Written By Unknown on Rabu, 31 Desember 2014 | 12.06
Next has reported it enjoyed strong sales growth in the run-up to Christmas and has now raised its annual profits guidance.
The retailer confirmed it was to pay a fourth special dividend of the year while announcing a 2.9% increase in full price sales between 28 October and Christmas Eve - with total sales for the year to 24 December rising 7.7%.
Next Directory, which incorporates its online and catalogue offerings, drove the performance with sales in the division rising 7.5% in the pre-Christmas period alone.
The company said it now expected its full-year profit guidance "to be within £10m either side of £775m" - a £5m increase on the midpoint range it had expected in October.
Surplus cash would again be returned to investors, Next said, with its fourth special dividend of the year worth 50p per share.
That development and the wider Christmas cheer boosted its shares by as much as 4% in early trading on the FTSE 100 and gave a lift to rival Marks & Spencer too.
Retailers are on track for a record December following the success of Black Friday sales the previous month, but there are signs that cold weather and some stock shortages may have hit high street sales since Boxing Day.
Next warned that it remained "very cautious" about the year ahead.
The firm said the outlook for UK consumers appeared "relatively benign" with low inflation, wages starting to recover, available credit and strong employment painting a "somewhat more positive picture than recent years".
But the group said it faced comparisons with a strong spring and summer in 2014 while uncertainty in the UK and global economy - with a general election looming - presented risks.
It is expecting sales growth for 2015/16 of between 2.5% and 7.5%, compared with the latest expectations for 2014/15 of 6-8%.
UK house price growth eased to its weakest annual pace for 13 months in December, according to Nationwide.
The building society's monthly index showed that property prices lifted by 7.2% annually this month to reach £188,559 on average, slowing from an 8.5% annual rate of growth in November.
The average cost of a home edged slightly lower from the record high of £189,388 measured the previous month.
Nationwide's report named London as the UK's "top performer" for price growth in 2014, with prices there up by 17.8% year on year, reaching £406,730 typically.
Wales was the weakest-performing region, with values having increased by 1.4% annually to reach £141,631 on average.
Activity in the housing market slowed following the introduction of tougher mortgage affordability checks but Nationwide forecast a return to stronger growth in 2015 because of stamp duty reforms and improved levels of construction.
Its chief economist Robert Gardner said: "The slowdown in housing market activity is surprising given further steady gains in employment, a pickup in wage growth (albeit from low levels) and the continued low level of mortgage rates.
"Moreover, surveys suggest consumers remain in high spirits – a view reinforced by robust retail spending growth in November, which was at its highest for over a decade.
"If the economic backdrop continues to improve as we and most forecasters expect, activity in the housing market is likely to regain momentum in the months ahead.
"Supply side developments will be crucial in determining the trajectory for prices."
Written By Unknown on Selasa, 30 Desember 2014 | 12.06
Greece has been plunged back into crisis mode by a snap parliamentary election that could yield a government opposed to the country's financial reforms.
The Athens Stock Exchange was 10% down when it was confirmed that the government of prime minister Antonis Samaras had failed to secure the election of a new president, triggering the national poll.
The radical leftist Syriza party, which wants to renegotiate Greece's bailout agreements that have prevented Greece defaulting on its debts and roll back on austerity, is favourite to win the general election.
The prospect of a new government reneging on the terms of the rescue deals - agreed with the EU and International Monetary Fund - prompted the stock market sell-off.
Investors are worried the country's very future in the euro is a core risk as polls suggest most voters favour a return to the drachma following five years of crippling cuts and job losses.
Video:Snap Elections For Greece
Syriza leader Alexis Tsipras said the snap election would herald an end to austerity.
He said: "With the will of our people, in a few days the bailout agreements of austerity will be history."
In a televised address Mr Samaras said: "Tomorrow I will visit the president and request that elections be held as soon as possible, on 25 January."
He had previously warned that an election could be "disastrous" while the country is negotiating with its creditors.
Greek banks bore the brunt of the hit to the Athens market, with Bank of Piraeus dropping 16.7% to record lows while National Bank of Greece fell 14.2%.
The Greek result hit stock markets in Spain and Italy particularly badly too as they were also badly damaged by the Eurozone economic slump and sovereign debt crisis which led to Greece's 2010 bailout.
The country had been progressing well in its recovery though cuts to core services remain deeply unpopular and unemployment is stubbornly above 25%.
If, as now looks quite possible, far-left party Syriza wins next month's snap elections, plunging Greece back into chaos, there will be more than a smidgeon of irony about the whole affair.
For one thing, the elections mark almost exactly five years since the Greek economic crisis first exploded onto the world stage.
In late January 2010 the then-prime minister George Papandreou stood up on the main plenary stage at the World Economic Forum in Davos and declared that his country was under attack by speculators. The country sought a bailout three months later.
But, more significantly, 2015 was supposed to be the year of the Greek recovery.
Yes, the country is still regrouping following the deepest post-war recession of any developed country. More than a quarter of the eligible working age population are still out of work - and around half of all those under the age of 25.
The number of years a Greek citizen can hope to live in a healthy state has fallen from 67.4 in 2007 to 64.9 in 2012.
And yet Greece seemed to have turned the corner. Unemployment was starting, very gradually, to fall. The Government's austerity plans were coming to an end. The country had attained a primary surplus, meaning that when debt interest was ignored it was finally earning enough tax revenues to finance its spending.
And, to cap it off, the International Monetary Fund expected it to be the fastest-growing economy in the eurozone next year (after Ireland).
So the return of the jitters around Greece could hardly have come at a less opportune moment. But does this episode mean a full-blown euro crisis is in prospect? Well, yes and no.
On the one hand, remember that the euro crisis was as much a political one as an economic one. All it takes is for a country to elect a government which is steadfastly against either the euro or the terms of its bailout and it could cause major disruption in the single currency area.
That's what could happen if Syriza wins the election. It could well happen in Spain if Podemos, the fast-growing new anti-bailout party wins the country's elections at the end of the year.
Moreover, the real problem in the single currency - that there is a massive gulf in performance between its member states and few, if any, mechanisms to adjust for that - still hasn't been addressed.
Although there is now the skeleton of a banking union taking shape, there are no plans for a proper fiscal union (so that taxes from, for instance, Germany, could help support the Greek economy). Until one is created, the likelihood is that Europe will continue to limp from crisis to crisis.
However, even if Greece were to start threatening to renege on its bailout commitments or leave the currency, a widespread crisis beyond Greece's borders may not be a foregone conclusion.
Stock markets across Europe have been relatively sanguine about what's happening in Athens. Bond yields on other leading European economies remain low.
In other words, markets are betting that a Greek crisis could be contained. That won't prevent some nervous moments in the coming months as the country prepares for the polls again.
Written By Unknown on Senin, 29 Desember 2014 | 12.07
By Mark Kleinman, City Editor
Rival delivery companies including Royal Mail were approached about a pre-Christmas rescue of City Link, the parcel services provider which collapsed into administration this week.
Sky News has learnt that Royal Mail and DX Group held preliminary talks in recent weeks with KPMG, which was working for City Link's owner to identify possible buyers of the struggling company.
Royal Mail, which is 30%-owned by the taxpayer, is understood to have been interested in taking on some of City Link's large customer contracts, which include deliveries for high street retailers such as John Lewis and Mothercare.
DX is said by insiders to have held talks about a more comprehensive deal involving City Link's assets, and analysts said they now expected it to attempt to acquire parts of the company out of administration.
Other specialist restructuring firms were also approached about a takeover of City Link, but none of these resulted in concrete discussions about a deal prior to directors appointing EY as administrator after the close of trading on Christmas Eve.
Video:'I Received The Email On Christmas'
The collapse has sparked controversy, with more than 2,700 jobs directly under threat and a further 1,000 said to be at risk owing to the number of self-employed contractors used by City Link.
The RMT trade union criticised Better Capital, the investment firm which owns City Link, for the timing of the administration, which Sky News revealed on Christmas Day.
But sources close to the situation pointed to an email sent by one RMT official to members on Christmas Eve which said - inaccurately - that the company had already called in administrators that morning.
"This led to increasing pressure on the business and given the level of rumour [there was a] risk of creditor action and thus the company [had to be placed] into administration to give it protection," said an insider.
RMT officials held talks with the administrators on Saturday about a possible rescue, while Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, has agreed to meet the union to discuss the situation in the new year.
A spokesperson for the RMT union said: "A meeting between City Link union RMT and administrators Ernst and Young today has exposed a truly horrific catalogue of mismanagement at the top of the company dating back to November which leaves more than 2,000 staff facing redundancy on new years eve with a skeleton staff kept on for a couple of weeks to wind down the operation."
City Link was acquired by Better Capital, an investment firm headed by Jon Moulton, a leading financier, last year.
Its previous owner, the pest control firm Rentokil, offloaded it for just £1, reflecting the parcel group's long history of losses.
People close to the situation said Better Capital's £40m investment in City Link had been followed by a series of efforts to make it commercially viable, and pointed out that the current shareholder would lose a "significant" sum of money as a result of its collapse.
Video:Xmas Misery For Delivery Workers
The scale of possible job losses among City Link's 2,727 employees has not yet been identified, although EY said they were likely to be substantial, with the first round of redundancies expected within days.
A number of staff are being retained to help return parcels to customers and assist with winding down City Link's operations, the administrator said.
Despite the recent explosion in the growth of online shopping, the delivery sector is beset by excess capacity, with companies such as Amazon developing their own delivery services.
Last month, Better Capital wrote down the value of its £40m investment in City Link by 50% and said it was exploring "various options to maximise the value of the (holding)".
In the wake of a £14m loss for the 2013-14 financial year, City Link's owner added that the business had "progressively deviated from its monthly profit budget during its current year to 31 December driving the conclusion that its current structure is unsustainable in the long term".
Better Capital blamed the worsening outlook on "excess (and increasing) capacity in the sector, made worse by customers developing their own delivery capabilities".
The administrators said customers who had handed over parcels to City Link on Christmas Eve should go to a depot to retrieve them on or after December 29.
The company's online parcel tracking system and helpline telephone numbers are again open to enable fulfilment of existing orders.
Royal Mail declined to comment while DX was unavailable.
Andrew Wright gets up at 5.30am every day to milk his herd of 170 cows.
He took over the farm in Cheshire from his parents twenty five years ago and had hoped to one day pass it on to his son.
But times are tough for dairy farmers. Milk prices are falling and for every pint produced there is no guarantee of a profit. Indeed, many farmers are already making a loss.
Unable to balance the books, 16 dairy farmers are giving up on milk production every week in England and Wales, according to the Tenant Farmers Association.
It's a prospect Mr Wright is now having to face.
"If prices keep dropping as they are, in another 12 to 18 months' time we will have to consider how the business carries on, or in what form the business carries on," he says.
"I have a son who's 12. He's shown an interest in the farm. I don't want to discourage that in any way but he'll have to make his own mind up and if he sees that there isn't the return there for his dad, he is probably going to look elsewhere for employment in the future."
In April, farmers could get up to 35p per litre, but that's dropped to around 28p. That's less than the cost of producing milk, which is around 30p per litre.
Farmers say supermarket price wars are partly to blame for devaluing milk.
Some retailers sell milk at a loss and most have cut the cost of a four pint bottle over the last year. In some supermarkets it's now sold for as little as 89p.
But supermarkets argue it's their profits that take a hit when they cut the price to customers.
Andrew Opie from the British Retail Consortium said: "The fact a supermarket might sell four pints for a pound doesn't impact on the farmer. They'll be getting a guaranteed price through the dairy that they've agreed with the supermarket.
"So if a supermarket wants to invest in its own milk to sell it more affordable for consumers, that's great for consumers."
But a number of processors who buy from farms to sell to retailers have been cutting the price they pay to farmers, and further cuts will come in 2015.
Mr Wright says farmers wonder who is making a profit.
"It's always the farmer at the bottom of the chain that gets told how much he's getting for his milk," he says.
"Maybe the processors should be opening their books if they've got nothing to hide."
He fears that eventually savings may need to be made on feed and vaccinations but that is not a path he wants to go down unless he has to.
Written By Unknown on Jumat, 26 Desember 2014 | 12.06
Christmas Day online shoppers are predicted to set a new spending record splashing out an estimated £636m today.
Shoppers are expected to make 142 million visits to retail sites today - a 25% increase on last year.
Research by Experian and online retailing trade association IMRG found Britons will spend around £441,000 a minute.
"The ease of shopping online via connected devices raises the prospect of a very large amount of shopping activity on Christmas Day itself," said Experian general manager of consumer insight Giles Longhurst.
Dominic Trigg, managing director for Europe of digital advertising technology company Rocket Fuel, said: "Shopping online on Christmas Day is now a normal part of UK consumers' holiday experiences every year.
Video:The Year In Retail
"It is clear that UK consumers now see shopping from the comfort of their own home, following Christmas Day dinner, as much of a tradition as a turkey and ham dinner."
Shoppers have already been enjoying heavy discounting as some stores began their traditional Boxing Day sales up to two days early.
Britain's retail sector has already been celebrating a record-breaking year as official figures are projecting an all-time high for sales in 2014.
Video:Annual Retail Sales To Reach £342bn
The forecast from the Office of National Statistics shows that sales for the year are expected to reach £342bn - a £48bn increase since 2010.
Pre-Christmas sales are up by 5.2% compared with last year.
More than 2,700 jobs are at risk over the festive period after one of the UK's biggest parcel delivery services companies collapsed into administration.
Sky News has learnt that City Link, which has been a perennial loss-maker, called in the professional services firm EY on Christmas Eve and immediately ceased accepting parcels from customers.
A public statement confirming the move is expected to be circulated on Friday.
The news comes at the start of what is expected to be a frenetic period for retailers, with many chains beginning their Boxing Day sales online 24 hours earlier.
City Link, which is owned by the investment firm headed by Jon Moulton, the veteran venture capitalist, is understood to count John Lewis among its largest clients.
John Lewis said it has transferred all its business with the company to alternative carriers.
"John Lewis has worked with City Link during this challenging period and provided significant support to enable them to trade," a spokesperson said.
"It is always a matter of deep regret when any of our suppliers are unable to continue with their business."
City Link has a fleet of 1,700 vehicles, according to its website
In a statement issued to Sky News, EY confirmed its appointment, saying it had put in place the ban on accepting new parcels at its Coventry head office, three other transport hubs and 53 depots across the UK.
"The company has entered administration as a result of continued substantial losses and is unable to continue accepting new parcels due to the further losses it would incur," it said.
The scale of possible job losses among City Link's 2,727 employees has not yet been identified, although EY said they were likely to be '"substantial" following an unsuccessful process to identify a new owner.
A number of staff would be retained to help return parcels to customers and assist with winding down City Link's operations, the administrator said.
Mr Moulton's firm, Better Capital, bought the courier and parcel delivery group last year, paying just £1 to its previous owner, the pest control firm Rentokil.
City Link has been loss-making for many years, suffering from poor systems and intense competition from rivals buoyed by the explosion in online shopping.
A number of competitors, such as Yodel, were the target of consumers' fury in the run-up to Christmas amid a series of delays.
Last month, Better Capital wrote down the value of its £40m investment in City Link by 50% and said that "various options to maximise the value of the (holding)".
In the wake of a £14m loss for the 2013-14 financial year, City Link's owner added that the business had "progressively deviated from its monthly profit budget during its current year to 31 December driving the conclusion that its current structure is unsustainable in the long term".
Better Capital blamed the worsening outlook on "excess (and increasing) capacity in the sector, made worse by customers developing their own delivery capabilities".
The administrators said customers who had handed over parcels to City Link on Christmas Eve should go to a depot to retrieve them on or after December 29.
The company's online parcel tracking system and helpline telephone numbers remained open to enable fulfilment of existing orders, EY added.
City Link's website said it had annual revenues of approximately £300m, a fleet of 1,700 vehicles and delivered 60m items each year.
A Better Capital spokesman could not be reached for comment.
Written By Unknown on Kamis, 25 Desember 2014 | 12.07
By Mark Kleinman, City Editor
A top City wealth management firm backed by the billionaire founder of Phones 4U has seen its chief executive quit suddenly in the wake of a string of executive departures.
Sky News understands that Nathalie Dauriac-Stoebe, a former Coutts partner who founded Signia Wealth in 2010, resigned earlier this week and left immediately.
Sources said there had been tensions between Ms Dauriac-Stoebe and senior colleagues despite the success of Signia, which manages £2.3bn on behalf of high net worth clients.
Signia was established with the backing of John Caudwell, the founder of Phones 4U, which collapsed into administration amid acrimonious circumstances earlier this year.
Mr Caudwell had had no involvement with the mobile phone retailer since selling it to private equity firms nearly a decade ago, instead committing his time and money to philanthropic ventures and private business interests such as Signia.
Ms Dauriac-Stoebe is widely regarded as one of the rising stars of the City, and is frequently named in lists of the financial sector's leading women executives.
Last year, the Daily Mail reported that she had hosted a private dinner attended by Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister, and some of Signia's clients.
It is unclear whether she will be prevented under the terms of her departure from launching or joining another wealth management business in the near future, although she remains a significant shareholder in Signia alongside Mr Caudwell.
Signia's other backers include Jon Moulton, the veteran investor, Mike Balfour, founder of the Fitness First chain, and Sir Keith Mills, the founder of the Air Miles and Nectar customer loyalty schemes and architect of London's bid to host the 2012 Olympic Games.
The departure of Ms Dauriac-Stoebe comes amid a shake-up in the regulation of the wealth management sector following the implementation of a framework called the Retail Distribution Review, which is designed to improve advice and transparency around client fees.
Meanwhile, the private banking arms of lenders such as Barclays and Royal Bank of Scotland, which owns Coutts, have been experiencing a significant period of upheaval amid broader restructuring of their parent companies.
A number of other senior executives have left Signia since its launch, including Rupert Robinson, a former Schroders executive who quit just over a year ago after less than 12 months in the job.
Signia is chaired by Paul Lester, an industrialist whose other roles include chairing the John Laing Infrastructure Fund, which recently made an audacious approach to buy parts of the struggling construction company Balfour Beatty.
Christmas Day online shoppers are predicted to set a new spending record splashing out an estimated £636m today.
Shoppers are expected to make 142 million visits to retail sites today - a 25% increase on last year.
Research by Experian and online retailing trade association IMRG found Britons will spend around £441,000 a minute.
"The ease of shopping online via connected devices raises the prospect of a very large amount of shopping activity on Christmas Day itself," said Experian general manager of consumer insight Giles Longhurst.
Dominic Trigg, managing director for Europe of digital advertising technology company Rocket Fuel, said: "Shopping online on Christmas Day is now a normal part of UK consumers' holiday experiences every year.
Video:The Year In Retail
"It is clear that UK consumers now see shopping from the comfort of their own home, following Christmas Day dinner, as much of a tradition as a turkey and ham dinner."
Shoppers have already been enjoying heavy discounting as some stores began their traditional Boxing Day sales up to two days early.
Britain's retail sector has already been celebrating a record-breaking year as official figures are projecting an all-time high for sales in 2014.
Video:Annual Retail Sales To Reach £342bn
The forecast from the Office of National Statistics shows that sales for the year are expected to reach £342bn - a £48bn increase since 2010.
Pre-Christmas sales are up by 5.2% compared with last year.
Written By Unknown on Rabu, 24 Desember 2014 | 12.06
Russia's prime minister has admitted the country is at risk of entering a period of "deep recession," according to a news agency.
Dmitry Medvedev's comments - quoted by RIA Novosti - were made as the country stepped up its efforts to shore up the rouble - battered in value through a toxic combination of weak oil prices alongside Western sanctions over Russia's actions in Ukraine.
The latest move to boost the currency was announced on earlier on Tuesday by the central bank, which pressured state-owned firms to sell foreign currency reserves.
The companies were reported by a newspaper, Kommersant, to include the oil majors Gazprom and Rosneft.
Just 24-hours earlier, the bank set a limit for its overnight foreign exchange swap operations at $10bn to help alleviate the shortage of roubles.
The currency - which tumbled to almost 80 to the dollar at the height of its collapse - was trading at two-week highs of 52 against the dollar on Tuesday but remained susceptible to shocks.
Economists say the crisis risks a repeat of soaring inflation and mass protests - last seen in the country's financial woes of 1998 which wiped out people's savings.
The Russian economy's dependence on oil - and its failure to diversify - means it is particularly vulnerable to slides in world oil prices.
The collapse in oil costs - by up to 50% - sees Brent crude currently at $60.8-per-barrel.
There is no sign of an imminent increase as the Saudi oil minister, who has the most clout among the members of the powerful OPEC cartel, has said there will be no production cuts to boost prices even if Brent falls as low as $20.
The sanctions make it almost impossible for Russian firms to borrow from the West.
Consumers have been snapping up 'big ticket' items ahead of steep price increases while foreign companies, including Jaguar Land Rover and Apple, have suspended sales in Russia.
Mr Medvedev told a political gathering the Russian economy was in a worse place now than in the 2008 financial crisis because "a number of countries are effectively hampering the development of our economy."
He insisted the Government could not retreat from its strategic aims and social spending for risk of plunging Russia into a "deep recession."
Russia is tipped to officially enter recession - defined as two consecutive quarters of negative growth - in the spring.
Mr Medvedev's comments follow those of another key ally of President Vladimir Putin, former finance minister Alexei Kudrin, who urged the Kremlin on Monday to begin negotiations with the West on sanctions to avoid a "full-blown economic crisis."
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) says it is investigating the conduct of more than 50 past and present staff and suspended bonuses for 18 people as part of its forex scandal inquiry.
In an update today on the accountability review, initiated after it was among five banks fined a total of £2.6bn by regulators last month, RBS said six senior employees had been placed in a disciplinary process.
Three of those members of staff were currently away from their desks, pending continuing investigations, RBS said.
The bank was handed fines totalling £400m in November after it settled separate cases with US regulators and the City watchdog, the Financial Conduct Authority.
Settlement notices showed market rules were breached over years through collusion between foreign exchange traders.
The RBS statement on its continuing review said: "These investigations are complex, and the bank is striving to complete the review as soon as possible.
"The bank will provide a further update when the review is complete, which we expect to be in the first quarter."
It added: "Currently the unvested awards of 18 individuals remain suspended pending the outcome of the review.
"The awards will not vest until the process is complete.
RBS Head of Conduct and Regulatory Affairs, Jon Pain, who is leading the review said: "We are undertaking a robust and thorough review into the actions of the traders that caused this wrongdoing and the management that oversaw it.
"This is a complicated process but also an essential one in order to identify culpability and accountability for this unacceptable misconduct.
"To be clear, no further bonus payments will be made or unvested bonus awards released to those in scope of the review until it has concluded and its recommendations have been considered by the Remuneration Committee and the Board Risk Committee.
"There is no place for any misconduct at the RBS we are building. We want to get these things settled so we can put these issues behind us and get on with rebuilding trust in this bank."
The Chancellor confirmed plans this week to amend legislation so traders who rig rates in future could face jail terms of up to seven years.
Written By Unknown on Selasa, 23 Desember 2014 | 12.07
By Mark Kleinman, City Editor
The accounting watchdog is to scrutinise the former finance director of Tesco during a probe into the financial statements of Britain's biggest retailer.
Sky News understands that Laurie McIlwee, who left Tesco in April and had no role in the half-year results which triggered its accounting crisis in September, will face questions as part of the Financial Reporting Council's (FRC) investigation.
The FRC confirmed on Monday that it had commenced an inquiry into the "preparation, approval and audit" of Tesco's financial results following the disclosure that its profits had been overstated by £263m.
Members of Tesco's audit team at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) will also be central to the FRC inquiry, which will examine statements dating back to the year ended 25 February 2012, and their impact on "the matters reported in the company's interim results for the 26 weeks ended 23 August 2014".
It is unclear whether Mark Armour, a Tesco director and member of its audit committee who also sits on the FRC board, will form part of the investigation.
Video:A Terrible Year For Tesco
The accounting body's inquiry will run alongside that of the Serious Fraud Office (SFO), which said in November that it had launched a criminal probe into the affair.
Mr McIlwee resigned in April and left Tesco's head office almost immediately after being asked not to return by the then chief executive, Philip Clarke.
Sources said that Mr McIlwee had not personally signed off Tesco's 2013-14 accounts.
Tesco's outgoing chairman, Sir Richard Broadbent, was forced to clarify remarks made in September that Mr McIlwee had not been at Tesco for "days and weeks", eventually admitting that he had not been called upon since April.
After his departure, Mr Clarke formed a separate finance committee to oversee the preparation of future financial statements.
According to insiders, members of that committee included Carl Rogberg, the former UK finance director, Mr Clarke himself, and Mike Iddon, who is now chief financial officer at New Look.
The £263m profits overstatement, announced by Mr Clarke's successor, Dave Lewis, triggered the suspension of at least eight executives, including Mr Rogberg, at least four of whom have since left the company.
One, Matt Simister, has been reinstated, while the fate of three others remains unclear.
Video:Oct: Boss On Tesco's Woes
The overstatement was a result of the way Tesco managers booked income from commercial suppliers, prompting Mr Lewis to announce an overhaul of those relationships.
The FRC has the power to impose unlimited fines and bans on individual members and member firms following formal disciplinary procedures.
Although widely expected, the formal confirmation of its investigation is a further distraction for Mr Lewis, who is attempting to improve Tesco's domestic performance in the wake of another devastating profit warning.
It issued its fourth profits warning in a year earlier this month, saying that full-year earnings would not exceed £1.4bn - well short of City forecasts of around £1.94bn.
Mr Lewis will update the City on Christmas trading and his broader plans to reinvigorate Tesco on January 8.
Tesco and the FRC declined to comment further, while Mr McIlwee could not be reached for comment.
The former boss of B&Q's parent company is being lined up to take a key role in Whitehall as ministers prepare for a swingeing new round of public spending cuts.
Sky News has learnt that Sir Ian Cheshire, who stepped down as chief executive of Kingfisher earlier this month, is among a small number of candidates to succeed the former BP boss Lord Browne as the Government's lead non-executive director.
The appointment of Sir Ian has yet to be finalised, although he is understood to be the preferred choice of a number of key Whitehall decision-makers and could be announced as soon as next month.
The role has assumed growing significance since being established in 2010 as part of an attempt by the Conservative-led Coalition to improve governance across Government departments.
Upon his appointment as the lead non-executive director at the Department for Work and Pensions in January 2011, Sir Ian said:
"The opportunity to support the Department in delivering its ambitious programme of reform is one I welcome.
"I believe that Government and business should be working together and sharing experience and expertise and I am pleased to be playing my part in this approach."
The appointment of Sir Ian as Lord Browne's successor is understood to be subject to cross-party approval given the proximity of next May's General Election.
Labour sources said they were not opposed to the continuing involvement of business leaders as non-executive directors of Government departments.
A Whitehall insider said that other candidates for the lead non-executive role may also be in contention.
Among those recruited by ministers in 2010 were Rona Fairhead, now chair of the BBC Trust; Sam Laidlaw, the outgoing chief executive of Centrica; and Sir Andrew Witty, chief executive of GlaxoSmithKline.
The appointment of business leaders to the boards of Government departments has received a mixed reaction, with Lord Browne himself acknowledging in an interview with the Financial Times that the initiative had had a "mixed report card".
Sir Ian, who has had a successful career in the retail sector, will remain as a director of Kingfisher until next month, and he has been linked with the chairmanship of Tesco.
He was also approached earlier this year about becoming chief executive of the Civil Service, but turned down the role, which was eventually filled by John Manzoni, a former BP executive.
Lord Browne said last month: "Francis Maude has demonstrated determined commitment to Civil Service Reform and, under his leadership Whitehall has been transformed for the better.
"There is much more to do, but it is now time for a new perspective on that process."
Sir Jeremy Heywood, the Cabinet Secretary, said the Civil Service had "made real progress in addressing long-standing weaknesses in commercial, digital and project-management skills and strengthening departmental governance, management information and talent management".
The Cabinet Office declined to comment on the appointment of Lord Brown's replacement, saying that an announcement would be made in due course.
Written By Unknown on Senin, 22 Desember 2014 | 12.06
By Charlotte Lomas, Sky News Reporter
More than four decades after the first British female pilot took to the skies in a commercial airliner, there are still few women choosing flying as a career. But why are there so few female pilots?
Of the 3,500 pilots employed by British Airways, just 200 are women and this is more than any other UK airline.
Globally, 4,000 of the 130,000 airline pilots are female and fewer still are captains - worldwide there are around 450.
Helen Macnamara has been a British Airways pilot for 14 years after enrolling on a sponsorship scheme once she left university.
Helen Macnamara says there were a lack of opportunities in the past
"I like to see the world and different places and I enjoy the magic of flying itself," she said.
"Once you have the passion for it, then that's it really".
Helen, 38, believes the reason so few women go into flying may stem from a lack of opportunities in the past.
She said: "I think historically there were less women involved in aviation and that has been changing throughout my career.
"I think it's important females see this as an option and that there are role models in our industry."
One such role model is TV presenter and now fully trained pilot, Carol Vorderman.
Trained pilot Carol Vorderman is supporting the drive
She is planning to embark on a solo round-the-world flying trip and is supporting a recruitment drive by British Airways to get more women in the cockpit.
Carol said: "I always wanted to be a pilot since I was very young.
"It was the reason I read Engineering at Cambridge, and ideally would have joined the RAF or a commercial airline after graduating, but sadly this was not an option then.
"I think the reason so few women enter the profession can be traced back to schools, home and the media. Girls need to be encouraged more to pursue sciences, maths and technology at school and realise different paths are open to them."
Although many women work in the aviation industry as a whole - piloting is still very much a male-dominated profession.
Jim McAuslan, the general secretary of BALPA, the British Airline Pilots Association, is hoping this will change.
He said: "Women make great pilots, unfortunately only five percent of our members and British pilots are women, and that's disappointing.
"So we're reaching out to women to find why they're not coming forward. Perhaps it's because of their choice of careers at an earlier age. Engineering is a great way to get into flying, so perhaps people should look at their careers early on.
"But our big message would be: have the dream."
Some critics argue that women face prejudice when considering a career in flying.
In 2009 a Virgin Airlines advert featuring glamorous female flight attendants flanking a male pilot received complaints it was sexist.
So too did an Air New Zealand in-flight safety video where women were dressed bikinis.
But Helen says that she has never experienced any negativity. Most passengers are simply surprised to have a female pilot, she said.
"Actually when members of the public come to our flight simulator where we train, it is usually the women who fare better than the men.
"They are softer with the manoeuvres and males can be more heavy handed."
In an industry where fewer than 5% of pilots are women it's hoped more will be landing safely on the tarmac in future.
A London-listed exhibitions firm will this week announce a £20m takeover that will reduce its reliance on Russia amid the country's currency crisis and the ongoing impact of international sanctions.
Sky News has learnt that ITE Group, which has a market value of more than £350m, is to acquire Breakbulk, a leading provider of shipping and logistics intelligence.
The deal, which is understood to include an additional performance-related payment based on future revenues, is expected to be announced on Monday.
Investors in ITE are expected to view the takeover as a welcome diversification from the company's dependence upon Russia and emerging markets for the majority of its revenues.
Roughly 60% of ITE's sales are generated in Russia, which has seen a plunge in the value of the rouble in recent weeks as evidence of the weakness of the country's economy has mounted.
ITE's chief executive recently acknowledged "currency headwinds and difficult trading conditions in Russia and Ukraine", but managed to beat analysts' profit forecasts despite a decline in sales.
The Russian economy's travails are the main factor behind a near-52% fall in ITE's share price during the last 12 months, prior to which it was in the FTSE-250 index.
Breakbulk runs annual exhibitions - held in Shanghai, the Belgian port of Antwerp and, in alternating years, New Orleans and Houston - for senior executives in logistics roles in sectors such as energy and infrastructure.
Reflecting rapid growth in demand, Breakbulk has also added exhibitions in Brazil, South Africa and Turkey.
The business is part of Axio-Data, which has been owned by Electra Partners, a private equity firm, since last year.
It had previously been under the umbrella of UBM, the much larger media and events group listed on the London Stock Exchange.
Announcing annual results earlier this month, Russell Taylor, ITE chief executive, said it remained "sensitive to the economic climate in Russia but has increasingly good growth prospects in its other markets".
Written By Unknown on Minggu, 21 Desember 2014 | 12.07
By Charlotte Lomas, Sky News Reporter
More than four decades after the first British female pilot took to the skies in a commercial airliner, there are still few women choosing flying as a career. But why are there so few female pilots?
Of the 3,500 pilots employed by British Airways, just 200 are women and this is more than any other UK airline.
Globally, 4,000 of the 130,000 airline pilots are female and fewer still are captains - worldwide there are around 450.
Helen Macnamara has been a British Airways pilot for 14 years after enrolling on a sponsorship scheme once she left university.
Helen Macnamara says there were a lack of opportunities in the past
"I like to see the world and different places and I enjoy the magic of flying itself," she said.
"Once you have the passion for it, then that's it really".
Helen, 38, believes the reason so few women go into flying may stem from a lack of opportunities in the past.
She said: "I think historically there were less women involved in aviation and that has been changing throughout my career.
"I think it's important females see this as an option and that there are role models in our industry."
One such role model is TV presenter and now fully trained pilot, Carol Vorderman.
Trained pilot Carol Vorderman is supporting the drive
She is planning to embark on a solo round-the-world flying trip and is supporting a recruitment drive by British Airways to get more women in the cockpit.
Carol said: "I always wanted to be a pilot since I was very young.
"It was the reason I read Engineering at Cambridge, and ideally would have joined the RAF or a commercial airline after graduating, but sadly this was not an option then.
"I think the reason so few women enter the profession can be traced back to schools, home and the media. Girls need to be encouraged more to pursue sciences, maths and technology at school and realise different paths are open to them."
Although many women work in the aviation industry as a whole - piloting is still very much a male-dominated profession.
Jim McAuslan, the general secretary of BALPA, the British Airline Pilots Association, is hoping this will change.
He said: "Women make great pilots, unfortunately only five percent of our members and British pilots are women, and that's disappointing.
"So we're reaching out to women to find why they're not coming forward. Perhaps it's because of their choice of careers at an earlier age. Engineering is a great way to get into flying, so perhaps people should look at their careers early on.
"But our big message would be: have the dream."
Some critics argue that women face prejudice when considering a career in flying.
In 2009 a Virgin Airlines advert featuring glamorous female flight attendants flanking a male pilot received complaints it was sexist.
So too did an Air New Zealand in-flight safety video where women were dressed bikinis.
But Helen says that she has never experienced any negativity. Most passengers are simply surprised to have a female pilot, she said.
"Actually when members of the public come to our flight simulator where we train, it is usually the women who fare better than the men.
"They are softer with the manoeuvres and males can be more heavy handed."
In an industry where fewer than 5% of pilots are women it's hoped more will be landing safely on the tarmac in future.
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Video:Doubts Raised Over Hacking Claims
North Korea says it can prove it had nothing to do with the cyber-attack on Sony and proposes a joint investigation with the US.
The North Korean news agency KCNA warned there would be "grave consequences" if the White House declined the offer.
State media called the FBI's claim that North Korea was behind the attack on the entertainment giant a "slander".
The North's foreign ministry, quoted by KCNA, said: "As the United States is spreading groundless allegations and slandering us, we propose a joint investigation with it into this incident.
"Without resorting to such tortures as were used by the US CIA, we have means to prove that this incident has nothing to do with us."
1/8
Gallery: Kim Jong Un Seen Amid US Tensions
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un smiles as a huge crowd surrounds him while he gives field guidance at the Kim Jong Suk Pyongyang Textile Mill
North Korea stated it can prove it had nothing to do with the recent cyber-attack on Sony and proposed a joint investigation with the US
]]>
The North Korean news agency KCNA warned there would be "grave consequences" if the White House declined the offer. Continue through for more images
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A spokesman from the White House National Security Council said the United States stands by its assertion that the North Korean government orchestrated the cyber-attack.
"The Government of North Korea has a long history of denying responsibility for destructive and provocative actions," Mark Stroh said.
"If the North Korean government wants to help, they can admit their culpability and compensate Sony for the damages this attack caused."
Video:N Korea Demand Joint Investigation
President Barack Obama said on Friday that the US would "respond proportionally at a time and manner that we choose" against North Korea after the FBI said a "significant overlap" existed between the infrastructure used in the Hollywood studio hack and previous malicious cyber-activity linked to North Korea.
The hack prompted Sony Pictures on Wednesday to cancel the release of the comedy The Interview, which depicts a plot to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un.
The decision to pull the film was made after the group claiming responsibility for the cyber-attack made terrorist threats against US cinemas that showed the movie.
Video:North Korea TV On Cyber-attack
The FBI said technical analysis of data deletion malware used in the data breach provided links to malicious programs previously developed by North Korea.
"North Korea's actions were intended to inflict significant harm on a US business and suppress the right of American citizens to express themselves," the bureau said in a statement.
"Such acts of intimidation fall outside the bounds of acceptable state behaviour."
Video:Sony CEO: 'We Have Not Backed Down'
Sky's Asia Correspondent Mark Stone said: "Korea-watchers are split on whether the FBI and US government have got this right or not because so many bits don't add up.
"After all, if Kim Jong-Un's people did somehow manage to hack Sony he wouldn't be admitting it, and if he didn't do it and everyone's accusing him of doing it surely he and his government would keep quiet because then it would look as though they were more powerful and capable than they are.
"The other thing I find interesting is this suggestion of terrorist attacks on US cinemas if they ran the film.
Video:Screenings Of Team America Scrapped
"Well, North Korea is accused of some pretty bad things but one thing it has never done is threaten terrorist attacks - certainly not on American soil. And the FBI still haven't given us any proof that North Korea was behind this."
The hackers, who call themselves Guardians of Peace, praised the decision to cancel the film's release in a statement provided to CNN on Friday.
The group also said it would keep Sony's data secure if the company continued to comply.
Video:Who Could Be Behind Sony Hack?
Lt Col Chris Parker, former Chief of Staff of the Desert Rats and a cyber security expert, told Sky News: "We probably have to wonder whether the FBI's allegations are there to create waves - have they got evidence? No one perhaps knows at this stage.
"The North Koreans would learn an awful lot about what is known by the FBI and the Americans by conduction a joint investigation. If they were to get away with that they would have a win-win."
:: North Korea on Saturday vowed to bolster its nuclear capacity in the face of a United Nations resolution calling for it to be referred to the International Criminal Court (ICC) over its human rights record.
Video:The Defectors: A Special Programme
The UN General Assembly on Thursday adopted a resolution by a strong majority that asks the Security Council to refer North Korea to the ICC and to consider targeted sanctions against the Pyongyang leadership for the repression of its citizens.
North Korea's foreign ministry said in a statement carried on the official Korean Central News Agency that it would increase "efforts to bolster up in every way its capability for self-defence including nuclear force".
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North Korea: We Can Prove Hacking Wasn't Us
We use cookies to give you the best experience. If you do nothing we'll assume that it's ok.
Video:Doubts Raised Over Hacking Claims
North Korea says it can prove it had nothing to do with the cyber-attack on Sony and proposes a joint investigation with the US.
The North Korean news agency KCNA warned there would be "grave consequences" if the White House declined the offer.
State media called the FBI's claim that North Korea was behind the attack on the entertainment giant a "slander".
The North's foreign ministry, quoted by KCNA, said: "As the United States is spreading groundless allegations and slandering us, we propose a joint investigation with it into this incident.
"Without resorting to such tortures as were used by the US CIA, we have means to prove that this incident has nothing to do with us."
1/8
Gallery: Kim Jong Un Seen Amid US Tensions
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un smiles as a huge crowd surrounds him while he gives field guidance at the Kim Jong Suk Pyongyang Textile Mill
North Korea stated it can prove it had nothing to do with the recent cyber-attack on Sony and proposed a joint investigation with the US
]]>
The North Korean news agency KCNA warned there would be "grave consequences" if the White House declined the offer. Continue through for more images
]]>
]]>
]]>
A spokesman from the White House National Security Council said the United States stands by its assertion that the North Korean government orchestrated the cyber-attack.
"The Government of North Korea has a long history of denying responsibility for destructive and provocative actions," Mark Stroh said.
"If the North Korean government wants to help, they can admit their culpability and compensate Sony for the damages this attack caused."
Video:N Korea Demand Joint Investigation
President Barack Obama said on Friday that the US would "respond proportionally at a time and manner that we choose" against North Korea after the FBI said a "significant overlap" existed between the infrastructure used in the Hollywood studio hack and previous malicious cyber-activity linked to North Korea.
The hack prompted Sony Pictures on Wednesday to cancel the release of the comedy The Interview, which depicts a plot to assassinate North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un.
The decision to pull the film was made after the group claiming responsibility for the cyber-attack made terrorist threats against US cinemas that showed the movie.
Video:North Korea TV On Cyber-attack
The FBI said technical analysis of data deletion malware used in the data breach provided links to malicious programs previously developed by North Korea.
"North Korea's actions were intended to inflict significant harm on a US business and suppress the right of American citizens to express themselves," the bureau said in a statement.
"Such acts of intimidation fall outside the bounds of acceptable state behaviour."
Video:Sony CEO: 'We Have Not Backed Down'
Sky's Asia Correspondent Mark Stone said: "Korea-watchers are split on whether the FBI and US government have got this right or not because so many bits don't add up.
"After all, if Kim Jong-Un's people did somehow manage to hack Sony he wouldn't be admitting it, and if he didn't do it and everyone's accusing him of doing it surely he and his government would keep quiet because then it would look as though they were more powerful and capable than they are.
"The other thing I find interesting is this suggestion of terrorist attacks on US cinemas if they ran the film.
Video:Screenings Of Team America Scrapped
"Well, North Korea is accused of some pretty bad things but one thing it has never done is threaten terrorist attacks - certainly not on American soil. And the FBI still haven't given us any proof that North Korea was behind this."
The hackers, who call themselves Guardians of Peace, praised the decision to cancel the film's release in a statement provided to CNN on Friday.
The group also said it would keep Sony's data secure if the company continued to comply.
Video:Who Could Be Behind Sony Hack?
Lt Col Chris Parker, former Chief of Staff of the Desert Rats and a cyber security expert, told Sky News: "We probably have to wonder whether the FBI's allegations are there to create waves - have they got evidence? No one perhaps knows at this stage.
"The North Koreans would learn an awful lot about what is known by the FBI and the Americans by conduction a joint investigation. If they were to get away with that they would have a win-win."
:: North Korea on Saturday vowed to bolster its nuclear capacity in the face of a United Nations resolution calling for it to be referred to the International Criminal Court (ICC) over its human rights record.
Video:The Defectors: A Special Programme
The UN General Assembly on Thursday adopted a resolution by a strong majority that asks the Security Council to refer North Korea to the ICC and to consider targeted sanctions against the Pyongyang leadership for the repression of its citizens.
North Korea's foreign ministry said in a statement carried on the official Korean Central News Agency that it would increase "efforts to bolster up in every way its capability for self-defence including nuclear force".
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Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 20 Desember 2014 | 12.07
By Charlotte Lomas, Sky News Reporter
More than four decades after the first British female pilot took to the skies in a commercial airliner, there are still few women choosing flying as a career. But why are there so few female pilots?
Of the 3,500 pilots employed by British Airways, just 200 are women and this is more than any other UK airline.
Globally, 4,000 of the 130,000 airline pilots are female and fewer still are captains - worldwide there are around 450.
Helen Macnamara has been a British Airways pilot for 14 years after enrolling on a sponsorship scheme once she left university.
"I like to see the world and different places and I enjoy the magic of flying itself," she said.
"Once you have the passion for it, then that's it really".
Helen, 38, believes the reason so few women go into flying may stem from a lack of opportunities in the past.
She said: "I think historically there were less women involved in aviation and that has been changing throughout my career.
"I think it's important females see this as an option and that there are role models in our industry."
One such role model is TV presenter and now fully trained pilot, Carol Vorderman.
She is planning to embark on a solo round-the-world flying trip and is supporting a recruitment drive by British Airways to get more women in the cockpit.
Carol said: "I always wanted to be a pilot since I was very young.
"It was the reason I read Engineering at Cambridge, and ideally would have joined the RAF or a commercial airline after graduating, but sadly this was not an option then.
"I think the reason so few women enter the profession can be traced back to schools, home and the media. Girls need to be encouraged more to pursue sciences, maths and technology at school and realise different paths are open to them."
Although many women work in the aviation industry as a whole - piloting is still very much a male-dominated profession.
Jim McAuslan, the general secretary of BALPA, the British Airline Pilots Association, is hoping this will change.
He said: "Women make great pilots, unfortunately only five percent of our members and British pilots are women, and that's disappointing.
"So we're reaching out to women to find why they're not coming forward. Perhaps it's because of their choice of careers at an earlier age. Engineering is a great way to get into flying, so perhaps people should look at their careers early on.
"But our big message would be: have the dream."
Some critics argue that women face prejudice when considering a career in flying.
In 2009 a Virgin Airlines advert featuring glamorous female flight attendants flanking a male pilot received complaints it was sexist.
So too did an Air New Zealand in-flight safety video where women were dressed bikinis.
But Helen says that she has never experienced any negativity. Most passengers are simply surprised to have a female pilot, she said.
"Actually when members of the public come to our flight simulator where we train, it is usually the women who fare better than the men.
"They are softer with the manoeuvres and males can be more heavy handed."
In an industry where fewer than 5% of pilots are women it's hoped more will be landing safely on the tarmac in future.
Shoppers are set to spend a total of £1.2bn on last minute gifts and groceries on what has been dubbed "Panic Saturday".
Around 13 million consumers will spend £2.1m for every minute stores are open at an average of £92.31 per person, according to a report by the Centre for Retail Research (CRR) for Vouchercodes.co.uk.
Claire Davenport, Vouchercodes.co.uk managing director, said: "With Christmas Day falling later in the week this year, consumers feel that there is still plenty of time to complete their shopping.
"Panic Saturday kicks off a big week for retailers and we're expecting to see a huge increase in traffic to our site this weekend."
Some of the biggest high street names have slashed their prices for what is expected to be one of the busiest shopping days of the year.
Video:Black Friday Sales 'Unprecedented'
Debenhams has reduced some gifts by 50%, Boots is offering a 60% discount of selected fragrances, while Marks & Spencer is selling some beauty products for half-price.
Delayed online orders, poor weather and earlier sales are expected to drive around 70 million shoppers to the high street between now and Christmas Eve - an increase of 14% on last year.
The CRR report also predicts in-store sales will reach £4.74bn over the five days before Christmas, another noticeable increase on last year (21%).
The CRR says the additional shopping day will contribute an extra £870m.
Video:Retailers Hoping For Busy Weekend
Department stores can expect to double their takings this weekend, data from payment processing company Worldpay suggests, with shops in the north of England set to benefit the most.
It said the number of card payments taken by department stores in some parts of the UK just before Christmas increased by as much as 224% this time last year, and even better figures are expected for 2014.
Worldpay UK managing director Dave Hobday said: "Department stores are magnets for shoppers who find themselves in the last-chance saloon in the final few days before Christmas.
"Many of these eleventh-hour shoppers will be breaking into a cold sweat at the thought of heading to the high street on the busiest shopping day of the year and praying for someone to take the pain away."
1/18
Gallery: Black Friday: Madness In The Shops
Yes, really. Shoppers have wrestled over a television. It has come that, people. "Black Friday" is in full swing in Britain and the stiff upper lip Brits are famous for has well and truly left the building. This photo was taken at an Asda in Wembley, north London
Britain's high streets, shopping centres and websites have been awash with discounts as more retailers than ever embraced US-style promotions, seeking to kickstart trading in the key Christmas period
Written By Unknown on Jumat, 19 Desember 2014 | 12.06
By Mark Kleinman, City Editor
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) will face angry investors in court by the end of 2016 in a legal case that is likely to see Fred Goodwin, its former boss, testify about the lender's implosion.
Sky News has learnt that RBS was told this week that litigation brought by a shareholder action group would result in a trial beginning in December 2016, almost a year earlier than the bank had sought.
The RBS Shareholder Action Group, which includes major City institutions such as M&G and Standard Life Investments as well as thousands of private investors, is suing over a £12bn rights issue launched by RBS in April 2008.
That fundraising was aimed at removing any doubts about the bank's financial strength, but ultimately proved to be only a stay of execution.
Mr Goodwin, RBS's former chief executive, was stripped of his knighthood in 2012 and has faced calls to be banned as a company director in the wake of the bank's near-collapse.
Sir Tom McKillop, the former chairman, and Guy Whittaker, the former finance director, are also named as directors in the shareholder lawsuit, which is said to seek damages of as much as £4bn.
At a case management conference this week, RBS is understood to have been ordered to accelerate the disclosure of hundreds of thousands of documents.
The named directors will have to let the court know by end January what information they intend to provide the court.
Some claimants have expressed frustration that the case will not be heard for more than eight years after the rights issue which saw them stump up £12bn.
RBS has estimated that it could spend as much as £42m in total on legal fees during the case, a figure which includes separate representation for the director defendants.
Mr Goodwin and Sir Tom stepped down in the autumn of 2008 as Alastair Darling, the then Chancellor, insisted on their resignations as a condition of the bank's rescue.
There are four main investor groups bringing claims against RBS, in which they allege that the bank misled them about the state of its finances when it raised £12bn from them in a rights issue in the spring of 2008.
Months later, RBS received an emergency £45.5bn capital injection from the Government as it came close to outright collapse.
The claimants also include a group which includes Aviva, the insurance companies; and another which is acting for dozens of institutional investors.
RBS itself is being represented in the series of shareholder lawsuits by Herbert Smith Freehills, a prominent City firm.
In a statement, RBS said: "While RBS and its former directors made some business decisions that have been criticised, this does not mean that they misled investors or acted illegally.
"We believe we have strong defences to the claims that are being brought against the Group and that is why we intend to defend these vigorously and to protect the interests of our shareholders including UK taxpayers."
Both RBS and the RBS Shareholder Action Group declined to comment.
Russia's crumbling economy could be hit further after the EU agreed on more santions over its intervention in Ukraine.
Fresh punitive measures - banning investment in Crimea to target Russian Black Sea oil and gas exploration - were agreed at the end of the European Council summit in Brussels.
New EU president Donald Tusk said they needed to create a long-term strategy to stop Russia President Vladimir Putin's defiance of the West.
"We need to be realistic, we have to treat this as a long-term game. We must go beyond being reactive and defensive."
He called on Europeans to "regain our self-confidence and realise our own strength" when dealing with Russia.
Video:Putin Promises Economic Recovery
David Cameron warned Mr Putin that Russia's economy was in "serious" trouble after being hit by a slump in oil prices and sanctions from the EU and US.
"I think that something very important is being made clear here, which is that if you want to have full access to the international capital markets you cannot behave in a way that flies in the face of the international rules and how to behave towards other countries.
"If it takes Russian troops out of Ukraine, and it obeys all the strictures of the Minsk agreement, these sanctions can go.
Video:Russia Rocked By Rouble Rout
"But until that happens these sanctions should not go and there was a very clear and unanimous and unified view in the EU tonight."
Speaking at his annual end-of-year media conference, Mr Putin hit back saying the sanctions have not had a big effect and accused the West of behaving like "an empire".
He also accused the West of trying to "chain" the Russian bear.
Video:Can Russia Overcome Rouble Crisis?
"Probably our bear should just relax and sit quietly and just eat honey instead of hunting animals. Maybe then they will leave the bear in peace.
"But they will not. What they are trying to do is chain the bear and when they manage to chain the bear they will just take out its fangs and claws."
Written By Unknown on Kamis, 18 Desember 2014 | 12.06
By Mark Kleinman, City Editor
One of Britain's most successful investors has issued a thinly veiled swipe at Labour's proposed mansion tax and warned that "populist politics" risk derailing Britain's economic revival.
Speaking to Sky News, Danny Truell, chief investment officer of the Wellcome Trust, the medical research charity, said a lack of clarity about politicians' intentions toward key industries was potentially damaging.
Mr Truell did not explicitly identify Labour's proposals for a tax on expensive homes, but people close to the Wellcome Trust confirmed its anxiety that the party had not said whether charities would be exempted from a new levy.
"In the UK, populist policies risk derailing progress in restoring balance in the economy," Mr Truell said.
"We own £1.2bn of residential property in the UK; there is no clarity on how charities will be treated in respect of property taxes, which can only damage confidence in the short term."
His warning will reinforce impressions of a gulf between Mr Miliband's party and the interests of business leaders and the City.
Labour has pledged to address that perception despite pledges of a crackdown on the banking, energy and property industries.
Mr Truell oversees a vast investment portfolio at the Wellcome Trust, which includes shareholdings in companies such as Apple, Marks & Spencer, Twitter and Vodafone.
The research foundation's residential property assets include more than 1700 units in South Kensington in Central London, which it said today may generate "more muted" returns in the near term because of "political concerns and overly strong recent price appreciation".
Mr Truell was speaking to coincide with the disclosure of another stellar annual performance by the Wellcome Trust's investment division, which generated a total return of 15.4% in the year to September 30.
That equated to a £2.5bn return, which will contribute to a £4bn investment in charitable activities during the next five years.
Mr Truell added that the current slump in oil prices would be conducive to growth in Europe and Asia, and said he was surprised by the market's reaction.
A £5bn project to guarantee mobile phone voice and text coverage to 90% of the UK geographical area by 2017 will go ahead.
The deal means the four mobile networks - EE, O2, Three and Vodafone - have all agreed to tackle poor coverage in so-called partial "not spots".
These are areas that may have coverage from some but not all of the four networks.
This will halve the number of areas where there is patchy mobile coverage.
In addition, the operators will increase full coverage from 69% to 85% - allowing phone users to download data.
Culture Secretary Sajid Javid said: "Too many parts of the UK regularly suffer from poor mobile coverage leaving them unable to make calls or send texts.
"Government and businesses have been clear about the importance of mobile connectivity, and improved coverage, so this legally binding agreement will give the UK the world-class mobile phone coverage it needs and deserves."
A Vodafone UK spokesman said: "We support the Government's objective of delivering better coverage to rural areas including partial not-spots.
"It is a great result for UK consumers and businesses and it will make the UK a leader across Europe in terms of the reach of mobile coverage."
Written By Unknown on Rabu, 17 Desember 2014 | 12.06
The deputy chairman of Russia's central bank has conceded the rouble is in deep trouble but says it will take action to remedy the problem soon.
"The situation is critical. We could not imagine this in our worst nightmare a year ago," Sergei Shvetsov was quoted by the Russian news agency Interfax as saying.
He said the shock overnight hike in its key interest rate from 10.5% to 17% "will be followed by other measures to stabilise the situation".
Despite the increase the rouble continued to fall sharply throughout the day, hitting the 80 to the dollar mark and decreasing in value by 20% in a matter of hours.
"Trust me, the choice the central bank's board of directors made was one between bad and much, much worse," Mr Shvetsov added.
Video:Russian Economy In A Crisis
"In the coming days, the situation will be comparable with the toughest period of 2008. I think that the experience we accumulated over the past crises will help us find the right solution and survive this situation. I very much hope so."
The Bank of Russia's shock decision to up its core rate was a response to the rouble's value sinking by almost 50% over the course of the year - hit by Western sanctions imposed over the Ukraine conflict and plummeting oil prices.
It was also intended to settle nerves back home as fears grow that the extent of Russia's economic problems - largely unreported by state media - could spark panic among consumers as price rises become unmanageable.
By raising interest rates, the bank also hoped investors would find it more financially appealing to keep their money in Russia, whose economy relies heavily on oil revenues.
Central bank chairwoman Elvira Nabiullina said earlier the move should stem inflation, although she admitted it will take the rouble "some time" to find its correct value.
Russian stocks fell slightly on Tuesday morning with the MICEX benchmark 1.5% lower, reflecting the additional pressure on businesses.
Video:What's Causing Falling Oil Prices?
Falls of more than 50% in world oil prices are tipped to plunge Russia into recession next year.
On Tuesday the value of Brent crude slipped to new five-year low, falling below $60-per-barrel for the first time since July 2009.
The Bank Of Russia had raised the rate from 5.5% earlier this year to 10.5% just last Thursday.
It said then that it expected inflation to run at 10% this year and climb higher in the first quarter of 2015.
But the rouble has plunged further against the dollar this week, to 65 on Monday and then 80 on Tuesday, after dropping from 55 roubles last week.
Alexei Kudrin, Russia's finance minister from 2000-2011, said on Twitter: "The fall of the rouble is not just a reaction to low oil prices and the sanctions but also (a show of) distrust to economic policies of the government."
Video:Putin Points Finger At The West
He called on Russian president Vladimir Putin to take appropriate measures, although he did not specify what these should be.
Moscow's involvement in Ukraine has led to the US and the European Union imposing a range of sanctions which have added to Russia's economic woes.
These have included blocking Western financial markets to key Russian companies and limiting imports of some technologies.
Further sanctions are likely after the US Congress passed legislation on Monday that could see Washington providing weapons and other assistance to Ukraine.
Petrol prices could soon fall below £1 per litre - the lowest level since the end of May 2009.
The RAC said the recent fall in the price of oil - now below the $60-a-barrel - would keep dropping.
"What's currently happening at the pumps with falling fuel prices is something many motorists will not remember seeing before," said RAC fuel spokesman Simon Williams said.
"Talk of prices going up like a rocket and falling like a feather could not be further from the truth as retailers have been quick to pass on savings at the forecourt since we forecast on December 6 that prices were due to come down by 7p a litre for petrol and 6p for diesel."
The RAC added that it was hopeful drivers would benefit from the fall in prices in the first few months of the new year.
Video:What's Causing Falling Oil Prices?
The group's monitoring of fuel prices shows the average price of a litre of petrol is 116.9p - nearly 14p a litre cheaper than at the start of the year.
Diesel is nearly 16p cheaper - 122.33p a litre now compared to 138.24p in January.
The average supermarket price of fuel is 114.26p a litre for petrol and 120.18p for diesel.
Video:Petrol Prices
Mr Williams added: "Current forecasts are for average petrol prices to fall to below 110p a litre in the next fortnight and diesel to drop to under 116p.
"At these average prices across the country the cheapest retailers will almost certainly be selling petrol for around 105p a litre, or even lower."
Written By Unknown on Selasa, 16 Desember 2014 | 12.06
The financial watchdog has banned a top fund manager from any role in the City after it was discovered he paid £43,000 to avoid prosecution for dodging train fares.
Jonathan Paul Burrows, who was a London-based managing director at US investment firm BlackRock, admitted his actions sullied the reputation of the City.
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) banned Mr Burrows for "not being a fit and proper" person.
It launched an investigation after a furore when it emerged an unnamed City worker paid the money to Southeastern Railway to avoid prosecution for repeated fare dodging.
In November 2013, a ticket inspector at Cannon Street station noticed an irregularity with the payment history of Mr Burrows' Oystercard.
Under caution he admitted regularly not paying for tickets from his home in Stonegate, East Sussex, where there were no ticket barriers.
It was claimed he only paid £7.20 for a Oystercard single ticket in London instead of the standard single fare of £21.50 from Stonegate.
Mr Burrows worked as a top fund manager for US firm BlackRock
It emerged he had stopped buying annual season tickets in 2008, despite continuing to work in the City for another five years.
"Burrows held a senior position within the financial services industry. His conduct fell short of the standards we expect," FCA director of enforcement Tracey McDermott said.
"Approved persons must act with honesty and integrity at all times and, where they do not, we will take action."
According to the Daily Mail, father-of-one Mr Burrows owned two mortgage-free multi-million pound mansions in East Sussex and drove a Porsche sports car.
A heated public debate developed over how a wealthy worker was able to pay a five-digit sum to avoid prosecution.
Following his banning, his former employer said: "Jonathan Burrows left BlackRock earlier this year. What he admitted to the FCA is totally contrary to our values and principles."
After being banned on 15 December, Mr Burrows released his own statement through a PR firm and said: "I have always recognised that what I did was foolish.
"I have apologised to all concerned and reiterate that apology publicly today."
"The settlement I made with Southeastern in March 2014 was for an amount significantly in excess of the value of the fares not paid by me on the small number of occasions that I failed to pay.
"Indeed the size of the settlement could be said to have led to a distorted perception of the scale of my wrongdoing."
Approached by Sky News, Southeastern Railway defended its decision not to prosecute Mr Burrows at the time.
In a statement it said: "We reached a £43,000 settlement with Mr Burrows regarding allegations of fare-dodging earlier this year.
"We believe that the actions that we took were in the best interests of our passengers (and taxpayers) by giving us the best opportunity to recover a substantial sum in respect of the allegation."
