BAE Gets US Deal For 'Anti-Insurgent' Missile

UK defence giant BAE Systems has been chosen to further develop its 'anti-insurgent' missile system for the US military.

The Naval Air Systems Command said it intends to enter into sole source negotiations with the US subsidiary of the British firm to develop the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System II (APKWS II).

The project expands integration into the arsenal used on aircraft, including the A-10 'Warthog'.

The existing semi-active laser-guided APKWS system is designed as a cheaper alternative to the Hellfire missile, at around a third of the cost - $30,000 (£17,000).

The Hellfire has become renowned for use on Predator and Reaper drones and was originally designed to target armoured vehicles.

The APKWS is designed to destroy lightly armoured and "soft" vehicles, moving or stationary, in urban locations.

It can be armed with high explosives or flechettes - steel darts - in the warhead.

Earlier this year trials were carried out firing the missile from the A-10 and the new missiles hit within inches of their target.

The MkI version has been used in Afghanistan against insurgents (pic: USMC)

It is based on a 2.75 in (70mm) rocket with guidance 'canard' lead fins, and the new version has improved laser control for accurate targeting.

The original development plan for the precision weapon began in 2002 and the first version has been in full production for three years and used in war zones such as Afghanistan.

It has been fired from more than a dozen aircraft types and been sold to US allies including Jordan, for use on its airborne gunships.

BAE Systems programme manager Joe Tiano told Sky News: "Our APKWS laser-guided rocket has a long history of success in theatre and in testing on multiple platforms including the A-10, and we look forward to exploring additional opportunities for integration on the A-10."

The sole source award to BAE Systems sees a continuation of its rehabilitation in the eyes of US authorities.

In 2010 it pleaded guilty in a US court to making false statements over foreign corruption, along with arms export and trafficking violations.

It was fined $400m (£230m), which at the time was one of the largest criminal fines ever levied in the US against a company for business-related violations.

12.07 | 0 komentar | Read More

Trainline Gets Bank On Board For £400m Float

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

The owner of Britain's biggest online rail booking operation is accelerating towards a debut on the stock market after hiring bankers to prepare a £400m flotation.

Sky News understands that Exponent, a private equity firm, has appointed Morgan Stanley to oversee a potential listing, which would come in spite of disappointment over the performance of technology listings in London so far this year.

Companies including AO World, a digital channel for white goods sales, and Just Eat, an online takeaway service, attracted strong demand ahead of their listings but both have traded down since going public.

Exponent has held a controlling stake in Trainline since 2006.

The timing of a flotation is uncertain and an outright sale to another investor is a possibility, sources said.

Trainline's recent performance has been strong, and Exponent is understood to believe it possesses a sufficiently visible growth profile to reassure prospective investors.

It made around £9m in profit in the year to March 2013, despite having to pay £2m in fees to advisers who led an unsuccessful sale process.

The business, which handles ticket sales for the majority of UK rail operating companies, added two million customers in the year to March and has seen its digital app downloaded more than six million times since its launch.

The company also said that its site was the most popular travel app on iPhone and Android devices.

In an attempt to drive the shift to mobile usage of its site, Trainline reshuffled its top management earlier this month, recruiting Clare Gilmartin, a former eBay manager, as its new chief executive.

Murray Hennessy became deputy chairman following Ms Gilmartin's appointment.

Established in 1999, Trainline was bought by Exponent for about £160m from a consortium which included Virgin, Stagecoach and National Express.

A previous attempt to sell the business in 2012 collapsed when bidders including Priceline.com, the US-based bookings site, and a Canadian pension fund declined to meet the owner's asking price.

Exponent subsequently paid itself a multimillion pound dividend from Trainline as part of a £190m refinancing.

The company faced a sudden loss of revenue in 2012 when the Department for Transport (DfT) decided to strip Virgin Trains of the West Coast mainline franchise and award it to FirstGroup.

However, that decision was overturned after embarrassing flaws in the bidding process were exposed, triggering an overhaul of the entire rail franchising system.

Last week, Virgin won a further two-year extension to run the line, one of the UK's most lucrative, prompting Sir Richard Branson to pledge to bid again for the next licence period.

As well as its own website, Trainline's runs digital sales operations for the majority of train operating companies and has expanded overseas, serving major companies and travel agents as clients.

Exponent declined to comment.

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Heathrow Sorry For T5 Baggage Fiasco

By Siobhan Robbins, Sky Reporter

Bosses at Heathrow have said they cannot confirm when passengers still waiting for bags, stranded after a computer glitch, will receive them.

The issues began at Terminal 5 last week and affected thousands of departing British Airways passengers.

Some had to fly without their luggage after the problems meant bags had to be manually processed, which takes a lot longer.

Speaking to Sky News on his first day as chief executive of Heathrow, John Holland-Kaye apologised to customers and said the issues had now been resolved.

However, he could not confirm when customers would receive their belongings, saying: "I can't give an exact time scale for that, we should have put all of the bags into the system here at Heathrow today that are remaining.

Pic: Navjot Gill

"It will then take a few days for British Airways to manage the process of getting them back into the hands of passengers.

"The best advice would be to contact British Airways to see how we can best do that.

"I would like apologise once again to any passengers who have been affected by this.

"We need to do better and as chief executive, starting today, it's my determination we should do".

Coleen Rooney was among those affected by the IT issues, which lasted from June 26 to 29.

The wife of England and Manchester United footballer Wayne took to Twitter to vent her frustration, writing: "Feel sick ... just received my 4 cases 2 days late from BA Heathrow to Las Vegas. Opened them all and they have been completely ransacked."

British Airways said it had been in touch with Mrs Rooney to apologise and confirmed it had launched an investigation.

In a statement regarding the delays, a spokesperson from the airline said: "We have been working round the clock to reunite customers with their bags since the airport's baggage system in Terminal 5 first started experiencing IT faults last Thursday morning."

12.06 | 0 komentar | Read More

Sainsbury's Energy Hit By Mis-Selling Scandal

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

British Gas is being forced to compensate thousands of customers for providing inaccurate savings estimates in the latest mis-selling episode to blight the utility sector.

Sky News has learnt that the UK's biggest energy provider, which is part of the FTSE-100 group Centrica, is paying out around £500,000 to approximately 4,300 people who signed up to Sainsbury's Energy and British Gas tariffs between February 2011 and March 2013.

Insiders said on Tuesday that British Gas had overstated the potential savings for consumers by providing inaccurate quotes for the following year's gas and electricity bills.

Details of the compensation package are understood to have been agreed with Ofgem, the industry regulator, and are expected to be confirmed in a public statement in the coming days.

A source said that British Gas had notified Ofgem of the mistake itself, and that the watchdog was satisfied with the proposed remedy, which has seen customers' accounts credited with average repayments of around £130.

The news comes days after the gas and electricity sector was referred by Ofgem to the Competition and Markets Authority for a full investigation.

The inquiry, which came in the wake of intense pressure from Ed Davey, the energy and climate change secretary, and Ed Miliband, the Labour leader, is unlikely to be completed until towards the end of next year.

British Gas was in April for blocking business customers from switching

Mr Miliband has sought to depict rising household energy bills as a central theme of the "cost of living crisis" that is likely to form the defining narrative of Labour's General Election campaign.

Sainsbury's Energy has operated in partnership with British Gas for several years, and has been in trouble with regulators before.

In 2012, dozens of British Gas employees were suspended for reportedly trying to persuade Sainsbury's customers to sign up to more expensive energy tariffs through an aggressive sales push inside its stores.

The supermarket chain ceased selling energy policies through British Gas staff in its stores last year, but retains a relationship with the Centrica subsidiary.

The latest payout comes after a series of fines and compensation packages imposed upon the major utilities.

In April, British Gas was fined £5.6m for unfairly blocking business customers from switching to rivals.

Npower, EDF Energy and Scottish Power, which have German, French and Spanish owners respectively, have also been hit by stiff penalties for mis-selling or misleading customers.

British Gas is also expected to face a record fine from Ofgem for failing to meet targets set under a household insulation scheme called Cert, which was funded from levies on consumers' bills.

Sources said that that penalty, which may not be finalised for several months, could run to tens of millions of pounds.

EnergyUK, the industry lobbying group, has responded to the string of scandals by pledging to reduce the time it takes for customers to switch providers.

Ofgem said, however, that growing consumer mistrust of the Big Six gas and electricity providers was a factor in its decision to refer the industry for a full competition probe.

British Gas, Sainsbury's and Ofgem all declined to comment on Tuesday.

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GM Reveals Pay Out Plan Amid Fresh Recalls

General Motors has recalled 7.6 million more cars just as the company's compensation attorney revealed that he is prepared to pay billions to victims of car crashes linked to faulty ignition switches.

Kenneth Feinberg said on Monday that GM has placed no limit on the total amount he can pay to injured people or relatives of those killed.

The Detroit-based company says 13 deaths have been linked to a defective switch installed in some of its small car models.

Relatives of crash victims attended Mr Feinberg's news conference

But trial lawyers and lawmakers say claims of wrongful death and injury could total in the hundreds.

Mr Feinberg has been tasked with determining how much each victim will get.

He said: "GM has basically said whatever it costs to pay any eligible claims under the protocol they will pay it. There is no ceiling."

His announcement came just hours ahead of GM issuing fresh recalls for a least 7.6 million vehicles over the faulty ignition switches.

Crash victim relatives sit behind Ms Barra during a hearing on Capitol Hill

The automaker had already recalled some 2.6 million small cars since February.

US lawmakers accused GM of a potential criminal cover-up after it was revealed that the company knew of problems with the ignition switches for more than a decade before recalls were announced.

An internal review ordered by CEO Mary Barra, who took over the company in January, found a "pattern of incompetence and neglect" in the company's handling of the recalls.

Fifteen employees, including senior legal and engineering executives, were dismissed over the failure to disclose the defects.

GM's compensation plan is aimed at limiting its legal liabilities, control the damage to its image and eventually move beyond the crisis.

A deadly Chevy Cobalt crash in 2006 could be linked to the faulty switch

The company said in a statement that Mr Feinberg's plan shows it is taking responsibility for what happened to victims "by treating them with compassion, decency and fairness".

People filing claims will have to prove that the switches caused the crashes, and once their claim is settled, they forfeit their right to sue GM.

Claims must be submitted no later than December 31.

Mr Feinberg said he will not consider whether those injured in crashes contributed to the cause by drinking alcohol, speeding, not wearing seat belts or other behaviour.

He said: "We have no interest in evaluating any alleged contributory negligence on the part of the driver."

Laura Christian, the mother of an accident victim who attended the news conference, said she had evidence that 165 people have died in accidents caused by the ignition switch problem.

Mr Feinberg responded that he would "be glad to consider anything you have".

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BNP Paribas Fined $8bn For Sanctions Busting

French bank BNP Paribas has agreed to pay a fine of $8.83bn (£5.16bn) after pleading guilty to sanction-busting charges in a New York court.

According to prosecutors, the bank evaded sanctions imposed by the US by facilitating transactions involving Sudan, Cuba, and Iran between 2004 and 2012.

The fine is almost as much as the bank's full-year pre-tax income of $11.2bn (£6.6bn).

BNP - France's biggest bank - is also likely to receive a year-long suspension from making dollar payments on behalf of clients in some businesses; an untested and potentially severe penalty.

The New York State Department of Financial Service proposed the ban as one of the conditions for not revoking the bank's licence to operate in New York.

US authorities have been examining whether BNP Paribas evaded sanctions by stripping identifying information from wire transfers so they could pass through the financial system unnoticed.

The bank evaded sanctions banning transactions with Sudan, Cuba and Iran

"BNP Paribas went to elaborate lengths to conceal prohibited transactions, cover its tracks and deceive US authorities," Attorney General Eric Holder said.

"These actions represent a series breach of US law."

 Assistant District Attorney Ted Starishevsky: "This conduct, this conspiracy was known and condoned at the highest levels of BNP."

Lawyers for BNP briefly appeared in court and pleaded guilty to one count of falsifying business records and one count of conspiracy.

French President Francois Hollande appealed directly to US President Barack Obama to demand that any penalties were fair and proportionate, however Mr Obama said it was a matter for the courts.

The bank is expected to be given six months to pay up, to allow it to implement restructure plans which could include lowering its dividend and raising funds by selling billions of euros of bonds next week, according to reports.

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Rates 'May Return To Pre-Recession Levels'

Homeowners should expect interest rates to return to their pre-recession levels within a decade, the Deputy Governor of the Bank of England has warned.

Last week the Bank's Governor Mark Carney suggested that even once borrowing costs rise, the "new normal" for them to settle at would be around 2.5% - significantly lower than the long-term average of 4-5%.

But in an exclusive interview with Sky News Sir Charlie Bean, the Bank's longest-serving senior policy maker, said that this lower rate was only caused by a range of temporary factors.

Sir Charlie said that in the "long term", meaning beyond five or ten years, it could easily rise again towards 5% - the level traditionally considered "neutral".

"It might be reasonable to think that in that long term you would go back to 5% but it's probably quite a long way down the road," he said.

Sir Charlie's comments will be welcomed by savers who have suffered ever since the Bank lowered interest rates to just 0.5% five years ago.

However, they may also alarm millions of mortgage holders who may struggle to make their repayments.

The deputy governor, whose term comes to an end on Monday, also said that markets' expectations that the first increase in interest rates would come at the turn of the year seemed "reasonable".

He added: "The market has rates going up to 2.5% over the next three years. That seems like broadly sensible judgement."

Sir Charlie also admitted that in the run up to the crisis he, along with other economists, was "not sufficiently cognisant of the risks building up in the financial system".

However, he said that he was leaving the Bank in safe hands, and the economy far more resilient than when he arrived in 2000.

12.07 | 0 komentar | Read More

Parcelforce Starts Seven-Day Delivery Service

Parcelforce, the express parcels business of Royal Mail, will today become the first national parcels carrier in Britain to deliver on Sundays.

The business said it anticipates the new service will be of particular benefit to online shoppers.

Among the first retailers to sign up is the department store Fortnum and Mason.

Iain Anderson, director of communications agency Cicero Group, said the move was about Royal Mail "sharpening up its act".

He told Sky News: "This is all about parcels not letters and what Royal Mail really see as an opportunity to hold onto market share.

"There is a lot of competition and seven-day trading is about making sure they maintain and, if they can, grow their market share.

"The significance of this is that by 2017 the vast majority of revenues and profits are going to be coming from parcels.

"This is all about making sure they can continue that trajectory because the letters business, for all mail providers with the growth of email, is in long-term decline."

The Communication Workers Union said it had reached an agreement that Sunday working would be voluntary, while negotiations will be held on new shift patterns.

National officer Terry Pullinger said: "Talks with Parcelforce management established a very important principle as far as employment security is concerned and we are delighted that we have had an assurance that permanent employees will be used to deliver this new exciting innovation to customers."

12.07 | 0 komentar | Read More

Parcelforce Starts Seven-Day Delivery Service

Parcelforce, the express parcels business of Royal Mail, will today become the first national parcels carrier in Britain to deliver on Sundays.

The business said it anticipates the new service will be of particular benefit to online shoppers.

Among the first retailers to sign up is the department store Fortnum and Mason.

Iain Anderson, director of communications agency Cicero Group, said the move was about Royal Mail "sharpening up its act".

He told Sky News: "This is all about parcels not letters and what Royal Mail really see as an opportunity to hold onto market share.

"There is a lot of competition and seven-day trading is about making sure they maintain and, if they can, grow their market share.

"The significance of this is that by 2017 the vast majority of revenues and profits are going to be coming from parcels.

"This is all about making sure they can continue that trajectory because the letters business, for all mail providers with the growth of email, is in long-term decline."

The Communication Workers Union said it had reached an agreement that Sunday working would be voluntary, while negotiations will be held on new shift patterns.

National officer Terry Pullinger said: "Talks with Parcelforce management established a very important principle as far as employment security is concerned and we are delighted that we have had an assurance that permanent employees will be used to deliver this new exciting innovation to customers."

12.06 | 0 komentar | Read More

Rates 'May Return To Pre-Recession Levels'

Homeowners should expect interest rates to return to their pre-recession levels within a decade, the Deputy Governor of the Bank of England has warned.

Last week the Bank's Governor Mark Carney suggested that even once borrowing costs rise, the "new normal" for them to settle at would be around 2.5% - significantly lower than the long-term average of 4-5%.

But in an exclusive interview with Sky News Sir Charlie Bean, the Bank's longest-serving senior policy maker, said that this lower rate was only caused by a range of temporary factors.

Sir Charlie said that in the "long term", meaning beyond five or ten years, it could easily rise again towards 5% - the level traditionally considered "neutral".

"It might be reasonable to think that in that long term you would go back to 5% but it's probably quite a long way down the road," he said.

Sir Charlie's comments will be welcomed by savers who have suffered ever since the Bank lowered interest rates to just 0.5% five years ago.

However, they may also alarm millions of mortgage holders who may struggle to make their repayments.

The deputy governor, whose term comes to an end on Monday, also said that markets' expectations that the first increase in interest rates would come at the turn of the year seemed "reasonable".

He added: "The market has rates going up to 2.5% over the next three years. That seems like broadly sensible judgement."

Sir Charlie also admitted that in the run up to the crisis he, along with other economists, was "not sufficiently cognisant of the risks building up in the financial system".

However, he said that he was leaving the Bank in safe hands, and the economy far more resilient than when he arrived in 2000.

:: Watch the full interview with Sir Charlie Bean on the Murnaghan programme from 10am on Sunday.

12.06 | 0 komentar | Read More