Penguin Reaches Ebook Price-Fixing Settlement

Penguin has reached a settlement with the US Justice Department after it accused America's largest book publishers of colluding with Apple to raise the price of ebooks.

The US government claims Apple conspired with several publishers in the autumn of 2009 to force electronic book prices several dollars above the $9.99 (£6.13) charged by Amazon on its popular Kindle device.

The Justice Department, which sued the firms in April, settled with Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins and Simon & Schuster earlier this year.

The Penguin deal leaves Apple and book publisher Holtzbrinck, which does business as Macmillan, as the only remaining defendants.

"The proposed settlement with Penguin will be an important step toward undoing the harm caused by the publishers' anti-competitive conduct," said Justice Department lawyer Jamillia Ferris.

She said it would help restore retail price competition so consumers can pay lower prices for Penguin's ebooks.

The settlement had been expected by some industry observers as a means to simplify Penguin's impending merger with Random House, which is not a defendant in the case.

That deal would create the world's largest publisher of consumer books.

Under the settlement, Penguin must submit to a "strong anti-trust compliance programme" that includes telling federal officials about any joint ebook ventures or any communications with other publishers.

The Justice Department's lawsuit stems from agreements reached between major publishers and Apple in 2010 that allowed publishers to set their own prices for ebooks, an effort to counter Amazon's deep discounts of bestsellers.

It said Apple and the publishers had cost consumers more than $100m (£61.3m) in the past two years by adding $2 or $3 - and sometimes as much as $5 - to the price of each ebook.

Apple said the accusations were untrue. The trial is scheduled to begin in June.

Last week, the European Union's competition watchdog accepted proposals by four publishers and Apple to end agreements that set retail prices for ebooks.

Ebooks are believed to comprise around 25%-30% of total book sales.

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Instagram Denies Plans To Sell Users' Pics

Instagram has said it will revise a planned update to its service agreement after a global backlash over rumours the company would sell users' photos.

There were thousands of complaints after claims the photo-sharing company, which is owned by Facebook, would start using individuals' photos in advertisements following a policy change taking effect on January 16.

The new terms, which would allow an advertiser to pay Instagram "to display your username, likeness, photos (along with any associated metadata)" without compensation, caused users to leave the site, upset that it would make money from their uploaded content.

Many users, including celebrities like Mia Farrow, Seth Green and Kim Kardashian, said they had deleted their accounts as news of the changes emerged.

Co-founder Kevin Systrom

But in a blog posted on Tuesday the company's co-founder Kevin Systrom insisted it has no plans to sell users photos and apologised for the "confusing" language that had been used.

"To be clear: it is not our intention to sell your photos. We are working on updated language in the terms to make sure this is clear," he wrote.

Mr Systrom said the new terms were part of plans the app has to "experiment with innovative advertising".

The blog went on: "Instagram users own their content and Instagram does not claim any ownership rights over your photos. Nothing about this has changed. We respect that there are creative artists and hobbyists alike that pour their heart into creating beautiful photos, and we respect that your photos are your photos."

The company has given users 30 days to provide feedback on the terms and said there will be more updates coming soon.

Facebook bought Instagram for £600m earlier this year.

The row has sparked renewed debate about how much control over personal data users must give up to live and participate in a world steeped in social media.

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Superstorm Sandy To Cost Lloyd's Insurance £1.5bn

The Lloyd's of London insurance market has estimated claims totalling £1.55bn ($2.5bn) arising from Superstorm Sandy in the US but says the figure could rise.

Its preliminary estimate was released after the deadly weather system caused an estimated £15.5bn ($25bn) of damage while wreaking havoc in the north eastern US at the end of October, killing 132 people.

The market said its exposure would not cause it financial stress.

Lloyd's, a collection of about 80 competing insurance syndicates, said it expected total net claims of between £1.25bn and £1.55bn.

Chief executive Richard Ward said: "The Lloyd's insurance market remains financially strong and, while claims from this storm could still evolve over time, the market's total exposure is well within the worst case scenarios we model and prepare for."

Lloyd's added there would be no impact on Lloyd's central fund, a reserve used to meet claims if any individual syndicate finds itself unable to pay.

Sandy, a 1,000 mile-wide storm which packed sustained winds of 90mph, torrential rain of more than 9 inches (23cm) in some states and then snow, is expected to be the second-costliest storm after hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Thousands remain displaced from their homes amid the continuing clean-up and reconstruction effort.

A six hour star-studded concert in New York on December 12 to benefit the victims, which featured performances from Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones and Sir Paul McCartney, is now reportedly distributing the first £31m ($50m) in support funds.

Congress is debating the merits of a £37bn ($60bn) aid package the White House has proposed to assist the rebuilding programme.

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British American Tobacco In E-Cigarettes Deal

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

Britain's biggest tobacco company is poised to swoop on a pioneer of some of the world's biggest-selling electric cigarette brands, a vital new frontier in an industry buffeted by growing restrictions on its sales and marketing practices.

I have learned that British American Tobacco (BAT) will announce today the acquisition of CN Creative, a Manchester-based company which specialises in the development and production of non-combustible cigarettes.

The takeover is believed to be costing BAT tens of millions of pounds, but insiders say the purchase will be of potentially far-reaching strategic importance to the group.

I understand that the deal will involve CN being acquired by BAT rather than Nicoventures, a BAT subsidiary which was set up last year to focus on what it called "the development and commercialisation of innovative regulatory approved nicotine products".

Talks between BAT and CN Creative are understood to have been taking place for several months.

CN is one of a small number of companies to have benefited from the Government's £200m Future Technologies Fund, which was set up by the last Labour administration to give British companies a stronger foothold in life sciences.

Among the Manchester-based company's products is Intellicig, which it claims is the world's best e-cigarette, selling in 26 countries around the world, including in the UK.

CN Creative also manufactures ECOpure, a nicotine-based product, and is developing a new generation of products under the name Nicadex that the company says "will exist under the medicines regulatory framework as a smoking cessation device/drug".

CN Creative is chaired by Dale Pfost, a partner at Advent Life Sciences, one of the company's investors. The company's founders are likely to make a substantial multimillion pound sum from the takeover by BAT.

The tobacco industry's biggest players are seeking to develop credible products which provide alternatives to smoking at a time when pressure on major companies is unrelenting.

New European Union proposals to put graphic images warning of the dangers of smoking have faced intense lobbying from the industry but are widely-viewed as inevitable.

BAT is run by Nicandro Durante, an Italian, who replaced long-serving chief executive Paul Adams two years ago.

The company declined to comment on the CN Creative deal.

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OFT 'Powerless' To Protect Consumers

The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) does not have the resources to protect consumers from companies' unscrupulous practices, a report has found.

The National Audit Office (NAO) said at least £450m of financial harm is being caused by the trading watchdog's failure to regulate the consumer credit market effectively.

It found the OFT is not adequately resourced to carry out either the supervision of companies or the monitoring of their compliance with licence standards.

As a result, the regulator only acts when it receives information of non-compliance, meaning much malpractice goes unreported.

But the report found the OFT had achieved good returns on the money available to it - saving consumers £8.60 for every £1 it spent on enforcing regulations.

The watchdog spent £11.5m regulating the consumer credit market in 2011-12, which the NAO said was not enough given the size of the market and level of consumer harm.

Excluding mortgage lending, UK consumers borrowed £176bn in 2011-12 from credit providers like credit card companies, small businesses and payday lenders.

High-cost credit is the fastest growing sector of the market - accounting for around £8bn of total lending annually - but these customers are the most at risk, the NAO warned.

These borrowers often have "lower than average financial understanding", low incomes and poor credit records, it said, and could end up paying too much for a loan or incurring interest and charges due to arrears.

The NAO's head, Amyas Morse, called on the Government to ensure consumers are better protected.

"The OFT has achieved a good return for a small outlay, but has not been able to tackle the full extent of harm to consumers in credit markets," he said.

"This is because it has not had enough resource to regulate effectively or the right kinds of powers.

"The Government's proposed new regulatory system will need to address these problems."

Consumer Affairs Minister Jo Swinson said: "The OFT performs an outstanding job within the limits of its resources, saving consumers more than eight times what they spend on enforcement activities.

"But Government recognises there is more we can do to protect consumers."

She added that the policing of consumer credit will be strengthened by the new Financial Conduct Authority, which will have wider powers and and be better resourced when it takes over in 2014.

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Rangers Shares Begin Trading As Club Floats

Rangers Football Club say they raised more than £20m from their listing on the stock exchange, as shares begin trading.

Fans of the Glasgow club - who were Scottish champions a record 54 times - contributed £5m, while £17m was raised from large institutional investors.

Rangers' manager Ally McCoist said he was impressed by the backing of fans, and vowed to spend any cash he receives wisely.

"In the lead-up to Christmas, when finances are tight at the best of times, in a recession, for our supporters to go into their pockets and come up with that money is another incredible show of support for this football club," he said.

"The one thing the investors and, certainly, the fans deserve is for their money to be used wisely."

The club's shares will be traded under the ticker RFC on the smaller Alternative Investment Market (AIM), part of the London Stock Exchange.

Manager Ally McCoist praised the "incredible show of support" from fans

Shares were offered at 70p, valuing the club at £45m, and opening up at 75p.

Rangers' return to the stock market comes after they were demoted earlier this year following the collapse of their former parent company.

Chief executive Charles Green, whose company bought Rangers for £5.5m in June, said the listing was an important step to ensuring the future success of the club.

"We are delighted to see our plans for bringing Rangers back to its glory days coming to fruition; a key part of which is its listing on AIM today," he said.

"The response from investors and fans alike has been tremendous and we are very proud to have such loyal supporters."

He added: "With a settled squad, led by manager Ally McCoist, the club has made a strong start to the 2012/13 season and the Rangers brand and facilities provide tremendous opportunities for commercialisation and expansion."

Mr Green was listed as the club's main shareholder with a stake of almost 15%, which will now be diluted - although he said he did not plan to add to his shares.

The owner of Newcastle FC and Sports Direct chain Mike Ashley was the third largest shareholder with 9% before the issue of extra shares, behind a consortium called Blue Pitch Holdings.

Mr McCoist had almost a three per cent stake before the issue and said he planned to buy more, although his shareholding will be diluted.

:: Rangers chief executive Charles Green will be on Jeff Randall Live from 7pm

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New Bank Governor To Get £874,000 Annually

By Ed Conway, Economics Editor

Mark Carney, the incoming Bank of England Governor, will receive an annual pay package equivalent to £874,000, the Bank confirmed today.

Among his benefits will be a £250,000 annual accommodation payment the Canadian central bank chief insisted upon when he accepted George Osborne's offer to take over from Sir Mervyn King.

The pay package, which also includes a £480,000 salary and a further cash sum of 30% of salary in lieu of pension, is significantly higher than the £305,000 salary Sir Mervyn currently receives.

However, the Bank said that Sir Mervyn benefits from membership of the Bank's lucrative final salary pension scheme, and that it would have cost an equivalent sum to Mr Carney's salary and cash pension sum to have given him similar remuneration benefits to Sir Mervyn – although this is before one factors in the accommodation allowance.

But given Sir Mervyn's pension pot is already full, and therefore no further payments are being made to it, the total annual cost to the Bank of the new Governor will be significantly higher than they are currently.

On top of those payments, Mr Carney and his family will also have their relocation costs paid for by the Bank – although these have yet to be calculated.

He is due to start his new role at the end of June when SIr Mervyn officially retires.

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