951.

In a recent Booksellers Association survey, the top three issues concerning shop owners that the government could address were the cost of rates, parking and planning.

"This is not just an issue for our members; it's also about preserving the retail diversity of our town centres," said Mr Godfray.

The rise of the e-book has also been blamed, an issue which the government can do little about.

Sales of e-books increased by 318% in 2010 and many predict that at least 50% of all books sold within 10 years will be digital downloads.

Book retailers have also faced increasing competition from online retailers.

Spending on printed books fell by 4% in August this year, with sales dropping to a seven-year low for the month, according to sales analysts Neilsen BookScan.

Yet physical non-fiction book sales were up 3% on this time last year, with significant gains for some genres such as cookery and fitness.

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VIDEO: Market fears over Greek deficit

2011-10-21T02:23:00.000-07:00

3 October 2011 Last updated at 13:54 GMT Help

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Eurozone manufacturing contracts

2011-10-20T22:46:00.000-07:00

3 October 2011 Last updated at 09:11 GMT Markit says the German economy, the eurozone's main engine of growth, is stalling Manufacturing in the eurozone shrank at its fastest pace in two years in September, a business survey has shown.

Markit's purchasing managers' index (PMI) of activity dropped to 48.5 last month, from 49 in August. A reading below 50 indicates contraction.

That is the second consecutive month that eurozone manufacturing has shrunk.

Greece, the focal point of the eurozone's debt crisis, saw its output contract for the 25th consecutive month.

"Manufacturers are reporting the worst business conditions for over two years, facing a combination of lacklustre domestic demand and falling export sales," said Chris Williamson, Markit's chief economist.

The region has been weighed down as leaders struggle to prove that heavily indebted countries, led by Greece, will be able to avoid defaulting on their debts.

This has led to bailouts for Greece, the Irish Republic and Portugal - but the crisis has continued and has weighed on bonds and stocks globally.

Even in Germany, the engine of European economic growth, Markit's survey showed factory activity has come to a standstill.

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Nokia to cut another 3,500 jobs

2011-10-20T18:10:00.000-07:00

29 September 2011 Last updated at 12:21 GMT Nokia has been slower than rivals to take advantage of the lucrative market for smartphones Mobile phone giant Nokia is to cut 3,500 jobs and close a plant in Romania as part of its restructuring plan.

The cuts are in addition to thousands of job losses already announced by Nokia, which in April unveiled a 1bn-euro cost-cutting programme.

Nokia said it would shut its plant in Cluj, Romania, and cut jobs in its location division, whose products include maps for mobile phones.

It is also reviewing the future of plants in Finland, Hungary and Mexico.

"We must take painful, yet necessary, steps to align our workforce and operations with our path forward," said chief executive Stephen Elop.

Nokia shares have almost halved this year and opened down 1.7% on Thursday, but staged a recovery and were 1% up by midday.

"Nokia plans to close its manufacturing facilities in Cluj, Romania, by the end of 2011... and plans to close its (locations and commerce development) operations in Bonn, Germany and Malvern, US," by the end of next year, the company statement said.

Geoff Blaber, analyst at CCS Insight, said: "The scaling back of its manufacturing presence was sadly inevitable but it's clear that Elop is not afraid of taking the tough decisions to ensure Nokia's long-term survival."

Nokia's statement said the company would look to "focus its feature phone manufacturing on those locations with optimal proximity to suppliers and key markets".

Some analysts interpreted this as a signal that Nokia could shift manufacturing to Asia.

"If you think about where the markets are, the growth markets are in Asia, and it makes sense to manufacture a product close to the customer," said Pohjola Bank analyst Hannu Rauhala.

In July, the company plunged into the red as sales fell and margins were squeezed in the second quarter.

The firm made a net loss of 368m euros ($521m; ￡323m) in the three months to the end of June, compared with a profit of 227m euros a year earlier. Net sales fell by 7% to 9.3bn euros.

Nokia has lost ground to competitors such as Apple's iPhone and phones using Google's Android operating system.

Earlier this year, Nokia announced 7,000 job cuts worldwide - with 3,000 of the posts being transferred to consultancy group Accenture - as part of strategy to focus on smartphones.

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IMF warns on drastic budget cuts

2011-10-20T14:40:00.000-07:00

5 October 2011 Last updated at 14:41 GMT Changing economic times will mean a change in economic policy, the IMF said Europe's stronger economies should avoid imposing drastic budget cuts at the expense of growth, a report by the International Monetary Fund has said.

If things worsen in the UK, Germany or France, they should "consider delaying" cuts, because they can borrow "at historically low" interest rates.

The IMF also warned that a recession in Europe in 2012 could not be ruled out.

Separately, a Markit PMI study said the eurozone's service sector shrank for the first time in two years last month.

The IMF's warning came in its latest 100-page report on the economic outlook for Europe.

"Finding a durable solution to the euro area sovereign crisis has become more than overdue," the IMF said in its report.

"(This) will require some difficult decisions to improve crisis management and a demonstration of unity behind the project of economic and monetary union that will convince markets.

"The pursuit of nominal deficit targets should not come at the expense of risking a widespread contraction in economic activity," the IMF said.

"If (economic) activity were to undershoot current expectations and risk a period of stagnation or contraction, countries that face historically low yields (for example, Germany and the UK) should also consider delaying some of their planned consolidation."

The IMF's Europe director, Antonio Borges, said that Europe had edged closer to recession. "We still predict growth in 2012, but very modest," he said.

But if economies go into reverse "all those countries with fiscal leeway might want to consider" changes in fiscal policy, he said.

'Spreading malaise'

The weakness of the eurozone's economic recovery was underlined in data from the latest Markit/CIPS Services Purchasing Managers' Index.

For September, the index fell to 48.8, from 51.5 in August, its lowest reading since July 2009. A reading below 50 indicates contraction.

Markit said that a service sector downturn that began in smaller members of the 17-nation eurozone had spread throughout the bloc.

"The malaise is spreading to the core, where surging rates of expansion earlier in the year have turned rapidly into contraction in Germany and only very modest growth in France," said Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit.

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Survey finds 28p beer price gap

2011-10-20T10:20:00.000-07:00

5 October 2011 Last updated at 23:08 GMT Even the cheapest pint of bitter in London costs more than ￡3, the survey says The cheapest pint of beer is 28p cheaper in pubs in the north of England compared with south-eastern hostelries, a survey suggests.

Some 650 pubs were asked for the cost of their cheapest pint of bitter by researchers for the Good Pub Guide.

They found that this pint cost ￡3.15 on average in the south-east of England and London, but ￡2.87 in Yorkshire and the North.

Campaigners say that overheads faced by pubs could explain the difference.

Rates and rents were often higher for London publicans and that could be reflected in the cost of a drink, said Tony Jerome, spokesman for the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra).

Brewers

The 30th edition of the Good Pub Guide, published on Thursday, found that prices had risen by 7% over the last year - and that the north-south price divide had been in evidence for some time.

However, it suggested that pubs brewing their own ale were often charging less than ￡2.50 a pint, with scarcely any increase over the last year. A recent Camra survey claimed West Yorkshire had more breweries producing more types of beer than any other county in the UK.

Figures from the British Beer and Pub Association's Statistical Handbook claimed that the price differential for a pint in London and in the North East in 2010 was even greater - at 84p.

One brewer warned that the price of a pint could continue to rise

Paul Maloney, national officer of the GMB union, said: "Since the Good Pub Guide was first published, the Beer Orders were introduced in 1989. The aim was to foster competition to increase consumer choice and bring down prices.

"The opposite of this aim has been achieved. The average price for a pint of lager in Britain has risen by 80p higher than justified by inflation and changes in taxes in pubs, as property companies replaced brewers as owners."

Rising costs

Brewer Shepherd Neame said on Wednesday that beer prices would continue to rise in the coming months.

The brewer, which produces real ales such as Spitfire and Bishops Finger, said cereals such as barley were up to 30% more expensive than a year ago, while the price of glass has also increased, pushing up the cost of beer bottles and pint jars.

However, changes to the tax system have made some drinks cheaper.

Since 1 October, all beers with an alcohol content of 2.8% abv and below are being taxed less, to the equivalent of around 35p on every pint when compared with a typical 4.2% cent beer.

The Good Pub Guide also suggested that steak-in-ale pie was the most popular pub food.

Editor Fiona Stapley said that many pubs were diversifying, such as offering breakfasts and coffee mornings, to get through tough economic conditions.

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Obama lays down gauntlet on jobs

2011-10-20T05:21:00.000-07:00

6 October 2011 Last updated at 17:50 GMT Obama: "People really need help right now, the economy really needs a jolt right now. This is not a game."

US President Barack Obama has said his jobs act would insure the American economy against another downturn, even while the situation in Europe worsens.

He told reporters at the White House that lawmakers should think "long and hard about what's at stake" before the bill goes to the Senate next week.

Mr Obama has been touring the US in recent weeks to promote his $447bn (￡290bn) American Jobs Act.

Republicans reject a proposed tax rise on wealthier people to pay for it.

Mr Obama told Thursday's news conference he would support a new approach by Senate Democrats to pay for the act with a tax on millionaires, rather than his plan to raise taxes on couples making more than $250,000.

'Not a game'

A tough-talking Mr Obama warned that if Congress failed to act, "the American people will run them out of town".

Continue reading the main story

If the goal is to create jobs, then why are we even talking about tax hikes?”

End Quote Mitch McConnell Republican Senate leader "This is not a game," he warned lawmakers.

Mr Obama cited independent experts as having told him that the act could spur 2% in economic growth and create up to 1.9m jobs.

"Any senator out there who's thinking about voting against this jobs bill when it comes up for a vote needs to explain exactly why they would oppose something we know would improve our economic situation at such an urgent time," he said.

Touting the bill as an "insurance policy" against a new recession, the president said Europe's debt crisis was the biggest threat to the US economy, which he said "really needs a jolt right now".

Mr Obama challenged Republicans on their opposition to a plan that he said would create jobs and rebuild US highways, bridges and schools.

But such new stimulus spending is one reason why Republicans have rejected much of the jobs initiative, together with the proposals for tax increases on wealthier people and small businesses.

Long queues at jobs fairs, like this one in Washington state, have become a common sight

Republicans in the House of Representatives have passed a number of bills as part of their own job-creation agenda.

Their legislation has included proposals to loosen pollution regulations and make it easier to drill for oil and gas. But none of the measures has been taken up for a vote by the Democratic-controlled Senate.

On Thursday, Mr Obama defended his decision to criticise Republicans, sometimes by name.

"I think it's fair to say that I have gone out of my way in every instance - sometimes at my own political peril and to the frustration of Democrats - to work with Republicans to find common ground to move this country forward," he said.

He added: "Each time, what we've seen is games-playing, a preference to try to score political points rather than actually get something done on the part of the other side."

But the president's speech on Thursday did little to impress Capitol Hill Republicans.

"If the goal is to create jobs, then why are we even talking about tax hikes?" Republican Senate Minority leader Mitch McConnell said on Thursday.

House Speaker John Boehner, meanwhile, said Mr Obama had "given up on the country" to focus on his re-election.

US unemployment remains jammed at 9.1%, and analysts expect data on Friday to show only modest job growth.

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VIDEO: IMF: 'Europe risks recession in 2012'

2011-10-20T00:36:00.000-07:00

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PM warns over eurozone break-up

2011-10-19T21:14:00.000-07:00

2 October 2011 Last updated at 09:50 GMT David Cameron warns that the UK cannot shield itself from the crisis in the eurozone Prime Minister David Cameron has warned that it would be "very bad" for the UK if the eurozone was to break up.

Speaking to the BBC's Andrew Marr Show, he said the debt crisis in the eurozone was "a threat not just to itself, but also a threat to the UK economy, and a threat to the world economy".

He reiterated that eurozone leaders had to take quick and decisive action.

Mr Cameron said that, as 40% of UK exports went to the eurozone, it could not shield itself from the problem.

The prime minister said the UK government had "a very clear view" of what needed to be done, and that it was pushing this with its partners in Europe and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

He said eurozone leaders had to strengthen the region's financial mechanisms, ensure the greater involvement of the IMF, and deal decisively with the high levels of sovereign debt.

Mr Cameron added: "Action needs to be taken in the next coming weeks to strengthen Europe's banks, to build the defences that the eurozone has, to deal with the problems of debts decisively."

He said these emergency measures were needed before any long-term plans of more economic coordination across the eurozone were introduced, such as a single tax system.

Greek fears

European stock markets again fell heavily on Friday due to concerns about the debt crisis in the eurozone.

Continue reading the main story Use the dropdown for easy-to-understand explanations of key financial terms:AAA-rating GO The best credit rating that can be given to a borrower's debts, indicating that the risk of borrowing defaulting is miniscule.It meant that for the three months from July to September, the main UK share index, the FTSE 100, recorded its biggest quarterly fall since 2002.

The concerns centre on Greece, the most indebted eurozone nation.

Greece needs its next 8bn euros (￡6.9bn; $10.9bn) instalment of European Union (EU) and International Monetary Fund (IMF) bailout loans by the middle of this month to be able to continue paying its civil servants and teachers.

This tranche was delayed in September after EU, IMF and European Central Bank officials said the Greek government was not carrying out sufficient austerity measures.

The wider fear is that Greece will ultimately default on its debt payments, and of the knock-on effect this would have on banks across Europe which own Greek government bonds.

Some commentators also warn that Greece may ultimately have to leave the eurozone, plunging the region's economic and political systems into chaos.

Eurozone leaders and the IMF are now continuing to work on a solution to the debt crisis, with French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel due to speak again this week.

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VIDEO: Samsung's smartphone makes inroads

2011-10-19T17:55:00.000-07:00

7 October 2011 Last updated at 05:06 GMT Help

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Shares up on euro bank plan hopes

2011-10-19T14:47:00.000-07:00

6 October 2011 Last updated at 21:45 GMT EC President Jose Manuel Barroso has fuelled expectations that Europe is preparing an action plan Stock markets have been boosted by expectations that European leaders are about to act to ease the debt crisis.

The main markets in London, Frankfurt and Paris ended 3-4% higher, while Hong Kong rose 5.7% and the Dow Jones 1.7%.

European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso said in a television interview that there were plans for co-ordinated action to recapitalise banks.

Meanwhile, the European Central Bank has announced 40bn euros (￡35bn, $54bn) of emergency loans for eurozone banks.

The announcement came as the ECB decided to keep interest rates on hold again at 1.5%. The central bank's move will help ensure European lenders do not run out of cash.

But it does nothing to address the more fundamental concern of markets that many European banks do not have enough capital to absorb the losses that would result from a renewed recession as well as from a widely expected debt default by Greece.

EU-wide bank plan

There have been a flurry of reports and comments in recent days that European authorities have negotiated plans to bolster the banks, and to further boost its key bailout fund - the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF).

On Thursday, Mr Barroso fuelled expectations further, telling Euronews TV that the EU executive was proposing "co-ordinated action" to the 27 European Union nations to tackle the banks.

The intention was to "recapitalise banks and get rid of toxic assets they may have".

Continue reading the main story

You can see this as creeping progress towards putting adequate shock absorbers into the eurozone's financial system.”

End Quote Robert Peston Business editor, BBC News Recapitalisation would involve the banks issuing new shares, which may result in them being partly nationalised if the only investor willing to buy the new shares turns out to be their own government.

During the financial crisis, governments also helped the banks by buying up or guaranteeing the value of bad loans and other such loss-making "toxic" assets that they held.

Later on Thursday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel - whose involvement is key to any deal - is due to hold talks in Berlin with Mr Trichet as well as the heads of the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the OECD and G20.

On Wednesday, Mrs Merkel said she was in favour of a co-ordinated recapitalisation of European banks if that was deemed necessary.

Expectations that there will be action to bolster banks and boost European bailout funds began on Monday, when Olli Rehn, European commissioner for economic affairs, said there was "an increasingly shared view that we need a concerted, co-ordinated approach".

In an interview with the Financial Times, he said there was "a sense of urgency among ministers and we need to move on".

Not pooling resources

Any co-ordination may be limited to European governments agreeing common standards for deciding how much money their banks need.

This may involve a new round of "stress tests" by regulators to see how vulnerable the banks are.

Franco-Belgian bank Dexia, which is now on the verge of being broken up and nationalised, has made a mockery of the last such test, which it comfortably passed in July.

However, a senior European official cited by news agency Reuters made clear that European "co-ordination" would not involve any further pooling of financial resources to deal with the banks.

Instead, it may be left to each individual government to deal with its own banks - an outcome that some investors have expressed concern over, due to question marks over the financial health of some of the governments themselves.

Italy, whose borrowing costs rose heavily in markets over the summer, had its creditworthiness slashed by rating agency Moody's on Tuesday - a move that is likely to put further financial pressure both on the Italian government and on its banks.

Meanwhile, the rescue of Dexia by the French and Belgian governments has already seen public disagreement between the two over whose taxpayers will cover the cost, while the bank's Luxembourg subsidiary is shortly to be hived off in a separate rescue arranged by the Luxembourg authorities.

Ms Merkel and Jean-Claude Trichet, the outgoing ECB president, have both said that the EFSF should lend the money needed by governments to pay for these recapitalisations.

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AUDIO: Greek government 'must stop fooling around'

2011-10-19T11:40:00.000-07:00

A senior German politician in Angela Merkel's coalition has said that Greece should leave the euro.

Former Greek finance minister, Stefanos Manos tells us why the Greek government should get tougher ahead of today's meeting of Europe's finance ministers.

Get in touch with Today via email , Twitter or Facebook or text us on 84844.

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China in $1.3bn copper mine deal

2011-10-19T07:07:00.000-07:00

30 September 2011 Last updated at 05:48 GMT China is the world's largest consumer of metals as it fuels its rapid industrialisation China's Minmetal Resources has agreed to buy copper miner Anvil Mining, giving it three copper mines in Africa.

Minmetals, which is a unit of China's largest metals traders, will pay about $1.3bn (￡830m) for the acquisition.

That would amount to a 39% premium on Anvil's closing share price on Thursday in the Toronto stock exchange.

China has been buying up resources around the world from copper to zinc, to support its rapid growth.

"It is very clear that Minmetals has a mandate to make mining investment outside of China," said Andrew Driscoll, head of resource research at CSLA.

Minmetals, which is based in Hong Kong, is backed by the Chinese government.

The Anvil acquisition will give it three copper mines in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

One of those mines, the Kinsevere mine, is expected to produce 60,000 tonnes of copper cathode a year, Minmetal said in a statement.

Anvil is listed in both Sydney and Toronto. The bid from Minmetals is subject to approval from the Australian government.

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Thai rice policy draws criticism

2011-10-19T04:06:00.000-07:00

6 October 2011 Last updated at 16:25 GMT By Rachel Harvey BBC South East Asia Correspondent Thailand is the world's largest rice exporter Thailand, the world's biggest rice exporter, introduces a new pricing scheme on Friday.

The government says it will boost the incomes of farmers and help alleviate rural poverty.

But critics fear the new policy will skew the market at home and, potentially, globally as well.

The government is offering to buy paddy, or unmilled, rice at 15,000 Thai baht ($482.6; ￡312) per metric tonne, which is a 50% premium on the current market rate.

However, private exporters say the high price will place them at a disadvantage, putting Thailand's dominant global position in jeopardy.

"Private millers, private traders, private exporters will go out of business if the government keeps one price way above the market price for too long," complains Vichai Sripraset, President of Riceland International.

Fixed prices, Mr Vichai says, are too inflexible.

"When the [fixed] price is too low, the producer, the farmer, cannot survive. When it's too high, the consumer cannot stand it. Market forces are better at adjusting to changing circumstances."

Radical change

The previous government, which lost power in July's election, introduced its own policy for the rice industry - a subsidy programme that compensated farmers if market prices fell below a fixed benchmark.

Under the new system, however, farmers will be encouraged to use rice as collateral against loans from the state-owned bank for agriculture.

Under the new scheme, farmers are not guaranteed a minimum income if their crop underperforms

If prices on the open market are higher than the government offer, farmers are free to sell privately.

But if the market price falls, they will have the option of selling at the government fixed price.

One of the fundamental differences between the two schemes is that under the old system, farmers were guaranteed a minimum income based on the amount of rice they normally produced, even if their crop underperformed.

With the introduction of the new government programme, farmers will need harvested paddy rice to sell before they get any money.

Global impact

Ammar Siamwalla, senior?economist?at the Thailand Development Research Institute, says the short term impact on the global market will depend on how much of the government-bought rice it decides to store and how much it exports.

"If they put it in storage, it means that much rice is taken away from the world market which we used to export [to], and I expect a substantial amount will be put in storage.

"That will effect international prices because there will be less rice in world markets."

Continue reading the main story

We have a dominant share in high quality rice and we're going to lose it”

End Quote Ammar Siamwalla Thailand Development Research Institute If the government does decide to store large quantities of rice, it could be good news for owners of private warehouses.

But it would also be an additional cost to the Thai taxpayer.

It also raises fears that the government might be tempted to dump large quantities of rice on the market as the price moves up, and before the rice spoils, forcing a sudden correction.

An alternative scenario would see the Thai authorities trying to control supply by discouraging increases in production.

But that could hurt the very farmers the new policy is designed to help.

The government argues that any shortfall in production will be offset by the higher price.

Thailand currently supplies about a third of global rice exports, which means decisions made in Bangkok can have far reaching implications.

The US Famine Early Warning Systems Network says a recent spike in global prices can, in part, be explained by the market anticipating the Thai government's new scheme.

Other exporters, the FEWSN says, are poised to take advantage.

India has just lifted an export ban on rice other than basmati and is thought to have a surplus of 15 million metric tonnes ready for market (another 10 million is being held back for food security).

Critics say the new policy will skew the market at home and globally

Mr Ammar, a prominent critic of the new scheme, is less worried about the quantity of rice Thailand exports than he is about reputation.

"Thai rice in the marketplace is known for its high quality. Only the private sector can make distinctions and pay everybody along the supply chain according to quality. We have a dominant share in that [high quality rice market] and we're going to lose it."

The government is determined to press ahead, describing the new rice pricing scheme as one of its most important policies.

The ultimate test will be whether rice farmers like the new arrangement.

An unscientific survey of a handful of farmers contacted by the BBC suggested a good deal of confusion, along with a feeling that the new price plan is coming into effect too late to be of benefit.

"We have lots of debts so we have to sell the rice as soon as it's harvested, even though we know that if we wait we can make more money under the new scheme," said one.

Another added forlornly: "With so many rice fields flooded right now, farmers are not going to have rice to sell."

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VIDEO: Greek payout decision delayed

2011-10-19T00:29:00.000-07:00

4 October 2011 Last updated at 05:29 GMT Help

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How to make sense of big data

2011-10-18T19:48:00.000-07:00

5 October 2011 Last updated at 23:08 GMT Each week we ask high-profile technology decision-makers three questions.

This week it is Keith Collins, chief technology officer (CTO) of SAS Institute.

The company describes itself as the world's leading business analytics software company. With about 12,000 staff and customers in 126 countries, the company has a turnover of $2.43bn (￡1.5bn). Founded in 1976 by Jim Goodnight, the firm prides itself for investing 24% of its revenue in research and development.

What's your biggest technology problem right now?

The biggest challenge is that the problems we are trying to solve have increased in complexity. Companies have more and more data, and more and more issues that they want to answer.

They have a flood of information from mobile devices, and all these data bring issues of large scale process optimisation and how to improve large scale forecasting.

Operational analytics allows people to fine tune their business. For example there is a big shift to trying to understand customers - in every industry. The products they buy, at which price. It's about customer satisfaction, whether it's for a mobile phone firm, an insurance company or ATM [cash] machines.

The analytics shows that consumers are more in charge than ever before.

We recently worked with a bank were customer satisfaction with ATMs was a huge issue, so we had to understand how to minimise the times when a machine runs out of cash, and project when the device fails.

Understanding the data made a huge impact on the customer satisfaction score and brought a $2m reduction in maintenance cost.

It's about bringing analytics to specific business problems. We had very good success with this in the retail space, and also help banks fighting credit card fraud.

Call centre optimisation is another example: How can you make sure you pay attention to your most important customers? When you are talking to a customer, do you know how they would prefer to get their information? And is there an opportunity to give them offers, to upsell?

There is an explosion in the understanding in the value of analytics. One problem is actually acquiring enough talent fast enough to deal with the demand.

So we are helping multiple colleges around the world to launch or improve and expand their analytics programmes.

What's the next big tech thing in your industry?

We are investing very heavily in top performance analytics and high performance computing.

Today there's just a small set of customers that demand that scale, but that's accelerating quickly. What we now call high performance computing, in three to five years it will be standard.

This will not always be a big company thing. There is a whole shift to being more consumer centric, and making customers mobile.

Almost any new company that is starting out today has a completely digital view of the market. New startups understand that they need analytics as part of their company's DNA.

And lots of small and medium-sized companies are looking for ready business analytics solutions that they can just plug in - whether it is in the cloud or a targeted application. We will see a shift where this software is directly plugged into a company's process and consumed through the cloud.

Even small companies can act big, because everything that works on Amazon's cloud service rivals anything that our largest customers have.

Adoption of these new models depends a bit on the age of a company's leadership. There is a new generation of entrepreneurs who gets it from the beginning. We also see mid-sized retailers changing their game.

Larger companies usually adapt when a new board comes in.

What's the biggest technology mistake you've ever made - either at work or in your own life?

I have a big problem here, picking the toughest one.

I once developed a whole set of brilliant technologies to near readiness, but had failed to tell the rest of the company about how it works.

So it's not just about having a vision, you need to plan the execution as well.

So I had this design technology for a data partition process to have the fastest data warehouse, but I didn't do a good job to educate our sales channel to take advantage of the opportunity.

Another one: I did not realise how fast the market for tablet computers would develop.

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