IMF Sees Housing Market Threat To Recovery

Osborne Should Heed IMF House Market Warning

Updated: 11:57am UK, Friday 06 June 2014

By Ed Conway, Economics Editor

What would you like first: the good news or the bad?

Well, if you're George Osborne, the good news is that the long battle with the International Monetary Fund - the one that began last year when chief economist Olivier Blanchard told Sky News the Chancellor was "playing with fire" on economic policy - is over.

We knew as much in Washington earlier this spring, when Blanchard acknowledged that the Fund's forecasts for Britain had been overly pessimistic.

But today the saga has come to its end, with the Fund also giving the Chancellor's fiscal plans (those precise plans Blanchard had criticised) a ringing endorsement.

"The planned fiscal adjustment this year is appropriate," the IMF says in its annual survey of the UK economy - the so-called Article IV report.

This is a shift from last year, when the Article IV recommended that the Chancellor bring forward spending plans to try to boost the economy. So cause for celebration at the Treasury?

Not altogether, for there is also some bad news. The criticisms of the Treasury's tax-and-spend plans may have dissolved away, but they have been replaced with concerns of another variety: about the housing market.

Such concerns are hardly new: the European Commission already recommended earlier this week that the Government take action to prevent a housing bubble.

However, the Fund is a touch more authoritative - and more specific. Its suggestions are as follows: The Bank of England should leave interest rates on hold for the time being; it should impose limits on how much mortgage companies can lend homebuyers in relation to their incomes; it should also consider outright caps on loan-to-income levels and loan-to-value ratios.

On top of this, the Government should "consider whether [Help to Buy] should be modified or even remains necessary for the full three years of the policy. And as the volume of high-LTV transactions rises, the FPC will need to evaluate if the program is contributing to financial risks."

Like the Commission (and, well, every economist out there), it suggests that Britain needs to build more homes. However, there are no silver bullets in this enterprise, and it acknowledges that all of the above "can only be temporary palliatives to an underlying problem."

The best it can suggest is that the Government reconsider "unnecessary constraints on brownfield and greenfield developments; tax policies that discourage the most economically-efficient use of property; and underdeveloped rental markets with relatively short lease terms."

Some might see the final point as a note of support for the rental reforms recently suggested by Ed Miliband. The problem for politicians of every stripe is that the housing market's structural problems are no secret: but mending them will take many years.

Reforms to the planning system have been desperately needed for decades, but only now are they being implemented; changes to green belt regulations are an economist's dream but a local politician's nightmare – so are unlikely to be implemented before the election, if at all.

However, it is clear that the Chancellor would be foolhardy to ignore the tone of the IMF's report. For there is a growing risk of a housing bubble, and with it the political risk that George Osborne could be remembered not as the austerity Chancellor who got it right, but the man who generated yet another housing market bust.

12.06 | 0 komentar | Read More

White Van Woman 'Held Back By Sexism'

By Clare Fallon, Sky News Reporter

Campaigners are calling for more help to encourage women to enter traditionally male professions, including plumbing, building and plastering.

Despite headlines about the rise of the so-called white van woman and claims a record number of females are working in the trades, industry experts say the proportion is still worryingly low. 

According to Women and Manual Trades, a national organisation which offers support to women, only around 1% of people in skilled trade occupations are female. 

Campaigners say part of the problem is sexist abuse still suffered by some women working in male-dominated professions. 

Hattie Hasan set up Stopcocks, an all-woman plumbing company, after working in the profession for more than two decades. 

She says sexist attitudes are still a problem.

"Unfortunately even after my own 25 years in plumbing things haven't changed much ... girls are still not encouraged to get into the trades.

"Firstly they're not encouraged at school. When I was at school, I just wanted the boys to fancy me, I didn't want to be a plumber and I think that's the pressure for most girls.

Hattie Hassan, who set up her own plumbing firm, calls for more role models

"The second thing is that there are not enough role models. The more female plumbers there are the more there will be because the more people see us the more they'll realise it is a possibility for them.

"There are a lot of things that people say women can't do such as carrying heavy things but health and safety rules mean even if you're a bloke you still can't carry over a certain amount of weight.

"Also I think people seem to forget that women carry babies ... and women do that on a regular basis so I don't think there are barriers where heavy things are concerned."

She added: "The barriers for women are that once women have trained where do they go? The opportunities for getting employment in plumbing is not as widespread as it used to be. It's difficult for lads coming out, but it's even more difficult for girls.

"So really the only route for them is self-employment."

However, there are signs things may improve in the future.

Training centres where construction skills are taught report an increase in the number of women enrolling. 

At Access Training in South Wales women account for one in 10 of those signing up for courses including plastering, plumbing and electrics.

Mary Henderson swapped her admin job for plumbing

Mary Henderson quit her office job to retrain as a plumber, saying she was fed up being patronised by workmen she had hired. 

"I feel like it's a useful thing to have a trade in this competitive, career-driven industry - it just made sense.

"I used to work in admin, from when I left school, and basically I had a lot of trouble with my own bathroom ... I wanted to do something more practical so plumbing just seemed to pop out at me."

She believes there should be more encouragement for women to get into the trades.

"I don't think practical things are pushed at children leaving education  It's not gender specific, it's just something that boys tend to fall into whereas girls are pushed into the first job that comes and then it just rolls into admin.

"I think there should be more focus on school leavers. I think it's a really good thing to have a trade and it should be suggested to students because exams are forced on them and teachers can't afford to have an interest in what they do after that.

Although she is in a minority, Ms Henderson says she is content being a woman in a man's world.

"There is slight banter and it's a little less PC than what you find in an office, but to be honest I find that refreshing rather than threatening."

12.06 | 0 komentar | Read More

Vodafone Blows Whistle On State Snooping

By Tom Cheshire, Technology Correspondent

Security services should not be snooping on people's data just because it is technically possible, Vodafone has warned, in a report that reveals the global extent of government surveillance on the operator's customers.

It called on authorities to submit to "regular scrutiny by an independent authority", and to "amend legislation which enables agencies and authorities to access an operator's communications infrastructure without the knowledge and direct control of the operator".

In some countries, governments have "direct" and "permanent access" to Vodafone's infrastructure - so don't have to make an interception request.

"In our view, it is governments - not communications operators - who hold the primary duty to provide greater transparency on the number of agency and authority demands issued to operators," Vodafone says.

But the company made clear it would continue to comply with the requests, rather than cease its operations in a country: "If we do not comply with a lawful demand for assistance, governments can remove our license to operate, preventing us from providing services to our customers."

The report breaks down lawful intercept requests and communications data request for the 29 countries in which Vodafone operates.

Nine governments already publish this information. The UK government made 2,760 interception requests and 514, 608 communications data requests to all mobile phone operators in 2013.

By comparison, Italy made 139.962 interception requests in total and 605,601 communications requests to Vodafone alone. In the US, Verizon said it received 321,545 requests for customer information. 

Some of the figures are being disclosed by Vodafone for the first time, including those for Spain and Tanzania.

But several countries refused to reveal the number of requests they made, including Egypt, India, Qatar, Romania, South Africa and Turkey.

The report also lays bare just how much communications data - often referred to as metadata - can reveal about a person.

"It is possible to learn a great deal about an individual's movements, interest and relationships from an analysis of metadata … In many countries, agencies and authorities therefore have legal powers to order operators to disclose large volumes of this kind of communications data."

Vodafone said it was publishing the report because "questions have been asked about the role of communications operators such as Vodafone in support of those activities".

12.06 | 0 komentar | Read More

AA Races Towards £4bn Stock Market Listing

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

The AA, Britain's biggest roadside recovery group, is poised to press ahead with a £4bn flotation despite a disappointing stock market debut from Saga, its sister company.

Sky News can reveal that Acromas Holdings, the AA's parent, could announce plans for the listing through a process known as an accelerated initial public offering as soon as Friday.

The deal will involve approximately 10 City institutions acting as cornerstone investors, each of which will agree to acquire a substantial number of shares in the AA.

The fund managers expected to back the flotation, which will value the AA's equity at roughly £1.3bn, include Aviva Investors, Blackrock, JP Morgan Asset Management, Lansdowne Partners and Legal & General Investment Management.

A source said on Thursday that details of the share sale were still being finalised and that there was a chance that the deal could still be aborted.

Bob MacKenzie, a former boss of Green Flag, the car insurance provider, has been lined up to act as the company's new chairman, they added.

Deutsche Bank has been brought in to advise the company, while Cenkos Securities is acting as broker overseeing the recruitment of the major investors.

Acromas is a private equity-backed group which continues to own a majority stake in Saga, the financial services and travel specialist for the over 50s.

Shares in Saga closed up 1.6% on Thursday but have disappointed since listing last month.

Some institutions approached by Cenkos about participating in the AA deal were deterred by the motor insurer's £3bn debt mountain, which they believed was inappropriately high for a public company.

The AA, which generates hundreds of millions of pounds of free cashflow every year, is expected to outline a plan for reducing its borrowings as part of of its listing prospectus.

If the listing goes ahead, the AA could make its own public debut by the end of June, completing a change of ownership for one of the UK's biggest membership organisations.

Acromas has been expected to retain ownership of the AA for some time, given the scale of its borrowings relative to its earnings.

In the third quarter of last year, the AA reported sales of £244m, with earnings up 8.2% to £104m.

It has taken advantage of strong financing markets by launching a £350m bond, the proceeds of which are being used to repay a chunk of Acromas's vast debt-pile.

The AA, which has styled itself as "the fourth emergency service", has four million personal members and nine million business customers, giving it a 40% share of the roadside insurance market.

The accelerated IPO technique was first used in the City more than a decade ago by Collins Stewart, the investment bank which a group of Cenkos executives left to set up.

Like Saga, the AA has turned to new leadership, appointing Chris Jansen, a former British Gas executive, as its new boss.

Acromas is owned by Charterhouse, CVC Capital and Permira, three of the UK's biggest private equity groups. They acquired the AA from Centrica, the owner of British Gas nearly a decade ago, before putting it under the same corporate ownership as Saga.

The AA's principal rival, the RAC, is also racing towards the stock market, with Carlyle, its private equity owner, working on plans for a listing.

An Acromas spokesman declined to comment.

12.06 | 0 komentar | Read More

Queen's Speech: Government's Agenda Set Out

The Queen's Speech has placed a house building drive, tackling pensions and a commitment to EU reform on the agenda for the coalition in its last year.

The speech to parliament put the economic recovery at its centre, opening with a pledge to continue bringing down the deficit and cutting taxes "to increase people's financial security".

David Cameron, Nick Clegg and Ed Miliband listen to the speech

With the threat that the Bank of England will increase the base rate before the General Election, there is also a pledge to keep mortgage and interest rates low and to continue to promote the Help to Buy scheme.

David Cameron had suggested he could amend the scheme after Bank of England Governor Mark Carney warned in an interview with Sky News that rising house prices were the biggest threat to economic recovery in the UK.

The Black Rod knocks on the door of the House of Commons before the speech

In an attempt to tackle the housing shortage, the Government announced plans to give developers powers to push through applications without council approval and allowing the Government to sell off unused land for development.

A new garden city will also be built in the Thames estuary at Ebbsfleet in Kent to tackle the housing shortage.

The Prime Minister and his Deputy Nick Clegg claimed the measures laid out in the Queen's Speech were "unashamedly pro-work, pro-business and pro-aspiration".

The Queen leaves the House of Lords after delivering her speech

Just 11 new bills were introduced by the Queen at the State Opening of Parliament, which will bolster Labour's claims the coalition is now a "zombie government" which has run out of steam. Last year there were 19 new bills.

Mr Cameron hit back at claims there was "not enough" in the speech.

The new carriage carrying Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh

He told the House of Commons: "We're creating new laws on producing shale gas... new laws to help build high speed rail... new laws to reform planning to build more homes... we're outlawing modern slavery; confiscating assets from criminals; protecting people who volunteer; cutting red tape and curbing the abuse of zero-hour contracts.

"This is a packed programme of a busy and radical government."

The moment a page boy collapsed during the speech

Labour leader Ed Miliband said: "We would have a Queen's Speech with legislation which would make work pay, reform our banks, freeze energy bills and build homes again in Britain. A Queen's Speech which signals a new direction for Britain, not one which offers more of the same."

Pension reforms set out in George Osborne's Budget, which would mean pensioners will no longer be forced to buy annuities with their savings, were also included along with a Recall Bill which could see voters given the power to sack MPs guilty of serious misconduct.

Other measures include:

:: 5p charge for plastic bags

:: Powers to allow fracking firms to dig under private property without asking

:: Parents to face jail for emotional cruelty to children in new Cinderella Law

:: Pledge to fight to keep Scotland in the union

:: Limit to excessive redundancy payouts for public sector workers

:: Tougher sentences for people traffickers

:: Free school meals for infants

:: Fines for employers who do not pay the minimum wage

:: £2,000 childcare vouchers for working parents

12.06 | 0 komentar | Read More

Euro Bank Set For Negative Interest Rates

By Ed Conway, Economics Editor

The European Central Bank is expected to become the first major central bank to introduce negative interest rates, as it seeks to fight off the threat of deflation.

The Frankfurt-based institution is widely-anticipated to cut the rate it pays on deposits from high street banks from the current rate of zero to around -0.1%, meaning it would charge them to keep money on deposit.

The move comes amid growing worries about the long-term economic health of the Eurozone.

Although many economists agree its financial system has now passed its crisis phase, there are concerns that it could be heading towards a lengthy period of deflation, marked by falling shop prices and wages.

ECB president Mario Draghi may consider Quantitative Easing

Inflation - the measure of annual price increases across the economy - was running at just 0.5% in May, well below the ECB's 2% target.

In previous speeches, the ECB's president, Mario Draghi, signalled that he would be prepared to take further measures to prevent it dropping down any more.

The ECB would not be the first central bank to experiment with negative interest rates - Sweden and Denmark have attempted similar schemes - but it would be by far the largest.

Other central banks, including the Federal Reserve and the Bank of England, have briefly contemplated such a measure, but have opted against them, for fear of damaging the financial system.

Economists said the argument in favour of negative rates would be to encourage banks to lend out cash to businesses and households rather than hoarding it at the central bank.

However, Marchel Alexandrovich of Jeffries added that negative rates alone may not be enough.

He said: "With the negative deposit rate so heavily discounted already, what may ultimately matter much more tomorrow is whether Draghi goes beyond what is generally expected and 'surprises' the markets.

"And in particular, whether he signals the ECB's readiness to do more and introduce full blown Quantitative Easing."

Thus far, Mr Draghi has stopped short of Bank of England style QE - buying up government bonds with created money - but he has dropped a number of hints in recent months that it might soon be on the menu.

12.06 | 0 komentar | Read More

Balls Wants Head-On Debate With Osborne

By Ian King, Sky News Business Presenter

Shadow chancellor Ed Balls has thrown down the gauntlet to Chancellor George Osborne to meet him head-on in a debate on Sky News.

The challenge came as the combative Mr Balls repeated his call for the Government to pave the way for more homes to be built in Britain.

He pointed out that, although house prices in some parts of the country had only recovered to peak levels seen in 2007, they had risen by 20% in London and parts of the South East during the last year.

Mr Balls said: "It does feel especially in London and the South East, there's a strong housing market that there's price inflation.

"It's fundamentally about supply and demand - if demand is going up but the supply is not keeping pace prices are rising and that can lead to instability of the past.

"If the Government doesn't do its bit to back the supply of housing, the danger is we will see interest rates going up earlier in this cycle more than the country needs and the rest of the country wants."

Mr Osborne visits the construction site for Kent's Ebbsfleet Garden City

The Shadow Chancellor, who accepted that the Chancellor's Help To Buy Scheme had been necessary to help first-time buyers onto the housing ladder, said he was nonetheless still concerned about the upper limit of the scheme - £600,000 - and that it was open to people other than first-time buyers.

He added: "I've asked the Governor of the Bank of England to keep a close eye on this, to make sure the parameters are right, but at the end of the day, it's actually about supply and demand.

"If supply is the problem, which it is, act on it. We need more affordable homes, I'm afraid a few thousand homes (more built) in Ebbsfleet isn't enough."

Mr Balls said the Government should not just leave it to the Bank of England to try and deflate the housing bubble.

Thousands of homes will be built in Ebbsfleet

He went on: "The Government has been really scaling back on supporting new homes…leaving it to Bank of England sort of says to them they'll have to use the main instrument they've got, which is interest rates.

"I think it would be dangerous for the recovery which is still in its early stages at a time when across the country and there's still spare capacity in the economy.

"To start putting interest rates and mortgage rates up now would be risky and it would squeeze the budgets in which people are still struggling - so I think the Chancellor should pull his weight."

Mr Balls also dismissed suggestions that rising consumer confidence weakened his key critique of the Government, that most households are still seeing a fall in living standards, arguing people were seeing the economy getting better but that they were not seeing an improvement in their own finances.

The shadow chancellor added: "Wages are still going up by less than prices. When the Government says the cost of living crisis is over, most people say 'not in the part of the world where we're living'.

"I think at the moment the Government seems to be patting itself on the back even though we haven't caught up to where we were in 2007. I think it's too early to say they've succeeded."

12.07 | 0 komentar | Read More

Pensions Changes At Centre Of Queen's Speech

By Jon Craig, Chief Political Correspondent

Sweeping reforms to boost pensions for millions of people will be the centrepiece of a Queen's Speech outlining new laws for the final year of the Coalition Government.

Changes in George Osborne's Budget will end the requirement for pensioners to buy an annuity to provide a guaranteed income and legislation is also expected on collective workplace pension schemes.

Stung by allegations of a "zombie Parliament" and claims that the coalition has run out of steam, David Cameron and Nick Clegg claim the programme will be "unashamedly pro-work, pro-business and pro-aspiration".

But there are likely to be only around a dozen major Bills, with the bulk of the 2010 Coalition Agreement now enacted and the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats keen to differentiate themselves from each other.

In a coalition bid to rebuild trust with voters after a battering at the polls last month, the Queen's Speech will include a Bill giving voters the power of recall of MPs, with a by-election being triggered if 10% of voters sign a petition.

Another pledge with far-reaching implications for millions will be a 5p charge on plastic bags in supermarkets, pledged by Mr Clegg in his 2013 Liberal Democrat party conference speech.

This will not require primary legislation, because it is already provided for in the 2008 Climate Change Act and therefore will only need the passing of regulations in Parliament to enforce it.

The major Bills expected to feature are:

:: "Tax-free childcare" worth up to £2,000 per child each year, another move championed by the Liberal Democrats

:: Extra legal protection for people carrying out good deeds against liability for health and safety risks

:: A so-called "Cinderella law", outlawing emotional neglect of children by their parents

:: A hugely controversial Bill to authorise fracking, the exploitation of shale gas

:: Regulation of pubs, highlighted by Mr Clegg and Vince Cable in their pub photocall on the eve of the Queen's Speech.

Last year's State Opening of Parliament

In their joint statement, Mr Cameron and Mr Clegg said the speech marks "the next big step in our long-term plan for Britain. Its aim: to secure the recovery for our country".

They added: "Its guiding principle: to back everyone who wants to get on in life.

"We may be two parties, with two different philosophies, but we understand one thing: countries rise when their people rise. So this Queen's Speech is unashamedly pro-work, pro-business and pro-aspiration."

On the pensions legislation, they said: "By no longer forcing people to buy an annuity, we are giving them total control over the money they have put aside over their lifetime and greater financial security in their old age."

And on the coalition's future in the final year before the election, they said: "Four years on, our parties are still governing together and still taking bold steps."

But Labour leader Ed Miliband said: "We would have a Queen's Speech with legislation which would make work pay, reform our banks, freeze energy bills and build homes again in Britain."

12.06 | 0 komentar | Read More

Europe Calls On UK Govt To Increase Taxes

European Union Is 'Too Big And Too Bossy'

Updated: 4:27am UK, Wednesday 28 May 2014

David Cameron has described the European Union as "too big, too bossy and too interfering" as fellow leaders announced they will re-examine its future.

Ahead of a summit in Brussels, the Prime Minister said the EU could not ignore Sunday's poll, which saw many European leaders' support fall away to anti-immigration and eurosceptic parties.

"We need an approach that recognises that Europe should concentrate on what matters, on growth and jobs and not try and do so much," he said.

"We need an approach that recognises that Brussels has got too big, too bossy, too interfering. We need more for nation states. It should be nation states wherever possible and Europe only where necessary."

Speaking later, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy said the EU will re-examine its priorities for the new parliament.

"As the union emerges from the financial crisis it needs an agenda of growth, competitiveness and jobs," he said.

"We need a better functioning monetary union while preserving the union as such."

Mr Cameron also made clear his opposition to the front-runner in line to take the union's top job.

Discussions will focus on finding a replacement for European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso when his term ends in October, and Jean-Claude Juncker is favourite for the job.

In a thinly-veiled swipe, Mr Cameron stressed the importance of securing a candidate focused on openness and flexibility instead of being bound up in the union's past.

Although Mr Cameron cannot formally veto Mr Juncker, it is unlikely the European Council, made up of the EU's 28 national heads of government, would force through a president without unanimous backing.

UKIP leader Nigel Farage earlier claimed there was "nobody more fanatical about building the United States of Europe" than the Luxembourg politician.

He said his candidacy has come "just at the moment that the European electors have made it clear they are going in the wrong direction".

The summit will also focus on the "political earthquake" which saw UKIP top the polls in Britain, the far-right Front National come first in France and the extreme-left Syriza movement take top spot in Greece.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel also lost votes to Alternative For Germany, a party opposed to the euro.

12.06 | 0 komentar | Read More

Cyber Attack 'To Hit In Next Two Weeks'

Computer users are being urged to protect their machines from malware which could allow hackers to steal financial data.

British investigators have been working with the FBI to trace the hackers behind an attack, which they expect to take place in the next fortnight.

Between 500,000 and one million machines have so far been infected worldwide, according to court documents.

Bogachev is said to use the online monikers 'lucky12345' and 'slavik'

US officials have accused a Russian hacker of masterminding the scam - and prosecutors say those involved have already raked in more than $100m (£60m).

The National Crime Agency (NCA) is now warning of a "powerful computer attack".

It is urging people to back up important files and make sure their security software and operating system are up to date.

Two pieces of malware software known as GOZeuS and CryptoLocker are responsible for the alert.

They typically infect a computer via attachments or links in emails.

If a user clicks on GOZeuS, it silently monitors activity and tries to capture information such as bank details.

"(The links or attachments) may look like they have been sent by genuine contacts and may purport to carry invoices, voicemail messages, or any file made to look innocuous," the NCA warned.

"These emails are generated by other victims' computers, who do not realise they are infected, and are used to send mass emails creating more victims."

The Cryptolocker malware is activated if the first attack is not profitable enough.

It locks a user from their files and threatens to delete them unless a "ransom" of several hundred pounds is paid.

Some 234,000 machines were hit by Cryptolocker - bringing in $27m (£16m) in payments - in its first two months, the US Justice Department said.

Computers running Windows software are said to be most vulnerable

More than 15,500 computers in the UK are infected and "many more" are at risk, according to the NCA.

Stewart Garrick, a senior investigator with the NCA, told Sky News the threat was mainly against individuals or businesses running Windows-based computers.

Thirty-year-old Russian Evgeniy Bogachev is the alleged leader of the gang behind the attacks, FBI executive assistant director Robert Anderson told a news conference in Washington DC.

US and other agents seized servers around the world this weekend and freed 300,000 computers from the infection.

"They (the FBI) have disrupted the network and taken control of it," said Sky's Tom Cheshire.

"So when the hackers try to speak to the computer that's affected, that line of communication has been cut off.

"You now have a chance to clean up. The first thing you should do is update your operating system - especially if you're on Windows, then look to scan your computer for viruses and it should be able to find it."

For more information visit www.getsafeonline.org/nca.

12.06 | 0 komentar | Read More

Workplace Pensions Shake-Up 'Could Boost Funds'

Radical changes to workplace pensions are set to be unveiled in the Queen's Speech this week, with supporters claiming the shake-up could boost retirement incomes by thousands of pounds.

Staff will be able to put their money into Dutch-style "collective pensions", which are shared with thousands of other members.

They are regarded by many as a better investment because they are less vulnerable to stock market variations.

The changes, which could be in place as early as 2016, are designed to give better value for pensioners.

Pensions Minister Steve Webb has described the collective schemes, also known as "mega funds", as "some of the best in the world".

Mr Webb told The Sunday Telegraph the key advantage was "pooling risk" of investments performing worse than expected across large numbers of people of different ages, "just like car insurance or the NHS".

The Queen delivers her speech at the State Opening of Parliament in 2013

"It gives people greater certainty and probably better value," he said.

However, critics of the model have warned that pensioners only have a "target" for what they will get in retirement, rather than a guarantee as is the case with a fixed annuity.

Pensioners could in some cases see their incomes fall if the collective fund's investments do not generate the expected profits.

The plan is based on schemes in the Netherlands and Scandanavia.

But some Dutch politicians have recently called for the pensions to be scrapped in favour of British-style individual pensions.

A new bill scrapping tax rules that have stopped pensioners taking more than a quarter of their savings in a cash lump sum will also be included in the Queen's Speech.

Other legislation expected includes:

:: A crackdown on highly paid civil servants and NHS executives getting large redundancy pay-offs before taking similar jobs within a year of leaving their posts.

:: Tax free childcare worth up to £2,000 per child for families where both parents have jobs.

:: A bill to change trespass laws to allow shale gas exploration firms to drill beneath private property without requiring permission from the owner.

:: The Queen's Speech is also expected to contain measures to support further oil and gas developments in the North Sea, and for more major roads to be built.

:: A "Recall Bill" allowing voters to sack their elected MPs, although this has been subject to disagreements inside the coalition.

Legislation for a referendum on Britain's membership of the European Union will not be included, amid opposition from the Liberal Democrats.

David Cameron is instead expected to promise he will use the Parliament Act to overrule the House of Lords and force a bill from a backbench Tory MP into law.

On the eve of setting out its legislative agenda, the coalition has been accused of running out of steam less than a year before the general election.

Labour has released figures claiming the coalition has become a "zombie government", with MPs debating fewer bills last year than at any time since 1950.

Treasury Minister Nicky Morgan rejected this, telling the Murnaghan programme the Queen's Speech will prove the government is "full of ideas".

12.06 | 0 komentar | Read More

Ian King Presents Sky News' New Business Show

By Ian King, Business Presenter

Business news should be for everyone. It affects everyone, after all, not just those who read the business pages avidly.

So I hope Ian King Live will demystify business, strip away the jargon and make the worlds of business, economics and markets accessible and understandable to as wide an audience as possible.

In the process, we will aim to bring Sky News viewers interviews with some of the biggest names in business, both from Britain and the rest of the world.

Ian King will present the show from The Gherkin, Monday to Thursday

There will be packages and graphics that will help clearly explain often complex subjects and the breaking news stories of the day, plus regular appearances from the unrivalled team of specialists in the Sky News team, such as Mark Kleinman, Ed Conway and Poppy Trowbridge.

Viewers will also get regular updates from Wall Street and business centres around the world.

And with the general election now less than a year away and the economy, jobs, the cost of living and the deficit all set to be key debating points, viewers can also expect plenty of interviews with the key voices in the campaign - as well as hearing from leading City experts who can help sort fact from fiction.

It all starts this Monday, 6.30pm, only on Sky News.

:: You can follow the programme on Twitter @SkyIanKingLive

12.06 | 0 komentar | Read More

Retailers' Credit Union To Defy Payday Lenders

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

Some of Britain's biggest high street names, including New Look and Next, are forming a credit union that will offer staff an alternative to the sky-high interest rates charged by payday lenders.

Sky News has learnt that RetailCure, which has also received backing from entrepreneurs such as Rymans owner Theo Paphitis, is drawing up plans to launch later this year.

The new venture has received start-up funding of £1m and will eventually be accessible to the 4.8 million people who work directly in retail or in related sectors of the economy, half of whom earn less than £8 an hour.

It will be chaired by John Lovering, a veteran retailer who has led buyouts of companies including Debenhams, Homebase and Somerfield.

Mr Lovering is also chairman of the Retail Trust, an industry charity which has been working on plans for the new credit union for some time.

Speaking to Sky News, he said: "The industry feels that we have to find a way of providing a source of cheap, reliable credit for our people.

"The three million in retail and the nearly five million in the wider industry do have a need for low-cost, value-for-money, short-term borrowing facilities, and that's what we as an industry are trying to provide."

Booker and Matalan have also agreed to support RetailCure, while John Lewis Partnership and Wm Morrison have been approached and are expected to provide financial assistance.

The launch of RetailCure comes amid a still-intense political debate about the business model employed by payday lenders, which charge interest rates that work out at more than 5,000% on an annual basis.

The high street chains' credit union will charge interest on a sliding scale from roughly 7% to nearly 28% depending upon the borrower's credit history.

Mr Lovering expects the average loan request to be lower than £5,000, and believes that RetailCure could ultimately become Britain's biggest credit union.

"We think we can build a loan-book of £50m and attract 50,000 members relatively quickly," he said.

Assuming it receives regulatory approval, savers who deposit funds with RetailCure will be protected by the same Government guarantee as that which covers high street banks.

Labour MP Stella Creasy, who has campaigned against payday loans, told Sky News: "Anything that helps people access affordable credit as opposed to some of the legal loan sharks you see on your high streets - the payday lenders and the logbook loan companies - is a welcome move."

Earlier this week, the Church of England unveiled a pilot scheme through which a new credit union network will be piloted in three of its dioceses.

That project is being led by Sir Hector Sants, the former boss of the City watchdog, which since April has had oversight of consumer credit providers such as payday lenders.

Last year, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Justin Welby, said he had told the then boss of Wonga that he wanted to "compete (the company) out of existence".

The remarks sparked acute embarrassment for the Archbishop, however, when it emerged that the Church of England's pension fund was among the investors in one of Wonga's financial backers.

In its annual report this week, the Church Commissioners said they had yet to dispose of the holding because doing so would crystallise a significant loss for its pension fund.

Some industry stakeholders were sceptical about the prospects for RetailCure.

Russell Hamblin-Boone, chief executive of the Consumer Finance Association, which represents short-term lenders, said greater choice was welcome but warned that it faced significant uncertainties.

"What this body will have to do is make sure it complies with very stringent regulations that are applied to financial services.

"I would ask questions around what is going to be the collection policy, what happens if somebody leaves the retailers business still owing a debt, how are you going to collect that?"

RetailCure hopes to launch formally in November.

12.06 | 0 komentar | Read More

Spammer To Pay Damages After Court Victory

John Lewis has been ordered to pay damages for sending 'spam' emails in a privacy ruling that could open the floodgates for harassed consumers.

Roddy Mansfield, who is a producer for Sky News, brought the case under EU legislation that prohibits businesses from sending marketing emails without consent.

At a county-court hearing a judge ruled the company acted unlawfully as it could not prove Mr Mansfield had agreed to receive the emails or was one of their customers.

It is the third time Mr Mansfield has secured damages for receiving unsolicited emails but the first time an individual has won damages following a ruling on the legislation.

Spam is named after a Monty Python sketch where it is served with each meal

Previous spam cases won by default include Gordon Dick who secured £1,300 for a single email from Transcom Internet Services and Steve Higgins who was awarded £810 from a home-shopping firm.

Mr Mansfield began receiving the promotional emails after registering his details with John Lewis' website which opted-him-in for marketing using a pre-ticked consent box.

But an EU law drafted in 2003 makes it an offence to send unsolicited emails unless a customer is aware they have been opted-in.

Mr Mansfield issued proceedings under the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations arguing it was for John Lewis to prove he consented and after a short hearing the judge ruled in his favour.

Mr Mansfield said: "John Lewis argued that because I had not opted-out of receiving their emails, I had automatically opted-in.

"But an opportunity to opt-out that is not taken is simply that. It does not convert to automatic consent under the law and companies risk enforcement action if they use pre-ticked boxes.

Almost 100 billion spam emails are sent every day

"John Lewis' lawyers then argued that because I browsed their website I had "negotiated" with them for a sale and a business relationship existed between us which would allow them to email me. The judge threw that out too."

Some 100 billion spam emails are sent to consumers every day according to Cyren's Internet Threats Trends report for 2013.

Richard Cox, who is head of anti-spam organisation Spamhaus, said: "As the Information Commissioner cannot take action on individual breaches of the law, the only way to stop this annoying type of spam is for individuals to take action themselves.

"Only the individual in each case will know whether they consented to their details being harvested for this type of activity. Hopefully it will be a warning to other UK companies not to abuse their customers' personal data."

A spokesperson for John Lewis said the case consisted of a "very specific set of circumstances" and while they disagreed with the judge's decision they would abide by the ruling.

The company said in a statement: "Mr Mansfield voluntarily gave us his email address, set up an account online and chose not to opt-out of marketing communications when that option was available to him.

"We listen carefully to what our customers tell us about how and when we communicate with them and endeavour to do so in a manner that is convenient to them.

"We're sorry Mr Mansfield was inconvenienced by our emails."

12.06 | 0 komentar | Read More