VIP Visas Aimed At Drawing Executives To UK

By Anuskha Asthana, Political Correspondent

British visas are to be offered under a "same-day service" in China and a number of other countries in a bid to make the UK immigration service more pro-growth.

The move was announced by Theresa May, the Home Secretary, who also unveiled plans to offer bespoke visa support to around 100 global business leaders.

They will be invited to join the new "Great" club with access to an account manager whose aim is to make their dealings with the visa and immigration system "swift and smooth".

Britain's priority visa service - between three and five days - will be expanded from 67 to over 90 countries by next spring.

And the one-day offering only available in India will be extended to China and a number of other locations.

Theresa May will offer same day visas to China

There will also be a special mobile visa service starting with a pilot in south India.

Mrs May said she wanted "excellent customer service" to help Britain maintain a "world class, competitive visa system".

She admitted that was necessary for the UK to serve the "ever-changing needs" of business and succeed in the global economic race.

She added: "We will continue to listen and respond to the needs of high-value and high-priority businesses so that we can provide them with a service that supports economic growth, while at the same time maintains the security of our borders."

The move is in response to fears within Government and outside it that Britain's crackdown on immigration is deterring highly skilled individuals from visiting the country.

Businesses and the City say they need to be able to bring in the best talent to help boost economic growth.

The new scheme will operate as a 12-month pilot, starting in the new year.

The issue has caused tensions inside the Coalition, with the Lib Dem business minister Vince Cable being particularly vocal.

He has also spoken out about universities.

They fear that the attempt to reduce net immigration to the tens of thousands - and the rhetoric it carries - is weakening their chances of attracting the best students.

That limits their ability to compete with institutions in other countries such as the US, Germany and Australia.

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New Car Sales: Fuel Efficiency Boosts Demand

A drive for greater fuel efficiency is among the reasons for the latest rise in new car sales, enjoying a 20th consecutive month of growth in October.

The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said it was now expecting registrations during 2013 to reach a six-year high after 157,314 new cars were sold last month - a 4% rise on October last year.

It took the total number of new registrations in the year to date to just over 1.95 million, a 10.2% rise on January-October last year.

As a result, the society said it was raising its forecast for the year to 2.25 million - well up on 2.07 million cars sold last year and the best year since 2007.

SMMT chief executive Mike Hawes said: "We have now seen 20 consecutive months of growth.

"These sustained rises have been driven by robust private demand, a trend that has given us the confidence to raise our year-end forecast.

"Looking ahead, we anticipate more moderate growth as the market stabilises."

The SMMT said it had noticed a shift in models being bought - away from family cars to smaller vehicles such as the Ford Fiesta, which remained the best-seller in the UK in the year to date with almost 105,000 models sold - well ahead of the Focus and Vauxhall Corsa.

The industry body said buyers were increasingly looking for greater fuel efficiency while demand for larger vehicles was greatest in the multi-purpose category.

It also cited cheaper finance deals, with some as low as £99 per month as another reason for growing interest, while some purchases were likely being funded by payment protection insurance compensation.

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Ed Miliband Takes On The 'Wonga Economy'

The Labour leader has launched an attack on our "Wonga economy" saying payday lenders are "running riot through our communities".

Ed Miliband accused the firms of preying upon vulnerable people then intimidating them with bullying tactics when they failed to repay the loans.

He said they had created a "quiet crisis" for thousands of households saddled with debts they were unable to pay off.

In a speech at Battersea Power Station, Mr Miliband said that he had visited the Citizens' Advice Bureau in his Doncaster constituency and heard the stories of a number of people who had become victims of pay day loan firms.

His intervention came as representatives of the three of the biggest payday lenders - including Wonga - were facing a grilling by MPs on the Commons Business, Innovation and Skills Committee.

He had spoken to one young mother who was "down to her last nappy" when she saw an advert for a payday lender on the television. He said she had succumbed to the financial pressures to take one.

Now, he said, the "bullying and harassment" she was being subjected to by those firms was such that she had been forced to give her mobile phone to her mother because she was getting 15 calls a day.

The payday loans firm, Wonga, has 1.25 million customers

Mr Miliband responded angrily to the boss of Wonga, who has commissioned a film which tells the story of 12 people who have been happy with their payday loans, claiming he was speaking for a "silent majority" who were satisfied with the service.

He said: "Payday lenders don't speak for the silent majority. They are responsible for a quiet crisis of thousands of families trapped in unpayable debt.

"The Wonga economy is one of the worst symbols of this cost of living crisis."

He said that seven out of ten customers customers said that they regretted taking out a payday loan, with half saying they were unable to repay it.

He said the woman who ran his local Citizens' Advice Bureau had told him: "Payday lenders are running riot through this community."

However, Henry Raine, head of regulatory and public affairs at Wonga, told the Commons Business, Innovation and Skills Committee: "Wonga's business is aiming to lend to people who can pay us back, that's how we make money.

"The vast majority of people pay us back on time. We freeze interest after 60 days and 25% of people pay us back early."

Mr Raine said around 3% of loans, equating to around 40,000 of Wonga's 1.25 million customers, go to the 60-day period.

He said Wonga's record compared favourably with the rest of the loan industry, including credit card companies and banks.

Wonga has come under attack from the Archbishop of Canterbury

But Martin Lewis, the founder of MoneySavingExpert.com, said payday lenders were essentially "grooming" the next generation of borrowers and advertising should be banned from children's television channels.

He said one in three people with youngsters under the age of 10 reported that their children could repeat payday loan ad slogans.

Mr Lewis told the Commons Business, Innovation and Skills Select Committee: "I think we are in danger of grooming a new generation towards this type of borrowing. And if you think we've got problems now you wait until 10 years' time.

"Grooming is the right term. We're talking about a market that didn't exist five years ago, and you've had people in arguing that this is how people like to use it. They've created the demand, they've created the operational structure, and now they're saying it's what people want. It's deliberately contrived and controlled."

In his speech, Mr Miliband also intensified his attack on David Cameron over energy bills and the cost of living.

He challenged coalition MPs to back Labour plans for a temporary freeze on electricity and gas charge in a Commons vote on Wednesday.

Today the Government announced it had urged water companies to look closely at whether price increases were necessary and to introduce special tariffs for hard-pressed household.

The move has been seen as an attempt to seize back the initiative on the cost of living, which is becoming a key battleground ahead of the General Election.

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M&S Upbeat Despite Clothing Sales Falling Again

M&S v Primark: The Clothing War It Can't Win

Updated: 2:03pm UK, Tuesday 05 November 2013

By James Sillars, Sky News Business

It's a battle for your business. A war to win your custom. M&S has been losing ground to rivals and its problems still run deep.

Marks & Spencer was once of the darling of the retail sector - with its clothing offering top of the pile - but it failed to move with the times.

Suddenly there were challengers to its 'something for everyone' dominance and crucially they were cheaper, online and more adaptable to changing fashions.

Family budgets have been feeling the pinch since the financial crisis of 2008 as a result of the overall cost of living rising faster than wage growth.

That squeeze has tightened - forcing many retailers, including M&S, to discount, advertise aggressively and therefore damage their bottom lines.

Not so at Primark, with its soaring revenues, profits and store growth.

Primark has made its name offering fashionable clothes at affordable prices. That is its brand. Its timing could not have been better.

It grew total sales by 22% to £4.3bn in the year to September - expanding its selling space across major cities to bring an "exciting, fashionable and fun shopping experience".

M&S total sales rose by 3.1% in the UK over the six months to September 30 - but the growth did not come from clothes.

In contrast to the struggles of M&S as it tries to kickstart its fashion business, Primark's buying teams are celebrating autumn/winter and spring/summer ranges selling out.

M&S tried a counter-attack against the threat from the cheaper brands but admitted in May it would once again focus on style and quality, shifting its focus to recapturing custom in the crucial area of womenswear.

Andrea Felsted, the FT's senior retail correspondent, told Sky News that womenswear remained its main challenge.

"It really is the cornerstone of M&S. The launch in May ... there were some improvements but it really will have to be seen whether that does play out.

"M&S did suffer some stock shortages in September. It said it was a return to quality but the FT reported that they'd even had some quality problems with the iconic piece in the campaign the pink coat ... some of the poppers were not sewn on properly.

"That's not exactly the quality they would have been hoping for," she said.

M&S launched its Leading Ladies advertising campaign, featuring a dozen high-profile women including actress Dame Helen Mirren and Olympic boxer Nicola Adams, on September 12 and its first Christmas advert hits TV screens on Wednesday.

Such campaigns cost millions of pounds - as does a drive for quality.

No wonder then that M&S is on a different playing field to that of Primark. Their clothing business models could not be more different.

Marks and Spencer's opponents lie elsewhere on the high street.

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Discount Retailer Poundland Plots £900m Float

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

Poundland has picked banks to lead a flotation that could underline the stellar growth in the discount retail sector by valuing it at as much as £900m.

Sky News has learnt that Warburg Pincus, the private equity firm which controls Poundland, has picked Credit Suisse and JP Morgan to oversee a listing in the coming months. The appointments are expected to be confirmed in the next few days.

The flotation of Poundland will lay the foundations for an ambitious expansion of the chain, which currently operates 450 shops and has set a target of more than doubling that estate to 1,000 "over time".

Last year, the company reported a 15% rise in total sales to £880m, and a 15.6% increase in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation to £45.4m.

Bankers say Poundland could be valued at up to 20 times that profits figure, meaning it would be worth in the region of £900m. Such a valuation would effectively put the company beyond the reach of rival private equity firms such as CVC Capital, which have been mulling potential bids for Poundland.

The chain has grown rapidly as consumers have sought to economise, and says it sells more than 1,000 branded products at the same price-point. These include, it says, 6 million Toblerone chocolate bars a year, 5 million bags of sugar and 500,000 garden gnomes.

Mr McCarthy, who stands to make a massive windfall from the flotation, said when reporting the group's full-year results last month that it had been "a year of tremendous progress".

"In the UK, Poundland is powering ahead. Our single price point and our amazing value are appealing to an increasingly broad section of UK shoppers," he said. 

"We opened a net 51 new stores in the year and that rate of growth has continued into the current year. I'm confident that over time Poundland will have over 1,000 stores across the UK."

Poundland is chaired by Andrew Higginson, who was a senior executive at Tesco during Sir Terry Leahy's stint at the helm. Also a non-executive director of BSkyB, the owner of Sky News, Mr Higginson recently led an unsuccessful bid to acquire 315 branches from Royal Bank of Scotland.

Sir Terry now chairs B&M Retail, another leading discount retailer backed by private equity funding, which is also drawing up plans to list on the stock market next year. It could be worth well over £1bn when it does so.

Rothschild, the investment bank, has been advising Poundland on its options, while Credit Suisse and JP Morgan will act as bookrunners responsible for placing the shares that are sold.

Warburg Pincus and Poundland both declined to comment.

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BAE Announces 1,775 Shipyard Job Losses

Defence giant BAE Systems has announced that 1,775 jobs are to go across its three shipyards.

In addition, the firm will end an 800-year-old tradition of shipbuilding at Portsmouth with 940 jobs to go there by the second half of 2014, reducing the 1,200 workforce to just 260.

A further 835 are going to go at Scotstoun and Govan shipyards in Glasgow, Rosyth, and Filton, near Bristol.

The cuts are part of a maritime defence review, which BAE systems launched 18 months ago.

Portsmouth dockyard has a rich historical heritage of shipbuilding

A statement from BAE said: "(The) company proposes to consolidate its shipbuilding operations in Glasgow with investments in facilities to create a world-class capability, positioning it to deliver an affordable Type 26 programme for the Royal Navy.

"Under these proposals, shipbuilding operations at Portsmouth will cease in the second half of 2014."

Confirming the announcement in a statement to the House of Commons the Defence Secretary, Philip Hammond, said that the losses were "regrettable but inevitable".

He said that the shipyards would have been unable to sustain such a large workforce once the £6.2bn project to build the Royal Navy's largest ever aircraft carriers came to an end.

Falklands troops return home to Portsmouth

The decision has taken on significant political prominence with the Scottish referendum looming in 2014 and warnings any closure of one of the Scottish yards rather than Portsmouth would have handed First Minister Alex Salmond "a victory on a plate".

It has led to claims that Portsmouth jobs have been sacrificed to save the BAE shipyards at Govan and Scotstoun.

Mike Hancock, independent MP for Portsmouth South, said: "I think personally it is a real tragedy for them as individuals and for us as a community in Portsmouth.

"To lose close to 1,000 jobs in this way is a bitter blow. There has to be some element of cynicism being brought into play here to suggest this is simply being done to suit the financial situation at BAE and the Scottish referendum must have played some part, albeit maybe a small part.

The front section of the aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth at Portsmouth

"I think people would be foolish not to think that that was something in the background." 

Ending shipbuilding at Portsmouth would mean the UK would lose the ability to build its own warships if Scotland is granted independence in 2014.

Gerald Vernon-Jackson, leader of Portsmouth Council, said: "I condemn the decision to shut down the last remaining shipyard in England with the capability to build advanced surface warships.

"This decision is bad for Portsmouth, with the loss of many highly skilled jobs, but it's also bad for the defence of the UK and for the Royal Navy.

Type 26 warships will be built in Glasgow

"The remaining yards with the capability to build advanced warships are in Scotland, and the referendum on Scottish independence is less than one year away. Ministers have put the defence of the UK and the future of the navy at real risk."

Asked about the decision, the Prime Minister's official spokesman said: "This is a Government that always takes decisions based on the national interest.

Mr Hammond has announced BAE will build three Offshore Patrol Vehicles

"This decision was taken with a view of how we have the best-equipped, best-maintained Royal Navy. That is the basis on which it was taken."

Mr Hammond also announced that the Ministry of Defence would be giving BAE the contract to build three Offshore Patrol Vehicles to bridge the gap between the aircraft carrier project ending and the beginning of work on the new Type 26 warship in 2016.

This, he said, was to avoid having shipyards being paid to lay idle, with workers losing valuable skills.

He said that Portsmouth dockyard would continue to do repair and maintenance work.

Unite national officer for shipbuilding Ian Waddell said: "This is a very worrying time for the workforces and their families as the work on the two carriers comes to a conclusion.

"Unite will be working very hard to retain the maximum number of jobs at both Portsmouth and in Scotland.

"It is a huge blow to Britain's manufacturing and industrial base, with many highly skilled workers faced with losing their jobs."

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Carbon Credit Scams: Regulator Warns Public

Regulators have warned the public against buying carbon credits after 1,500 people lost a total of £24m in "worthless" investments.

Nineteen companies selling carbon credits to private investors have been shut down over the past 15 months.

Consumer Minister Jo Swinson said: "This is a particularly contemptible scam as it not only preyed on older people trying to maximise their savings, but also targeted their sincere desire to make ethical investments. Instead, investors have been left out of pocket with shares that are either worthless or do not exist."

The Insolvency Service and the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) said the businesses targeted mainly older people - with most customers mostly ranging between 50 and 85 years old - and used high pressure sales techniques to encourage purchases.

"Salesmen played on people's keenness to 'do their bit' to save the environment while making an investment at the same time," a spokesman for the service said.

"Investors were promised huge returns by selling these credits to corporate giants such as Marks and Spencer and British Airways.

"But instead most found there was no market for the relatively small amounts they held as companies that trade CERs (Certified Emission Reductions) only trade in high volumes."

The companies, they said, typically offered carbon offsets approved by the United Nations - a feature used to give the offering credibility - as well as those issued in the opaque and unregulated voluntary market.

Each credit is equivalent to a reduction of one ton of carbon dioxide and can be used to offset a company's carbon footprint.

Eco Global Markets Limited, one of the companies wound up this summer, took more than £8.5m from more than 230 investors, 50 of whom were aged over 70.

Caroline Abrahams, charity director for Age UK, said: "It is despicable that these companies seem to home in on older people as an easy target.

"Scams can take place on the doorstep, by phone, on the internet or through the post and the sad fact is that if something sounds too good to be true then it probably is.

"Our advice is if you feel under pressure to commit, then please just step away because any reputable company will allow you time to think an offer over."

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House Price Rises 'Slow As More Sellers Emerge'

The average pace of house price growth eased in the three months to the end of October amid signs more owners were prepared to sell, according to Halifax.

Its latest report found that while the annual rate of growth was 6.9% higher, prices grew by 1.6% during the period - representing a slowdown on the increases previously recorded over the past four months.

Growth of 0.7% was measured for October but Halifax said it had also detected that low supply - a key factor behind price rises - was easing slightly as more homeowners were considering selling property as the market recovery gathers pace.

The lender's housing economist, Martin Ellis, said: "Demand has increased this year, putting upward pressure on house prices and increasing levels of activity.

"Low interest rates and higher consumer confidence  - supported by the increasing evidence that a sustainable economic recovery may now be underway - are helping to increase housing demand.

Halifax has noticed more interest among owners to sell

"Schemes, such as Funding for Lending and Help to Buy, also appear to have boosted demand.

"Despite increases in the past year both house prices and sales remain below the levels reached at the height of the last housing market cycle in 2006/2007.

"Sentiment towards selling has also improved in recent months in response to the pick-up in the market, which should help to increase the availability of properties on the market over the coming months."

The Halifax report was released as leading housebuilder Persimmon said it had sold more than 3,000 properties under the first phase of Help to Buy - the Government-backed equity loan scheme for buyers of new properties.

The launch of a next phase - which offers state-backed mortgages to people with deposits as low as 5% - was brought forward to October but in its trading statement Persimmon said: "With only a limited number of lenders ... involved so far the impact to date has been muted due to the higher level of interest rates being charged."

Critics argue that rather than launching initiatives to unleash more aspiring buyers into the market, which will contribute to the upward pressure on house prices, the Government should instead be concentrating efforts on trying to address the lack of housing supply by assisting the building of new homes.

Persimmon said it had bought 6,000 new plots of land since July.

Ministers have consistently dismissed talk of house price bubbles, suggesting the market recovery is only just beginning outside of London and the South East.

The property website Rightmove recently measured a 10% jump in house prices in the capital during October alone - prompting further debate on whether a boom and bust cycle loomed.

Nationwide's monthly report on prices suggested the cost of an average home remained 7% below its 1997 peak in October.

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F1 Boss Denies 'Corrupt Bargain' With Banker

Formula 1 boss Bernie Ecclestone has denied making a "corrupt bargain" with a German banker to keep himself as head of the sport.

Mr Ecclestone is accused of striking a deal with a Gerhard Gribkowsky to facilitate the sale of the Formula 1 Group to a buyer "chosen" by him.

A German media company says it lost out as a result of the deal and is seeking compensation.

Mr Ecclestone told the High Court in London Constantin Medien's claim "lacks any merit" and he denied any "conspiracy".

He admitted making payments to Dr Gribkowsky, who has since been jailed for corruption, but said it was because he threatened to create difficulties with tax authorities.

"It is true," said Mr Ecclestone. "That's what I have always said."

"I made the payment ... because he said he would shake me down concerning tax arrangements with our family trust ... which would have been very expensive."

He added: "It was £10m as it happens."

Mr Ecclestone also denied saying different things to journalists or changing his story.

He said: "Most of these journalists, as you know, really should be closely working with Jeffrey Archer."

The recent F1 Grand Prix in China

Philip Marshall QC, for Constantin, said payments of around £27m were made to Dr Gribkowsky - who had been a "senior ranking official" at a German bank - at the instigation of Mr Ecclestone.

Mr Marshall said a "corrupt arrangement" was entered into between Mr Ecclestone and Dr Gribkowsky in 2005.

This resulted in the bank selling its holding in the Formula 1 Group to a private equity group called CVC for less than it was worth.

Mr Eccelestone was afraid of losing his position as chief executive and believed CVC would support him continuing in the role.

Mr Marshall said Constantin had investment rights in Formula 1 and was entitled to proceeds of any sale.

He said if the judge agreed the company had been a "victim of fraud" it would be entitled to compensation.

Robert Miles QC, representing Mr Ecclestone, said: "This claim lacks any merit. In short, this is an artificial, manufactured complaint.

"The claim fails on each of its elements: there was no conspiracy, there was no intent to injure Constantin ... Constantin has suffered no loss."

The hearing is expected to last several weeks.

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Call Of Duty: Ghosts Tops $1bn On First Day

The latest Call of Duty video game made more than $1bn (£621m) from its first day on sale, its publisher has confirmed.

Call of Duty: Ghosts went on sale worldwide on Tuesday and its debut eclipsed that of Grand Theft Auto V, which raked in $800m (£496m) on its first day in September.

At the time, the game beat the record for single-day games sales held by the last Call of Duty game, Black Ops II, which made $500m (£310m) in November 2012.

Fans queued overnight at hundreds of stores across the UK, which were open at midnight for the release of the 10th Call of Duty instalment.

The $1bn figure represented sales to retail store, which may not reflect consumer purchases, according to publisher Activision.

Eric Hirshberg, chief executive of Activision, said the game "has delivered yet another epic thrill ride in the campaign, and what I think is our best multiplayer game yet".

The last Call of Duty game made $500m in first day sales

The company claimed the series was "the largest console franchise of this generation".

The latest military shooter series is set in a desolate US, devastated by a satellite-guided "kinetic" weapon strike on San Diego.

Ghosts can be played on PS3, Xbox 360, Nintendo's Wii U and Windows computers, and will also be available on other consoles in future.

The game is also compatible with smartphones and tablet computers.

Many reviewers agreed that the game did not take the franchise in a new direction or break from the old format. 

The Computer and Video Games website said: "There is an overwhelming sense of familiarity one gets from playing Call of Duty: Ghosts and that's probably because an iteration of this series drops every year without truly reinventing the wheel."

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