Famed Piano Maker Steinway Sold For £321m

Famed piano maker Steinway has been sold for about $499m (£321m) and will become a private company again.

Steinway's pianos have been a status symbol and a must-have luxury in concert halls for more than a century.

But the company, which developed the modern piano, has struggled to maintain its profit margins in recent years following the economic downturn in 2008.

The company has struck a deal with Paulson & Co, the investment firm founded by John Paulson, for $40 per share - a year and a half after it started looking for a buyer.

That topped an earlier $35 per-share offer from Kohlberg & Co.

Industry experts believe that the recovering economy, coupled with increased overseas demand from places like China, made the company more attractive to private investors.

Its shares have recovered with the prospect of a sale, rising 71% this year.

The 160-year-old firm suffered during the recession. Sales fell by half and 30% of union employees were laid off from its New York factory between August 2008 and November 2009.

Although sales picked up in 2010 and 2011, they did not return to their pre-recession levels. 

In June, the company finalised the sale of its flagship showroom in Manhattan, the legendary Steinway Hall, where Serge Rachmaninoff and Vladimir Horowitz, among other greats, once took grand pianos for a test ride.

Steinway Chairman and CEO Michael Sweeney said Paulson's offer reflects the attractive value of Steinway's heritage and growth potential, while also providing its shareholders with significantly better returns.

The deal is expected to close in late September.

Steinway, which will become private, valued the sale at about $512m (£329m), which includes a $13.4m break clause.

Paulson will open a tender offer for company shares within the next five days.

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Apple Stock Soars As Icahn Buys 'Large' Stake

Activist investor Carl Icahn has bought a large stake in Apple and says the world's most valuable company should be doing more to revive its stock price.

The often outspoken billionaire, renowned for pouncing on out-of-favour shares, signalled he had Apple in his sights in messages posted on his Twitter account.

The posts announced he had acquired a big but unspecified stake in Apple and that he had just had a "nice conversation" with Apple CEO Tim Cook about his belief that the maker of the iPhone and iPad should be using even more of its $147bn (£95.2bn) cash pile to buy back its own stock as soon as possible.

Just buying a 1% stake in Apple would cost more than $4bn, based on the current price of Apple's stock.

Apple spokesman Steve Dowling described Icahn's discussion with Cook as positive, but declined to elaborate.

Carl Icahn announced his interest in Apple on Twitter

"We appreciate the interest and investment of all our shareholders," Dowling said.

News of Icahn's investment helped Apple's market value rise by about $13bn (£8.4bn).

Apple had already been trying to lift its stock price under a programme it adopted earlier this year under pressure from another activist shareholder, hedge fund manager David Einhorn.

Apple boss Tim Cook began a share buy-back earlier this year

In April, Apple pledged to spend $60bn (£39bn) buying back its stock by the end of 2015 as a way to return some of its cash to shareholders.

About $18bn of that has already been completed.

Icahn thinks Apple should be pouring even more money into its stock because he believes the shares are worth more than most investors currently believe, according to his tweets.

Despite a recent upturn that has re-established Apple as the world's most valuable company, its stock remains 30% below its peak of $705.07 nearly 11 months ago.

The price slump is blamed on the slowdown in growth at Apple as earnings are squeezed by tougher competition in the smartphone and tablet computer markets.

Icahn, whose fortune is estimated by Forbes magazine at $20bn, has a string of high profile investments, including stakes collectively worth billions of dollars in Dell and Netflix, the internet video service.                 

He is currently embroiled in a row with Dell over its future by attempting to block founder Michael Dell's $25bn effort to take the computer firm private.

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HMRC Failure 'Costs Whitehall £20bn In Tax'

The Government could recoup another £20bn a year if it improved the efficiency of its tax collection, according to councils.

The Local Government Association (LGA) claims uncollected tax is costing the equivalent of £1,370 for every household in England and Wales.

It said HM Revenue and Customs was not matching tax collection rates achieved by councils and called for a commitment to at least halve the shortfall by the end of this Parliament.

HMRC accused the LGA of misunderstanding the "tax gap" and insisted it collected 99% of all taxes and duties owed.

But Sharon Taylor, chairwoman of the LGA's finance panel and Labour Leader of Stevenage Council, said: "If central government's collection rates were as good as those of councils, the public purse would be more than £20bn better off.

"That's almost double the size of the total spending cuts announced in the Chancellor's spending round.

"When the taxman's balance sheet falls short, it takes a toll on public services across the board.

"Local government is the most efficient part of the public sector. Council tax has one of the highest collection rates of any tax.

"We cannot afford for local services like road maintenance, libraries and social care to continue paying the price of those who evade and avoid their tax liability. We all need government to do better in tackling this.

"Local authorities collect council tax from more than 22 million homes. If councils can obtain more than 97% of this, it is reasonable that Whitehall should be able to match this.

"Government has made positive noises on tackling unpaid tax. We now want to see a clear timetable which sets out how government will significantly improve their tax collection record."

An HMRC spokesman said: "The LGA have fundamentally misunderstood the nature of the tax gap which is not a measure of tax unpaid.

"In fact HMRC already collects 99% of all taxes and duties which are collectible from a very wide customer base of 60 million taxpayers, increasing our tax take by £1.4bn to £475.6bn in the last year alone - on average we collect £1.3bn a day for the UK."

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BP Sues Over US Ban On Contracts After Explosion

BP is to take the US government to court over its ban on the company bidding for new federal contracts in the country, following the Deepwater Horizon disaster.

The lawsuit, filed in Texas, claims keeping the ban in place risks causing the company "irreparable harm" while at the same time hurting 21 subsidiaries which had nothing to do with the accident in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) initiated the ban on BP last November, citing the company's "lack of business integrity" in the wake of the rig explosion - which killed 11 workers - and the resulting oil spill.

The suspension only affects new contracts, not existing deals.

BP is currently one of the largest suppliers of fuel to the US government, including to the military, holding contracts worth more than $1.34bn (£867m), according to the suit.

The oil company's US spokesman said in a statement: "We believe that the EPA's action here is inappropriate and unjustified as a matter of law and policy, and we are pursuing our right to seek relief in federal court.

"At the same time, we remain open to a reasonable settlement with the EPA."

Bob Dudley, BP's chief executive, told investors in the second quarter that the company had plenty of work that was ongoing in the Gulf despite the ban but said the EPA order bars it from taking possession of new leases there.

The company is currently paying out millions of dollars to settle damage claims from Gulf residents in a contentious process that BP says is being mismanaged by the administrator.

Last week a judge ordered BP to pay $130m to the administrator's team despite objections from the oil company, which is also facing the second phase of a trial in federal court to determine fines for environmental harm caused by the spill.

BP has incurred about $42.4bn in charges related to the disaster.

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Dreamliner: Airline Detects Wiring Faults

The Japanese airline ANA says it has found an electrical wiring problem in fire extinguishers for engines of three Dreamliner jets.

The problem - the latest in a series of setbacks for Boeing's 787 - was first discovered during pre-flight maintenance of a jet at Tokyo airport, an ANA spokeswoman said.

The airline said it was investigating whether the faulty wiring would have caused the extinguisher to malfunction in case of an engine fire.

After ANA reported the fault, rival Japan Airlines turned back a 787 jet en route to Helsinki to check the fire extinguisher wiring.

JAL said it was now conducting checks on all 10 of its 787s.

A fire on a 787 in July forced Heathrow to ground flights temporarily

The 787, Boeing's most advanced aircraft which was designed with fuel efficiency in mind, has suffered a spate of problems since its first flight in December 2009.

In the latest incident, fire broke out on an Ethiopian Airlines 787 at London's Heathrow airport on July 12, triggering the inspection of the planes' beacons, used to locate the aircraft in the event of a crash.

Concerns over the so-called emergency locator transmitters are separate to the main electrical power supply battery faults which led to the grounding of 787 aircraft worldwide earlier this year after batteries overheated on two Japanese jets in quick succession in January.

The action led to delivery delays which caused Thomson Airways to scrap plans to use the ultra-green aircraft in May and June.

The carrier finally began Dreamliner services earlier this month.

British Airways has taken delivery of the first of its 24 Dreamliners, while Virgin Atlantic is due to receive the first of its 16 Dreamliners in September next year.

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Eurozone Out Of Recession As Economy Grows

The eurozone has moved out of recession as its economy grew by 0.3% in the second quarter.

It means the struggling area has finally emerged from its longest recession to date.

The eurozone saw slightly faster then expected growth, with its two largest economies leading the way.

Germany, Europe's biggest economy, expanded by 0.7% in the period from April to June, after GDP stagnated in the first quarter.

France saw its strongest quarterly growth in two years as its economy increased by 0.5%, while Portugal boasted a rapid rise of 1.1%.

The official figures confirmed expectations that a fragile recovery is underway, however some countries saw contraction.

In Spain GDP fell by 0.1%, while Italy and the Netherlands both dropped by 0.2%.

The data from Eurostat, the European Union's statistics office, showed that collectively the 17 EU countries saw the first quarterly growth since the eurozone slipped into recession in the final quarter of 2011.

Lasting six quarters, it was the longest recession to hit the eurozone following the launch of the single currency in 1999.

The quarterly improvement was slightly better than the 0.2% market expectations.

But despite the expansion, the eurozone economy remains 0.7% smaller than it was in the same period last year.

Following the news EU Economic Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn said: "A sustained recovery is now within reach but only if we persevere on all fronts of our crisis response."

The area now faces a recovery tainted by record high unemployment and severe austerity measures in countries such as Greece.

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Jobs: Claimant Count Hits Four-Year Low

The number of people claiming unemployment benefit dropped by almost double the forecast figure last month to a four year low.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said Jobseeker's Allowance claims tumbled - for the ninth consecutive month - by 29,200 in July as the labour market strengthened

There was also a favourable revision to June's number which was revised to 29,400 - the largest monthly drop since May 2010.

While the total number of people unemployed fell by 4,000 between April and June to 2.51 million, unemployment among 16 to 24-year-olds increased by 15,000 to reach 973,000, while the number of people out of work for more than two years rose by 10,000 to 474,000, the highest since 1997.

The number of people in work increased by 69,000 in the quarter to 29.78 million, the highest since records began in 1971 but the ONS said the unemployment rate held steady at 7.8%.

That statistic is now closely watched after the Bank of England's new governor Mark Carney confirmed the monetary policy committee (MPC) did not envisage raising the base rate of interest until the jobless rate dropped to 7%.

It emerged today, in minutes from the bank's last MPC meeting that one member, Martin Weale, voted against the new policy of giving forward guidance on the possible movement of interest rates.

The ONS data provided better news for household incomes as average weekly earnings growth, including bonuses, accelerated to 2.1% in the period, compared with a year earlier.

The body said it represented the fastest growth since late 2011 though it still lagged way behind inflation - standing at 2.8% in July according to figures released on Tuesday.

Giving his reaction to the job statistics Employment Minister Mark Hoban said: "With 29,000 fewer people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance compared to this time last month, and more people in work than ever before, today's figures paint a positive picture of the UK labour market.

"There are now more jobs available than at any time since the end of 2008, and more hours being worked than ever before - which shows that there are opportunities out there for people who want to work and get on in life."

But Dave Prentis, general secretary of the Unison union, was less upbeat.

He said: "Today's small drop in unemployment rates masks the damaging growth of under-employment plaguing the country and stifling economic recovery.

"A toxic combination of part-time, minimum wage, zero-hours working is spreading across the country, as decently paid, full-time opportunities become increasingly rare.

"We know that just a few months ago there were, on average, almost four people chasing every vacant job in England, Scotland and Wales. For young people desperate to get their first job, these are desperate times. Getting the work experience they need to get a start in life is hard to find."

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UPS Plane Crash In Alabama Kills Two

A large UPS cargo plane has crashed on approach to an airport in Birmingham, Alabama, killing the pilot and co-pilot.

The pre-dawn crash caused at least two explosions, throwing debris across the area.

The plane caught fire, sending a column of thick smoke into the sky as fire trucks and other emergency vehicles rushed to the scene.

Birmingham Fire Chief Ivor Brooks said the pilot and the co-pilot, the only two people aboard the aircraft, were killed. He said both were pronounced dead at the scene of the crash.

No other casualties have been reported.

The plane crashed before dawn. Pic: WVTM-TV

Chief Brooks said the blaze was extinguished by late morning.

The Federal Aviation Administration said the A300 plane - en route from Louisville, Kentucky, to Birmingham - crashed on approach to Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport at around 5am local time.

The plane went down in an open field that is just outside the perimeter fence of the airport.

Nearby, grass was blackened near the bottom of a hill, and a piece of the fuselage and an engine were visible on the hill's crest and smoke could be seen rising from the other side.

It kept burning in the open field where the accident occurred. Pic: WVTM-TV

The crash had not affected airport operations, though it did appear to topple a tree and a utility pole. The top was broken out of the tree and there were pieces of a utility pole and limbs in the road.

Birmingham Mayor William Bell said: "The plane is in several sections.

"There were two to three small explosions, but we think that was related to the aviation fuel."

The National Transportation Safety Board sent a team to investigate the crash.

Emergency crews rushed to the scene. Pic: WVTM-TV

The AP news agency said conditions in the area were rainy with low clouds in the early morning.

Sharon Wilson, who lives near the airport, said she was in bed before dawn when she heard what sounded like engines sputtering as the plane went over her house.

"It sounded like an airplane had given out of fuel. We thought it was trying to make it to the airport. But a few minutes later we heard a loud `boom,"' she said.

Another resident, Jerome Sanders, lives directly across from the runway. He said he heard a plane just before dawn and could see flames seconds before it crashed.

"It was on fire before it hit," Mr Sanders said.

Atlanta-based UPS said in a statement that "as we work through this difficult situation, we ask for your patience, and that you keep those involved in your thoughts and prayers".

Previously, a UPS cargo plane crashed on September 3, 2010, in the United Arab Emirates, just outside Dubai.

Both pilots were killed. Authorities there blamed the crash on its load of between 80,000 to 90,000 lithium batteries, which are sensitive to temperature.

Investigators found that a fire on board likely began in the cargo containing the batteries.

Airbus, which quit building the A300 in 2007, said in a news release the plane that crashed in Alabama was built in 2003 and had logged about 11,000 flight hours over 6,800 flights.

The A300, which began flying in 1972, was Airbus' first plane. American Airlines - the last US passenger airline to have flown the model - retired its last A300 in 2009.

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Lord King Given £10,000 Gift For Retirement

Mervyn King has been given a £10,000 painting of himself from the Bank of England.

The portrait was one of several gifts the Bank's former Governor received following his retirement last month.

His leaving presents totalled £13,000 and also included a £597 silver napkin ring and a £2,505 sculpture of German politician and writer Johann von Goethe.

The cost to the Bank for marking Lord King's departure escalated further as it put on three events that added up to more than £10,000.

An evening reception was held on 26 June and cost £4,672 while there was also a £3,450 dinner the following day.

Another meal came in at £3,800, with flowers and invitations for all occasions costing £1,501.

The most recent figures to be published put Lord King's pension pot at £198,200 a year, but some reports suggest it is now worth much more.

Canadian banker Mark Carney succeeded Lord King, taking up the post as the Bank of England's new Governor on July 1.

Related stories:

Forward Guidance: A Monetary Policy Gamble

Carney Starts As Bank Of England Governor

King Heads Towards Bank Exit With A Smile

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JP Morgan: Charges Over $6bn 'London Whale'

The United States has charged two ex-JP Morgan traders over the so-called 'London Whale' scandal that resulted in losses of $6.2bn (£4bn).

Prosecutors in Manhattan accused former London-based traders Julien Grout and Javier Martin-Artajo of wire fraud and a conspiracy to falsify books and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) records, according to court papers.

A news conference is expected to confirm later that another former employee Bruno Iksil, who was nicknamed the London Whale over the size of his trades, will not face any charges relating to the allegations.

The case, filed in federal court, claims Grout and Martin-Artajo deliberately tried to hide hundreds of millions of dollars in losses on trades in a portfolio of synthetic credit derivatives.

Lawyers for both men have previously stated that their clients did nothing wrong and JP Morgan spokesman Joe Evangelisti declined to comment on the case.

It is understood that Spanish national Martin-Artajo supervised JP Morgan's trading strategy in London while his French colleague recorded the value of any bad investments.

The charges are the result of an investigation into events surrounding the losses in the London division of JP Morgan's chief investment office.

The losses over alleged wrongdoing first became public in April 2012.

More follows...

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