UK Economy Boosted By Wider Contributions

Revisions and improvements to the way UK output is measured show an uptick in its historic performance.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said gross domestic product (GDP) shrank by as much as 6% in the depths of the recession, lower than the previous "peak-to-trough" estimate of 7.2%.

The revisions for 1997 to 2012 show the size of the economy on average 4%, or £50bn, larger than previously thought each year.

The announcement  was made after the ONS confirmed that GDP calculations would now include contributions to the economy from more 'colourful' corners of output, including prostitution and sales of illegal drugs.

The ONS sought to play down the additions in terms of their impact on the big picture, despite them contributing £10bn in 2009 alone. 

ONS chief economist Joe Grice said: "Despite the wide ranging improvements underpinning the new estimates, the broad picture of the economy has not changed much.

"Although the downturn was less deep than previously estimated and subsequent growth stronger, it remains the case that the UK experienced the deepest recession since ONS records began in 1948 and the subsequent recovery has been unusually slow.

"Over the period 1998-2012, the overall size of revisions remains small at an average of 0.1 percentage points per year."

The news was welcomed by the Chancellor George Osborne.

He told Sky News: "The British recovery is stronger than previously thought. We see that Britain is becoming more competitive - moving up the global rankings.

"We see jobs being created in our country and that is evidence our plan is working ...but I'm the first to say the risks from abroad are rising as well so we've got to go on providing economic security and that is the task ahead."

Chris Leslie, Labour's shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, said: "These accounting changes to the way GDP is measured - for instance to include drug dealing and prostitution - do not mean families or businesses are better off.

"GDP growth has been revised up in every year since 2008. But it's still the case that working people are substantially worse off under this government, that the recovery was choked off in 2010 and that it is the slowest on record".

The ONS confirmed its revisions as a separate study - charting activity in the economy - pointing to an improving picture for service industries though firms were watching events in Ukraine closely.

The monthly Markit/CIPS purchasing managers index (PMI) for the sector jumped at its fastest rate for almost a year in August.

The strength in services contrasts with a slight cooling in the country's factory sector, which has also been hit by concerns that the conflict in Ukraine could escalate further.

Growth in construction was held back by shortages of skilled labour and materials.

Chris Williamson, chief economist at Markit which compiles the PMI, said August's PMI surveys suggested Britain's economy would grow at a pace similar to the 0.8% quarterly rate seen in the first two quarters of this year.

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National Grid Seeks Extra Winter Electricity

National Grid has brought forward plans to tap additional power capacity over the winter after unexpected plant outages raised the risk of shortages.

It is being described as a precautionary move, supported by Government, to safeguard supply rather than any bid to prevent possible blackouts.

National Grid said it had launched a tender for its Supplemental Balancing Reserve (SBR), asking power firms how much more electricity they could provide the network to fill a potential gap from mothballed or closed generators.

The network operator cited a series of unplanned shutdowns at large power stations for its decision to begin SBR a year ahead of its original timetable, having previously warned of a looming supply crunch.

Fires at E.ON's Ironbridge and SSE's Ferrybridge power plants have reduced output while precautionary checks at EDF Energy's Heysham and Hartlepool nuclear plants have also hit production.

Hartlepool's nuclear power station has been shut down for two months

The worries over future supplies were initially sparked by ageing and most-polluting power stations being shut down at a time when new plants are struggling to make up the shortfall.

National Grid's plan to safeguard supplies at peak winter times also includes a scheme that allows it to ask contracted users, mostly factories, to reduce their electricity demand when the system is strained.

It said it had received a positive response to the programme, known as Demand Side Balancing Reserve (DSBR), which could operate between 4pm and 8pm on weekday evenings between November and February.

It planned to issue contracts later this month which would be activated only if required.

National Grid's Director of UK Market Operation, Cordi O'Hara, said of the announcement: "This is a sensible precaution to take while the picture for this winter remains uncertain.

"At this stage we don't know if these reserve services will be needed, but they could provide an additional safeguard".

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Apple Promises To Ban 'Plain Creepy' Apps

Apple has warned software developers that it will ban apps that are "plain creepy" from its online store.

The company has updated its app store review guidelines, and said: "If your app doesn't do something useful, unique or provide some form of lasting entertainment, or if your app is plain creepy, it may not be accepted."

Apple has removed questionable content in the past - in 2012 an app which showed the location of women around you who had checked into Foursquare was removed from the app store.

Apple says there are more than one million apps in its store, and reiterated that it sets the bar high.

"If your app looks like it was cobbled together in a few days, or you're trying to get your first practice app into the store to impress your friends, please brace yourself for rejection," the firm said in a statement.

"We have lots of serious developers who don't want their quality apps to be surrounded by amateur hour."

It also warned developers against "running to the press" to "trash us" for rejecting apps, saying that it "never helps".

The new policy also examines the HealthKit app, which will come as standard with iOS 8.

It will process data from third-party hardware to analyse health and wellbeing.

But Apple has told developers that apps using HealthKit that store user data in the cloud will be rejected.

Earlier this week, nude photos of scores of celebrities were leaked, with some claiming it was due to an iCloud security breach.

But on Tuesday Apple denied the claim.

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Gary Barlow Sorry Over Tax Avoidance Stories

PM Says Barlow 'Should Not Give Back OBE'

Updated: 2:57pm UK, Monday 12 May 2014

The Prime Minister has said Gary Barlow should not have to give back his OBE after the Take That star invested in a tax avoidance scheme.

David Cameron, who last year publicly attacked the comedian Jimmy Carr for his involvement with a tax avoidance scheme, has said he does not think the singer should be forced to give back his OBE because of his work for charity.

The Prime Minister, who appeared with Conservative supporter Barlow during the 2010 General Election campaign, told Sky News: "I have said on the issue of Gary Barlow's OBE - where I think he was given that award for his services to music, his immense charity services with, for instance, Children in Need, the fact that he organised that fantastic concert for the Queen's Jubilee - he deserved his OBE, and I think he should keep it."

When asked why he had condemned Carr for being "morally wrong" but not Barlow, he said: "I have been very clear that I think that all of these aggressive tax avoidance schemes are wrong and people shouldn't take part in them.

"But it is not just what I have said, this Government has acted very vigorously to pass new laws, new regulations and to fight these court cases to make sure we deal with these aggressive avoidance schemes and make sure people pay their taxes properly."

Barlow and two other members of the band have refused to comment after it was disclosed they will have to pay tens of millions of pounds in tax after a court ruled a partnership they invested in was a tax avoidance scheme.

It triggered calls for the singer to hand back his honour, with Labour MP Margaret Hodge, chair of the Public Accounts Committee, telling The Times he "might want to show a bit of contrition by giving back his OBE".

Conservative Charlie Elphicke echoed Ms Hodge's comments, telling the newspaper: "People who have seriously abused the tax system should be stripped of their honours."

Along with Howard Donald, Mark Owen and their manager Jonathan Wild, Barlow invested £66m in two partnerships that were styled as music industry investment schemes.

A total of 51 such partnerships set up by Icebreaker Management were to secure tax relief for members, Judge Colin Bishopp ruled.

HM Revenue and Customs is now expected to demand repayment.

Two years ago when it was alleged Barlow, Donald, Owen and Wild invested at least £26m in an Icebreaker Management scheme, lawyers for the band insisted they believed the investments were legitimate and that all four named paid "significant tax".

In a statement released after the ruling, Icebreaker Management said: "Icebreaker Management is extremely disappointed with this decision since it puts a valuable source of funding for the UK's independent music industry in jeopardy.

"Icebreaker will review the full decision and consider all the LLPs' options including appeal."

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UK Rises In Economic Competitiveness Rankings

The UK has moved up one place in a league table charting the economic competitiveness of countries.

Britain rose to ninth in the annual rankings - produced by the World Economic Forum (WEF) - which saw many developed economies recover some ground in the wake of the financial crisis.

It said of the UK: "The country improves its performance thanks to gains derived from lower levels of fiscal deficit and public debt.

"In addition to these more favourable macroeconomic conditions, the UK continues to benefit from an efficient labour market and a high level of financial development, despite the recent difficulties in parts of its banking system and the fact that the difficult access to loans remains the most problematic factor for doing business in the country."

The report went on to rank the UK second in uptake of information and communications technology, saying it allowed the country to create "highly sophisticated and innovative businesses".

However, it recommended the UK "raise the overall quality of its education system, most notably in the areas of mathematics and science".

The United States and Japan were the biggest winners in the top ten.

The WEF said: "The United States improves its competitiveness position for the second consecutive year, climbing two places to third on the back of gains to its institutional framework and innovation scores".

The body, which organises the annual Davos meeting of the global political and business elite, said Switzerland remained the world's most competitive economy followed by Singapore.

It also pointed to countries facing "major competitiveness challenges" and cited France and Italy, unchanged at 23rd and 49th respectively, saying they "appear not to have fully engaged" in the process of implementing reforms.

The report was released as the Chancellor George Osborne told Sky News that the risks to the UK's recovery from abroad were rising  - largely a result of stagnant growth in the euro area.

China - the world's second-largest economy - gained one place, moving to 28th.

The WEF rankings are based on a raft of criteria: institutions, infrastructure and the macroeconomic environment, plus health and education, goods and labour market efficiency, financial market development, technology, market size, business sophistication, and innovation.

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Financial Jargon Is Costing Customers Hundreds

By Poppy Trowbridge, Consumer Affairs Correspondent

Consumers are losing more than £400 a year because they do not understand financial terms and conditions.

According to research from the Money Advice Service many customers do not know what key concepts mean at all.

The study of 3,000 UK adults shows this is a particular problem for payday loan customers.

Considering that one fifth of the UK population falls within this group, the fact that 52% could not correctly identify the meaning of the word "loan" is worrying.

These "loans" carry high interest rates (another term that caused confusion) and without regular repayment, can quickly drag a customer into serious debt.

Even common abbreviations used by the financial industry led to confusion:

:: 61% could not identify what EAR stands for (Equivalent Annual Rate)

:: 30% could not identify what APR stands for (Annual Percentage Rate)

:: 22% could not identify what ISA stands for (Individual Savings Account)

:: 32% misunderstood the meaning of the terms "interest" and "budget"

But putting these rather simple, yet admittedly still quite specific concepts aside, the survey reveals three far more worrying facts that put large portions of the population at risk.

First, 84% of UK adults do not read the full terms and conditions when taking out a financial product.

Some 84% of people do not read the full terms and conditions

There will be very few people in the country that will not have a debit card, mortgage or car loan.

That means each and every one of them who does not read  the terms of their contracts is taking a chance.

Nearly 31 million people are in the workforce and many of them will be saving into a pension as a result of the Government's auto-enrolment programme.

Yet the term most misunderstood in this survey was "compound interest" - the concept of paying interest on interest already accrued over a number of years, which applies to millions of savings accounts and mortgages.

The Money Advice Service estimates the average UK adult is out of pocket by £428 per year because of the confusion surrounding all this financial jargon.

Luckily, this year, personal finance officially joins the national curriculum alongside more traditional subjects like history and maths.

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Apple Denies System Breach Over Nude Photos

Leaked nude photos of Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Lawrence and other female celebrities were deliberately targeted and not the result of a system-wide breach, Apple has claimed.

The company said on Tuesday that an internal probe found that individual accounts were compromised by hackers.

Apple denied initial reports that its iCloud and Find my iPhone services had been breached.

More than 60 photographs of Lawrence were among those reportedly stolen.

The intimate images first appeared on an online bulletin board in the US before going viral.

A representative for Lawrence said in a statement that the actress contacted authorities over the "flagrant violation of privacy" and would prosecute anyone who posts the stolen photos.

The FBI said on Monday it was investigating the matter.

A list of those allegedly hacked contained more than 100 names, including Kate Upton, Cara Delevingne, Aubrey Plaza, Cat Deeley, Kelly Brook, Kim Kardashian, and Rihanna.

The hacker also claims to have a "full set" of photographs of US soccer star Hope Solo.

Actress Mary Elizabeth Winstead, who was on the list, tweeted: "To those of you looking at photos I took with my husband years ago in the privacy of our home, hope you feel great about yourselves."

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nPower Escapes Sanction As Bill Problems Ease

The energy regulator says it will not be taking immediate action against nPower as it has met its initial targets to resolve a late-billing issue that affected customers.

Ofgem made the announcement three months after it confirmed an investigation into whether the company - one of the so-called 'Big Six' suppliers - was complying with laws covering its conduct and handling of complaints.

nPower has been the most-complained-about member of the household energy market for the past two years.

Ofgem had said it risked fines of up to £300m - 10% of its sales - if its performance did not pick up.

nPower has struggled with its new billing system for the past year, with late billing leaving hundreds of thousands of customers not knowing what they owed and when as delays mounted.

The company has blamed issues with transferring customer data to a new computer system.

It said it had cut the number of delayed bills from 280,000 in mid-June to 62,000 by the end of August and had also made progress on tackling complaints, saying 82% were now resolved within 24 hours.

nPower also said that 98% of customers were now being billed on time.

Earlier this month, the company said efforts to improve its customer service contributed to a 40% fall in profits.

Sarah Harrison, Ofgem's senior partner in charge of enforcement said: "Ofgem is encouraged to see that npower has met our targets aimed at reducing late bills and we note their progress on reducing complaint numbers.

"But this is only a first step to turning round their customer service and billing performance. We will monitor their progress and continue our investigation into the reasons why npower's problems occurred".

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Army To Get 600 'Digital' Armoured Vehicles

The Government is spending £3.5bn on a contract for almost 600 new 'digital' armoured vehicles, designed to protect troops and bolster live battlefield information.

The contract - with US defence firm General Dynamics - which the company said will safeguard hundreds of jobs at its UK factory in South Wales.

It was announced as the Nato summit prepared to get underway in Wales.

The Ministry of Defence said the 589 Scout Specialist Vehicles have enhanced computer technology to aid surveillance.

Chief of the General Staff, Sir Peter Wall, said: "The Scout family is a transformational programme that will refresh our armoured capability and ensure the Army remains a first-tier manoeuvre force.

The Scout SV series contract will support UK jobs for the next decade

"It provides advanced intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance capabilities and will be the 'eyes and ears' of commanders on the battlefields of the future.

"With digital links to all of our other systems it will be able to fulfil a wide range of combat roles."

General Dynamics said the vehicles' capabilities included acoustic detectors, a laser warning system and an electronic counter-measure system.

Features include 'all-weather intelligence' and 'survivability'

The Prime Minister hailed the deal as the "biggest single contract for armoured fighting vehicles for the British Army since the 1980s".

He said: "Not only will they be crucial in helping to keep Britain safe, they will also underpin nearly 1,300 jobs across the UK and showcase the strength of the UK's highly skilled defence sector."

The vehicles will be delivered to the army between 2017 and 2024.

Shadow defence secretary Vernon Coaker welcomed the news and said: "Labour fully supports the role played by the defence industry in creating jobs, promoting British exports and sustaining excellence in design and manufacturing."

But he added: "This is not new money; it is not even a new announcement. The Government said in 2011 that it would continue Labour's plans to invest in armoured vehicles.

"Given the critical issues facing Nato this week and the tough decisions that will have to be made at the summit, the British people expect more from the Government than this cynically-timed rehashing of old news".

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Confusion Over Ukraine 'Permanent Ceasefire'

Vladimir Putin says a ceasefire deal between Ukraine and pro-Russian rebels could be reached by Friday.

The Russian President's announcement comes after conflicting reports that a permanent ceasefire agreement had been reached by the two sides this morning.

Following witness reports of loud artillery explosions near the Ukrainian city of Donetsk, the country's President Petro Poroshenko modified his statement to remove the word "permanent".

Mr Putin and Mr Poroshenko were unable to agree when they met last week

It is unclear whether his actions were in response to reports of the explosion.

Reporting from Mariupol, Ukraine, Sky's Moscow Correspondent Katie Stallard said: "It's extremely unclear at this stage what exactly this ceasefire is supposed to be.

"No one we have spoken to on the ground seems to know about it.

"The Ukrainian president issued a statement this morning claiming he agreed with Vladimir Putin to a permanent ceasefire in the region.

"He has since slightly modified that statement and removed the word 'permanent'.

"A spokesman for President Putin said no such agreement has been reached, nor can it, because Russia is not a party to the conflict."

Mr Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov was earlier quoted as saying the leaders' views "overlap to a considerable degree".

"The heads of state exchanged opinions about what needs to be done first in order to bring an end to the bloodletting in the southeast of the country as soon as possible," said Mr Peskov.

A statement from Kiev said an understanding had been achieved which would enable the "establishment of peace".

The conflict will be at the top of the agenda at the Nato summit in Wales

News of the development was greeted with an immediate rally on the financial markets - the main Russian stock exchange, the Micex, rising 4% and stocks in London with the FTSE 100 reached a 14-year high in morning trade.

Russia later announced it was to hold major military exercises in September of the forces responsible for its long-range nuclear capability. The drills will involve more than 4,000 servicemen and 400 technical units. 

Meanwhile, world leaders have begun arriving in the UK ahead of a two-day Nato summit in Wales where the Ukraine crisis will be top of the agenda. 

Speaking in Estonia ahead of the summit, President Obama said that Nato would not accept what he called Russia's illegal annexation of Crimea.

In a thinly-veiled warning to President Putin, the US President added that the Baltic states were bound by the Nato alliance.

"We have a solid duty to each other. Article Five is crystal clear; an attack on one is an attack on all," he said.

Mr Obama added the US was working to bolster the security of Nato allies and increase America's military presence in Europe.

"It would mean more US forces, including American boots on the ground continuously rotating through the Estonia, Latvia and Ukraine militaries."

Russia has repeatedly denied claims its soldiers were recently sent into eastern Ukraine to support Ukrainian pro-Russian rebels.

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