US Shutdown: Americans And Tourists See Impact

The partial US government shutdown has left many federal workers uncertain of their financial future, with many facing unpaid furloughs or delays in pay cheques.

Park ranger and father-to-be Darquez Smith says he already lives cheque to cheque while putting himself through college and now worries how he will fare if the shutdown lasts a long time.

"I've got a lot on my plate right now - tuition, my daughter, bills," said Mr Smith, a 23-year-old ranger at Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park in Ohio.

"I'm just confused and waiting just like everyone else."

The Smithsonian museums in Washington have been closed to tourists

The impact of the shutdown was mixed - immediate and far-reaching for some, annoying but minimal for others.

In Colorado, where flooding killed eight people earlier this month, emergency funds to help rebuild homes and businesses continued to flow, but federal worker furloughs were expected to slow it down.

National Guard soldiers rebuilding washed-out roads are expected to be paid on time - along with the rest of the country's active-duty personnel - under a bill passed hours before the shutdown.

Existing Social Security and Medicare benefits, veterans' services and mail delivery were also unaffected.

Colorado National Guardsmen will continue their flood recovery efforts

Other agencies were harder hit.

Nearly 3,000 Federal Aviation Administration safety inspectors were furloughed along with most of the National Transportation Safety Board's employees, including investigators who respond to air crashes, train collisions and other accidents.

In all, about 800,000 federal employees were sent home - a number greater than the combined US workforces of Target, General Motors, Exxon and Google.

Almost all of Nasa shut down, except for Mission Control in Houston, and national parks closed along with the Smithsonian museums and the National Zoo.

Nasa closed most of its operations including this gift shop in Washington

Even the zoo's popular panda cam went dark, shut off for the first time since a cub was born there on August 23.

"After next week if we're not working, I'm going to have to find a job," said Robert Turner, a building mechanic at the Smithsonian's American History museum.

Marc Cevasco, who works in the Department of Veterans Affairs, said as he waited for a bus on Tuesday that the uncertainty of how long the shutdown would last made him uneasy.

"Even if it's just shut down for a week that's a quarter of your pay this month. That means a lot to a lot of people," he said.

Joe Wentz, a retired federal employee who was visiting San Francisco with his wife, bought tickets to visit Alcatraz on Thursday - if it is open.

Visitors hoping to see the Statue of Liberty up close have been turned away

Mr Wentz said he was frustrated that some politicians were using the budget to push changes in the Affordable Care Act, dubbed Obamacare.

"We've been disgusted a long time that they're not working together," he said.

The shutdown was strangely captivating to Marlena Knight, an Australian native visiting Independence National Historical Park in Philadelphia.

She was confounded that the impasse focused on the nation's health care system - an indispensable service in her home country.

"We can't imagine not having a national health system," she said. "I just can't believe that this country can shut down over something like a national health system.

"Totally bizarre, as an Australian, but fascinating."

It turns out an institution as massive as the federal government takes some time to grind to a total halt.

Many federal workers were being permitted to come to change voicemail messages or fill out time cards.

But after that, they were under strict orders to do no work, even check their email.

With no telling how long the standoff will last, even programmes not immediately affected could run out of cash.

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Gangs 'Use Budget Airlines For Crime Sprees'

Criminal gangs from Eastern Europe are reportedly targeting the continent's cities by flying in on low-cost airlines to commit crime and then returning home.

Rob Wainwright, director of the EU's law enforcement agency Europol, described the gangs as "petty criminals operating across multiple jurisdictions" and said they were active across Europe.

Card-skimming and pickpocketing are among the most common crimes, with Romanian and Bulgarian gangs thought to be responsible for 90% of all card-skimming offences in Europe.

Skimming is where data from a card's magnetic strip is illegally copied - often using a fake attachment on a cash machine.

A cloned card is then produced and used to make purchases in someone else's name.

Europol has identified 240 organised crime gangs from Romania which account for 6.7% of all criminal networks active in Europe, The Times reported.

Mr Wainwright told the newspaper: "We have this travelling criminal gang phenomenon that has become much more prevalent in the last three or four years - gangs from Lithuania, gangs from Poland, gangs from Romania that are operating in 20 or more European countries.

"They fly on low-cost airlines, do a few hits in one city and get back in time for tea. It's very different for the local police to respond to that."

Europol said it believed the threat from Romanian gangs will not rise significantly when restrictions on the type of work Romanians and Bulgarians can do in the UK are lifted in January.

Between April and June this year, the number of people from those two nations working in the UK rose by nearly 26%, with 141,000 employed in that period compared with 112,000 in the previous three months, according to the Office for National Statistics.

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Bill Gates 'Under Pressure To Quit Microsoft'

Three top investors in Microsoft are taking aim at Bill Gates to step down as chairman of the company he founded nearly 40 years ago, according to reports.

The mystery backers have not been named but are understood to be lobbying the company's board of directors for Mr Gates to be replaced, unnamed sources say.

The investors are said to be of the view that Mr Gates' presence on the board is blocking the adoption of new development strategies and making it hard for the chief executive to make substantial changes.

Miscrosoft's founder handed the chief executive role to Ballmer in 2000

The news comes days after current chief executive Steve Ballmer announced he will retire within a year following pressure from backers, as the company struggles to reposition itself in the ultra-competitive tech sector.

The investors targeting Mr Gates collectively own 5% of the $277bn (£171bn) company and have stressed they are also unhappy with his role on the special committee that is searching for Ballmer's successor.

They also have misgivings that Mr Gates wields power of out of proportion to his declining shareholding, down to 4.5% now from 49% in 1986.

The company remains one of the world's most valuable tech companies

Although Microsoft is still one of the world's most valuable technology companies, its shares have remained fairly static for 10 years as Ballmer has struggled in the face of competition from Apple and Google.

This is the first time major shareholders have focused on Mr Gates, who lowered his profile at Microsoft after handing over to Mr Ballmer in 2000 to focus on his $38bn (£23bn) Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

One of the sources said Mr Gates was one of the technology industry's greatest pioneers, but the investors felt he had been more effective as chief executive than as chairman.

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Energy Bills: Pensioners Face E.ON Price Hike

Labour claims the Government's efforts to simplify energy bills has backfired after one of the 'big six' suppliers withdrew its discount tariff for the over-60s.

E.ON's 'StayWarm' deal, which offered fixed-price energy for older customers based on their average consumption levels, will come to an end at the weekend.

The company said the move was forced by changes to the number of tariffs permitted by regulator Ofgem.

A company spokesman said: "Due to new Ofgem rules, which includes limiting the number of products we can offer, the StayWarm tariff will close as current contracts come to an end from October 7.

"We are writing to all customers as their contracts come to an end, and where possible we are also contacting them by phone with the aim of speaking to each customer to help ensure they switch to the best product for their needs."

Energy firms have not ruled out bill increases ahead of this winter

StayWarm, which allowed older people to plan their energy bills throughout the year, had been available to households inhabited by at least one person aged over 60.

The premium paid depended on the number of inhabitants and bedrooms, as well as geographical region.

But it had been unavailable for new customers since September last year.

The Government's energy regulator Ofgem is currently reforming the market in order to simplify bills, although consumer watchdog Which? has criticised its plans, claiming companies will still be allowed to include a standing charge as well as a unit price in their tariffs.

Luciana Berger claims Government has failed to reform energy pricing

Which? has called for simple tariffs, without standing charges and displayed in the style of petrol forecourt prices, to make it easier to spot the cheapest deal.

Luciana Berger, Labour's shadow energy and climate change minister, said of E.ON's decision: "This is yet more evidence that David Cameron's cack-handed reforms to energy tariffs have completely backfired.

"He promised to force the energy companies to put everyone on the cheapest tariffs - but now it looks like some pensioners will be paying more than they were before.

"If David Cameron is serious about tackling the cost of living crisis he should back Labour's plans to reset the energy market, freeze energy bills, reform Britain's energy market and put all over 75s on the cheapest tariff."

Labour's pledge to freeze energy bills for 20 months should the party win the next election sparked a furious backlash from the energy suppliers, saying the move threatened investment in Britain's energy structure and therefore blackouts.

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Water Watchdog Warns Suppliers On Bills

Water companies have been warned they must offer value for money or risk a backlash of complaints from customers.

In its annual report, the Consumer Council for Water (CCWater) revealed that written complaints had reduced by 7.4% in England and Wales.

This was down for the fifth year in a row while complaints by telephone were also down.

But the water watchdog's chief executive was concerned that the rate at which complaints had fallen had slowed.

Tony Smith said that "the poorest performers remain too far behind the rest of the industry."

Billing and charges remained the biggest area of concern for customers, the watchdog said, accounting for over 56% of the total 150,942 written complaints made in the year to 31 March 2013.

Worst performer was Southern Water, which saw a 77% increase in written complaints compared with the previous year.

South East Water's number of complaints remained twice the industry average despite a reduction of nearly 33%.

Thames Water, the country's biggest water company, managed a 6.5% reduction in complaints but it remained the only company to fall short of CCWater's target to resolve 90% of complaints first time.

CCwater said it continues to meet regularly with water companies to put pressure on them to prioritise customer service.

It has told the regulator, Ofwat, there "needs to be stronger penalties for water companies who are failing to satisfy the expectations of their customers."

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Cameron Vows Tories Will Build Better Britain

David Cameron has urged voters to hand him a majority at the next election so that the Tories can build a "land of opportunity".

The Prime Minister evoked Winston Churchill as he asked Britain to give the Conservatives the tools to "finish the job" of "clearing up the mess" left by Labour.

He said the economy was starting to turn the corner but warned that anyone who thought the struggle was over is "living in a fantasy land".

In a bid to adopt a more upbeat tone, his party conference speech talked of creating a better Britain and signalled he would slash taxes if he stays in power.

"We are Tories. We believe in low taxes. And believe me - we will keep on cutting the taxes of hard-working people," he declared.

But he also warned of further austerity as the Conservatives aim to pay off the deficit and then build up a surplus for the future.

Mr Cameron signalled the under-25s would have to "earn or learn" under a Tory government and would not be able to opt for a life on benefits.

The Prime Minister and his wife Samantha after his speech

But there were no other major policy announcements in his 49-minute address in Manchester, which was mostly delivered directly to the camera.

Instead, the Tory leader sought to draw clear dividing lines with Labour, accusing Ed Miliband of adopting a "crazy" anti-business agenda.

He dismissed Mr Miliband's promises to cut the cost-of-living as "all sticking plaster and quick fixes" - dubbing it "Red Ed and his Blue Peter economy".

Borrowing the slogan Mr Miliband repeated 17 times in his own speech, Mr Cameron declared: "I tell you what, Britain deserves better than that lot."

He insisted profit, wealth creation and enterprise were not "dirty, elitist words" but the driving force behind the recovery.

"It's businesses that get wages in people's pockets, food on their tables, hope for their families and success for our country," he said.

He branded Labour's plan to hike corporate tax rates for large businesses as "just about the most damaging, nonsensical, twisted economic policy you could possibly come up with".

Activists watch as the Tory leader speaks on stage

And he warned the call for more state borrowing and spending to ease what the Opposition calls a cost-of-living crisis would risk putting the UK on the same track as Greece.

He also rejected Labour accusations that the Tories represent the privileged and said he wanted a society where everyone has "the chance to make it".

Mr Cameron declared that he is "fighting heart and soul for a majority Conservative government because that is what our country needs".

But he warned Tory ambitions should not be limited to repairing the damage caused by Labour and eliminating the deficit.

"Finishing the job is about more than clearing up the mess we were left," he said. "It means building something better in its place. In place of the casino economy, one where people who work hard can actually get on.

"In place of the welfare society, one where no individual is written off. In place of the broken education system, one that gives every child the chance to rise up and succeed.

"Our economy, our society, welfare, schools, all reformed, all rebuilt - with one aim, one mission in mind: To make this country, at long last and for the first time ever, a land of opportunity for all."

His speech followed a raft of policy announcements aimed at countering Labour's claim that it is the only party that will tackle the rising cost-of-living.

The Prime Minister having a final read-through in his hotel room

Tory plans include bringing forward the Help-to-Buy scheme, the prospect of a fuel duty freeze until 2015 and a tax break for some married couples.

Mr Cameron vowed a Tory government would replace the "casino economy" and "welfare society" as well as improve the education system.

He accused Labour of failing Britain's young people and disadvantaged households by giving up and consigning them to a life on benefits.

"If you expect nothing of people, that does nothing for them. Yes, you must help people, but you help people by putting up ladders that they can climb through their own efforts," he said.

"It's this party that is fighting for all those who were written off by Labour. It's this party that's for the many, not the few. Yes - the land of despair was Labour, but the land of hope is Tory."

He also sought to position the Tories as the true defenders of the NHS, hailed the "noble" calling of social work and vowed to drive regeneration in the North of England.

"Make no mistake who's looking forward in British politics," Mr Cameron said. "We'll leave the 1970s-style socialism to others. We are the party of the future."

Activists gave the speech a standing ovation as Samantha Cameron joined her husband on stage.

The pair left the hall to Fleetwood Mac's Don't Stop (Thinking About Tomorrow), famously used by Bill Clinton as the soundtrack to his successful campaign for the US presidency in 1992.

Mr Miliband wrote on Twitter: "David Cameron's speech shows he does not know where to start in tackling the cost of living crisis facing Britain's hard-working families.

"The last thing families want is him to 'finish the job' when prices have risen faster than wages and average pay is down by almost £1,500."

Simon Walker, director general of the Institute of Directors, said: "Businesses up and down the country will welcome the Prime Minister's recognition that they are the driving force behind the economy, creating jobs and putting money in people's pockets.

"But they will be looking for him to match the sentiment with action. If tax cuts aren't dirty, let's have a few more of them. If profit isn't elitist, let's allow businesses to keep a little more of it."

John Longworth, director general of the British Chambers of Commerce, added: "David Cameron has set out a clear vision, but the harder task of making it happen still lies ahead.

"The Government cannot afford to become complacent, and must focus on creating an environment that supports enterprise, and puts economic growth at its heart."

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Uranium Processor Edges Closer To £10bn Sale

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

The uranium processing group jointly owned by the British, Dutch and German governments is inching towards a £10bn sale after directors picked advisers to steer them through one of Europe's biggest-ever privatisations.

Sky News has learnt that the board of Urenco, which is headquartered in Buckinghamshire, is close to appointing Rothschild, the investment bank, to help steer it through a potentially-contentious deal.

The impending appointment comes ahead of discussions between the three shareholders in Urenco over the options for reducing their stakes in the company.

An initial public offering (IPO) through a stock market flotation has not been ruled out, but Whitehall sources said that the Dutch government was less keen on the move than on an outright sale to a major player in the energy industry.

The Hague's resistance is said to stem in part from its experience with ABN Amro, the Dutch banker which was listed on the stock market and eventually broken up and sold to a consortium led by Royal Bank of Scotland in a disastrous takeover in 2007.

However, Urenco's technology and assets are so sensitive that its current owners will impose strict safeguards on any future shareholders.

Michael Fallon, the energy minister, said earlier this year that any sale "will make sure we deliver value for money and protect the UK's security and non-proliferation interests".

A sale of Urenco would potentially represent one of the biggest takeover deals in Europe so far this decade, although security concerns mean that the field of bidders is likely to be heavily restricted.

It could raise in the region of £3bn for the Treasury, rivalling the expected eventual proceeds from the flotation of Royal Mail, which is due to take place next week.

Urenco's activities are governed by the Treaties of Almelo, Cardiff and Washington, which were drawn up in an attempt to control the proliferation of nuclear technology and stop enriched uranium from falling into the hands of terrorists.

Tepco, the Japanese energy group, was seen as an obvious buyer of Urenco until the devastating earthquake and tsunami in 2011 triggered a crisis at the Fukushima reactor in 2011.

Cameco, a Canadian uranium producer, Mitsubishi of Japan and Areva, the French nuclear group, are among those expected to bid.

Several private equity groups, including Apax Partners, Carlyle and KKR, are also assessing whether to participate in an auction.

A number of investment banks have already won roles on the deal, with Morgan Stanley, the Wall Street firm, advising UK Government ministers.

The two German utilities backed by Berlin, EON and RWE, are being advised by Bank of America Merrill Lynch, while ABN Amro is now understood to be working with the Dutch government.

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Marc Jacobs Quits Louis Vuitton After Show

Marc Jacobs has shown his last collection for Louis Vuitton at Paris Fashion Week.

The French luxury firm has confirmed the designer - one of the biggest names in the fashion industry - is stepping down as its creative director.

The company would not say who would be replacing him, when he was going or give a reason for his departure but speculation is rife he wants to concentrate on his own brand and is considering a flotation.

Jacobs was at Vuitton for 16 years

Under his tenure, Louis Vuitton was hailed the most lucrative fashion house in the world, in part thanks to his creation of a ready-to-wear line.

As a backdrop to his final Louis Vuitton show on Wednesday, Jacobs revived creative masterpieces of his past catwalk success to widespread acclaim.

Louis Vuitton is part of the LVMH group of firms which own an array of other luxury names in everything from jewellery to champagne.

Jacobs assumed the role of creative director in 1997 and while his namesake labels are owned by LVMH it has been widely reported that an Initial Public Offering has been considered.

Talk over his replacement at Vuitton has seen Nicolas Ghesquiere - former lead designer at Balenciaga - emerge as a strong potential candidate.

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Ryanair Fined £6.7m For Labour Law Breach

Ryanair has been ordered to pay fines and damages totalling £6.7m by a French court for violating the country's labour laws.

The no-frills carrier faced several charges including registering workers employed in France as Irish employees, preventing workplace councils from functioning and preventing access to unions.

Ryanair said the majority of the financial penalties related to alleged non-payment of social insurance and state pension contributions in France for Ryanair crews.

The case centred around a facility operated by the company at Marignane, near the southern French cities of Marseille and Aix-en-Provence.

Ryanair, which plans to appeal, said it had believed it was operating there under Irish law.

In a statement released ahead of the judgment, the company said: "We will appeal any such negative ruling (and fine) on the basis that European employment and social security law clearly allows mobile workers on Irish registered aircraft, working for an Irish airline, to pay their taxes and social taxes in Ireland."

It claimed the laws it was said to have fallen foul of were specifically introduced in 2006 as state protection for the loss-making Air France and to limit competition to high fare Air France from lower cost airlines.

Another low budget carrier, EasyJet, was ordered to pay more than £1m in damages to unions representing crew for hiring 170 employees under British contracts at a Paris airport in 2010.

Prosecutors in the Ryanair cased argued there was no doubt the airline was operating in France, given that it had material and staff based permanently at Marseille and its employees lived in the area.

"We are dealing with a company whose only goal is to counter the law in defiance of the interests of workers," the prosecution argued.

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Tesco Reports Huge Drop In Group Profits

Tesco has reported a 23.5% drop in group pre-tax profits to £1.39bn in the six months to August 24 amid difficult times in Europe and Asia.

Sainsbury's continued to pile on the pressure as it reported like-for-like sales excluding petrol up 2% in its second quarter.

The UK market has witnessed a surge in competition with the likes of Aldi, Lidl and Waitrose challenging the other major players - Morrisons, Tesco's, Sainsbury's and Asda.

Major supermarket shares all suffered on Wednesday (prices correct 08.47)

Tesco suffered a 71% tumble in European trading profits to £55m and admitted the hit was worse than expected after conditions suffered in countries such as Ireland, Turkey and Poland.

Profits also fell sharply across Asia, down 12.4% to £314m, excluding China.

Tesco admitted the overseas woes would offset some of the benefit of its UK profits' improvement over the full year.

Tesco becomes a solo operator in China to a minor stakeholder

Chief executive Philip Clarke has spent £1bn overhauling the firm's stores to halt the decline in UK sales.

The move succeeded in the last half year, Tesco said, with sales measured as flat against the same period in 2012.

The supermarket chain announced the investment in its UK stores after being accused of taking its eye off the ball at home, focusing instead on growing its business abroad.

Sainsbury's is growing its UK market share

It recently pulled out of the US and has confirmed it is forming a partnership with China Resources to become the second-biggest player in the market there. 

Tesco, which has 134 stores in China, is to hold a 20% stake in the venture having struggled so far to get to grips with the demands of the Chinese consumer.

The deal will allow Tesco's boss to devote more time to the battle to retain its leading market share of over 30% in Britain

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