Senate Leaders Confirm Deal To Avert Default

Senate leaders have reached a last-minute agreement to avert a threatened US default and reopen the government.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced on Wednesday that a bipartisan deal had been struck to end the fiscal impasse.

Speaking on the Senate floor after more than two weeks of political wrangling, Mr Reid said: "This is a time for reconciliation." 

Earlier, Republican Senator Kelly Ayotte said congressional leaders would push for passage as soon as possible.

The deal, struck by Mr Reid and GOP Leader Mitch McConnell, calls for the Treasury to have authority to continue borrowing through February 7, and reopen the government through January 15.

Sen Ayotte said she understood the legislation would first receive a vote in the Republican-controlled House, an arrangement that would speed its way through Congress to President Barack Obama's desk.

House Speaker John Boehner has failed to rally Republicans behind a deal

The White House expressed optimism that the bipartisan plan would gain passage and urged Congress to act quickly.

As word of the Senate deal emerged, Speaker John Boehner and the House Republican leadership met to plan their next move.

Notably absent from the pending agreement is a long-held Republican demand to defund aspects of Mr Obama's signature health care law.

The Senate deal makes only one modest change in the programme that requires individuals and families seeking subsidies to verify their incomes before qualifying.

Senator Ted Cruz, a Tea Party favourite who has been a staunch opponent of any deal that did not include cuts to "Obamacare", said he would vote against the measure but would not pursue delaying tactics to stall the legislation.

The president's health care law is at the heart of the dispute

Speaking to reporters ahead of the Senate's announcement, Mr Cruz said: "Once again the Washington establishment is refusing to listen to the American people."

A top Democratic aide told Reuters the deal appears certain to be approved with mostly Democratic votes.

The New York Stock Exchange soared on the news that the threat of default was easing in, rising roughly 200 points by late morning.

With borrowing authority set to run out on Thursday, leaders worked through the night to craft an agreement that could win bipartisan support in the deeply polarised Congress.

Mr Obama has warned of the consequences of a default and leading economists have said it could hurt the global economy.

Warren Buffett, one of the the world's most influential investors, said the threat not to raise the debt limit is a "political weapon of mass destruction" comparable to poison gas.

Mr Buffett, who leads the Berkshire Hathaway conglomerate, told CNBC that he does not think the federal government will fail to pay its bills.

"If it does happen, it's a pure act of idiocy," he added.

Uncertainty over Washington's ability to avert a default led Fitch Ratings to warn it could cut the sovereign credit rating of the United States from AAA, citing the political brinkmanship on Capitol Hill.

The renewed push in the Senate came after a day of chaotic developments in the House that saw two separate GOP plans buried when it became apparent they failed to rally enough support among Republican rank-and-file.

Politically, neither party is faring well, but polls indicate Republicans are bearing the brunt of public unhappiness as survey after survey shows their approval ratings plunging.

A Washington Post/ABC News poll released on Monday found that 74% of Americans disapprove of the way congressional Republicans have handled the standoff, compared with a 53% disapproval rating for Obama.

The shutdown has already furloughed hundreds of thousands of federal workers and forced national parks and monuments to close down in high season.

Some tourist attractions such as the Grand Canyon and the Statue of Liberty have now reopened, as states agreed to fund their running.

However, many communities have lamented the economic damage they have had to incur.

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Pressure On Cameron As Food Bank Use Soars

David Cameron has come under pressure to launch an inquiry into why people are turning to foodbanks as demand for emergency supplies continues to surge.

More than 350,000 people received a three-day food package from the Trussell Trust between April and September, three times as many as the same period last year.

It has written to the Prime Minister calling on him to look into the "scandalous" problem of food poverty, warning some food bank recipients are so poor they have returned produce that needs cooking because they cannot afford the electricity to heat it up.

Trussell Trust executive chairman Chris Mould said: "We said in April that the increasing numbers of people turning to food banks should be a wake-up call to the nation, but there has been no policy response and the situation is getting worse. The level of food poverty in the UK is not acceptable.

"It's scandalous and it is causing deep distress to thousands of people. The time has come for an official and in-depth inquiry into the causes of food poverty and the consequent rise in the usage of food banks."

Earlier this year, Chancellor George Osborne suggested food bank use had increased "because people have been made aware of the food bank service through local jobcentres".

But the Trust has echoed concerns that some households will have to choose between eating and heating this winter as they struggle to cope with the rising costs of food and energy.

It also highlights the impact of welfare reforms that came into force in April, reporting an increase in referrals as a result of the so-called "bedroom tax".

Mr Mould said: "We're talking about mums not eating for days because they've been sanctioned for seemingly illogical reasons, or people leaving hospital after a major operation to find that their benefits have been stopped or delayed."

Chris Johnes, Oxfam's UK poverty programme director, said: "These figures lay bare the shocking scale of destitution, hardship and hunger in the UK.

"It is completely unacceptable that in the seventh wealthiest nation on the planet, the number of people turning to food banks has tripled."

TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady described the figures as "shocking".

A Government spokesman said: "The Trussell Trust itself says it is opening three new food banks every week, so it's not surprising more people are using them. They also agree that awareness has helped to explain their recent growth."

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BBC Criticised For £24m Staff Relocation Costs

By Becky Johnson, North of England Correspondent

The multimillion-pound sum paid to BBC staff to help them relocate from London to Salford has been branded "difficult to justify" by MPs.

The £24m was spent relocating nearly 900 staff to MediaCityUK at an average of £28,000 per person.

There were 11 cases where the cost exceeded £100,000 per person, with one costing £150,000.

The move of several departments including BBC Sport, BBC Breakfast and Radio 5live was completed in April 2012.

The BBC developed the regional centre in Salford to address the fact that the majority of its decision-making and spending was being done in London.

Public Accounts Committee chairman Margaret Hodge

Many BBC staff who work in Salford were unwilling to speak to Sky News about the relocation allowances, with one describing the move to the North West as a "sensitive issue" within the corporation.

A report by the Public Accounts Committee criticised the large sums paid to staff to make the move and concluded that in future the BBC needs to find a better balance between treating staff fairly and spending licence fee payers' money in a reasonable way.

Committee chairman Margaret Hodge said: "The BBC did a good job in completing the move to Salford on time, within budget and without disruption to the television and radio services we all enjoy.

"However, the scale of some of the allowances paid to staff to relocate to Salford is difficult to justify.

"There were 11 cases where the cost of relocating staff exceeded £100,000 per person, with one costing £150,000.

"It is not acceptable that the BBC also failed to make a proper record of the exceptions it made to its allowance policy.

"The longer term success of the move to Salford depends on the BBC achieving the wider benefits it promised.

"These include reducing the gap between northern and southern audiences in the BBC's market share and stimulating economic and other regional benefits, including creating up to 15,000 jobs.

"The BBC's decision to enter into a 10-year contract for studio space at Salford seems to take little account the fast pace of change in the broadcasting industry.

"The BBC could end up having to pay for studio services it no longer needs."

In response the BBC issued a statement saying: "We are pleased that the Public Accounts Committee has recognised BBC North was delivered on time, under budget and with no break in services.

"We have just celebrated two years of award-winning TV, radio and online content, and the whole region is sharing in the momentum of Media City with spend by the Public Service Broadcast channels in the region up from 15.9% to 20% ."

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Twitter Shuns Nasdaq After Facebook Foul-Up

Twitter shares will trade on the New York Stock Exchange rather than the tech-heavy Nasdaq, which saw major problems in Facebook's market debut in 2012.

An update to Twitter's filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday said: "We intend to list the common stock on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)  under the symbol 'TWTR.'"

Twitter's decision to list on the NYSE came after the Nasdaq's foul-up marred the $16bn (£10bn) Facebook share issue in May 2012, the most hotly awaited initial public offering on the US markets in years.

The Nasdaq exchange agreed this year to pay a $10m (£6.3m) penalty for trading glitches.

Facebook's share issue did not go smoothly

Nasdaq is also facing lawsuits from investors who claim the problems led to losses when they were unable to execute trades.

The update also said Twitter's monthly active users had grown to 232 million, up from 218 million as of June 30.

It said the company lost $133m (£83m) in the first nine months of 2012 on revenues of $422m (£263m), updating its earlier figures.

Twitter also revealed a new contract with chief executive Dick Costolo worth some $11.5m (£7.2m), mostly in stock.

Its senior vice president for engineering, Christopher Fry, will get $10.4m (£6.5m), again mainly in stock awards.

Twitter first revealed its initial public offering in a confidential filing last month, and in early October revealed it would seek to raise $1bn (£630m) for the massively popular messaging platform.

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US Shutdown: Las Vegas Family's Anxious Wait

In the US state that was hardest hit by the financial meltdown, they are watching anxiously as America teeters on the brink of a new economic unknown.

Nevada, home of the gambling capital of the world Las Vegas, still suffers the highest unemployment and most home repossessions in the country.

People in the so-called Silver State have been slowly picking up the pieces from the recession that started in 2008 - and are anxious that a US default will dump them straight back into crisis.

Jay Carrasco used to employ a dozen men at his construction firm, his wife Jackie was a high-flier in home sales.

But a life that has included numerous homes, a fleet of cars and luxury holidays was shattered by the financial crisis.

Jay Carrasco has gone from construction boss to mattress salesman

Now the couple share a rented flat in the Las Vegas suburbs with two of their grown up children. Jay is a mattress salesman and Jackie works part-time.

Just like millions of Americans, they are watching anxiously what is happening in Washington DC.

Jay, 57, said: "It is going to be devastating for everyone if they don't make the right decisions soon. We are all feeling it even now.

"But hopefully stronger minds will prevail and they'll make the right choices."

Jackie Carrasco: Crisis "has taken its toll on us"

Jackie says she longs for the days when they lived in "high cotton": "It was hard, it is still hard for us.

"I'm not saying we were rich or anything like that but we were very comfortable. We both made decent salaries, if we wanted to go out to dinner, anything, we never had to think twice.

"Now we are living pay cheque to pay cheque and barely making it. It has taken a toll on us. It is rough."

Her husband says the American people have fought hard to recover from the lows of the last five years.

"We're nowhere near where we need to be. All we can do is fight hard and hope for the best," he said.

"I think it has marked a lot of people, the majority I think, they think twice before they do anything. It has taught all of us a lesson."

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Employment: Jobless Benefit Claims Tumble

The number of people claiming jobless benefits saw its biggest monthly fall in more than 16 years in September.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) measured a drop of 41,700 in the number of Jobseeker's Allowance claims in September - the biggest drop since June 1997.

It follows a revised total of 41,600 in the previous month - 9,000 more than first reported - and means the so-called claimant count has fallen for 11 consecutive months to 1.35 million.

While the jobless rate remained at 7.7%, unemployment in the three months to August fell by 18,000 to 2.48 million.

Employment rose by 155,000 to 29.87 million, the biggest total ever recorded, giving a rate of 71.7%.

People classed as economically inactive also fell, down 83,000 to 8.95 million, while job vacancies rose by 6,000 over the latest quarter to 541,000, the highest for five years.

But the ONS data also showed that 1.45 million people were working part-time because they could not find full-time jobs, the highest figure since records began in 1992.

Average earnings growth fell back from 1.2% to 0.7% for the year to August compared to the previous month.

Youth unemployment fell between June and August

Average weekly earnings in private firms increased by 1.1% but the annual growth rate in the public sector slumped to minus 0.5%, the lowest since 2001.

There were 958,000 unemployed 16 to 24-year-olds in the latest three months, down by 1,000 over the quarter.

More than 1.1 million people have been unemployed for up to six months, down 32,000, but those out of work for between six months and a year rose by 29,000 to 446,000.

The number of people out of work for over a year fell by 15,000 to 900,000.

The Government's new Employment Minister Esther McVey paid tribute to the work of British business in keeping people in employment amid the deepest recession in a lifetime, saying one million more people were now in work compared to when the coalition took office.

But TUC General Secretary Frances O'Grady pointed to the drop in average wage rises and said: "While it's good news that unemployment is still falling and more jobs are being created, there is still plenty to be worried about.

"People's pay packets continue to fall in real terms, earnings growth has never been lower and the longest wage squeeze in over a century is becoming even tighter.

"We need more high quality jobs and proper pay rises if this recovery is to begin to feel real for hard-working people."

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Gatwick Suffers Power Cut Amid Fog Disruption

Gatwick Airport's south terminal is effectively closed as a power cut in the building compounds earlier flight delays caused by fog.

Passengers expressed frustration via Twitter - with some describing how staff were trying to communicate instructions via loud hailers and whiteboards.

It was not clear what had caused the outage but one report suggested a server room had flooded.

A whiteboard contained advice for passengers (credit: Charle Talbot)

Gatwick said the problem was affecting check-in, baggage and some parts of the departure lounge.

"Staff are currently assisting passengers and we are working to get this resolved," Gatwick tweeted and it apologised for "any inconvenience."

Its statement said: "We advise all passengers scheduled to fly out of the South Terminal today to check the status of the flight with their airline first and check the flight information on our website.

"We are also advising passengers to expect some delays."

The power problem followed earlier delays caused by fog at the West Sussex airport and problems for easyJet passengers at Gatwick, and elsewhere yesterday caused by a Europe-wide failure of the airline's computer system.

Passengers describe their various predicaments in a growing number of tweets.

Ian Graham said: "Just back from Croatia and stuck on plane due to flooding and power cut at Gatwick."

Adrian Simpson said: "You can add rain to the list of things that @Gatwick--Airport can't handle. Stuck in plane with airport flooded and no power. Fun."

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