VIDEO: 'Absurd' to blame China for US woes

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3 October 2011 Last updated at 01:53 GMT Help

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VIDEO: The future for in-flight movies

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Keith Wallace reports on how technology could bring about major changes to in-flight entertainment in the skies.

Airlines are looking at options to link your phone or laptop to the aircraft's entertainment system or the internet and touch-screen ordering for your drinks and snacks on board.

Get in touch with Fast Track via e-mail or Facebook.

Watch Fast Track on the BBC World News channel on Saturdays at 0430, 1230 and 1930 GMT or Sundays at 1930 GMT.

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Growing trade ties between Indian and Pakistan

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2 October 2011 Last updated at 16:04 GMT By Shahzeb Jillani BBC News Pakistan's commerce minister (right) took a large delegation with him Business leaders from India and Pakistan say there's new optimism about the efforts their governments are making to improve trade ties. But critics warn that overcoming decades of mistrust may not be that easy.

For the first time in 35 years, a Pakistani commerce minister led a business delegation to India last week. The entourage included nearly 80 leading industrialists, traders and high-ranking officials.

Peace talks between the two nuclear-armed neighbours broke down in 2008 after the attacks in the Indian city of Mumbai, which India blamed on Pakistan-based militants.

Nearly three years on, as if to emphasize a sense of normalcy, the Pakistani Commerce Minister, Makhdoom Amin Fahim, was hosted at the city's iconic Taj Mahal Hotel - which was one of the main targets of the 2008 attacks.

There, leading Pakistani traders got a chance to mingle with their equally eager-for-business Indian counterparts.

Between them, they spoke not just of the profits their individual businesses could make if their governments removed the long standing hurdles in their way. But also of how much the people of their two countries, and indeed the wider region, stand to benefit from freer movement of goods, money and commodities.

Win-win situation Continue reading the main story

The only way I see realization of trade potential between our two countries is for India to remove its non-tariff trade barriers and for Pakistan to reciprocate by granting the MFN status to India”

End Quote Hasan Khan Former advisor to Pakistan's Ministry of Finance Vijay Kalantri, president of All India Association of Industries, said traders on both sides feel business between India and Pakistan is a win-win situation for everyone.

"Why are Indians and Pakistanis forced to trade unofficially via third countries like Dubai or Sri Lanka?" he tells the BBC from Mumbai.

"All we are asking is, let there be direct business-to-business contact between us."

After the talks in Delhi, ministers from the two sides announced their agreement to boost their annual bilateral trade from current $2.7bn (￡1.7bn) to $6bn by 2015.

They also pledged to ease business travel and promote bilateral trade through the land route.

For Pakistan, a significant announcement was a pledge by India to drop its opposition to the European Union's plan to grant Pakistan tariff waiver on select commodities to help it recover from the devastation of 2010 floods.

There was hope that Pakistan might reciprocate and grant India the Most Favoured Nation status (India granted Pakistan MFN status way back in the 1990s).

Even though no such announcement came, Pakistan committed itself to a road map to implement preferential trade ties with India, as prescribed under the South Asia Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA).

Trade barriers

There are a number of explanations why Pakistan has so far withheld the MFN status from India.

At present there are a number of barriers to prevent trade between Indian and Pakistan

First is political. Pakistani leaders have often linked it to the resolution of the core issue of Kashmir.

It's a stance which has long been propagated for mainly domestic consumption.

But there is a sense in Pakistan that while the country should continue to push for a negotiated settlement of the Kashmir issue, trade and commerce should not be held hostage to resolution of political disputes.

The second is protectionism. For years, domestic industry in Pakistan has feared it would be swamped by imports from India. But even there, the mood appears to have shifted.

Senator Haji Ghulam Ali, president of Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce and Industry, says there's a consensus that Pakistan should open up to Indian business.

"Everyone now recognizes it will be beneficial for both sides. It's just a matter of time before it's done," he tells the BBC from Delhi.

Business leaders say that less trade barriers would benefit firms in both countries

However, the last, and more plausible, obstacle is the issue of non-tariff barriers.

"In my experience, India has one of the most restrictive trade regimes in the region," asserts Dr Ashfaq Hasan Khan, a former advisor to Pakistan's Ministry of Finance. His view matters, given has decades of dealings with South Asian governments on trade liberalization.

He explains that despite granting Pakistan the MFN status, India has a variety of non-tariff barriers in place - such as, stringent certification codes, customs rules, security clearances and movement restrictions - which make it virtually impossible for Pakistani traders to do business in India.

"The only way I see realization of trade potential between our two countries is for India to remove its non-tariff trade barriers and for Pakistan to reciprocate by granting the MFN status to India," says Mr Khan.

He adds: "Unless there's political will to do that, everything else is just talk and photo-op."

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New £50 note set for 2 November

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30 September 2011 Last updated at 15:24 GMT Boulton (left) and Watt were two key figures in the Industrial Revolution The Bank of England has announced that the new-style ￡50 note will be introduced on 2 November.

The design of the new note was revealed in 2009 and features entrepreneur Matthew Boulton and engineer James Watt, who pioneered the use of steam engines in textile manufacturing.

The Bank says the note will have a range of enhanced security features.

It will be the first time that two portraits will appear together on the reverse of one its banknotes.

The Boulton and Watt note will initially be circulated in tandem with the current ￡50 note featuring Sir John Houblon, the first governor of the Bank of England.

The Houblon note will eventually be withdrawn. The Bank will announce a withdrawal date in due course.

The design has seldom changed since it was first introduced in 1725. A white ￡50 was in use for more than 200 years until 1943.

There are 210 million ￡50 notes in circulation, valued at ￡10.5bn. That is 84% higher than 7 years ago.

The ￡20 is the most common Bank of England note in circulation, with 1.55 billion notes in circulation worth ￡31bn.

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US factory orders drop slightly

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4 October 2011 Last updated at 15:08 GMT Activity remained subdued at US factories in the summer New orders at US factories declined slightly, adding to concerns over the health of the world's largest economy.

The Commerce Department said orders for manufactured goods fell 0.2% in August, after rising a downwardly revised 2.1% in July.

Economists had expected orders to be unchanged.

But orders for capital goods - expensive items such as computers and communications equipment - rose 0.9%, the second gain in three months.

Sluggish growth in the US economy earlier this year has not been sufficient to reduce high levels of unemployment.

The economic recovery is "close to faltering", Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said on Tuesday.

On Monday, the ISM Manufacturing Index unexpectedly rose in September, beating expectations that the index would remain unchanged.

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Kodak denies any bankruptcy plans

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2 October 2011 Last updated at 10:09 GMT Kodak is one of the best-known and most iconic brands in photography Eastman Kodak has said it has "no intention of filing for bankruptcy".

The struggling US camera and printing group's comments came after it confirmed it had hired a law firm well-known for handling bankruptcy protection cases, Jones Day.

Kodak said it was "not unusual for a company in transformation to explore all options".

Shares in the firm fell 54% on Friday as fears persist about its future. It has not made a profit since 2007.

Kodak, synonymous with film photography for more than 100 years, has struggled to adapt to the digital age.

Last week it announced plans to borrow $160m (￡103m) for "general corporate purposes".

Kodak is now continuing to explore a sale of its digital imaging patents, worth an estimated $2bn.

Mark Kaufman, an analyst at Rafferty Capital Markets, said: "I don't believe bankruptcy is inevitable.

"This is a pretty valuable portfolio, they should get a good price.

"They need to get this [sale] out of the way. They need to sell this portfolio, raise some type of cash."

The company currently has a market value of $210m. This compares with $31bn at its height in February 1997.

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Sharp rise in eurozone inflation

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30 September 2011 Last updated at 11:18 GMT Continue reading the main story Last Updated at 03:49 GMT

Market indexCurrent valueTrendVariation% variationThe eurozone inflation rate increased to 3% in September, up from 2.5% in August, according to the first estimate from the EU statistics agency.

No breakdown was given, but Eurostat said its initial forecasts were usually "reliable".

Separate figures also released by Eurostat showed the eurozone unemployment rate unchanged at 10% in August from the previous month.

The number of people unemployed fell by 38,000 compared with July.

The unemployment rate in Spain, the highest in Europe, rose slightly to 21.2%, with youth unemployment hitting 46.2%.

However, the jobless rate for those under 25 in the eurozone as a whole fell slightly, to 20.4%.

Falling shares

Analysts, who had expected a small rise in inflation, pointed to technical changes in the way price rises are calculated as a contributory factor in the sharp increase.

Continue reading the main story Andrew Walker Economics correspondent, BBC World Service

This rise in the inflation rate makes the situation even more complicated for the European Central Bank.

The ECB has been widely criticised for raising interest rates earlier this year, as several eurozone countries are struggling with government debt crises and economic growth that is either weak or completely stalled.

The ECB has an inflation target of close to but below 2%. So the increased rate of price rises will make the Bank even more cautious about making interest rate cuts.

In addition, some of the ideas being discussed for responding to the eurozone crisis involve a wider role for the European Central Bank which could be characterised as, in effect, "printing money". As this could be inflationary, the latest data on price rises underlines the potential risk of such a move.

"It's not a nice number, but I wouldn't panic that the high inflation which some have warned about for years is finally here," said Martin Van Vliet at ING.

"We will see inflation declining over the next months, staying above 2.5% but next year, with stable oil and food prices, we will fall to lower levels."

The European Central Bank target for inflation is 2%, and the bank raised interest rates in July from 1.25% to 1.5% in order to combat rising prices.

However, the continuing debt crisis makes further rate rises in the coming months unlikely, analysts say.

With confidence in the outlook for economic growth in the eurozone fragile, policymakers are unlikely to risk raising rates, they say.

Equally, however, sharply rising prices make a cut in interest rates less likely.

This put further downward pressure on markets that fell sharply in early trading.

Germany's Dax index was down 2.5%, with France's Cac 40 and the UK's FTSE 100 sliding about 1.5%.

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Apple unveils refreshed iPhone 4S

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4 October 2011 Last updated at 23:38 GMT Rory Cellan-Jones looks at Apple's new iPhone 4S

Apple has unveiled the latest iteration in its iPhone range, but there was no sign of the widely rumoured iPhone 5.

The iPhone 4S, as the model will be known, boasts an improved camera and significantly extended battery life.

It will run the latest iOS5 operating system, which is set for release on 12 October.

The event was the first major announcement for new boss Tim Cook who took over from Steve Jobs in August.

The iPhone 4S, which will go on sale on 14 October, will be available in 16GB, 32GB and 64GB models - in both black and white.

It has the same look and feel as the existing iPhone 4 which was launched 15 months ago.

However, Apple said that updates to iOS meant the phone would boast some "200 new features".

Continue reading the main story Shares in Apple fell by almost 5% within minutes of the eagerly anticipated launch, with analysts saying that investors and Apple fans had expected the latest version to be a more radical improvement over its predecessor.

However, the company's shares later regained most of their losses to close down just 0.6%, albeit underperforming the NASDAQ index as a whole.

Voice control

Among the additions is an "intelligent assistant" that allows users to ask questions aloud and receive detailed answers back.

Siri, which began life as a third-party app, was purchased by Apple in 2010 but has yet to appear within its software.

Luke Peters, editor of gadget magazine T3, said that the software announcements would do just enough to keep Apple fans interested in the face of strong challenges from rival smartphone manufacturers.

Continue reading the main story

You could sense a great wave of disappointment rolling through the Apple community.

Why rush out and buy the new, new thing if it looks just like that old phone that's been around for more than a year?

"Some people were looking for a brand new phone and they haven't got that today, so some will be disappointed," he told BBC News.

"But with the update to iOS5 and Siri that could be enough to sway people to make the investment."

Disappointment

Other industry watchers were less charitable about the iPhone refresh, and the non-appearance of the iPhone 5.

Gareth Beavis, phones editor at TechRadar said that the new hardware would leave many people underwhelmed.

"It was quite disappointing. I think there is going to be a lot of anger from users expecting something big bold and quite exciting after a long time of waiting from the iPhone 4.

"People will buy this in their droves, but Apple has missed a trick by just releasing the exact same phone again with marginally upgraded specs."

Details of the new phone were unveiled by Apple's Philip Schiller

For Apple's new chief executive, the event was as much about making a statement about his leadership as it was new products.

Tim Cook had previously acted as interim boss, looking after the company while Steve Jobs was on sick leave.

Unlike his charismatic predecessor, Mr Cook left the biggest announcement of Tuesday's event to a colleague - marketing boss Phil Schiller.

"Maybe he wants to bring other people to the forefront by letting others speak on his behalf," said Gregory Roekens, chief technology officer at PR firm Wunderman.

"But in terms of style, it was underwhelming. People were expecting iPhone 5, but instead it's almost fixing the weaknesses the previous phones had.

"It will be interesting to see how people react to that."

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Southern Cross homes transferred

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30 September 2011 Last updated at 07:57 GMT Southern Cross is to be wound up by the end of the year A third of Southern Cross care homes have been transferred to new operators, the company has announced.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Winding up

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

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

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

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

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Fraudsters turn to card snatching

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4 October 2011 Last updated at 23:18 GMT Card snatching when customers have been distracted in shops has been used by fraudsters Con-artists are resorting to basic card snatching, police say, as the payments industry continues to cut losses from more hi-tech crimes.

Fraud losses on UK credit and debit cards in the first half of the year fell by 9% compared with the same period of 2011.

The UK Cards Association said this was the third consecutive half-year fall and that ￡169.8m was lost.

Fraudsters were often relying on distracting shoppers to steal cards.

Police dealing with cases say con-artists have been grabbing cards in shops or at cash machines without the owners noticing, or tricking them into revealing their Pin code.

Online banking

Total losses hit a peak at ￡610m in 2008, but have mainly been falling since.

Online banking dropped by 32% from the first half of 2010 to the first six months of this year to ￡16.9m.

This was the result of computer users being more wise to security and banks' use of fraud detection software, the association said.

Continue reading the main story Shield entry of a Pin number at a cash machine with a free handRegularly update a computer's anti-virus softwareBe wary of unsolicited e-mails and telephone callsThe amount lost through telephone banking rose by 48% over the same period to ￡8.6m.

Often, this involved a caller pretending to be from the police or a bank and telling their victim that card has been subject to a fraudulent transaction.

They then asked the victim to key some details into the handset. They guessed the numbers from the audio tones on the keypad and used those details to access their bank account and withdraw money.

Detective Chief Inspector Paul Barnard is head of the Dedicated Cheque and Plastic Crime Unit, which is a specialist police unit sponsored by the industry.

"There has been an increase in old fashioned scams - criminals using distraction techniques and social engineering methods to get hold of people's cards or phone banking details," he said.

"We are urging everyone to be on their guard. Your bank or the police will never cold call you or email you and ask you for your login details, cards or Pins. If anyone does, they are probably a criminal, so hang up the phone or delete the email."

Innocent victims of fraud on their debit or credit cards are protected under rules in the UK banking system, so they should always be refunded any financial losses.

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Where are the Occupy Wall Street protests heading?

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3 October 2011 Last updated at 22:58 GMT By Laura Trevelyan BBC News, New York Commentators are wondering if this movement could become a "Tea Party" for the left As a man known as Mercury puts the finishing touches to his corporate zombie make up, he explains why he's joined the anti-capitalist protests here in the shadow of Wall Street.

"We are inspired by the Arab Spring. Americans have rights but they're too often apathetic."

Welcome to Zuccotti Park, where the leaderless protest is now entering its third week.

Sophie is here to protest about the execution of a Georgia man, Troy Davis.

Will Estrella believes this is his generation's revolution.

And Brian Phillips, a marine turned housing community official, wants to see the Federal Reserve abolished.

The protesters aren't unified in their motivations or their demands, but they're tapping into discontent about inequalities in an America still struggling after one recession and fearful about entering a second.

'We're the 99%'

Brian Phillips, who wears his marine dog tags round his neck, says he has been lied to all his life by officialdom and he's had enough.

The protesters want a change in political and economic culture

That's what made him leave Washington state and his job at a low-income housing unit to come here.

Now Brian is efficiently dealing with media requests.

I tell him that I want to speak to one of the 700 arrested on Brooklyn Bridge on Sunday.

"Arrested Sunday!" calls Brian. Two young men step forward for me to interview.

That's how we communicate, Brian explains, with marine-like efficiency, as to his left a group start the day with yoga.

Police officers stand at the edges of the protesters' encampment, and today at least relations seem cordial enough.

But on Saturday the demonstrators say the police ushered them on to a roadway section of the Brooklyn Bridge rather than the pedestrianised walkway, fenced them in and then arrested them for disorderly conduct.

The NYPD says this isn't correct, and has released a video of the police telling the protesters not to go on the roadway section of the bridge.

Freelance photographer Will Estrella says the police clearly guided him and others on to the bit of the bridge they weren't meant to be on.

The NYPD's tactics for policing this protest have been called into question after a high ranking officer was seen on a YouTube video using pepper spray on demonstrators the weekend before last.

Will Estrella wants this to be a peaceful protest, a theme echoed across Zuccotti Park.

Most of the protesters I saw camping out at Zuccotti Park were young - in their mid-20s. Many have gone from job to job since graduating.

They have known difficult economic times in young adulthood, and they don't like a system which to them seems to reward what they call the "1%" of society.

"We're the 99%", they say.

Their manifesto supports the people of the world against corporate greed, and calls for people to assert their power and create a process to address the problems we face.

In the centre of Zuccotti park, amid the sleeping bags, is the communal food area.

Ange, a 24-year-old redhead who does freelance art work in Manhattan, is helping organise the food for the protesters.

"I like communal decision making, something that comes from the bottom up," she explains. Ange isn't sure how long she'll be here, but she's pleased to be part of a grassroots movement.

Where will this lead? No-one knows. But the protesters say their enthusiasm won't fade with the autumn sunshine.

The question is whether this ad hoc group of protesters - who feel they're getting the short end of the stick while corporate America hoards money - could morph into a political movement, a kind of left wing Tea Party.

The city's unions are now starting to back the protesters, something they didn't at first, suggesting they see the potential here.

Jesse Cooper Levy, a bearded 24-year-old, hopes this movement will influence politics.

His particular concern is what he sees as the corrupting influence of corporate lobbyists on Washington DC.

"What do you want?" I ask the protesters. "Change", comes the answer - a change in political and economic culture.

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Greeks worry about ambitious privatisation plans

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4 October 2011 Last updated at 23:30 GMT By Nigel Cassidy Business correspondent, BBC News, Athens The Greek lottery OPAP will be sold as part of an ambitious privatisation programme Go into any of Greece's 5,000 OPAP lottery shops and there is one thing you definitely cannot bet on.

It is that the array of Greek state assets lined up for sale will fail to raise an agreed 50bn euros by 2015 to lighten the country's crushing international debts.

OPAP is on a long list of nearly 20 entities earmarked for full or partial sale, by order of the European Union (EU) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

They are the sell-offs Greece's European partners are now demanding should be stepped up, not least because efforts to raise revenue through tax receipts are still defeating the country.

But in spite of Greece's lofty plans, the BBC has found that only one solitary stake has actually been sold in recent months: a 10% stake in the mobile phone group OTE has been bought by Deutsche Telecom for 400m euros.

Consequently, the chances of Greece reaching its target of raising 5bn euros by the end of the year from asset sales look slim.

Fear and frustration

It is easy to see why the programme is being opposed every step of the way by most of the state's employees.

As protesters unfurl their banners in Syntagma Square, it is clear that they bracket all the mooted sell-offs with other unpalatable measures, such as austerity tax rises and job cuts.

Greek utility workers are wary about plans to sell off the companies they work for

Staff fear that as public services - from power and water supply to transport and defence industries - are sold, it is inevitable that their pay and pensions will be drastically cut.

For their part, Greece's European partners are infuriated at the painfully slow progress in freeing up all these utilities.

Critics frequently suggest Greek privatisation is mired because the Pasok party in power has traditionally protected state workers, and is not pushing the measures through with enough vigour or conviction.

Much resistance

Whether or not this is true, there are several other reasons for the delays.

Some of these are apparent if you take a ride to the Athens suburb of Zografou.

(Bids for 49% of the railway OSE are welcome, by the way, but offers may not be forthcoming until losses of a billion euros a year have been stemmed.)

Greece remains "the last Soviet bastion in Europe", says Eydap's chief executive Nikolaos Bardis

This is where you find the headquarters of Eydap, the well-respected water and sewage utility serving Athens, which employs 2,800 workers and has a good reputation for maintaining supplies of high-quality drinking water.

Eydap is supposed to be privatised next year, but the company says little has happened since it was put on the list.

Few workers are expected to lose their jobs after any sell-off, but bosses admit that pay, conditions and pensions may not be maintained at current levels.

Yet a huge union poster outside the front door shows a wad of euro notes, with a running tap emerging from them.

The message: Do not try to profit from our essential services.

'Soviet bastion'

There are two reasons why the sell-off process has been slow, according to Eydap's chief executive Nikolaos Bardis.

Bureaucratic delays have contributed, as have investors' concerns that the potential value of the company might fall, given the current financial climate.

"We can say that Greece remains the last Soviet bastion in Europe," Mr Bardis says.

"There is a lot of opposition to the process. Socially this is a completely new idea. People here are just not used to private investors controlling state-owned companies.

"It is also true that the (Eydap) capitalisation is low because the market is extremely distressed and [the sell-off] didn't happen much earlier when the capitalisation was larger."

Investors' concerns

Mr Bardis has recently returned from a visit to the City of London to drum up investor interest in his company.

MP Elena Panaritis says privatisation is slow because democracy in Greece is weak

One concern expressed there was that the Greek government was retaining the right to set water charges, a job that might be expected to fall to an independent regulator.

Potential buyers do not like the idea of political interference in consumer charges, which could easily have the effect of wiping out profits or investment spending plans, Mr Bardis observes.

"They are also concerned about the country's solvency and whether it will stay in the eurozone or be forced to re-adopt the drachma," he says.

"And they are making the assumption that the country will ask its lenders to take a 50% haircut on its loans," he adds, which means the lenders should expect only half their money to be repaid.

While investors are getting used to the idea, the same seems to be the case with the Greek people, who are gradually coming to realise that their country is broke.

"I do believe there is now a a silent majority in the society which is in favour of reform," says Nikos Koritasis, a principal at the Koultadis law firm that is deeply involved in the country's gas privatisation.

The company is working for a new Greek agency that has been set up expressly to run the sale of the country's assets, and Mr Koritasis insists people understand Greece has to try something new.

"There have been long delays, but there is now a new will to speed up the whole process," he says.

Speedy privatisation

One member of the Greek parliament who has a clearer perspective than most is Elena Panaritis.

She is a former World Bank executive, brought into the ruling Pasok party by Prime Minister George Papandreou to help oversee decisions and educate other politicians about the ways of the markets.

Following another long night of parliamentary debate, the country is making "superhuman" efforts to clear the way for the privatisations, yet it is taking time, she laments.

"We haven't been able to be as effective precisely because our bureaucracy is so bad," she reasons.

"Getting anything done is so complicated, with conflicting regulations and far too many people involved in taking decisions on each single asset.

"All this is taking longer than the 16 months we have to get it resolved. There really is the appetite to get the job done, but there are layers of steps and we get bogged down with the actual details."

It took the privatisation pioneer Britain well over a decade to free up and sell off its essential industries. Greece is expected to do much the same in a few months.

So it is no wonder that privatisation is a hard sell. It is another leap for this state-dominated island nation into what are seen as shark-infested commercial waters.

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VIDEO: Philippines aims to boost rice output

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7 October 2011 Last updated at 00:40 GMT Help

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UK construction activity 'stalls'

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4 October 2011 Last updated at 10:11 GMT Markit said uncertainty over future economic conditions dampened confidence in the sector Activity in the UK construction sector slowed to "near stagnation" in September, a closely-watched survey has suggested.

The Markit/Cips construction purchasing managers' index (PMI) fell to 50.1, just fractionally above the 50 "no-change" threshold that separates expansion from contraction.

In August, the index had read 52.6.

Markit said fewer new orders was the reason behind the slowdown, but added that staffing levels rose slightly.

Confidence in the sector remained relatively subdued, the research group said.

Also on Tuesday, builders' merchant Wolseley announced a return to full-year profit but said recent weaker economic forecasts were likely to have an impact on its markets.

On Monday, Markit/Cips data showed surprise growth in the manufacturing sector.

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Dexia shares slump on Greece woes

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3 October 2011 Last updated at 19:56 GMT Dexia received a 6bn-euro bailout at the height of the financial crisis Dexia has called an emergency board meeting amid fears over its exposure to Greek debt.

Meanwhile, shares in the Franco-Belgian bank fell 10% on Monday after rating agency Moody's said it was reviewing Dexia for a possible downgrade.

The finance ministers of Belgium and France are meeting eurozone colleagues in Luxembourg, and are expected to discuss ways to support the bank.

Financial markets fell on news Greece would miss deficit reduction targets.

Greece announced on Sunday that the 2011 deficit was projected to be 8.5% of gross domestic product, down from 10.5% in 2010, but short of the 7.6% target set by the EU and IMF.

Write-off

The news affected financial markets across Asia and Europe, with bank shares among the hardest hit.

Eurozone banks have been hit by cash outflows since the summer amid fears that Greece, and possibly other governments, may ultimately default on their debts, and even leave the eurozone, leaving their lenders sitting on big losses.

Dexia shares initially fell 14% on news of the possible rating downgrde, and despite a rally back in later trading, they were still the worst hit in the financial sector.

Moody's cited Dexia's potential losses on a Greek debt default, as well as the bank's recent difficulties in borrowing short-term cash from markets, as reasons for the rating review.

Continue reading the main story

It was only on July 15 that the European Banking Authority [stress tests]... portrayed Dexia as one of the strongest banks in Europe”

End Quote Robert Peston Business editor, BBC News Dexia's exposure to Greek government debt totals 3.4bn euros ($4.5bn; ￡2.9bn). Its total exposure to Greece - including to private-sector Greek borrowers - is 4.8bn euros.

It has already written off 21% of its Greek debts, but market prices now suggest the eventually loss to lenders could be in excess of 50% of the amount owed by Greece.

Paris-based business newspaper Les Echos reported on Friday that the French and Belgian governments would discuss measures to shore up Dexia's balance sheet.

The bank is already partly-owned by the two governments, after it received a 6bn euros joint bailout at the height of the financial crisis in 2008.

There were reports last week that the bank could be split up, and speculation of a possible nationalisation of the bank.

Another option under consideration is the sale of Credit Local, a unit of the bank responsible for lending to French local governments.

Belgian Finance Minister Didier Reynders told Belgian radio on Friday that Dexia's shareholders should be behind the bank and be ready intervene if there was a problem.

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iPad 'gains 80% of tablet market'

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27 September 2011 Last updated at 16:00 GMT Apple's iPad, now in its second generation, has proven a big hit with consumers Apple's iPad captured 80% of the tablet computer market in the US and Canada in April to July, a report has said.

The iPad accounted for six million of all 7.5 million tablets shipped in North America during the second quarter of 2011, according to research group Strategy Analytics.

It described Apple as a "formidable market leader".

Yet it added that Amazon - which is expected to unveil its own tablet this week - could become a big challenger.

'Strong brand'

Stategy Analytics senior analyst Alex Spektor said: "Apple remains a long way ahead of its main rivals such as Motorola, Samsung, RIM, Asus and HTC.

"A combination of cool branding, user-friendly hardware, entertaining services and savvy retail distribution has made Apple a formidable market leader."

According to reports, online retailer Amazon could announce the release of its first tablet as early as Wednesday.

"Provided the pricing, screen size and hardware design are right, Amazon can be one of the main challengers to Apple's dominance," said Neil Mawston, director at Strategy Analytics.

"Like Apple, Amazon has a strong brand, compelling content, sophisticated billing systems and widespread distribution.

"In effect, Amazon's new tablet product represents a good opportunity to place an Amazon shopping cart in the hands of American consumers, offering optimised access to purchasing digital content or physical goods from the Amazon online store."

The continuing popularity of Apple's iPad comes despite its incompatibility with Adobe Flash software, meaning that users cannot view a large number of online videos.

Rivals such as Samsung are quick to highlight in their advertising that their tablets are able to use Flash.

Apple and Samsung, which makes the Galaxy range of tablets, are also continuing a number of legal disputes over patents.

On Monday, Apple declined to comment on reports that it had cut orders for iPad parts from its suppliers because of falling sales.

The study by an Asian analyst of US bank JPMorgan Chase said several suppliers had indicated that Apple had reduced its orders by 25%.

The iPad was first released in April 2010, with the second version, the iPad 2, following in March of this year.

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Minimum wage up by 15p to £6.08

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30 September 2011 Last updated at 23:01 GMT The increase takes account of the current economic uncertainty The minimum wage has gone up, with the main rate for adults aged 21 or over rising by 15p to ￡6.08 an hour.

The development rate - for those aged 18 to 20 - goes up by 6p to ￡4.98 an hour, for 16 and 17-year-olds it rises by 4p to ￡3.68 an hour and the hourly apprentice rate rises by 10p to ￡2.60.

The TUC welcomed the rise but Unison said the rates were still too low.

The minimum wage was introduced in 1999 at ￡3.60 an hour for adults, and is set each year by the Low Pay Commission.

The commission recommended this year's increase in a report to the government in April.

It said the increases would balance the needs of low-paid workers and their employers facing difficulties during a period of economic uncertainty.

As levels of youth unemployment are relatively high, it recommended a lower increase for young workers than for their older counterparts, to try to encourage employers to keep them on.

The TUC it estimated the increases would benefit nearly 900,000, mainly female, workers.

The general secretary of the public sector union, Unison, said ￡8 an hour was needed to provide a living wage.

"The rise to ￡6.08 is a welcome cushion, but with the price of everyday essentials such as food, gas and electricity going up massively, it won't lift enough working people out of the poverty trap," Dave Prentis said.

As a result, he called on employers to pay more than the absolute minimum.

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Bank injects £75bn into economy

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6 October 2011 Last updated at 11:26 GMT The UK's economic recovery has been weaker than hoped The Bank of England has said it will inject a further ￡75bn into the economy through quantitative easing (QE).

The Bank has already pumped ￡200bn into the economy by buying assets such as government bonds, in an attempt to boost lending by commercial banks.

But this is the first time it has added to its QE programme since 2009. There have been recent calls for it to step in again to aid the fragile recovery.

The Bank also held interest rates at the record low of 0.5%.

On Wednesday, data showed the UK economy grew by 0.1% between April and June, which was less than previously thought.

"In the United Kingdom, the path of output has been affected by a number of temporary factors, but the available indicators suggest that the underlying rate of growth has also moderated," the Bank said in a statement.

"The deterioration in the outlook has made it more likely that inflation will undershoot the 2% target in the medium term.

"In the light of that shift in the balance of risks, and in order to keep inflation on track to meet the target over the medium term, the committee judged that it was necessary to inject further monetary stimulus into the economy."

'Warranted'

The CBI and the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) business groups welcomed the Bank's move to expand the QE programme to ￡275bn, but said that on its own, its impact would be limited.

"This measure will help support confidence, but we need to recognise that its impact on near term growth prospects is likely to be relatively modest," said Ian McCafferty, the CBI's chief economic adviser.

"Only once the turmoil in the eurozone is resolved will confidence be fully restored."

David Kern, chief economist at the BCC, said: "Higher QE on its own is not enough and we urge the MPC to look at other radical methods.

"There is a strong case for the MPC to help boost bank lending to businesses by immediately raising its purchases of private sector assets."

The manufacturers' organisation, the EEF, said that the Bank's decision to act now, before the third-quarter estimates of GDP and its latest inflation forecast were released, "would indicate that members believed immediate action was warranted in order to head off a deteriorating growth outlook".

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US bank hit after debit fee news

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30 September 2011 Last updated at 21:56 GMT Bank of America will roll out the change from next year on a state-by-state basis Shares in Bank of America have fallen 2%, a day after it announced plans to charge debit card users $5 (￡3.20) per month to pay for their purchases.

Bank of America, the largest US bank by deposits, said it would introduce the fee early in 2012.

The move comes ahead of a new rule that will limit how much lenders can bill retailers for customer debit card transactions.

The bank's debit card holders will still get free cash withdrawals.

The monthly charge will apply to users of Bank of America's basic bank accounts, and will be in addition to any service fees they already have to pay.

A number of smaller US banks, such as SunTrust, a regional lender based in Atlanta, have already introduced charges for debit card purchases.

So far only Citigroup has ruled out introducing the change.

'Changed economics'

Bank of America said the new fee would be rolled out on a state-by-state basis.

Continue reading the main story

Bank of America is trying to find new ways to pad their profits by sticking it to its customers”

End Quote Richard Durbin Domocrat Senator Its move comes as an amendment to the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act goes into effect from 1 October.

The amendment, brought by Democrat Senator Richard Durbin, limits the fees that banks can charge retailers for processing debit card transactions to 21 cents.

This compares to the previous average of 44 cents, meaning a substantial fall in revenues for the banks.

A Bank of America spokeswoman said: "The economics of offering a debit card have changed."

Sen Durbin said Bank of America's move was "overt and unfair" and that he hoped its customers would "have the final say".

"Bank of America is trying to find new ways to pad their profits by sticking it to its customers," he said.

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Typhoon Nesat heads for Vietnam

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29 September 2011 Last updated at 15:19 GMT Typhoon Nesat is heading for Vietnam after making landfall on the southern Chinese island of Hainan A typhoon that caused death and destruction in the Philippines and shut down Hong Kong is now heading towards the coast of Vietnam.

About 100,000 homes were evacuated on the southern Chinese island of Hainan as Typhoon Nesat threatened to cause landslides.

Fishing boats in northern Vietnam have been ordered to return to port as the storm approaches.

The typhoon killed at least 39 people in the Philippines.

The Chinese authorities on Hainan island called boats back to port, suspended flights and ferry services, and closed schools.

Typhoon Nesat made landfall in Hainan's Wenchang city, packing winds of up to 150 km/h (93 mph).

The typhoon forced the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and most businesses and schools there to close on Thursday as it swept past the territory, bringing howling winds, torrential rain and rough seas.

All ferry and some bus services were cancelled, and trains operated at a reduced frequency.

There were few people on the streets, with 100km/h winds shredding umbrellas and making it hard to walk.

Local radio reported that two people, including a taxi driver, were injured when scaffolding collapsed onto a taxi.

And a large cargo barge crashed into the seafront after slipping its moorings, television footage showed. About 50 people had to be evacuated from a nearby block of flats.

Neighbouring Macau was also affected, with schools and businesses closed. But the city's glittering casinos remained open for the tourists who managed to get there.

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VIDEO: ECB holds interest rates

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6 October 2011 Last updated at 15:41 GMT Help

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Greek PM holds new bailout talks

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30 September 2011 Last updated at 05:59 GMT Mr Papandreou, left, and Mr Van Rompuy are meeting at an international summit in Warsaw Greek PM George Papandreou is to hold further talks with European leaders as negotiations continue in Athens on a new instalment of bailout loans.

He is holding talks with European Council President Herman Van Rompuy in Warsaw before travelling on to Paris to meet French President Nicolas Sarkozy.

International inspectors are in Athens deciding whether Greece should receive bailout funds of 8bn euros (￡6.9bn).

The talks have triggered angry protests on the streets of the Greek capital.

The BBC's Chris Morris in Athens says Mr Papandreou is on a charm offensive, trying to convince his European colleagues that Greece can meet the demands imposed upon it by a tough austerity programme.

The unpopular reforms are vital to guarantee international loans aimed at stopping the debt-ridden country from going bankrupt.

President Sarkozy said that after his meeting with Mr Papandreou on Friday afternoon he would unveil a Franco-German strategy, but did not give any details.

Germany and France together represent about half of the 17-nation eurozone's economic output.

"It is very important that the Franco-German axis can make its voice heard about the concrete application of the decisions taken at the end of July [on a second rescue package for Greece]," Mr Sarkozy said during a visit to Morocco.

Targets missed

"After seeing the Greek prime minister... I will have an opportunity to say exactly what our strategy is for supporting countries like Greece," he added.

Since eurozone leaders agreed on a second rescue package for Greece, Athens has fallen behind on its debt reduction targets, raising fears of a Greek default.

A vote in Germany's parliament on Thursday to back a more powerful bailout fund for eurozone economies was welcomed in Athens.

Mr Sarkozy also congratulated German Chancellor Angela Merkel by telephone on Thursday, his office said, calling the vote a key step in stabilising the eurozone.

Greek taxi drivers have been staging a two-day strike over government reforms

Mr Papandreou held talks with Chancellor Merkel in Berlin on Tuesday.

But our correspondent says some analysts believe the whole strategy for Greece, with a possible second bailout, needs urgent readjustment.

That is partly because contagion from Greece to other eurozone countries is no longer a threat but a dangerous reality, he adds.

Greek taxi drivers held angry protests outside parliament on Thursday on the second day of their 48-hour strike.

The drivers are opposed to government reforms that would open their closed-shop profession.

Meanwhile, a second round of talks is being held in Athens between the Greek government and inspectors from the "troika" of international creditors supporting Greece - the European Commission, the European Central Bank (ECB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Many Greeks believe that austerity measures are pushing the country's crippled economy deeper into recession and strangling any chance of growth.

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VIDEO: Greek protester: 'Measures hurt poor'

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5 October 2011 Last updated at 16:27 GMT Help

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Debt-hit Spain fears youth brain-drain

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4 October 2011 Last updated at 20:21 GMT By Matthew Price BBC News, Madrid Matthew Price spoke to some Spanish students about their job options

Spain's "Lost Generation" can be found studying literature in classroom 007 at Madrid's Complutense University.

Some 28 students sit alert, behind the rows of desks waiting for a series of questions.

How many of them are confident they'll get a job when they graduate next year? No-one raises a hand.

"What sort of job?" asks one young woman.

"Any," I venture. A few hands go up.

How many believe they will get a good job? No-one.

Who thinks they will have to leave the country to find the work they want? Almost everyone immediately raises a hand, and a glum look spreads across the faces.

A class with hands held aloft - a grim symbol of the mess Spain finds itself in.

The university dining hall - a concrete walled relic from the '80s - is a buzz of chatter. Students struggle through canteen meals.

Among them is Jesus Poveda. He is 20 years old, and without much hope of a future here.

"I think we will do well at work," he says, gesturing towards his fellow diners, "but not in Spain. We should leave the country."

Opposite him sits Guillermo Lerma, also 20 years old.

"Nowadays … [a] boss prefers someone who is studying because they don't have to pay too much." he says.

"You have temporary work here, but not a salary."

'Big advantage'

Spanish unemployment is the highest in Europe - and it's still rising. The number of people looking for work in September rose by 100,000 - the largest increase in that month for 15 years.

Continue reading the main story

I don't see it as a negative... Youngsters see it as normal to move, to study, to work part of their lives in other countries”

End Quote Valeriano Gomez Labour and immigration minister Overall some 21% of people are unemployed. Among the young it's far, far worse. Almost half of all 16 to 24 year olds are without jobs.

It's an astonishing and devastating statistic for a country that desperately needs a dynamic, thriving and young workforce to help it recover from the housing crisis that plunged this economy into recession.

"It's a problem not just for them, but for all of us," believes economics professor Gayle Allard from the Instituto de Empresa in Madrid. She is an American who has lived in Spain for 27 years.

"This is the generation that will be paying for the welfare state and pensions in the future. If they can't get started with relatively secure, well-paying jobs, start to put away some savings, start to accumulate assets, start paying into the welfare system, where does that leave the rest of us?" she asks.

"It's going to be backwards. We're going to be paying for these kids for years and years. It really puts at risk the whole [economic] model."

The latest recruit to the brain-drain of Spain is Irene Roibas - an economics graduate who's leaving for the Netherlands. It's partly for personal reasons, but also because she feels her future will be better secured outside her own country.

Budget cuts have brought many students out on to the streets to protest

"I don't think that universities are preparing people [here]," she argues. Nor "that students are taking all the opportunities they have".

Does Spain need to change? "Yes, I think so, definitely."

Not everyone though is worried about people like Ms Roibas. In the offices of the labour and immigration department, the minister, Valeriano Gomez, believes that youth migration is not a problem.

"I don't see it as a negative. Spain has changed a lot. Youngsters see it as normal to move, to study, to work part of their lives in other countries.

"I don't see it as a problem. I see it as a big advantage."

Escape valve

The European Union of course makes it possible, indeed easy, for the unemployed to head elsewhere to work - although it's not the totally free labour market many champion, thanks to the language barriers that exist across the continent.

Continue reading the main story

For the country to lose this group of people who could help raise the productivity of Spain, which is quite low, is a tragedy”

End Quote Prof Gayle Allard Instituto de Empresa So Europe provides some sort of escape valve for unemployed Spanish youth. Many head for the UK, for France, but also to the US and Latin America.

Venezuela's need for engineers is said to be attractive to many Spanish.

In time the hope will be that they return to Spain, with the experience and desire to help rebuild the economy.

But much of Europe will not attract them. Youth unemployment across the EU is - on average - high at one in five.

Spain is caught up in the debt crisis that's hitting Europe. The government insists things will improve, but some fear that, without the young, it will take longer.

"For the country to lose this group of people who could help raise the productivity of Spain, which is quite low, is a tragedy," says Prof Allard.

In the university canteen many agree with that.

Across Europe, youth unemployment is rising. And just like the continent's economic crisis, there is no end in sight.

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Online traders' 'refund failings'

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6 October 2011 Last updated at 12:15 GMT By Kevin Peachey Personal finance reporter, BBC News The test purchases were part of an EU-wide campaign to check consumer rights More than half of traders failed to give full refunds to customers who pulled out of online purchases during a cooling-off period, tests have shown.

Under consumer rights law, all costs - including delivery costs - should be refunded if consumers decide to cancel the contract in the allotted time.

Test purchasing by European authorities found that in 57% of cases, traders failed to reimburse delivery costs.

A BBC investigation highlighted the issue in December.

Online shopping

When buying from the internet, unlike in a shop, customers are unable to examine the goods before they buy them.

As a result, a cooling-off period is available to people shopping online. In the UK, shoppers have seven working days to return items bought on the internet that they do not want to keep. In some European countries it is longer.

There are a few exceptions, such as unwrapped CDs and perishable goods, but otherwise the money should be credited to the buyer's account as soon as possible and within 30 days at the latest.

Continue reading the main story In the UK, there is a cooling-off period of seven working days for unwanted itemsTraders should refund within 30 days, unless previously agreed otherwiseDelivery charges should also be reimbursedSome perishable goods such as foods and flowers are exemptRights for goods that are not of satisfactory quality are the same as the High Street - a refund, replacement or repairAny refund should include delivery costs incurred by the customer.

During a mystery shopping exercise by European authorities in 2003, these delivery costs were not reimbursed in 53% of cases.

But 305 tests earlier this year, by the European Consumer Centres' Network, found that this had increased to 57%, although refunds for the items themselves were paid in 90% of cases.

"This needs to improve in order to ensure a continuous positive development in cross-border e-commerce," a spokesman for the UK European Consumer Centre said.

In 7% of all the purchases made, the trader did not inform the customer about the price of the delivery costs at all.

Changes

Some results of the test purchases do make better reading for consumers.

For example, the delivery rate for items ordered online improved significantly compared with 2003, as had the number of items delivered within 14 days. There was also an increase in the number of websites offering information in more than one language.

Many of the current consumer rules operating in EU countries pre-date the widespread use of the internet by shoppers.

So MEPs have approved plans to update the rules, including a 14-calendar-day cooling-off period for online purchases.

Governments will have two years to implement the changes.

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New Sunderland position for Quinn

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Quinn will focus on Sunderland's business interests overseas Niall Quinn is leaving his role as chairman at Sunderland to take charge of "international development".

Owner Ellis Short will take over as chairman while Quinn focuses on the club's business interests overseas.

Discussing Short, Quinn said: "He'll be a fantastic chairman and taking this role on speaks volumes about his ambition for the club."

Short said: "I can assure our fans that it's the same group of people continuing to lead the club."

Continue reading the main story

It's out of the blue. There's been a lot of restructuring behind-the-scenes at Sunderland. It's an interesting move for Quinn; he's very well respected. Maybe it's a precurser for other big changes that might be made at the club

Former Sunderland striker Marco Gabbiadini on BBC Radio Newcastle

He added: "With financial fair play rules coming into effect, it is essential for the long-term success of the club that we develop interests on a global scale and there's no one better than Niall to sell the ethos of Sunderland to an international audience.

"He has been keen to drive this change for some time and I agree that it's the way forward for us now.

"Assuming the position of chairman is a great honour and I will treat the role as guardian of this club with the utmost respect."

Quinn has been linked with the vacant chief executive role at his former club Manchester City recently.

He added to Sunderland's official website: "This is a great opportunity for us to make the club stronger and I'm delighted that Ellis has agreed to support the plan."

Continue reading the main story Becomes Sunderland chairman in July 2006Appoints Roy Keane as manager a month later, leading to the club's promotion to the Premier League that seasonReplaces Keane with Ricky Sbragia in winter 2008 then brings in current boss Steve Bruce during summer 2009 as club stays in top flight

Sunderland chief executive Margaret Byrne added: "Niall is widely known and hugely respected throughout the world of football.

"His profile, coupled with his vast knowledge of the game and the business, means he is perfectly placed to bring Sunderland to the forefront internationally.

"This new challenge begins immediately as he represents the club at the prestigious Leaders in Football conference in London this week, after which he travels to Korea with [manager] Steve Bruce and Mike Farnan, international marketing director.

"Trips to territories such as Vietnam, India, Abu Dhabi and Africa are also taking place in the coming months."

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VIDEO: Syrian protests hit Lebanon tourism

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2 October 2011 Last updated at 19:03 GMT Help

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Lecturers' pension action resumes

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

'Sustained campaign'

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Second campaign

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

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

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

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

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

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

Big changes

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

The university pension changes were changes were:

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

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Video: protesters March on Wall Street

Help 6 October 2011, last updated on: 10: 05 GMT

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Abramovich 'intimidated' oligarch

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3 October 2011 Last updated at 13:34 GMT Roman Abramovich is worth an estimated ￡10.3bn Roman Abramovich intimidated a fellow Russian oligarch into selling him shares in an oil company at a large discount, the High Court has heard.

Boris Berezovsky made the claims about the Chelsea football club owner with regards to Russian oil firm Sibneft.

He alleges breach of trust and breach of contract and is claiming more than ￡3.2bn in damages.

Mr Abramovich, who is worth an estimated ￡10.3bn, has denied the claims by his former business partner.

The Chelsea Football Club owner sold Sibneft to Russia's state-owned gas monopoly Gazprom in a multibillion-dollar deal in 2005.

Both men attended the first day of the trial, which is expected to last for more than two months.

They sat at either end of the packed courtroom.

Laurence Rabinowitz QC, who represents Mr Berezovsky, told Mrs Justice Gloster both men had worked together to acquire Sibneft and became friends.

He said the pair remained friends until Mr Berezovsky "fell out with those in power in the Kremlin and was forced to leave his home and create a new life abroad".

Mr Berezovsky is now exiled to the UK.

The barrister said his client had been "betrayed" after falling out with Russian political leaders and leaving Russia in 2000.

'Threats'

"It is our case that Mr Abramovich at that point demonstrated that he was a man to whom wealth and influence mattered more than friendship and loyalty and this has led him, finally, to go so far as to even deny that he and Mr Berezovsky were actually ever friends," he said.

Mr Rabinowitz went on: "Mr Berezovsky's case in relation to Sibneft is that Mr Abramovich intimidated him into selling his very substantial interest in Sibneft to Mr Abramovich himself at a very substantial under value and that he did so in effect by making threats.

"The threats being... that unless Mr Berezovsky... sold those interests to him, he, Mr Abramovich, would take steps with a view to the interest being effectively removed from them by those in the Kremlin, led by President Putin, who had come to regard Mr Berezovsky as his enemy."

The barrister claimed that Mr Abramovich had also threatened to "take steps with a view to preventing" the release from prison of a close friend of Mr Berezovsky.

Mr Rabinowitz said his client contended that as a result of "this intimidation", he was pressured into selling his Sibneft interest to Mr Abramovich for "very substantially less" than it was worth.

The case continues.

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Mongolia and Rio reach stake deal

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7 October 2011 Last updated at 05:09 GMT Resource-rich Mongolia has attracted many foreign investors Mongolia and mining giant Rio Tinto and Ivanhoe have reached an agreement on stakeholding of the Oyu Tolgoi project in the resource-rich country.

The Mongolian government had sought to increase its stake in the mine to 50% from 34% as previously agreed.

The mining companies had said that the government should honour an original agreement signed in 2009.

When completed, the project is expected to be one of the biggest copper mines in the world.

According to the initial agreement, Mongolia government could renegotiate its stake after a period of 30 years.

However, the authorities had wanted to bring forward the negotiation period, a move that did not go down well with the miners as well as industry analysts.

In a joint statement released on Wednesday, they said "all parties have reaffirmed their continued support for the investment agreement and its implementation".

Shares of Ivanhoe rose as much as 18% on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

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Default retirement age abolished

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1 October 2011 Last updated at 07:05 GMT The default retirement age has been phased out The default retirement age in the UK has been fully abolished after being phased out from April this year.

New legislation stops employers from compulsorily retiring workers once they reach the age of 65.

However, research by law firm Norton Rose suggests one in 10 firms plans to offer financial incentives to encourage workers to move on at a certain age.

The charity Age UK welcomed the legislation but said age discrimination was still prevalent in the workplace.

'Devastated'

The legislation came too late for Andrew Webster, from Richmond in Surrey.

He was issued with a compulsory notice to retire from his job as an English teacher at a performing arts school.

''I was devastated. I had found a job I loved, I felt I was in my prime. I got on well with the students and they had good results," he said.

"I wanted to go on doing it for as long as possible and I needed the money as well so it was a terrible blow when it happened.''

Andrew Webster said he was pleased others would not be in his position

He has found work as a tutor but said he took home only a third of his previous earnings, even taking his pension into account.

''I know it is too late for me but I am pleased that other people will not also be forced to retire before they are ready," he said.

Rules

The Employment Equality (Repeal of Retirement Age Provisions) Regulations 2011 started phasing out the default retirement age from the start of April.

That was the point after which employers could no longer issue the minimum six-month notification for compulsory retirement, using the default retirement age procedure.

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Discrimination in the recruitment process is against the law, but it still happens in practice quite a lot”

End Quote Christopher Brooks Age UK If employers still want to enforce retirement, their decisions will have to be objectively justified, but workers can no longer be forced to retire on the grounds of age alone.

The Norton Rose research indicated that some firms were preparing to offer employees a "golden goodbye".

''Our survey suggests employers feel there will be limited ability to take on younger workers as a result of the default retirement age being removed and their perceived inability to ask more senior levels of staff to move on,'' said Paul Griffin, an employment lawyer at Norton Rose.

''If firms are approaching people to retire that could be seen as age discrimination in its own right.

"But our survey indicates that firms are willing to pay to encourage people to move on at a certain time in their career."

Ageism

Age UK said that instead of focusing on making space in firms for younger employees, businesses should instead look at the benefits that experienced older workers could bring.

Christopher Brooks, head of policy for work and learning at Age UK, said there was still a prevailing culture of ageism.

"Many employers simply see the stereotypes of an older worker, particularly in the recruitment phase and statistics show older workers find it harder to find another job than any other age group," he said.

''Discrimination in the recruitment process is against the law, but it still happens in practice quite a lot.

"It is however quite hard to prove but we do get lots of feedback from people who have been in interviews and been told they are over qualified or just too old to do the job, which quite often amounts to age discrimination."

Life experience

Chief executive Liz Fields from business consultancy the Financial Skills Partnership said keeping older workers had benefits.

"The skills and life experience that an older person can bring to a business actually helps that business become much more competitive," she said.

However, the Federation of Small Businesses said the move was "unncessary meddling".

"It will lead to a legal quagmire for a lot of small business owners. If you can't get rid of someone, you then have to go through the process of performance managing someone out of an organisation, which if you have a big HR department and you're experienced in these things is easy," said Andrew Cave from the federation.

"The average business in this country employs four people. The owner-manager doesn't necessarily have that expertise."

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Concern over football club owners

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28 September 2011 Last updated at 13:50 GMT Damian Collins is part of the Commons committee looking into how football is run A Conservative MP has written to Sports Minister Hugh Robertson expressing concern about the ownership of Coventry City Football Club.

Damian Collins, who is part of a Commons committee looking into how football in England is run, wants to know more about owners Sisu Capital.

"In the case of Coventry City it didn't seem to be clear who the ultimate owners of the club were," he said.

A spokesperson for Sisu said the club is managed by private equity ownership.

Coventry's current owners have been in place since 2007 but there has been unrest, and changes were made at boardroom level this year.

The most notable of these was the departure of chairman Ray Ranson who had been integral to the takeover.

Mr Collins, who sits on the Commons' Culture Media and Sport Committee, told BBC Coventry & Warwickshire he was worried that it was not clear who is in charge of the Championship outfit.

"I took this up with the Football League to ask them and they confirmed to me that because no individual investor owned more than 10% of the club they didn't know who any investors in the club were," the Folkestone and Hythe MP said.

"I thought that was very unsatisfactory.

"We're constantly reassured that there are proper rules in place that govern who can own and invest in football clubs, what their background is, whether they have a stake or interest in other football clubs.

"To be able to apply those rules we've got to know who those investors are.

"One of the reasons these rules are in place on club ownership is to make sure there aren't conflicts of interest with people who've got stakes in different football clubs.

'Not anonymous'

"It's important from an integrity of competition point of view. It's also important in terms of the fans.

"When a club gets into financial difficulties it's the fans that suffer and it's also local businesses that are owed money by that football club that suffer.

"If the Football League and the Premier League were to turn around to Coventry and say, 'it's not good enough, you've got to have a declared owner of the club otherwise we won't let you play', I think you'd see a change."

Coventry City have declined to respond to Mr Collins' comments but have stood by quotes attributed to director Onye Igwe that appeared on The Guardian's website on Tuesday.

Mr Igwe told the publication: "We are not being anonymous. I am the fund's manager and a partner in Sisu, that is public."

He added that the funds for the club came from professional investors of various nationalities who wanted confidentiality, which was "normal practice in private equity".

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Group buying hits the Middle East

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20 September 2011 Last updated at 06:14 GMT By Simon Atkinson Business reporter, BBC News, Dubai WATCH: Can group buy tempt these Emiratis out of the shopping mall to buy online?

The sun is barely up over Dubai's Jumeirah beach, but already a group of about 30 fitness fanatics are sweating furiously as they grimace through another set of squat thrusts.

In sand-covered royal blue vests, they are here to get fit and enjoy fresh air before the Gulf's late summer humidity kicks in for the day.

But some have also been lured to this exercise boot camp by an online marketing trend that is only just gathering momentum in the Middle East.

Group buying - sometimes called social buying - has become a multi-billion-dollar business from the US and Europe, to Australia and China.

It has made companies like Groupon household names through their daily emails offering hefty discounts on everything from meals to mobile phones, hotel rooms to horse riding, and beauty spas to brand new cars.

The people taking part in this boot camp got a substantial discount by group-buying online

While each firm operates in slightly different ways - they essentially deliver customers to retailers in return for a cut of the total revenue.

'Big shift'

But despite retail making up a substantial chunk of the Middle East economy - and credit card usage being widespread - it has taken longer to establish the trend in the region because e-commerce is still in its infancy.

"The history of online buying in this part of the world can be measured in days and weeks, not years," says Dan Stuart, chief executive of GoNabit, which was the first firm to open in this region.

"When we started, people could buy flowers, gift baskets and flights through the internet, but not much else. They had to buy from sites based outside the region but we've seen a big shift in that."

Such is the apparent potential that Groupon opened offices in Dubai this year, while Mr Stuart's GoNabit is preparing to rebrand after being bought out by another US firm, Living Social.

Group-buy sites like this one are still a novelty in the Middle East

UAE-owned Cobone.com launched a year ago, and to meet local needs and reticence about internet shopping, about 80% of sales in the first few months were done through cash on delivery.

Customers bought online but then had a voucher physically delivered to them and handed over the cash.

"That might sound strange to someone in another part of the developed world," says chief executive Paul Kenny, whose firm now has more than half the Middle East market share by revenue, according to data from research firm Kongregator.

"But until very recently, that's the way it was,"

'Cost-effective'

For Original Fitness Co, which runs the beach boot camps, the trend has offered a new marketing technique.

Tighter economic times and more competition means the firm's regular prices are already about half the 900 dirhams ($245; ￡160) per month it could charge in the boom years.

Original Fitness's Corey Oliver says this is a cost-effective means of marketing

And through a social buying site, it recently charged just 270 dirhams ($70; ￡45) for a month of sessions.

"We don't make much money from the deals at all, but the idea is to get people in and then we try to keep them," says managing director Corey Oliver.

"Marketing can be expensive, but this is quite a cost effective way of doing it.

"And once people try it, we hope they enjoy it and want to come back, even if it'll cost them a bit more."

Regional complexities

Both Cobone and GoNabit have expanded from their UAE roots, with Egypt, Jordan and Lebanon seen as key markets.

And the Arab uprising, which has dominated the region this year, does not appear to have hampered expansion.

GoNabit was recently bought by US firm Livingsocial

GoNabit delayed its Egypt launch after President Hosni Mubarak was ousted in February, but went online in March, with the encouragement of staff in Cairo.

"They convinced us that even when all anyone was talking about was revolution and change, that people still want to do the things that our offers have," Mr Stuart says.

"They still want to go to restaurants, to have a spa, to go paintballing. Life goes on."

All the region's key players have their sites in both English and Arabic, with Egypt now the region's biggest growth market for group buying - helped by the opening up of the internet, and the increasing popularity of social media.

But Cobone's Paul Kenny says each country needs a different approach - from the tone of language to the deals offered.

"From Jeddah to Riyadh to Cairo to Dubai they all have different complexities," he says.

"In Dubai there are still plenty of people with a lot of disposable income. We sell a lot of trips on luxury yachts, and recently sold four $28,000 cars in one day.

"Compare that with Cairo and it's food and spas - they're the things more commonly consumed ... [there's] less disposable income, so we make sure we tailor it to the local market."

'Denigrate brand'

While the group buying trend allows retailers to create demand for things which customers may otherwise not have wanted - and therefore offer growth opportunities - there are also potential pitfalls says Hermann Behrens, chief executive of The Brand Union Middle East.

He warns that a hangover from the boom years of pre-2008 means places such as Dubai and Abu Dhabi suffer an over-supply of things like restaurants and spas - and that the new retail trend might further drive firms only to compete on price.

Go! Yachts Rob Appleyard says group buy sites bring in revenue during quiet periods

"The biggest danger is that if you're generating trial for a brand and people are actually going to a restaurant or a spa or buying a product, and it doesn't fulfil a value that's higher than they have paid for it, that could dilute or denigrate the value of the brand," he says.

"That's especially true if it's not an established brand with an established value."

It is an issue which faces Go! Yacht Charters - a firm hiring luxury boats in the UAE.

While there remains demand for its VIP services - from footballers and presidents to visiting oil tycoons - the economic downturn and slow recovery has hurt business, especially corporate bookings.

Now the firm is using a group buying site to sell time on its vessels - from $30 short trips out to sea to a $3,700 (￡2,400) package to this November's Formula One Grand Prix in Abu Dhabi.

It is one way to get some revenue from boats that may otherwise be standing idle, says managing partner Rob Appleyard.

But sitting on the plush purple seating on the 120ft yacht Sheleila, Mr Appleyard denies that allowing people onto multi-million-dollar boats for a few dollars a time cheapens his brand.

"It gets people on board to have a look and they're wowed by it. It's showing people that these boats are affordable, that they're not just for billionaires

"Hopefully, someone will buy one of these deals, they'll be impressed and they'll tell their boss - if they're not a boss themselves - and we'll get some corporate business off the back of it."

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Experts debate eurozone options

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2 October 2011 Last updated at 00:06 GMT A number of ideas are reportedly being discussed to tackle the eurozone debt crisis.

These include a 50% write-down of Greece's government debts, strengthening big European banks that could be hit by any defaults by highly indebted governments, and boosting the size of the eurozone bailout fund, the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF).

Here, eight economists discuss what they think will happen and what they think needs to happen in the eurozone.

Senior managing director of economics at FTI Consulting and former UK government adviser

Last week's events, with all the market volatility, were a serious wake-up call to all international institutions and to policymakers. I think they've understood it and institutions will be set up in such a way to ensure future crises should be averted.

I think we will see a haircut on Greek bonds, a recapitalisation programme for banks and an increase in the size of the bailout fund - but you need all these things, they need to be part of a package.

Even with that, in a year's time Europe will still be pretty weak because the long-term problems will still be there - low growth and unsustainable debt.

What we have seen for Greece will have to happen elsewhere. Haircuts are inevitable for other countries too.

They have to rethink how you achieve faster growth in Europe. If you don't get back to growth then the debt problems will remain.

The next thing that needs to be looked at seriously is issuing eurobonds. That may well be what we need in the longer term to lead us back to growth.

Director, Centre for European Policy Studies

We believe a market-based approach is needed to reduce Greece's debt.

The EFSF should offer holders of Greek debt an exchange into EFSF paper at the current market price. Banks would be forced in the context of the ongoing stress tests to write down holdings in their banking book and thus have an incentive to accept the offer.

More widely, we argue that the EFSF needs to be restructured.

You cannot just increase its size because if Italy or Spain were to step out as a guarantor, that would leave France, for instance, with a share of 40%, which it could not sustain and would lose its triple-A credit rating.

It cannot work as intended, but if it were re-registered as a bank, which would give it access to potentially unlimited ECB refinancing in case of emergency, the general breakdown in confidence could be stopped while leaving the management of public debt under the supervision of finance ministers.

Professorial research fellow, the European Institute of the London School of Economics. Currently researching EU economic policy, governance and policy co-ordination under European Monetary Union

The one obvious thing leaders should do would be to decide rapidly on a way of moving towards genuine eurobonds.

The Germans, manifestly, are very hostile to the idea, but it is a development that seems to have so many advantages that it ought to be pursued.

The trick will be to find a formula that deals with the "moral hazard" objections by introducing well-judged conditionality.

Economist at Open Europe, an independent think tank campaigning for reform of the EU

Greece obviously needs to restructure. It's looking at write-downs of 50% - that's a necessary step. It finally looks like the eurozone leaders are coming round to that.

But if it's not combined with recapitalising banks and other economic reforms it won't work.

In terms of the write-downs, banks will be able to absorb the hit because they should have been preparing for it for the last year. I think it would be necessary to use the EFSF to help recapitalise these banks and provide a backstop.

At the moment there's no clear pan-European mechanism for dealing with winding down a cross-border bank. I think we need a policy for what happens in this situation, a huge policy that needs to be detailed.

They also have to look at the different needs of the eurozone - for instance, interest rates in Germany would be very different to those in Greece. Those imbalances aren't going to go away.

Senior Economic Adviser, UBS Investment Bank

What I think the Europeans will choose to do is leverage the capital of the EFSF (currently 440bn euros) up by borrowing 5-10 times that from the market. They would then have the capacity to go and buy all of the sickly sovereign bonds that the banks are sitting on and swap them for bonds they themselves will issue.

I don't think it would be successful. In the short run it would probably be a bit of a tonic for bank stock prices and equity markets, but it doesn't do anything to solve the problem of the euro crisis at all.

I think you need a combination of three things.

These are: a restructuring template for Greece's debt with long gross periods - three years for the interest payment and 5-10 years for the principal repayment. That template might then have to be used for other countries.

Then, to stop Greek banks collapsing, you have to support the Greek banking system. And to stop banking contagion spreading to the likes of Italy and Spain, you need a banking recapitalisation programme.

And if the ECB said they were prepared to stand by and buy any amount of Spanish and Italian bonds, then we'd raise three cheers.

Anything that stops short of cleansing the European banking system will not be enough.

Chairman and chief economist, Lombard Street Research

The problem is that the Club Med countries - Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal - are not competitive. Even if they agree to writing down Greek debts and increasing the EFSF, that will only be successful in postponing the issue for a few more months. It won't stop debt going up.

For the euro to survive the only solution is for the Club Med countries to leave the single currency. I think Ireland could stay in the euro as, although it's banking system is a mess, it is cost competitive - exports make up most of its GDP - so it is possible to turn the economy round quite fast.

Former economist at Merrill Lynch/Bank of America, now chief economist at Berenberg Bank

The probability that we will get a significant write-down of Greek debt as part of an orderly programme, with an immediate recapitalisation of Greek banks, and with further European support for Greece, has risen substantially.

The key question in all this is nothing to do with Greece - but whether upon granting Greece debt relief we can protect Italy from the market panic and prevent contagion.

The risk Greece will default is now above 50%. But Greece is highly likely to stay in the euro come what may.

I would like to see the ECB commit to being the ultimate backstop - if things get really ugly the ECB should buy more government bonds.

Professor of economics at the Graduate Institute in Geneva, specialises in monetary integration, monetary policy and financial crisis

Discussions about the EFSF are irrelevant. It shows policymakers haven't zeroed in on the crisis and what to do about it. The EFSF currently has 440bn euros. The amount we're talking about for Italy and Spain, as well as Greece, Portugal and Ireland could be 3.5 trillion euros.

I think that Greece will inevitably default, and I believe that Italy too will have to default, but I don't see a willingness in policymakers to accept that.

The ECB is the only institution that can stop the crisis. My solution is for the ECB to issue a partial guarantee on the existing public debts of eurozone governments, of say, up to 60% of GDP. It would allow governments to default but would create a backstop.

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