Monopoly Tokens: Iron Voted Out, Cat Voted In

After 78 years dodging the Go To Jail square, the iron is out of Monopoly and has been replaced by a cat.

The brutal decision on the board game token cull was taken by fans in 120 countries.

In the closing hours of voting on Facebook the "token out" vote came down to a race between the iron, the wheelbarrow and the shoe.

It was the iron that proved the least enduring.

The incoming cat token, complete with an M on its collar, triumphed over the robot, the diamond ring, the helicopter and the guitar to take its place on Go.

The new cat lines up with the other tokens

Cat lovers were perhaps simply trying to restore the balance - there is already a Scottie dog token.

The online contest to change the tokens, launched by toymaker Hasbro Inc, stemmed from chatter on Facebook, where Monopoly has more than 10 million fans.

It was intended to make the game relevant to fans today.

Monopoly's tokens originated when the niece of game creator Charles Darrow suggested using charms from her charm bracelet for tokens.

The tokens have changed quite a lot since Parker Brothers bought the game from its original designer in 1935.

The eight tokens were an iron, a race car, a Scottie dog, a shoe, a thimble, a top hat, a wheelbarrow and a battleship.

Most of the pieces were introduced with the first Parker Brothers version of the game in 1935. The Scottie dog and wheelbarrow were added in the early 1950s.

The cat lined up against the helicopter, guitar, diamond ring and robot

Jonathan Berkowitz, vice president for Hasbro gaming marketing, said: "We put five new tokens out for our fans to vote on and there were a lot of fans of the many different tokens, but I think there were a lot of cat lovers in the world that reached out and voted for the cat to be the new token for Monopoly.

"Tokens are always a key part of the Monopoly game ... and our fans are very passionate about their tokens, about which token they use while they play."             

The game is based on the streets of the casino town of Atlantic City, New Jersey, and it has sold more than 275 million units worldwide.

To make the game relevant to fans abroad, the names are changed to well-known streets in when it is introduced to a new country.

Mayfair and Park Lane are the most coveted squares on the board for London.

Versions of Monopoly with the new token will come out later this year.

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John Hourican: Right That I Give Up £4m

Revealed: The Secret Libor Messages

Updated: 3:48pm UK, Wednesday 06 February 2013

Sexual references, free meals and coded discussions were all part of the communications between RBS staff and others as they abused Libor rate-setting - even after they knew investigators were on the trail.

:: August 20, 2007

Yen Trader 4: where's young [Yen Trader 1] thinking of setting it?

Yen Trader 1: where would you like it[,] libor that is[,] same as yesterday is call

Yen Trader 4: haha, glad you clarified ! mixed feelings but mostly I'd like it all lower so the world starts to make a little more sense.

Senior Yen Trader: the whole HF [hedge fund] world will be kissing you instead of calling me if libor move lower

:: December 5, 2007

Yen Trader 2: FYI libors higher again today

Yen Trader 4: 'ucksake. keep ours low if poss. don't understand why needs to go up in yen

Yen Trader 2: no reason dude[,] [Bank C] and [Bank D] went high yest

Yen Trader 4: send the boys round

Yen Manager: pure manipulation going on

:: April 2, 2008

Senior Yen Trader: i am sure some HF [hedge fund] will complain tomorrow

Yen Trader 1: tough

Senior Yen Trader: we will say we lower every tenor ..1m 3m 6m ..we feel rbs name has very good credit ..no problem getting money in

Senior Yen Trader: good way to boost share price!

:: September 15, 2008

Yen Trader 1: can we lower our fixings today please [Primary Submitter]

Primary Submitter: make your mind up[,] haha , yes no probs

Yen Trader 1: im like a whores drawers

:: August 22, 2007

Yen Manager: Hi Mate, where are u calling the 6m and 3s Libor today?

Yen Trader 1: i put in 1.05 and 1.15

Yen Manager: ok cool...is that close to consensus?

Yen Trader 1: i think my 3s are too high[,] 6s will prob be 1.13 too[,] but i wanted high fixes today

Yen Manager: ok cool[,] its all a random variable for us at this stage it is just we have some small fixings

Yen Trader 1: well let me know if you have any preferencves [sic][,] each day

Yen Manager: thx will do

:: December 3, 2007

Yen Manager: for choice we want lower libors...let the [Money Market] guys know pls

Yen Trader 2: sure i am setting today as [Yen Trader 1] and cash guy off [Primary Submitter]

Yen Manager: great set it nice and low

Yen Trader 2: 1.02 in 6m or lower

Yen Manager: yeh lower

Yen Trader 2: 1.01 then cant really go much lower than that

Yen Manager: ok

Yen Trader 2: u care for 1m and 3m too[?] looks to me like fra map pretty flat

Yen Manager: lower generally dude

Yen Trader 2: cool

Yen Manager: within the acceptable bounds

:: February 15, 2007, showing Libor collusion between RBS and UBS

Yen Trader 2: how many people can u get to put this 1m libor low

UBS Yen Trader: well us[,] [Bank E,] and a few others i think

February 21, 2007

Yen Trader 2: what ur guys calling 3s libor[?] we need to get some low fixes

UBS Yen Trader: .64[,] yes will ask for low low high[,] 1m 3m 6m

Yen Trader 2: our guy agrees but reckons it will be 67[,] not good

UBS Yen Trader: no way! …

UBS Yen Trader: […] make sure your boys set low 1m and 3m

Yen Trader 2: will try though [Yen Trader 1/backup Yen LIBOR submitter] wants high 3s and 6s

UBS Yen Trader: we want high 6's too? don't let [Yen Trader 1] keep 3m high to help [Senior Yen Trader][,] i hate that guy

:: May 7, 2008

UBS Yen Trader: Hi [Sterling Cash Trader] if this is you can you pls ask for a low 6m in jpy for the next few days[.] Hope you are ok, was good seeing you last week[.] Cheers [UBS Yen Trader]

Sterling Cash Trader: Hi mate, I mentioned it to our guy on Friday and he seemed to have no problem with it, so fingers crossed.

:: December 4, 2008, showing Swiss Franc Libor manipulative conduct within RBS

Swiss Franc Trader: can u put 6m swiss libor in low pls?

Primary Submitter: NO

Swiss Franc Trader: should have pushed the door harder

Primary Submitter: Whats it worth

Swiss Franc Trader: ive got some sushi rolls from yesterday? …

Primary Submitter: ok low 6m , just for u

Swiss Franc Trader: wooooooohooooooo[,] 0.01%? thatd be awesome

Primary Submitter: 1.33

Swiss Franc Trader: perfect[.] u r a nice man

:: January 30, 2009

Primary Submitter: libors as requested

Swiss Franc Trader: you a top dog

:: May 5, 2009

Swiss Franc Trader: can we get high 3m, low 6m pls!

Primary Submitter: maybe

Swiss Franc Trader: PPPPLLLLLEEEEEAAAAASSSSEEEEEE

Primary Submitter: ok 41 52

Swiss Franc Trader: perfect perfect

:: May 14, 2009

Swiss Franc Trader: [Primary Submitter] pls can we get super high 3m[,] super low 6m

Swiss Franc Trader: PRETTY PLEASE!

Primary Submitter: 41 & 51

Swiss Franc Trader: if u did that[,] i would lvoe [sic] u forever

Primary Submitter: 41 & 55 then …

Swiss Franc Trader: if u did that i would come over there and make love to you[,] your choice

:: June 26, 2009, :: RBS collusion with interdealer brokers

Interdealer Broker B: Hello mate, [Yen Trader 1]? You all set?

Yen Trader 1: Yeah.

Interdealer Broker B: Right listen we've had a couple of words with them, you want them lower right?

Yen Trader 1: Yeah.

Interdealer Broker B: Alright okay, alright listen, we've had a couple words with them. You want them lower, right?

Yen Trader 1: Yeah.

Interdealer Broker B: Alright okay, alright, no we're okay just confirming it. We've, so far we've spoke to [Bank F]. We've spoke to a couple of people so we'll see where they come in alright. We've spoke, basically one second, basically we spoke to [Bank F], [Bank G], [Bank H], who else did I speak to? [Bank I]. There's a couple of other people that the boys have spoke to but as a team we've basically said we want a bit lower so we'll see where they come in alright?

Yen Trader 1: Cheers.

Interdealer Broker B: Cheers no worries mate.

March 3, 2010, Former Sterling Cash Trader now employed by Interdealer Broker A

Former Sterling Cash Trader: can i pick ur brain?

Primary Submitter: yeah …

Former Sterling Cash Trader: oh[,] we hve a mutual friend who'd love to see it go down, no chance at all?

Primary Submitter: haha [former UBS Yen Trader at Bank C] by chance

Former Sterling Cash Trader: shhh

Primary Submitter: hehehe …

Former Sterling Cash Trader: gotcha, thanks, and, if u cud see ur way to a small drop there might be a steak in it for ya, haha

Primary Submitter: noted ;-)

Former Sterling Cash Trader: 8-)

:: September 19, 2008 RBS Yen Trader engaged in 'wash trades' to compensate brokers

Interdealer Broker B: can you do me a favour … you're not going to get paid any bro for this and we'll send you lunch around for the whole desk. Can you flat…can you switch two years semi at 5 3/4 , 100 yards [meaning 100 billion yen] … between UBS. Just get … take it from UBS, give it back to UBS. He wants to pay some bro. We won't bro you …

Yen Trader 1: Yeah, yeah …

Interdealer Broker B: Yeah. Yeah. 100 yards … actually can you make it 150 and I'll send lunch around for everybody?

Yen Trader 1: Yeah.

:: November 22, 2010, conduct continues after US investigatrions start

Senior Yen Trader: hey ...you think we be able to convince [Primary Submitter] to change the libor today?

Yen Trader 1: i can try ... at the moment the FED are all over us about libors

Senior Yen Trader: thats for the USD? [$]

Yen Trader 1: ye[]s

Senior Yen Trader: dun think anyone cares the JPY libor

Yen Trader 1: not yet[,] i will walk over ot [sic] them

:: November 24, 2010, reflecting feigned refusal over Bloomberg Chat, immediately followed by agreement in recorded telephone conversation

Senior Yen Trader: was wondering if it suits you guys on hiking up 1bp [base point] on the 6mth Libor in JPY ... it will help our position tremendously

Primary Submitter: how you doing with all the volatilities these days? … to be honest happy with levels we see at the moment

Senior Yen Trader: ok no prob ... wouldn't want to cause any problem ... thanks mate

A telephone conversation commences: Senior Yen Trader: Hello?

Primary Submitter: Morning, [Senior Yen Trader]? Hi, [Primary Submitter].

Senior Yen Trader: Yeah, how are you?

Primary Submitter: I'm pretty good sir. Very Good. We're just not, we're not allowed to have those conversations on [instant messages].

Senior Yen Trader: Oh, sorry about that. I didn't know.

Primary Submitter: (laughter)

Senior Yen Trader: (laughter) Oh because of the, the BBA [British Bankers' Association] thing?

Primary Submitter: Yes, exactly.

Senior Yen Trader: Ah, ok ok.

Primary Submitter: So yeah, leave it with me, and uh, it won't be a problem.

Senior Yen Trader: Ok, great.

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Barclays Ups Its Mis-Selling Funds By £1bn

Barclays is to increase its funds put aside for mis-selling to consumers and businesses by another £1bn, taking the total to £2.6bn.

Sky's City Editor Mark Kleinman - who revealed the news on Wednesday - said the provision for the mis-selling of payment protection insurance (PPI) had gone up by £600m, and the amount to cover interest rate swaps had increased by £400m.

Barclays is also likely to have to set aside money for potential Libor-related litigation after being fined £290m last summer for manipulating the interbank borrowing rate.

The news came ahead of an appearance by the bank's chairman, Sir David Walker, and chief executive, Antony Jenkins, at the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards.

Mr Jenkins, who was appointed head of the bank in August, said he repeatedly raised concerns about the company's culture with its board and former chief executive Bob Diamond.

He said "actions" were needed rather than words, and assured MPs he was taking action to address the "aggressive" and "self-serving" culture.

"It is true to say we had debate over various topics concerning citizenship," he said.

"I raised the point repeatedly that it's actions that count and not words."

Mr Jenkins said he would be prepared to "do the right thing" if Barclays was hit by another scandal.

"I believe that the chief executive is responsible for what happens during his or her tenure at an organisation," he told MPs.

"If there were a grave regulatory event that happened on my watch then I would feel obliged to resign."

It comes just a week before Mr Jenkins unveils a blueprint for rebuilding Barclays' reputation.

Last month, the head of Britain's Financial Ombudsman Service, Natalie Ceeney, said banks only had themselves to blame for the spiralling costs of the scandal, which she said could have been contained if they had addressed the issue earlier.

The service, which steps in when banks and their customers cannot reach an agreement on compensation, said it was receiving up to 10,000 complaints each week about PPI, and had hired 1,000 new staff to cope with the caseload.

High street banks face a collective bill of around £12bn for mis-selling loan insurance designed to protect borrowers who miss repayments due to illness or redundancy.

Consumer groups that challenged banks over the way the policies were marketed and sold won a landmark court case in 2011, opening the floodgates to thousands of compensation claims over one of Britain's biggest-ever consumer scandals.

Meanwhile, complex interest rate swaps designed for small and medium-sized businesses have also become a contentious issue.

An estimated 90% of 40,000 may have been mis-sold, and payouts may reach £500,000 for each affected firm.

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UK Chip Firm ARM Rides Smartphone Wave

British smartphone chip designer ARM has reported a 20% rise in full-year pretax profit, with nearly every smartphone in the world now containing its technology.

ARM Ltd made an annual pretax profit of £276.5m.

It also reported fourth-quarter profit of £80m, on revenue of £164.2m, which was above forecasts of £75.6m on revenue of £152.2m.

The Cambridge-based group licences its technology to chip makers and receives a royalty on each chip shipped in devices, from tech giants such as Apple and Samsung.

Consumers around the world are increasingly using the Internet on mobile devices rather than on PCs that are powered by processors designed by older firms like Intel.

"Five years ago an ARM processor could be found in just over a quarter of devices that you could use to browse the internet," ARM finance director Tim Score said.

ARM Ltd chief executive Warren East

"Last year, in 2012, three-quarters of Internet-connected screens and devices used an ARM processor in the main chip."

Shares in the group rose to a 12-year high after it said it would at least meet analysts' expectations for revenue in 2013.

The newest smartphones and tablets typically contain multiple ARM-based processors and increasingly ARM graphics as well, helping royalties for the quarter rise 19% to $136.8 million, strongly outperforming the market.

The company recognises royalties a quarter in arrears, so the royalty income came on 2.5 billion chips shipped in the third quarter of the year.

Licensing revenue rose 28% to $158m, with 15 licences signed for ARM's latest Cortex-A processors designed for mobile computing, servers and enterprise computing.

ARM said it expected to continue to outperform the wider semi-conductor market in 2013.

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RBS Chief Gives Up £4m Shares In Libor Exit

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

The head of RBS's investment bank will forfeit millions of pounds in past share awards following political pressure for a prominent scalp from the group's involvement in the global Libor-rigging scandal.

I have learnt that John Hourican, who was brought in to rescue the business after the bank was bailed out by British taxpayers in 2008, is to relinquish roughly £4m in share options awarded to him based on past performance.

He will receive a year's salary in lieu of notice, worth around £700,000.

The details of his exit, including the cancellation of his share options, are expected to be announced on Wednesday by RBS.

Mr Hourican will leave the bank at the end of the month, having overseen a massive winding-down of RBS's investment banking operation during the last four-and-a-half years.

His role is effectively being made redundant by a restructuring of the division, and he is leaving despite the fact that both regulators and the bank's board acknowledge that he had no knowledge of, or involvement in, Libor-rigging misdemeanours.

Mr Hourican was asked by the bank's board to forfeit the £4m he is owed in shares in the last few days, according to insiders, and accepted because he is said to have felt it would be in the best interests of RBS.

In addition, he will not receive any form of bonus or share award for 2012.

The bank, which is 82% owned by UK taxpayers, will on Wednesday agree to pay approximately £400m in fines to UK and US regulators.

The majority of the settlement will cross the Atlantic and will be recouped from past RBS bonus pools, as well as payouts for 2012, following a demand from Chancellor George Osborne.

Around £100m of this will be clawed back from hundreds of senior managers across the RBS markets business, as Sky News revealed last week.

RBS is expected to spell out the details of the clawback arrangements on Wednesday.

Regulatory sources said that the Financial Services Authority (FSA) had told RBS that Mr Hourican retains its confidence and will not be prohibited from taking a future role in the banking industry.

Mr Osborne's intervention underlines the acute political sensitivity surrounding such huge fines being paid by a bank majority-owned by taxpayers.

Speaking on Monday, Mr Osborne hinted that the job of Stephen Hester, RBS chief executive, was safe but added: "It is right that those who are responsible - not just those who are directly responsible, but also those who were doing the supervising - must also bear a level of responsibility."

Last week, Sky News revealed the looming row between RBS and the Treasury over Mr Hourican's share awards.

Mr Hourican is understood to have stepped in to protect the role of Peter Nielsen, who heads the markets business and whose job is now thought to be safe.

"He has shown real leadership over this," one ally of Mr Hourican said.

The discussions between RBS and the authorities had not been completed on Tuesday night, but people close to the talks said that the final settlement is likely to include fines totalling roughly £400m.

Between £85m and £90m of the total will go to the FSA, with the remaining sum split between the US Department of Justice and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

The settlement will make RBS the third bank to acknowledge that employees committed abuses of the Libor-setting regime, either for personal gain or to project a false impression of their bank's health.

Barclays was fined more than £290m, with UBS, the Swiss bank, hit by penalties of $1.5bn (£958m).

Emails and instant messages sent by RBS traders will also be released by regulators depicting the brazen way in which they attempted to manipulate the crucial inter-bank borrowing rates.

One of the outstanding issues on Tuesday night was whether RBS would be able to avoid criminal charges as part of the settlement, for which the DoJ has been pressing.

Settlements with other banks will follow in the coming months.

RBS and the FSA declined to comment. Mr Hourican could not be reached.

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RBS: Cable Still Wants Public To Get Shares

Business Secretary Vince Cable has revealed the option of returning Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) to the private sector is still on the table.

Mr Cable admitted that there could be "no immediate prospect" of the bank being reprivatised because this would result in a huge loss to the taxpayer.

But he made clear that he and his party are still keen for a future move that could see free shares being given out to the public.

"Certainly my party has advocated that option and we want to keep that option alive," he said on Wednesday. "There is a variety of options.

"It can remain in semi-public ownership for a prolonged period of time. It could be reprivatised when the positions are better.

"It could be mutualised, shares given to the public - the kind of thing my party, the Liberal Democrats, have been advocating. Those options are all open and we haven't foreclosed on any of them."

His comments came as RBS, which is 81% owned by the state, was due to announce a settlement with regulators over the Libor rate-fixing scandal.

Business Secretary Vince Cable

The Government is putting pressure on the bank to use its bonus pot to pay the fines imposed by UK and US regulators, expected to be around £400m. It could also face criminal charges.

Mr Cable faced questions about RBS' future as he made a speech calling for banks to do more to help smaller businesses.

The Business Secretary, in a speech to Bloomberg, said easing the "credit bottleneck" for small and medium-sized firms (SMEs) was a "matter of urgency".

The call followed signs that the Funding for Lending Scheme (FLS) is boosting the housing market but making little difference to such companies.

The Bank of England's own surveys show credit conditions are better for large companies and people wanting mortgages than for SMEs.

"There has been a remorseless decline in lending to SMEs - by £7.8bn over the last 18 months with no sign of a turning point," he said.

He said mortgages are seen as relatively secure and large corporate businesses a "safe bet" in comparison to smaller firms, which are deemed riskier.

Mr Cable plans to look at whether the bank's criteria for the scheme are wide enough and will be talking to officials about how it could be improved.

"The alternatives - flooding the markets with the sort of cheap funding that creates asset bubbles, or else starving SMEs altogether - are not acceptable, sustainable or viable," he said.

"I long for the day when a small business owner doesn't cite access to finance as the biggest problem out there."

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Virgin Media Bought By US Firm Liberty Global

Profile: US Billionaire John Malone

Updated: 3:27pm UK, Wednesday 06 February 2013

John Malone is one of the biggest name in the satellite television industry, with over 40 years' experience under his belt.

His business acumen has led to a string of nicknames over the years, with ex-US Vice President Al Gore once referring to him as the 'Darth Vader' of his sector.

Mr Malone is also known as the "swamp alligator" – happy to lie in the mud, and let the (business) prey come to him.

Born in Connecticut in 1941, he studied electrical engineering and economics at the prestigious Yale University.

By the age of 26, he had a bachelor's degree, a master's from New York University and a PhD in operations research from Baltimore's Johns Hopkins University.

His career began at Bell Telephone Laboratories, after which he worked at McKinsey & Company and General Instruments, which made cable television boxes.

Between 1973 and 1999 he headed up Telecommunications Inc – and expanded it to become the largest cable company in the US at the time of its sale to AT&T.

It was from the television content arm of that company that he created Liberty Media.

When it merged with UGC in 2005, Mr Malone became chairman of the group, which now has 19.6 million customers across the world.

Liberty Media's purchase of Virgin Media will make him a direct rival of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, which owns 39% of BSkyB, the parent company of Sky News.

It is not the first time the media moguls have come head-to-head in business.

A previous encounter saw both companies bid for control DirecTV - the largest US satellite TV broadcaster.

Forbes magazine ranked Mr Malone as the 199th richest man in the world in 2012, with a net worth of $5.1bn (£3.26bn)

He is also one of the largest landowners in the US, with over 2 million acres of land in Maine, Maryland, New Mexico, Colorado and Wyoming. 

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IFS Warns Osborne Will Have To Borrow More

By Ed Conway, Economics Editor

George Osborne has been dealt an embarrassing blow as the Institute for Fiscal Studies predicted that he will be forced to borrow more this year than last - only months after the Chancellor insisted he would not.

In its Green Budget, a deep assessment of the public finances, the IFS predicted that there was a "greater than 50:50 chance that borrowing will be higher this year in cash terms than last year".

At the Autumn Statement last year, the Office for Budget Responsibility predicted that the deficit this year would drop from £121.4bn to £120.3bn - something which was seen as a major political coup for the Chancellor over Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls.

In a further sign of the scale of austerity baked into Mr Osborne's plans, the IFS also said that under his current spending scheme, "unprotected" Whitehall departments - namely all but the NHS, schools and International aid - would have their budgets cut by a third between 2010/11 and 2017/18.

It also predicted that some 1.2 million public sector jobs would be cut - 300,000 more than the official OBR forecast.

It said that departments were tending to cut staff rather than wages, which helps explain the disparity. It said that cutting pay growth per head from 3% to 2% would save 140,000 general government jobs between now and 2018.

However, the IFS said that, contrary to some reports, Mr Osborne had actually increased borrowing and hence imposed less of an overall squeeze than he had originally planned for in 2010.

It said that by the end of this Parliament in 2014/15 the Chancellor will have borrowed £64bn more than he had planned only two years ago.

Instead, the majority of the spending cuts will be imposed in future years, without being offset by more borrowing.

IFS director Paul Johnson said: "As economic performance and forecasts have worsened the Chancellor has followed a dual strategy. He is allowing borrowing to increase substantially in this parliament – allowing the automatic stabilisers to work – whilst promising another dramatic dose of public spending cuts in the next parliament."

"The effects of concentrating all those cuts on currently unprotected areas of public service spending look hard to contemplate.

"A more likely scenario perhaps is that other choices will be made after the next election.

"Taxes could rise, hitherto protected elements of public spending, like the NHS and pensions, could be hit, or the date at which we reach fiscal balance will be pushed further out.

"If taxes are to rise, or social security spending is to be cut, then a much clearer strategy should be set out. There are important ways in which the tax system could be made more efficient and be reformed to bear more heavily on "the rich", but there are also damaging options. And we do need to recognise that we are already very dependent on a small group for a lot of tax revenue.

"There are legitimate concerns about corporate tax avoidance. But over long periods revenues have held up well, and within the current structure defining and tackling avoidance effectively is difficult."

A Treasury spokesman said: "As the Institute for Fiscal Studies shows, the Government continues to tackle the deficit in a way that ensures those with the broadest shoulders bear the heaviest burden.

The IFS point out tax and benefit changes since the beginning of the Parliament will "hit the richest households hardest", and changes this April will benefit working households."

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Car Registrations Up For 11th Month In A Row

New UK car registrations continued to rise for the 11th consecutive month in a row, according to new figures.

Latest data from the the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) showed here was a 11.5% rise of car sales, to 143,643 units, over the period.

January saw the third month of double digit growth in the past four months.

Set against a challenging economic backdrop, it suggests deals and offers have helped to drive demand.

Cost-conscious and environmentally-minded motorists were attracted to advances in fuel efficiency across all ranges and new alternative propulsion systems.

These include diesel-electric hybrids, plug-in hybrids and extended-range electric vehicles.

There was growth across all fuel types, although alternatively fuelled cars saw a 7% rise.

The Ford Fiesta was the best selling car in January, followed by the Focus and the Astra.

Meanwhile, the Mini, Dual Purpose, Lower Medium and MPV segments all posted double digit gains, largely on the back of new models being introduced over the past 12 months.

As result of the positive figures, the SMMT has revised its growth forecast upwards for this year and predicted firm growth in 2014.

The market is expected to rise by 0.6% to 2.057 million units in 2013 and by 2.6% to 2.11 million units in 2014.

Mike Baunton, SMMT Interim Chief Executive, said: "The new car market has started the year confidently with registrations climbing 11.5% in January.

He added: "Lifted by a solid rise in private demand, the new car market posted its 11th successive month of growth with motorists attracted to forecourts by the latest models and competitive deals on offer."

The automotive industry is a vital part of the UK economy, accounting for 700,00 jobs and 10% of total UK exports.

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RBS Hit With £390m Fine For Fixing Libor

Revealed: The Secret Libor Messages

Updated: 3:48pm UK, Wednesday 06 February 2013

Sexual references, free meals and coded discussions were all part of the communications between RBS staff and others as they abused Libor rate-setting - even after they knew investigators were on the trail.

:: August 20, 2007

Yen Trader 4: where's young [Yen Trader 1] thinking of setting it?

Yen Trader 1: where would you like it[,] libor that is[,] same as yesterday is call

Yen Trader 4: haha, glad you clarified ! mixed feelings but mostly I'd like it all lower so the world starts to make a little more sense.

Senior Yen Trader: the whole HF [hedge fund] world will be kissing you instead of calling me if libor move lower

:: December 5, 2007

Yen Trader 2: FYI libors higher again today

Yen Trader 4: 'ucksake. keep ours low if poss. don't understand why needs to go up in yen

Yen Trader 2: no reason dude[,] [Bank C] and [Bank D] went high yest

Yen Trader 4: send the boys round

Yen Manager: pure manipulation going on

:: April 2, 2008

Senior Yen Trader: i am sure some HF [hedge fund] will complain tomorrow

Yen Trader 1: tough

Senior Yen Trader: we will say we lower every tenor ..1m 3m 6m ..we feel rbs name has very good credit ..no problem getting money in

Senior Yen Trader: good way to boost share price!

:: September 15, 2008

Yen Trader 1: can we lower our fixings today please [Primary Submitter]

Primary Submitter: make your mind up[,] haha , yes no probs

Yen Trader 1: im like a whores drawers

:: August 22, 2007

Yen Manager: Hi Mate, where are u calling the 6m and 3s Libor today?

Yen Trader 1: i put in 1.05 and 1.15

Yen Manager: ok cool...is that close to consensus?

Yen Trader 1: i think my 3s are too high[,] 6s will prob be 1.13 too[,] but i wanted high fixes today

Yen Manager: ok cool[,] its all a random variable for us at this stage it is just we have some small fixings

Yen Trader 1: well let me know if you have any preferencves [sic][,] each day

Yen Manager: thx will do

:: December 3, 2007

Yen Manager: for choice we want lower libors...let the [Money Market] guys know pls

Yen Trader 2: sure i am setting today as [Yen Trader 1] and cash guy off [Primary Submitter]

Yen Manager: great set it nice and low

Yen Trader 2: 1.02 in 6m or lower

Yen Manager: yeh lower

Yen Trader 2: 1.01 then cant really go much lower than that

Yen Manager: ok

Yen Trader 2: u care for 1m and 3m too[?] looks to me like fra map pretty flat

Yen Manager: lower generally dude

Yen Trader 2: cool

Yen Manager: within the acceptable bounds

:: February 15, 2007, showing Libor collusion between RBS and UBS

Yen Trader 2: how many people can u get to put this 1m libor low

UBS Yen Trader: well us[,] [Bank E,] and a few others i think

February 21, 2007

Yen Trader 2: what ur guys calling 3s libor[?] we need to get some low fixes

UBS Yen Trader: .64[,] yes will ask for low low high[,] 1m 3m 6m

Yen Trader 2: our guy agrees but reckons it will be 67[,] not good

UBS Yen Trader: no way! …

UBS Yen Trader: […] make sure your boys set low 1m and 3m

Yen Trader 2: will try though [Yen Trader 1/backup Yen LIBOR submitter] wants high 3s and 6s

UBS Yen Trader: we want high 6's too? don't let [Yen Trader 1] keep 3m high to help [Senior Yen Trader][,] i hate that guy

:: May 7, 2008

UBS Yen Trader: Hi [Sterling Cash Trader] if this is you can you pls ask for a low 6m in jpy for the next few days[.] Hope you are ok, was good seeing you last week[.] Cheers [UBS Yen Trader]

Sterling Cash Trader: Hi mate, I mentioned it to our guy on Friday and he seemed to have no problem with it, so fingers crossed.

:: December 4, 2008, showing Swiss Franc Libor manipulative conduct within RBS

Swiss Franc Trader: can u put 6m swiss libor in low pls?

Primary Submitter: NO

Swiss Franc Trader: should have pushed the door harder

Primary Submitter: Whats it worth

Swiss Franc Trader: ive got some sushi rolls from yesterday? …

Primary Submitter: ok low 6m , just for u

Swiss Franc Trader: wooooooohooooooo[,] 0.01%? thatd be awesome

Primary Submitter: 1.33

Swiss Franc Trader: perfect[.] u r a nice man

:: January 30, 2009

Primary Submitter: libors as requested

Swiss Franc Trader: you a top dog

:: May 5, 2009

Swiss Franc Trader: can we get high 3m, low 6m pls!

Primary Submitter: maybe

Swiss Franc Trader: PPPPLLLLLEEEEEAAAAASSSSEEEEEE

Primary Submitter: ok 41 52

Swiss Franc Trader: perfect perfect

:: May 14, 2009

Swiss Franc Trader: [Primary Submitter] pls can we get super high 3m[,] super low 6m

Swiss Franc Trader: PRETTY PLEASE!

Primary Submitter: 41 & 51

Swiss Franc Trader: if u did that[,] i would lvoe [sic] u forever

Primary Submitter: 41 & 55 then …

Swiss Franc Trader: if u did that i would come over there and make love to you[,] your choice

:: June 26, 2009, :: RBS collusion with interdealer brokers

Interdealer Broker B: Hello mate, [Yen Trader 1]? You all set?

Yen Trader 1: Yeah.

Interdealer Broker B: Right listen we've had a couple of words with them, you want them lower right?

Yen Trader 1: Yeah.

Interdealer Broker B: Alright okay, alright listen, we've had a couple words with them. You want them lower, right?

Yen Trader 1: Yeah.

Interdealer Broker B: Alright okay, alright, no we're okay just confirming it. We've, so far we've spoke to [Bank F]. We've spoke to a couple of people so we'll see where they come in alright. We've spoke, basically one second, basically we spoke to [Bank F], [Bank G], [Bank H], who else did I speak to? [Bank I]. There's a couple of other people that the boys have spoke to but as a team we've basically said we want a bit lower so we'll see where they come in alright?

Yen Trader 1: Cheers.

Interdealer Broker B: Cheers no worries mate.

March 3, 2010, Former Sterling Cash Trader now employed by Interdealer Broker A

Former Sterling Cash Trader: can i pick ur brain?

Primary Submitter: yeah …

Former Sterling Cash Trader: oh[,] we hve a mutual friend who'd love to see it go down, no chance at all?

Primary Submitter: haha [former UBS Yen Trader at Bank C] by chance

Former Sterling Cash Trader: shhh

Primary Submitter: hehehe …

Former Sterling Cash Trader: gotcha, thanks, and, if u cud see ur way to a small drop there might be a steak in it for ya, haha

Primary Submitter: noted ;-)

Former Sterling Cash Trader: 8-)

:: September 19, 2008 RBS Yen Trader engaged in 'wash trades' to compensate brokers

Interdealer Broker B: can you do me a favour … you're not going to get paid any bro for this and we'll send you lunch around for the whole desk. Can you flat…can you switch two years semi at 5 3/4 , 100 yards [meaning 100 billion yen] … between UBS. Just get … take it from UBS, give it back to UBS. He wants to pay some bro. We won't bro you …

Yen Trader 1: Yeah, yeah …

Interdealer Broker B: Yeah. Yeah. 100 yards … actually can you make it 150 and I'll send lunch around for everybody?

Yen Trader 1: Yeah.

:: November 22, 2010, conduct continues after US investigatrions start

Senior Yen Trader: hey ...you think we be able to convince [Primary Submitter] to change the libor today?

Yen Trader 1: i can try ... at the moment the FED are all over us about libors

Senior Yen Trader: thats for the USD? [$]

Yen Trader 1: ye[]s

Senior Yen Trader: dun think anyone cares the JPY libor

Yen Trader 1: not yet[,] i will walk over ot [sic] them

:: November 24, 2010, reflecting feigned refusal over Bloomberg Chat, immediately followed by agreement in recorded telephone conversation

Senior Yen Trader: was wondering if it suits you guys on hiking up 1bp [base point] on the 6mth Libor in JPY ... it will help our position tremendously

Primary Submitter: how you doing with all the volatilities these days? … to be honest happy with levels we see at the moment

Senior Yen Trader: ok no prob ... wouldn't want to cause any problem ... thanks mate

A telephone conversation commences: Senior Yen Trader: Hello?

Primary Submitter: Morning, [Senior Yen Trader]? Hi, [Primary Submitter].

Senior Yen Trader: Yeah, how are you?

Primary Submitter: I'm pretty good sir. Very Good. We're just not, we're not allowed to have those conversations on [instant messages].

Senior Yen Trader: Oh, sorry about that. I didn't know.

Primary Submitter: (laughter)

Senior Yen Trader: (laughter) Oh because of the, the BBA [British Bankers' Association] thing?

Primary Submitter: Yes, exactly.

Senior Yen Trader: Ah, ok ok.

Primary Submitter: So yeah, leave it with me, and uh, it won't be a problem.

Senior Yen Trader: Ok, great.

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