Volkswagen Camper Van Reaches End Of The Road

By Greg Milam, US Correspondent

One of the most iconic vehicles in motoring history has finally reached the end of the road.

The last ever Volkswagen "Type 2" - more commonly known as the VW Camper, kombi or bus - rolls off the production line on December 31.

It is being retired after 64 years in continuous production because it cannot be adapted to meet modern safety regulations.

The last kombi will be made in Brazil, the country which has produced them for 56 years and where they are a vital thread in the fabric of everyday life.

A vehicle that came to symbolise the counter-culture in much of the world - as the van of choice for hippies and surfers alike - remains very much a mundane staple in Brazil.

It seems that everyone you talk to learned to drive in one and everywhere you turn they are being used to sell, deliver or provide shelter.

Labourers work on a Volkswagen assembly line in Brazil this month

Angelisa Stein is making a movie to mark the passing of the kombi. She told Sky News: "It is a car that is in touch with a lot of generations here. It will not be the same to have just another car."

The kombi is being phased out because modern requirements such as anti-lock brakes and airbags cannot be fitted into a frame that has changed little in 50 years.

A run of 600 last edition kombis - priced at £25,000 each - has sparked a rush among collectors and nostalgic fans.

Driving one of the last ones - with no air conditioning and "stirring custard" gear box - is remarkably reminiscent of driving one from the 1970s. Even down to the feeling of being behind the wheel of something special.

Of course, with a production run of around 10 million kombis, there are plenty that will be around for many years to come.

At a classic car rally in Rio, owners proudly showed off customised vans and talked of their sadness at the end of the kombi era.

Mechanic Adriano Godinho told Sky News: "It is a car which has represented a lot for us in this country.

"It has been used to transport goods, it is a workman's car, it is a family car, so it is something that's in us. It is part of the family."

The van was originally named the "Type 2" as it was only the second vehicle the company made after the Beetle.

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

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Breast Implants: Plan For Industry Regulation

By Darren McCaffrey, Sky Political Reporter

A national register logging every breast implant operation carried out in England is to be set up in a bid to prevent a repeat of the PIP scandal.

The Government has published provisional plans to improve the cosmetics industry in the wake of the scandal.

Nearly 50,000 British women unknowingly bought industrial-grade silicone from French company Poly Implant Prothese (PIP), with hundreds suffering ruptures.

The UK cosmetics industry is rapidly expanding. The industry was worth an estimated £2.3bn in 2010, and is estimated to rise to £3.6bn by 2015.

In response, Sir Bruce Keogh was commissioned to carry out a review. The Government will today announce that it supports many of his recommendations, including:

:: To pilot a new register to record what breast implants are used.

:: The Royal College of Surgeons will create new qualifications and standards for cosmetic surgery.

:: A clampdown on advertising to ensure no more breast implants are awarded as competition prizes or time-limited deals.

:: Legislation will ensure that surgeons have to compensate for an injuries caused.

Health Minister Dr Dan Poulter told Sky News: "For too long, the cosmetics industry has been completely unregulated and there are too many tales of women who have been exploited, and of lives ruined by rogue cosmetic firms and practitioners.

PIP company boss Jean-Claude Mas has been jailed for four years in France

"This has to change, so we are taking robust action to clamp down on the cosmetic cowboys in order to properly protect women and the public.

"In January, we shall be setting out detailed plans about how to implement the recommendations made in last summer's cosmetics industry review by Sir Bruce Keogh."

While the industry is in support of the recommendations, Rajiv Grover, Consultant Plastic Surgeon and President of BAAPS (British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons) said things would only improve if the register is made compulsory.

He said: "The implant register introduced into this country is only going to work if (it is) implemented and is made compulsory.

"Because only then can women be reassured there is no possibility that if a clinic becomes bankrupt or something closes that their implants will be register and they will know exactly what is inside them."

And Tim Goodacre, from the British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons (BAPRAS), said: "We have been pushing for the creation of a compulsory register for breast implants.

"It is good the Government has announced its commitment to the breast implant registry pilot but in order to protect all women and avoid any future health scares it must quickly become a permanent infrastructure that all cosmetic providers have to use."

Jean-Claude Mas of PIP was found guilty of fraud after using industrial-grade silicone in thousands of breast implants sold worldwide.

The 74-year-old man, dubbed the "sorcerer's apprentice of implants" by prosecutors, plans to appeal, according to his lawyer.

The scandal first emerged in 2010 after doctors noticed abnormally high rupture rates in PIP implants.

A global health scare erupted in 2011 with some 300,000 women in 65 countries believed to have received the faulty implants.

About half the 30,000 French women given PIP implants have had them removed. Only 607 women in Britain have had them removed by the NHS.

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

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CBI: Firms Must Boost Pay After Long Squeeze

The director general of the CBI has called on businesses to improve pay levels as the Labour leader Ed Miliband charts what he sees as the "biggest cost-of-living crisis in a generation".

In his New Year message, Mr Miliband signalled his determination to keep up the pressure on the Government over the squeeze on living standards, despite growing signs the economy is finally beginning to pick up strength.

He sought to counter the increasing optimism of the Conservatives about the state of the economy by accusing them of ignoring the fact that many people were still no better off.

He said: "People are thinking they have made the sacrifices - and the Government keeps telling them that everything is fixed. But it does not seem fixed to them. Surely we can do better than this as a country.

"The Tories want to change the conversation from the cost of living crisis. They will talk about anything else. Inherent in their vision is not a solution to the cost of living crisis, but the problem."

Ed Miliband says living costs must be fair for all famlies

He said the party would use the coming year to show how it would make "big changes" to the economy to enable the country to "earn and grow our way to a higher standard of living for people.

"People do not want the earth. They would much prefer some very specific promises, specific things about what a government will do - whether it's freezing energy bills, taking action on pay day lenders, or tackling issues around childcare which lots of working parents face.

"All of this is adding up to a programme for how we can change things. It's clearly costed, it's credible and it's real."

John Cridland wants the spoils of recovery to filter to all workers

Families have been facing a squeeze on living standards as levels of pay increases fail to match the speed of rising prices.

As Mr Miliband outlined his attack on the Government, the CBI's John Cridland said firms face a challenge to make sure economic growth filters through to the workforce as economic recovery takes root.

In his own New Year message he said that businessmen and women have a "spring in their step" compared with a year ago and firms "must support employees in every part of the country to move up the career ladder, while also giving a helping hand to young people taking their first tentative steps into the world of work".

Mr Cridland said: "As the financial situation of many firms begins to turn a corner, one of the biggest challenges facing businesses is to deliver growth that will mean better pay and more opportunities for all their employees after a prolonged squeeze."

He said it was positive news that jobs were being created, adding it was shaping up to be a full-time recovery with the majority of new jobs being permanent.

For the first time since the start of the recession, 2014 will see most firms increasing the size of their workforce, boosting their graduate intake and the number of apprentices they take on, he predicted.

"The good news is that wages will pick up in the year ahead as growth beds down and productivity improves.

"But there are still far too many people stuck in minimum wage jobs without routes to progression, and that's a serious challenge that businesses and the Government must address."

Mr Cridland spoke of the importance of skills, calling for a Ucas-equivalent vocational system to help raise awareness and parity of esteem for alternative routes to higher skills.

"If 2013 was the year that business trust took a hammering on a range of issues from corporate taxation to energy prices, then 2014 must be the year that business leaders take action to rebuild that trust," he said.

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

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NatWest 'Hit By Fourth Online Banking Glitch'

NatWest has been hit by a cyberattack, leaving customers unable to access online accounts.

The bank's online banking service was disrupted after it was deliberately bombarded with internet traffic.   

Twitter users tweeted to say they could not access their bank accounts to pay bills or transfer money.

@TomGilchrist wrote: "Do other banks computer systems/services go down as much as NatWest? I assume not. Time to move banks I think."

@AleexReid tweeted: "Just joined Santander. Fed up with NatWest. Another computer failure tonight. #welldone."

A NatWest spokesperson said: "Due to a surge in internet traffic deliberately directed at the NatWest website, some of our customers experienced difficulties accessing our customer web sites this evening.

"This deliberate surge of traffic is commonly known as a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack.

"We have taken the appropriate action to restore the affected web sites. At no time was there any risk to customers. We apologise for the inconvenience caused."

At the beginning of December all of RBS and NatWest's systems went down for three hours on one of the busiest shopping days of the year.

The group chief executive Ross McEwan described that glitch as "unacceptable" and added: "For decades, RBS failed to invest properly in its systems.

"We need to put our customers' needs at the centre of all we do. It will take time, but we are investing heavily in building IT systems our customers can rely on."

RBS and NatWest also came under fire in March after a "hardware fault" meant customers were unable to use their online accounts or withdraw cash for several hours.

A major computer issue in June last year saw payments go awry, wages appear to go missing and home purchases and holidays interrupted for several weeks, costing the group £175m in compensation.

This latest problem is the fourth time in 18 months RBS and NatWest customers have reported problems with the banks' services.

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

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Volkswagen Camper Van Reaches End Of The Road

By Greg Milam, US Correspondent

One of the most iconic vehicles in motoring history has finally reached the end of the road.

The last ever Volkswagen "Type 2" - more commonly known as the VW Camper, kombi or bus - rolls off the production line on December 31.

It is being retired after 64 years in continuous production because it cannot be adapted to meet modern safety regulations.

The last kombi will be made in Brazil, the country which has produced them for 56 years and where they are a vital thread in the fabric of everyday life.

A vehicle that came to symbolise the counter-culture in much of the world - as the van of choice for hippies and surfers alike - remains very much a mundane staple in Brazil.

It seems that everyone you talk to learned to drive in one and everywhere you turn they are being used to sell, deliver or provide shelter.

Labourers work on a Volkswagen assembly line in Brazil this month

Angelisa Stein is making a movie to mark the passing of the kombi. She told Sky News: "It is a car that is in touch with a lot of generations here. It will not be the same to have just another car."

The kombi is being phased out because modern requirements such as anti-lock brakes and airbags cannot be fitted into a frame that has changed little in 50 years.

A run of 600 last edition kombis - priced at £25,000 each - has sparked a rush among collectors and nostalgic fans.

Driving one of the last ones - with no air conditioning and "stirring custard" gear box - is remarkably reminiscent of driving one from the 1970s. Even down to the feeling of being behind the wheel of something special.

Of course, with a production run of around 10 million kombis, there are plenty that will be around for many years to come.

At a classic car rally in Rio, owners proudly showed off customised vans and talked of their sadness at the end of the kombi era.

Mechanic Adriano Godinho told Sky News: "It is a car which has represented a lot for us in this country.

"It has been used to transport goods, it is a workman's car, it is a family car, so it is something that's in us. It is part of the family."

The van was originally named the "Type 2" as it was only the second vehicle the company made after the Beetle.

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

14.47 | 0 komentar | Read More

Breast Implants: Plan For Industry Regulation

By Darren McCaffrey, Sky Political Reporter

A national register logging every breast implant operation carried out in England is to be set up in a bid to prevent a repeat of the PIP scandal.

The Government has published provisional plans to improve the cosmetics industry in the wake of the scandal.

Nearly 50,000 British women unknowingly bought industrial-grade silicone from French company Poly Implant Prothese (PIP), with hundreds suffering ruptures.

The UK cosmetics industry is rapidly expanding. The industry was worth an estimated £2.3bn in 2010, and is estimated to rise to £3.6bn by 2015.

In response, Sir Bruce Keogh was commissioned to carry out a review. The Government will today announce that it supports many of his recommendations, including:

:: To pilot a new register to record what breast implants are used.

:: The Royal College of Surgeons will create new qualifications and standards for cosmetic surgery.

:: A clampdown on advertising to ensure no more breast implants are awarded as competition prizes or time-limited deals.

:: Legislation will ensure that surgeons have to compensate for an injuries caused.

Health Minister Dr Dan Poulter told Sky News: "For too long, the cosmetics industry has been completely unregulated and there are too many tales of women who have been exploited, and of lives ruined by rogue cosmetic firms and practitioners.

PIP company boss Jean-Claude Mas has been jailed for four years in France

"This has to change, so we are taking robust action to clamp down on the cosmetic cowboys in order to properly protect women and the public.

"In January, we shall be setting out detailed plans about how to implement the recommendations made in last summer's cosmetics industry review by Sir Bruce Keogh."

While the industry is in support of the recommendations, Rajiv Grover, Consultant Plastic Surgeon and President of BAAPS (British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons) said things would only improve if the register is made compulsory.

He said: "The implant register introduced into this country is only going to work if (it is) implemented and is made compulsory.

"Because only then can women be reassured there is no possibility that if a clinic becomes bankrupt or something closes that their implants will be register and they will know exactly what is inside them."

And Tim Goodacre, from the British Association of Plastic, Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons (BAPRAS), said: "We have been pushing for the creation of a compulsory register for breast implants.

"It is good the Government has announced its commitment to the breast implant registry pilot but in order to protect all women and avoid any future health scares it must quickly become a permanent infrastructure that all cosmetic providers have to use."

Jean-Claude Mas of PIP was found guilty of fraud after using industrial-grade silicone in thousands of breast implants sold worldwide.

The 74-year-old man, dubbed the "sorcerer's apprentice of implants" by prosecutors, plans to appeal, according to his lawyer.

The scandal first emerged in 2010 after doctors noticed abnormally high rupture rates in PIP implants.

A global health scare erupted in 2011 with some 300,000 women in 65 countries believed to have received the faulty implants.

About half the 30,000 French women given PIP implants have had them removed. Only 607 women in Britain have had them removed by the NHS.

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

14.47 | 0 komentar | Read More

NatWest 'Hit By Fourth Online Banking Glitch'

NatWest has been hit by a cyberattack, leaving customers unable to access online accounts.

The bank's online banking service was disrupted after it was deliberately bombarded with internet traffic.   

Twitter users tweeted to say they could not access their bank accounts to pay bills or transfer money.

@TomGilchrist wrote: "Do other banks computer systems/services go down as much as NatWest? I assume not. Time to move banks I think."

@AleexReid tweeted: "Just joined Santander. Fed up with NatWest. Another computer failure tonight. #welldone."

A NatWest spokesperson said: "Due to a surge in internet traffic deliberately directed at the NatWest website, some of our customers experienced difficulties accessing our customer web sites this evening.

"This deliberate surge of traffic is commonly known as a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack.

"We have taken the appropriate action to restore the affected web sites. At no time was there any risk to customers. We apologise for the inconvenience caused."

At the beginning of December all of RBS and NatWest's systems went down for three hours on one of the busiest shopping days of the year.

The group chief executive Ross McEwan described that glitch as "unacceptable" and added: "For decades, RBS failed to invest properly in its systems.

"We need to put our customers' needs at the centre of all we do. It will take time, but we are investing heavily in building IT systems our customers can rely on."

RBS and NatWest also came under fire in March after a "hardware fault" meant customers were unable to use their online accounts or withdraw cash for several hours.

A major computer issue in June last year saw payments go awry, wages appear to go missing and home purchases and holidays interrupted for several weeks, costing the group £175m in compensation.

This latest problem is the fourth time in 18 months RBS and NatWest customers have reported problems with the banks' services.

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

14.47 | 0 komentar | Read More

Breast Implants: Plan For Industry Regulation

By Darren McCaffrey, Sky Political Reporter

A national register logging every breast implant operation carried out in England is to be set up in a bid to prevent a repeat of the PIP scandal.

The Government has published provisional plans to improve the cosmetics industry in the wake of the scandal.

Nearly 50,000 British women unknowingly bought industrial-grade silicone from French company Poly Implant Prothese (PIP), with hundreds suffering ruptures.

The UK cosmetics industry is rapidly expanding. The industry was worth an estimated £2.3bn in 2010, and is estimated to rise to £3.6bn by 2015.

In response, Sir Bruce Keogh was commissioned to carry out a review. The Government will today announce that it supports many of his recommendations, including:

:: To pilot a new register to record what breast implants are used.

:: The Royal College of Surgeons will create new qualifications and standards for cosmetic surgery.

:: A clampdown on advertising to ensure no more breast implants are awarded as competition prizes or time-limited deals.

:: Legislation will ensure that surgeons have to compensate for an injuries caused.

Health Minister Dr Dan Poulter told Sky News: "For too long, the cosmetics industry has been completely unregulated and there are too many tales of women who have been exploited, and of lives ruined by rogue cosmetic firms and practitioners.

PIP company boss Jean-Claude Mas has been jailed for four years in France

"This has to change, so we are taking robust action to clamp down on the cosmetic cowboys in order to properly protect women and the public.

"In January, we shall be setting out detailed plans about how to implement the recommendations made in last summer's cosmetics industry review by Sir Bruce Keogh.

"While the industry is in support of the recommendations, Rajiv Grover, Consultant Plastic Surgeon and President of BAAPS said things would only improve if the register is made compulsory.

"The implant register introduced into this country is only going to work if (it is) implemented and is made compulsory.

"Because only then can women be reassured there is no possibility that if a clinic becomes bankrupt or something closes that their implants will be register and they will know exactly what is inside them."

Jean-Claude Mas of PIP was found guilty of fraud after using industrial-grade silicone in thousands of breast implants sold worldwide.

The 74 year old, dubbed the "sorcerer's apprentice of implants" by prosecutors, plans to appeal, according to his lawyer.

The scandal first emerged in 2010 after doctors noticed abnormally high rupture rates in PIP implants.

A global health scare erupted in 2011 with some 300,000 women in 65 countries believed to have received the faulty implants.

About half the 30,000 French women given PIP implants have had them removed. Only 607 women in Britain have had them removed by the NHS.

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

14.47 | 0 komentar | Read More

Volkswagen Camper Van Reaches End Of The Road

By Greg Milam, US Correspondent

One of the most iconic vehicles in motoring history has finally reached the end of the road.

The last ever Volkswagen "Type 2" - more commonly known as the VW Camper, kombi or bus - rolls off the production line on December 31.

It is being retired after 64 years in continuous production because it cannot be adapted to meet modern safety regulations.

The last kombi will be made in Brazil, the country which has produced them for 56 years and where they are a vital thread in the fabric of everyday life.

A vehicle that came to symbolise the counter-culture in much of the world - as the van of choice for hippies and surfers alike - remains very much a mundane staple in Brazil.

It seems that everyone you talk to learned to drive in one and everywhere you turn they are being used to sell, deliver or provide shelter.

Labourers work on a Volkswagen assembly line in Brazil this month

Angelisa Stein is making a movie to mark the passing of the kombi. She told Sky News: "It is a car that is in touch with a lot of generations here. It will not be the same to have just another car."

The kombi is being phased out because modern requirements such as anti-lock brakes and airbags cannot be fitted into a frame that has changed little in 50 years.

A run of 600 last edition kombis - priced at £25,000 each - has sparked a rush among collectors and nostalgic fans.

Driving one of the last ones - with no air conditioning and "stirring custard" gear box - is remarkably reminiscent of driving one from the 1970s. Even down to the feeling of being behind the wheel of something special.

Of course, with a production run of around 10 million kombis, there are plenty that will be around for many years to come.

At a classic car rally in Rio, owners proudly showed off customised vans and talked of their sadness at the end of the kombi era.

Mechanic Adriano Godinho told Sky News: "It is a car which has represented a lot for us in this country.

"It has been used to transport goods, it is a workman's car, it is a family car, so it is something that's in us. It is part of the family."

The van was originally named the "Type 2" as it was only the second vehicle the company made after the Beetle.

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

14.47 | 0 komentar | Read More

Sales: Shoppers Ready For More Bargain Hunting

Bargain-hungry shoppers are expected to spend nearly £3bn today on the second day of the post-Christmas sales.

The amount of money spent is predicted to be more than the estimated £2.7bn spent in shops and online on Boxing Day though bad weather is having an impact in some areas.

But while a devastating loss of trade over the crucial festive season could force some local shops out of business, many high streets unaffected by the storms are expected to see a repeat of some of the frenzied scenes witnessed on Thursday as shoppers queued for hours to get the best bargains.

A total of £2.22bn was projected to have been spent in stores on Thursday, up 5.7% on last year, according to the Centre for Retail Research (CRR).

Online shoppers spent £540m - a new daily record - on Boxing Day, up 15% on last year, IMRG, the internet retailers' association, said.

Many people queued from before dawn in London

Total spending on Friday could be even higher, with shops expected to take £2.57bn - up more than 7% on last year's £2.4bn on December 27.

Online sales are expected to peak £400m.

Thousands of people hit British high streets yesterday for the traditional Boxing Day sales, with international tourists out in force and spending big.

Many keen bargain-hunters started queuing before dawn to ensure they were first in line when the shops opened.

Shoppers are predicted to spend £2.5bn in the high street on Friday

Selfridges on Oxford Street in central London saw some of the largest queues.

As 3,500 shoppers surrounded the huge shopping emporium, it was apparent the queue was made up of people from all around the world - particularly from China.

The significant presence of international shoppers was confirmed by Global Blue tax-free shopping experts.

Shoppers from Qatar spend the most on average per transaction (£1,714) followed by those from the United Arab Emirates (£1,372).

But a spokesman said Chinese shoppers are the biggest spenders overall.

They spend £1,367 on average per transaction, but are more likely to return to the tills with more goods.

Selfridges celebrated its most successful ever first hour of trade, taking over £1.9m between 9am and 10am - up 16% compared with last year.

Harrods also kicked off its winter sale and offered mugs of hot chocolate, smoked salmon canapes and blankets to keep people warm in the queue.

Department store Liberty offered designer goods at a fraction of their usual price, while both Next and Marks & Spencer boasted discounts of up to 50% on sale items.

Bluewater in Kent predicted more than 800,000 people would come through its doors between Boxing Day and New Year's Eve.

More than 1.4 million shoppers are expected to spend a total of more than £50m in London's West End today.

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

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Pound Hits Two-Year High Against Dollar

The pound has hit its highest level against the US dollar for nearly two-and-a-half years amid Britain's buoyant economic recovery.

Sterling rose to 1.65 dollars, a level not seen since August 2011, as strong economic figures continue to provide a boost and spur expectations that the Bank of England will move to raise interest rates earlier than expected.

A report from the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) on Thursday predicted the UK would become Europe's largest economy within two decades, overtaking France and Germany.

The UK recovery has been picking up pace in recent months and official figures saw growth data revised higher last week.

Figures correct at 16:06 GMT Friday December 27

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said growth in 2012 was 0.3%, up from a previous estimate of 0.1%, while the figure for the first quarter of this year was revised up from 0.4% to 0.5% and for the second quarter from 0.7% to 0.8%.

A stronger pound is good news for tourists, as it boosts their spending power.

UK holidaymakers have up to 28% more spending money for their trips as a result of the pound's recent strength, according to a Post Office Travel Money survey.

It has also helped bring down UK inflation, by making it cheaper for Britain to import goods and services.

But the gains in sterling could provide a headache for manufacturers and exporters, as a stronger pound makes products more expensive for overseas buyers and therefore could dampen demand.

The Bank's Monetary Policy Committee recently warned that a significant increase in the pound's strength could pose risks to the recovery, while it could also dent the Government's aims to rebalance the economy towards manufacturing and exports.

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

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NatWest 'Hit By Fourth Online Banking Glitch'

NatWest has been hit by a cyberattack, leaving customers unable to access online accounts.

The bank's online banking service was disrupted after it was deliberately bombarded with internet traffic.   

Twitter users tweeted to say they could not access their bank accounts to pay bills or transfer money.

@TomGilchrist wrote: "Do other banks computer systems/services go down as much as NatWest? I assume not. Time to move banks I think."

@AleexReid tweeted: "Just joined Santander. Fed up with NatWest. Another computer failure tonight. #welldone."

A NatWest spokesperson said: "Due to a surge in internet traffic deliberately directed at the NatWest website, some of our customers experienced difficulties accessing our customer web sites this evening.

"This deliberate surge of traffic is commonly known as a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack.

"We have taken the appropriate action to restore the affected web sites. At no time was there any risk to customers. We apologise for the inconvenience caused."

At the beginning of December all of RBS and NatWest's systems went down for three hours on one of the busiest shopping days of the year.

The group chief executive Ross McEwan described that glitch as "unacceptable" and added: "For decades, RBS failed to invest properly in its systems.

"We need to put our customers' needs at the centre of all we do. It will take time, but we are investing heavily in building IT systems our customers can rely on."

RBS and NatWest also came under fire in March after a "hardware fault" meant customers were unable to use their online accounts or withdraw cash for several hours.

A major computer issue in June last year saw payments go awry, wages appear to go missing and home purchases and holidays interrupted for several weeks, costing the group £175m in compensation.

This latest problem is the fourth time in 18 months RBS and NatWest customers have reported problems with the banks' services.

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

14.47 | 0 komentar | Read More

Obama Signs Budget Deal And Defence Bill

President Barack Obama has signed a bipartisan budget bill and a defence bill, marking a modest end to a challenging year for the White House and Congress.

The president put his signature on both hard-fought bills while on holiday with his family in Hawaii.

The bill signing marks one of Mr Obama's last official acts in a year beset by a partial government shutdown, a near-default by the Treasury, a calamitous health care rollout and near-perpetual congressional gridlock.

The budget bill was not the grand bargain that Mr Obama and congressional Republicans had initially sought.

Mr Obama is in Hawaii with his family for the Christmas holiday

It does, however, end the cycle of fiscal brinkmanship for now and prevents another government shutdown for nearly two years.

The bill reduces automatic across-the-board spending cuts, restores about $63bn over two years and includes a projected $85bn in other savings.

The president also signed a comprehensive defence bill on Thursday that cracks down on sexual assault in the military.

Under the legislation, military commanders no longer will be permitted to overturn jury convictions for sexual assault.

Its signing caps a year-long campaign led by women in the Senate to address the scourge of rape and sexual assault in the US military.

The bill also gives military personnel a 1% pay raise and provides $552.1bn for the regular military budget, plus $80.7bn for the Afghanistan war and other overseas operations.

Mr Obama signed the two bills and several others in private, without reporters present, after an early-morning trip to the gym at the Marine Corps base near his vacation rental in Oahu.

With the last vestiges of 2013's legislative wrangling behind him, the president's attention turns now to major challenges and potential bright spots in the year ahead.

In late January, Mr Obama will give his fifth State of the Union address, setting his agenda for the final stretch before the 2014 midterm elections render him less able to focus Washington's attention on his own priorities.

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

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Britain's Economy 'Could Overtake Germany'

Britain could overtake Germany to become Europe's largest economy, according to new research by an economic think-tank.

The Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) predicts the UK's GDP will move ahead of France by 2018, then leapfrog Germany by 2030.

Douglas McWilliams, the CEBR's chief executive, told The Daily Telegraph that Britain could become even stronger outside the European Union.

"My instinct is that in the short-term, the impact of leaving the EU would undoubtedly be negative," he said.

"My suspicion is that over a 15-year period, it would probably be positive."

But the report says Britain is also forecast to fall behind the accelerating economies of India and Brazil.

The UK's GDP will grow from more than £1.59 trillion in 2013 to £2.6 trillion in 2028, compared with China, which is predicted to be in top position with a GDP of £20.5 trillion, ahead of the US with an estimated £19.7 trillion

Japan will fall from its steady position in the global league of third to fourth by 2028, overtaken by India and followed by Brazil, Germany and the UK.

A treasury spokesperson said Britain's "hard work is paying off" with positive growth and job creation, but warned there is still work to be done. 

The spokesperson said: "The economy is growing, the deficit is falling and jobs are being created and while this report is encouraging, the job is not yet done. So the government will go on taking the difficult decisions needed to secure a responsible recovery for all."

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Sales: Shoppers Ready For More Bargain Hunting

Bargain-hungry shoppers are expected to spend nearly £3bn today on the second day of the post-Christmas sales.

The amount of money spent is predicted to be more than the estimated £2.7bn spent in shops and online on Boxing Day.

High streets should see a repeat of some of the frenzied scenes witnessed yesterday as shoppers queued for hours to get the best bargains.

A total of £2.22bn was projected to have been spent in stores on Thursday, up 5.7% on last year, according to the Centre for Retail Research (CRR).

Online shoppers spent £540m - a new daily record - on Boxing Day, up 15% on last year, IMRG, the internet retailers' association, said.

Many people queued from before dawn in London

Total spending on Friday could be even higher, with shops expected to take £2.57bn - up more than 7% on last year's £2.4bn on December 27.

Online sales are expected to peak £400m.

Thousands of people hit British high streets yesterday for the traditional Boxing Day sales, with international tourists out in force and spending big.

Many keen bargain-hunters started queuing before dawn to ensure they were first in line when the shops opened.

Shoppers are predicted to spend £2.5bn in the high street on Friday

Selfridges on Oxford Street in central London saw some of the largest queues.

As 3,500 shoppers surrounded the huge shopping emporium, it was apparent the queue was made up of people from all around the world - particularly from China.

The significant presence of international shoppers was confirmed by Global Blue tax-free shopping experts.

Shoppers from Qatar spend the most on average per transaction (£1,714) followed by those from the United Arab Emirates (£1,372).

But a spokesman said Chinese shoppers are the biggest spenders overall.

They spend £1,367 on average per transaction, but are more likely to return to the tills with more goods.

Selfridges celebrated its most successful ever first hour of trade, taking over £1.9m between 9am and 10am - up 16% compared with last year.

Harrods also kicked off its winter sale and offered mugs of hot chocolate, smoked salmon canapes and blankets to keep people warm in the queue.

Department store Liberty offered designer goods at a fraction of their usual price, while both Next and Marks & Spencer boasted discounts of up to 50% on sale items.

Bluewater in Kent predicted more than 800,000 people would come through its doors between Boxing Day and New Year's Eve.

More than 1.4 million shoppers are expected to spend a total of more than £50m in London's West End today.

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Britain's Economy 'Could Overtake Germany'

Britain could overtake Germany to become Europe's largest economy, according to new research by an economic think-tank.

The Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) predicts the UK's GDP will move ahead of France by 2018, then leapfrog Germany by 2030.

Douglas McWilliams, the CEBR's chief executive, told The Daily Telegraph that Britain could become even stronger outside the European Union.

"My instinct is that in the short-term, the impact of leaving the EU would undoubtedly be negative," he said.

"My suspicion is that over a 15-year period, it would probably be positive."

But the report says Britain is also forecast to fall behind the accelerating economies of India and Brazil.

The UK's GDP will grow from more than £1.59 trillion in 2013 to £2.6 trillion in 2028, compared with China, which is predicted to be in top position with a GDP of £20.5 trillion, ahead of the US with an estimated £19.7 trillion

Japan will fall from its steady position in the global league of third to fourth by 2028, overtaken by India and followed by Brazil, Germany and the UK.

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SFO Investigates Rolls-Royce Bribery Claims

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has started a formal investigation into bribery and corruption allegations at Rolls-Royce.

The claims first came to light a year ago when the SFO ordered the world's second-largest maker of aircraft engines to conduct an inquiry and hand over details of possible wrongdoing in China, Indonesia and other markets.

"We have been informed by the Serious Fraud Office that it has now commenced a formal investigation into these matters," Rolls-Royce said on Monday.

Last December, the company said it was co-operating with regulators relating to allegations of malpractice involving intermediaries in Indonesia and China.

The aerospace and defence group said then it had "identified matters of concern in these and in other overseas markets."

Shares in the company, which operates in more than 50 countries across the world, were 0.2% down in the minutes following the announcement.

The group, which has major sites at Derby and Bristol and employs around 45,000 people, appointed veteran lawyer Lord Gold last year to review the company's compliance procedures in the wake of the claims.

In March, the company appointed BP director Ian Davis, a former managing director of management consultancy McKinsey & Co, as chairman.

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Bargain Hunters Flock To Boxing Day Sales

Bargain hunters are set to flock to the high streets in their thousands today as shops open for the Boxing Day sales.

Shoppers have already started queuing to ensure they are first in line when the shops open.

Harrods is kicking off its winter sale with the promise of mugs of hot chocolate, smoked salmon canapes and blankets to keep people warm in the queue.

They will also be serenaded by a string quartet and be treated to a performance by a street magician.

Some online sales started on Christmas Eve and millions of consumers are believed to have already snapped up goods from home.

Some 117 million visits to retail websites were estimated to have been made on Wednesday in the UK, with Boxing Day's figure set to rise to over 118 million.

Shopping habits are changing, according to analysts

Robert Goodman, Bluewater's general manager, said: "We are ready for a bumper Boxing Day this year.

"With the strongest retail offer to date, and with 50 new brands launching with us this year, we are expecting visitor numbers to be on a par with Boxing Day last year.

"This will begin what is likely to be our busiest six days of the year."

James Murray, digital insight manager at Experian, said: "Christmas 2013 has consistently outperformed 2012 on virtually every single shopping day this December, with online visits from Christmas Eve through to Boxing Day up from last year, a record-breaking Cyber Monday and the emergence of the even busier Middle Cyber Monday.

"Shopping habits are changing, with Christmas Day becoming a significant shopping day during the period.

"As a result, we anticipate a more sustained shopping pattern during this period, moving away from the traditional peaks and troughs usually evident during holiday season."

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SFO Investigates Rolls-Royce Bribery Claims

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has started a formal investigation into bribery and corruption allegations at Rolls-Royce.

The claims first came to light a year ago when the SFO ordered the world's second-largest maker of aircraft engines to conduct an inquiry and hand over details of possible wrongdoing in China, Indonesia and other markets.

"We have been informed by the Serious Fraud Office that it has now commenced a formal investigation into these matters," Rolls-Royce said on Monday.

Last December, the company said it was co-operating with regulators relating to allegations of malpractice involving intermediaries in Indonesia and China.

The aerospace and defence group said then it had "identified matters of concern in these, and in other overseas markets."

Shares in the company, which operates in more than 50 countries across the world, were 0.2% down in the minutes following the announcement.

The group, which has major sites at Derby and Bristol and employs around 45,000 people, appointed veteran lawyer Lord Gold last year to review the company's compliance procedures in the wake of the claims.

In March, the company appointed BP director Ian Davis, a former managing director of management consultancy McKinsey & Co, as chairman.

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Apple Strikes iPhone Deal With China Mobile

Apple has finally secured a deal to bring the iPhone to China Mobile, the world's biggest network, opening the door to a massive sales boost.

The state-owned network has more than 750 million subscribers.

The latest iPhone 5S and 5C will go on sale in the country from January 17 with analysts forecasting a sales surge of anywhere between 10 and 25 million over the next year.

China's granting of 4G licences earlier this month is thought to have helped the deal as the faster network is compatible with the iPhone.

In a statement promoting the deal, Apple and China Mobile said they were "excited" to finally be working together.

Apple CEO Tim Cook said: "Apple has enormous respect for China Mobile and we are excited to begin working together. China is an extremely important market for Apple and our partnership with China Mobile presents us the opportunity to bring iPhone to the customers of the world's largest network."

While popular around the world, the iPhone has faced tough competition in China from cheaper Android smartphones made by the likes of Samsung. Collectively, Android phones far outsell iPhone models.

Apple's cheaper 5C model, released earlier this year, was widely seen as an attempt to crack the Chinese market.

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Weather Damages 'Biggest Xmas Shopping Day'

A predicted high street spending spree dubbed 'Manic Monday' has largely failed to materialise, with strong winds and heavy rain combining to force late-Christmas shoppers indoors.

Analysts had expected 15 million people to take to stores, spending £2.6m a minute on gifts, food, drink and decorations.

But the spending spree appears set to fall short of retailers' expectations after the bad weather disrupted travel and left shoppers seeking shelter.

Despite huge red signs announcing sales of up to 70%, many shops on London's Oxford Street were experiencing customer numbers they would see on a normal day rather than those you would expect just two days before Christmas.

One M&S shopper said: "With the weather, well, it's really quiet.

"A few years ago you wouldn't have been able to get in here."

Major indoor centres, however, were expected to have benefited from the storm.

The Waitrose department store-supermarket in London's Canary Wharf had long queues waiting at tills while car parks at Manchester's Trafford Centre were reported to be full.

Retailers had expected their biggest day of the year, with shoppers parting with about £3.6bn by the end of the day.

Visa expected to process 31 million transactions on UK cards with a peak between 1pm and 2pm as workers rushed out to the shops on their lunch break.

Visa predicted an average £15,000 per second would be spent on its cards.

Many retailers have been furiously discounting prices over the past few days in a bid to attract shoppers amid signs of a slow start to the big festive spend.

While the prospect of bargains bodes well for consumers who left their shopping late, there are fears the price cuts will leave the retail sector with a profits hangover after a bruising battle for business during 2013.

Large promotions have included a 30% discount across clothing lines at Marks & Spencer, as well as price cuts at Debenhams, Gap, Argos and BHS.

John Lewis confirmed on Sunday it had enjoyed record weekly sales with takings hitting £164m - up 4.2% on the same period last year - though its customers tend to be less affected by the squeeze on incomes than the average consumer.

Many supermarket chains planned to keep their biggest stores open 24 hours daily until late on Christmas Eve.

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Apple Strikes iPhone Deal With China Mobile

Apple has finally secured a deal to bring the iPhone to China Mobile, the world's biggest network, opening the door to a massive sales boost.

The state-owned network has more than 750 million subscribers.

The latest iPhone 5S and 5C will go on sale in the country from January 17 with analysts forecasting a sales surge of anywhere between 10 and 25 million over the next year.

China's granting of 4G licences earlier this month is thought to have helped the deal as the faster network is compatible with the iPhone.

In a statement promoting the deal, Apple and China Mobile said they were "excited" to finally be working together.

Apple CEO Tim Cook said: "Apple has enormous respect for China Mobile and we are excited to begin working together. China is an extremely important market for Apple and our partnership with China Mobile presents us the opportunity to bring iPhone to the customers of the world's largest network."

While popular around the world, the iPhone has faced tough competition in China from cheaper Android smartphones made by the likes of Samsung. Collectively, Android phones far outsell iPhone models.

Apple's cheaper 5C model, released earlier this year, was widely seen as an attempt to crack the Chinese market.

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

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SFO Investigates Rolls-Royce Bribery Claims

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) has started a formal investigation into bribery and corruption allegations at Rolls-Royce.

The claims first came to light a year ago when the SFO ordered the world's second-largest maker of aircraft engines to conduct an inquiry and hand over details of possible wrongdoing in China, Indonesia and other markets.

"We have been informed by the Serious Fraud Office that it has now commenced a formal investigation into these matters," Rolls-Royce said on Monday.

Last December, the company said it was co-operating with regulators relating to allegations of malpractice involving intermediaries in Indonesia and China.

The aerospace and defence group said then it had "identified matters of concern in these, and in other overseas markets."

Shares in the company, which operates in more than 50 countries across the world, were 0.2% down in the minutes following the announcement.

The group, which has major sites at Derby and Bristol and employs around 45,000 people, appointed veteran lawyer Lord Gold last year to review the company's compliance procedures in the wake of the claims.

In March, the company appointed BP director Ian Davis, a former managing director of management consultancy McKinsey & Co, as chairman.

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

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Weather Damages 'Biggest Xmas Shopping Day'

A predicted high street spending spree dubbed 'Manic Monday' has largely failed to materialise, with strong winds and heavy rain combining to force late-Christmas shoppers indoors.

Analysts had expected 15 million people to take to stores, spending £2.6m a minute on gifts, food, drink and decorations.

But the spending spree appears set to fall short of retailers' expectations after the bad weather disrupted travel and left shoppers seeking shelter.

Despite huge red signs announcing sales of up to 70%, many shops on London's Oxford Street were experiencing customer numbers they would see on a normal day rather than those you would expect just two days before Christmas.

One M&S shopper said: "With the weather, well, it's really quiet.

"A few years ago you wouldn't have been able to get in here."

Major indoor centres, however, were expected to have benefited from the storm.

The Waitrose department store-supermarket in London's Canary Wharf had long queues waiting at tills while car parks at Manchester's Trafford Centre were reported to be full.

Retailers had expected their biggest day of the year, with shoppers parting with about £3.6bn by the end of the day.

Visa expected to process 31 million transactions on UK cards with a peak between 1pm and 2pm as workers rushed out to the shops on their lunch break.

Visa predicted an average £15,000 per second would be spent on its cards.

Many retailers have been furiously discounting prices over the past few days in a bid to attract shoppers amid signs of a slow start to the big festive spend.

While the prospect of bargains bodes well for consumers who left their shopping late, there are fears the price cuts will leave the retail sector with a profits hangover after a bruising battle for business during 2013.

Large promotions have included a 30% discount across clothing lines at Marks & Spencer, as well as price cuts at Debenhams, Gap, Argos and BHS.

John Lewis confirmed on Sunday it had enjoyed record weekly sales with takings hitting £164m - up 4.2% on the same period last year - though its customers tend to be less affected by the squeeze on incomes than the average consumer.

Many supermarket chains planned to keep their biggest stores open 24 hours daily until late on Christmas Eve.

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

14.47 | 0 komentar | Read More

Apple Strikes iPhone Deal With China Mobile

Apple has finally secured a deal to bring the iPhone to China Mobile, the world's biggest network, opening the door to a massive sales boost.

The state-owned network has more than 750 million subscribers.

The latest iPhone 5S and 5C will go on sale in the country from January 17 with analysts forecasting a sales surge of anywhere between 10 and 25 million over the next year.

China's granting of 4G licences earlier this month is thought to have helped the deal as the faster network is compatible with the iPhone.

In a statement promoting the deal, Apple and China Mobile said they were "excited" to finally be working together.

Apple CEO Tim Cook said: "Apple has enormous respect for China Mobile and we are excited to begin working together. China is an extremely important market for Apple and our partnership with China Mobile presents us the opportunity to bring iPhone to the customers of the world's largest network."

While popular around the world, the iPhone has faced tough competition in China from cheaper Android smartphones made by the likes of Samsung. Collectively, Android phones far outsell iPhone models.

Apple's cheaper 5C model, released earlier this year, was widely seen as an attempt to crack the Chinese market.

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

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British Airways Plane 'Crash' In Johannesburg

A British Airways plane has crashed into a building at Johannesburg Airport in South Africa.

The aircraft, carrying 182 passengers, sliced its wing through the building while taxiing on the runway, BA confirmed.

Posting on Twitter, the airline said: "One of our aircraft was damaged whilst taxiing at JNB airport. All 182 passengers disembarked safely with no injuries onboard."

There has so far been no comment made on whether anyone was injured in the building or on the ground.

The plane involved is believed to be a Boeing 747.

British Airways says nobody in the plane was injured. Pic: John Hart

Harriet Tolputt, Oxfam's head of Media, who was on the flight, posted pictures of the incident on Twitter.

She wrote: "BA plane crashes into building at J Burg airport. No one injured only the pilot's pride ... Not impressed that first class passengers get off before premium economy during an emergency."

Johannesburg Airport said it would be able to provide more information on the incident later in the morning.

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M&S Says Sorry Over Alcohol Refusal

Marks & Spencer has apologised after a Muslim member of staff refused to sell a customer alcohol.

The retailer said that where employees have religious beliefs that restrict what foods or drinks they can handle, it tries to place them in a "suitable role".

An M&S spokeswoman said: "We regret that in the case highlighted we were not following our own internal policy."

The issue arose after an unnamed customer at a London store told the Telegraph they were "taken aback" when an "extremely apologetic" Muslim checkout worker asked for them to wait for another till to become available.

The customer told the newspaper: "I had one bottle of champagne, and the lady, who was wearing a headscarf, was very apologetic but said she could not serve me. She told me to wait until another member of staff was available.

"I was taken aback. I was a bit surprised. I've never come across that before."

Drinking alcohol is forbidden in Islam, and some Muslims refuse to handle it.

M&S said its policy applied to staff of other religions, not just Islam.

The spokeswoman said: "Where we have an employee whose religious beliefs restrict food or drink they can handle, we work closely with our members of staff to place them in suitable role, such as in our clothing department or bakery in foods...

"As a secular business we have an inclusive policy that welcomes all religious beliefs whether across our customer or employee base.

"This policy has been in place for many years, and when followed correctly, we do not believe that it should compromise our ability to offer the highest level of customer service.

"We apologise that this policy was not followed in the case reported."

The case highlighted differences among retailers on whether religious staff should have to carry out certain jobs, the Telegraph said.

Sainsbury's guidelines say that there is no reason why staff who don't drink alcohol or eat pork on religious grounds could not handle them, the paper said, while Tesco said it made "no sense" for staff who refuse to touch items for religious reasons to work on a till.

Muslims working at Asda would not have to work on tills if they objected to handling alcohol, and Morrisons would "respect and work around anyone's wishes not to handle specific products for religious or cultural reasons", the paper added.

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Tobacco Boss Quits Helm Of Silk Cut-Maker

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

The executive who orchestrated Japan's biggest-ever takeover of a British company has quit his role at the helm of the manufacturer of Benson & Hedges and Silk Cut.

Sky News has learnt that Pierre de Labouchere, the president and chief executive of Japan Tobacco International (JTI), resigned with immediate effect.

The departure of Mr de Labouchere, who led Japan Tobacco's £7.5bn acquisition of Gallaher International in 2007, surprised analysts, who said they expected that the exit of such a senior executive would have been the subject of a public announcement.

JTI accounts for over half of its parent's global earnings and through its ownership of Gallaher's brands, which also included Mayfair, it now jostles with Imperial Tobacco for leadership of the UK cigarette market. British American Tobacco has a vast international presence but a comparatively small share of the UK market.

Mr de Labouchere has been replaced by Tom McCoy, previously the chief operating officer.

In a statement issued on Friday, a JTI spokesman said: "I confirm that Mr. Pierre de Labouchere has decided to resign from his position as President and Chief Executive Officer of JTI as of December 18th.

"Mr Thomas A McCoy has been appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of JTI. He brings in-depth knowledge of the business and a wealth of experience to this new responsibility. His 14 years with JTI have generated a proven track record of success in leading the international tobacco business at JTI."

JTI declined to comment on the reasons behind Mr de Labouchere's sudden departure but insiders said that another senior executive responsible for the company's mergers and acquisitions activity had also quit in recent days, suggesting some kind of strategic disagreement.

Mr de Labouchere, one of the most senior Frenchmen in a major Japanese company, led the takeover of Gallaher having previously been president of JR Reynolds' international operations, which were acquired by JTI in 1999.

JTI's UK operation is run directly by Jorge da Motta, who took over earlier this year.

He warned on his appointment that "the most challenging dynamic for the UK business is the high tax regime and the corresponding high level of non-UK duty paid cigarettes at a time when the Government is consulting on plain packaging".

"This makes the threat to legitimate businesses both small and large significant and dangerous," he added.

Headquartered in Geneva, JTI recorded sales of $11.8bn (£7.2bn) in 2012. The company has operations in more than 120 countries and about 25,000 employees.

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Christmas Shoppers To Spend £12bn In Four Days

By Emma Birchley, Sky News Reporter

Shoppers are expected to spend £12bn in just four days as they make the most of slashed prices and promotions, according to retail forecasters.

The deals are being offered as a fierce battle for sales rages both on the high street and online.

Alan Dadswell relies on Christmas to keep his shop Toys 'N' Tuck in Southend-on-Sea going and he says discounts are crucial.

He said: "To get people to spend the money they have got to feel they are getting a bargain and we have got to give them a bargain. We have to hunt with our suppliers to do good deals to get people in to the store."

A sluggish autumn has put added pressure on retailers.

But with 74% of shops offering deals, 13 million people are expected to shop on the high street on the last Saturday before Christmas.

It will help that many people finished work for Christmas on Friday.

Offering discounts at Toys 'N' Tuck in Southend-on-Sea is crucial

But Diane Wehrle, from the shop footfall monitors Springboard, says shoppers are getting increasingly canny.

She said: "Tactics definitely come into it. Shoppers are becoming much more savvy than they used to be. They understand that retailers are slashing prices. They understand they are doing one-off specials and they wait for them.

"So they perhaps go window shopping before the Christmas trading period starts, look out for what they want to buy and then buy them when they are on offer."

Lizzy Clarke, armed with bags of gifts in Southend, has made the most of the offers.

"They've got some great deals ... 75% off in some stores and I've just bought some jumpers that cost me £30 last week and this week have cost me £7," she said.

But Rob Antoniazz, who is unconvinced, said: "The decent items in good shops are never up for sale because the demand is there to buy them."

Tesco's distribution centre in Erith, Kent, has gone into overdrive

Half of the money being spent in the four days to the end of Monday will be on food, with £900m going towards online groceries.

Tesco has sold twice as many turkeys over the internet than last year. At its distribution centre in Erith, Kent, staff are working around the clock preparing orders.

Simon Belsham, the managing director of Online Grocery for the chain, said: "This is a really busy time of year for us. It really reflects that customers are looking for more and more convenient ways to shop for their Christmas presents and Christmas food."

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M&S Extends Clothing Sale Amid Poor Trading

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

Marks & Spencer (M&S) is to extend heavy discounting on clothing into a second day on Sunday as it attempts to drive sales during the most crucial period of its trading year.

Sky News has learnt that the high street giant will run another sale offering 30% off all clothing lines just three days before Christmas amid growing expectations of one of the toughest festive periods for retailers in years.

While food sales are said to have been satisfactory, M&S is understood to have been disappointed by the response to Saturday's clothing sale, prompting executives to decide during an evening conference call to repeat the event on Sunday.

The company is far from alone on offering heavy discounts on clothing, with 50% off usual prices at Banana Republic, French Connection and Reisss, and up to 60% savings on some lines at Gap.

M&S is, though, the most closely-watched of any retailer on UK high streets because of its scale.

It has tended to shun such significant pre-Christmas discounts under the leadership of Marc Bolland, its chief executive, although it occasionally ran them under Sir Stuart Rose, his predecessor.

Mr Bolland has been attempting to improve M&S's clothing sales by introducing new management and a focus on greater quality, but faces an anxious wait to see whether that translates into adequate trading.

Standard Life Investments, one of the retailer's biggest shareholders, said in January that disappointing Christmas trading last year meant that Mr Bolland was on borrowed time, although many investors are keen to give his strategy more time to take effect.

Some analysts are forecasting a fall in sales during the important third-quarter period, although the like-for-like measurement that will be provided by retailers in January does not indicate the profitability of their sales.

M&S declined to comment on Saturday.

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Christmas Debts 'Won't Be Cleared Until June'

The average family is going to take on debts this Christmas that will take until June to pay off, it has been claimed.

The Trades Union Congress has carried out research that shows that the typical family will add £685 to its borrowing by the time the festive season is over.

That will take a family on an average income 24 weeks to pay off, the labour organisation claims.

Last Christmas, one in six families borrowed money to pay for food, drinks and presents, with households borrowing an average of £654 per adult (Men £1,000, women £547).

Using average weekly earnings and savings data the TUC estimated that it took average-income earners 20 weeks to pay off this debt.

This year, consumer debt has increased by 4.9 per cent. The TUC's calculations estimate that it will take four more weeks for an average-income earner to pay back the extra debt burden they will take on.

If a minimum wage worker were to borrow the same sum it would take them an entire year working full-time to pay it off.

The TUC says the findings underline how ordinary people are not benefiting from the recovery and are instead facing a bigger struggle to pay off their debts.

The study has emerged on the day when the Bank of England has warned of the scale of the debt burden weighing on British families.

According to the TUC, British workers are currently suffering the longest real-wage squeeze since the 1870s, with inflation rising faster than wages for the last 42 months.

It says the government needs to make fairer pay rewards a priority.

Nicola Smith, head of economic and social affairs at the TUC, told Sky News: "It's to do with the fact that is an expensive time of the year for everybody, and with wages hardly having kept up with prices for the last four years, with family incomes under historic pressure, just meeting the basic costs of Christmas is going to mean a lot more people having to rely on credit."

She said the problem was that most growth in the economy was being provided by consumption and because pay was not keeping up with prices, the extra money people had to spend on buying goods was coming from borrowing.

"People are having to borrow to make up the extra spending that is driving growth in the economy," she said. "It's really worrying that that does not provide us with a sustainable basis for a recovery going forward."

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UK GDP: Economy Growing Faster Than Expected

Britain's economy has grown faster than expected, despite fears there is underlying fragility.

The Office for National Statistics said British gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 0.8% in the third quarter, confirming previous estimates.

Annual GDP grew by an upwardly-revised 1.9% in the third quarter or three months up to the end of September, compared with output a year earlier, the ONS added on Friday. The prior estimate had stood at 1.5%.

At 0.8%, the quarter-on-quarter rate marked the fastest pace for more than three years.

The data came at the end of a week in which Britain announced a larger-than-expected drop in unemployment.

Also on Friday, the ONS said the government's public sector net borrowing requirement, excluding taxpayers' money used to rescue banks, rose to £16.5bn in November compared with £15.6bn a year earlier.

Ahead of the data, Standard and Poor's confirmed its top AAA credit rating for Britain, noting the government's commitment to reducing its budget deficit even if the deep austerity measures continue to slash public sector jobs.

Offsetting these losses has been a pick-up in jobs created by the private sector.

But the growth data comes as a jittery retail sector slashed prices ahead of Christmas, suggesting it fears the public's ability to spend is being restricted by wages that have yet to rise.

Howard Archer, chief European & UK economist at consultants IHS Global Insight, said: "Markedly rising employment and a robust housing market will likely underpin consumer spending over the coming months.

"If the recovery is to be sustained at a healthy pace, it really does need a marked, extended pick up in business investment and for exports to improve markedly."

The growth rate will be hailed as good news for the Chancellor amid sustained concerns over the pressure on living standards from families' static incomes.

A Treasury spokesperson said: "Today's data show that the recovery has been stronger than previously thought and that the government's long-term economic plan is working.

"But risks remain and the job is not done, so the government will go on taking the difficult decisions needed to deliver a responsible recovery for all."

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Christmas Shoppers To Spend £12bn In 4 Days

By Emma Birchley, Reporter

Shoppers are expected to spend £12bn in just four days as they make the most of slashed prices and promotions, according to retail forecasters.

The deals are being offered as a fierce battle for sales rages both on the high street and online.

Alan Dadswell relies on Christmas to keep his shop Toys 'N' Tuck in Southend-on-Sea going. And offering discounts is crucial.

He said: "To get people to spend the money they have got to feel they are getting a bargain and we have got to give them a bargain. We have to hunt with our suppliers to do good deals to get people in to the store."

A sluggish autumn has put added pressure on retailers.

But with 74% of shops offering deals, 13 million people are expected to shop on the high street on the last Saturday before Christmas.

And it will help that many people finished work for Christmas on Friday, leaving extra time to spend.

Offering discounts at Toys 'N' Tuck in Southend-on-Sea is crucial

But Diane Wehrle, from the shop footfall monitors Springboard, says shoppers are getting increasingly canny.

She said: "Tactics definitely come into it. Shoppers are becoming much more savvy than they used to be. They understand that retailers are slashing prices. They understand they are doing one-off specials and they wait for them.

"So they perhaps go window shopping before the Christmas trading period starts, look out for what they want to buy and then buy them when they are on offer."

Lizzy Clarke, armed with bags of gifts in Southend, has made the most of the offers.

"They've got some great deals ... 75% off in some stores and I've just bought some jumpers that cost me £30 last week and this week have cost me £7," she said.

But Rob Antoniazz, who is unconvinced, said: "The decent items in good shops are never up for sale because the demand is there to buy them."

Tesco's distribution centre in Erith, Kent, has gone into overdrive

Half of the money being spent in the four days to the end of Monday will be on food, with £900m going towards online groceries.

Tesco has sold twice as many turkeys over the internet than last year. At its distribution centre in Erith, Kent, staff are working around the clock preparing orders.

Simon Belsham, the managing director of Online Grocery for the chain said: "This is a really busy time of year for us. It really reflects that customers are looking for more and more convenient ways to shop for their Christmas presents and Christmas food."

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Mortgage Misery For Millions If Rates Go Up

By Ed Conway, Economics Editor

Around four million families would not have enough cash to pay their mortgage if interest rates rose to barely half the rate they were before the crisis, according to Bank of England research.

The warning from the Bank comes amid growing speculation that it may begin to consider lifting the cost of borrowing within months.

Research published in the Bank's Quarterly Bulletin sketches out a worrying picture for UK households in the event of an increase in the cost of borrowing.

The Bank's statistics show that if rates rose by 2.5% to a level of 3%, more than half of the eight million families with mortgages would not have enough in their monthly budgets to afford the increased interest payments.

They would be forced to cut their spending or work longer hours.

However, the Bank said that if families' incomes increased by 5% in the coming years, then the proportion of mortgage-holders struggling to manage their payments would be around a third.

Insiders also pointed towards the fact that at present investors only expect interest rates to reach 1.7% by the end of 2016 - significantly lower than the 3% level in the Bank's scenario.

The shock would not be limited to those with mortgages. The Bank's report also found that almost 5% of small businesses in the UK faced a 50% or greater chance of defaulting if interest rates rose by four percentage points.

However, the report also found that for many families the current debt burden decreased over the past year.

The proportion of mortgagors struggling to pay for their accommodation remained relatively unchanged; the share of households worried about their debt levels dropped from 46% to 39%.

The most strain over the past year was felt by those who rent their home. The Bank's research shows that the number of renters who face credit card and unsecured loan interest bills of more than a fifth of their incomes has risen from 800,000 to 1.1 million this year.

The worry is that the households most exposed to debt problems are those who are renting, are unable to rely on the capital value of their home, and who have had to take out large loans to sustain their lifestyles.

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Serco Agrees To Repay £68.5m Overcharge

Disgraced firm Serco has agreed to repay the Government £68.5m for overcharging for tagging criminals.

Both Serco and G4S were found to have charged the taxpayer tens of millions of pounds too much for monitoring criminals in a contract dating back to 2005.

The Serious Fraud Office (SFO) opened a criminal investigation after it emerged G4S and Serco overcharged the Government for electronic tagging of offenders, some of whom were found to be dead, back in prison or overseas.

Serco agreed to pay the sum to the Government to reimburse money owed on the contract and for other costs incurred, such as the investigation, at the end of a broader review into Serco and G4S contracts, Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said.

The Government has already rejected a £24m offer from G4S, which came under fire for its poor handling of the Olympics security contract, and officials vowed to "pursue all possible avenues" to recoup more taxpayers' cash.

Discussions on repayment are continuing.

Serco chief Alistair Lyons has apologised

In addition to the investigation it is already facing, G4S has been referred to the Serious Fraud Office a second time after the Ministry of Justice uncovered further problems with two contracts for facilities management in the courts.

Mr Grayling said that while Serco had been willing to allow a further forensic audit to establish what had happened in the overcharging scandal, in July G4S had refused the request.

Francis Maude, minister for the Cabinet Office, which led the review said: "It's good news for taxpayers that Serco has agreed to recompense £68.5m for overcharging.

"We are confident that the company is taking steps to address the issues which our review has identified.

"Since day one this Government has been working to reform contract management and improve commercial expertise in Whitehall."

As revealed by Sky News City Editor Mark Kleinman on Wednesday, both G4S and Serco have withdrawn from bidding for lucrative probation office contracts.

However, the Government has left open the possibility of either firm playing a supporting role, working with smaller businesses or voluntary sector providers.

The remainder of their contract for monitoring criminals has been transferred to rival firm Capita.

Serco non-executive chairman Alistair Lyons said: "The contract issues that were identified should never have happened and we apologise unreservedly for them.

"We are doing everything in our power to make sure that such issues cannot reoccur anywhere in our business around the world."

A statement from G4S said: "G4S places the highest premium on adherence to its company values, including customer service and integrity."

Last month the boss of G4S, Ashley Almanza, admitted to MPs that the company had failed to "tell the difference between right and wrong", while Mr Lyons told the Commons Public Accounts Committee it was "ethically wrong".

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Ban Payday Loan Ads On Kid's TV, MPs Say

Payday lenders should be banned from advertising on children's television to stop young people believing that getting money is "easy", MPs have urged.

The Business, Innovation and Skills Committee (BIS) recommended stopping advertising on programming aimed at children after hearing fears that the next generation is being "groomed" towards borrowing money.

Recommendations by MPs also included tackling nuisance emails and texts to people who are "at their lowest ebb", forcing lenders to contribute cash towards debt advice and improving the way they share information.

Wonga says it does not advertise on children's TV channels

The committee heard evidence from consumer campaigners who warned that "cartoon puppets" used on payday lenders' adverts suggested that taking out a loan can be fun.

Martin Lewis, founder of consumer website MoneySavingExpert.com, said: "From our own research, we know children ask their parents to get a payday loan to buy them toys.

"Whilst parents have the power to say no, it's evidence that kids see this dangerous type of niche borrowing as part of everyday life."

Wonga, one of Britain's most high-profile payday lenders, is well known for its TV ads featuring a trio of elderly puppet characters named Betty, Joyce and Earl who explain the process of taking out a short-term cash loan to viewers.

But a Wonga spokeswoman said: "The idea that Wonga advertises on children's TV channels or programmes is a myth.

"We have a strict, long-standing policy not to advertise in this way."

The Consumer Finance Association (CFA), whose members include The Money Shop, Quick Quid and Cash Converters, also said its members do not advertise on children's TV channels.

Committee chairman Adrian Bailey said: "It is worrying that our children are being exposed to such an extent to adverts that can present payday loans as a fun, easy and appropriate way to access finance.

"Children's programmes are simply not an acceptable place for payday loan adverts."

The rapid expansion of the payday firms and a rocketing number of calls for help being made to charities by people drowning in debt are "not unrelated", he said.

The committee called for a levy paid by payday firms, under regulatory requirements, to be ringfenced by the Money Advice Service. This money could be used to boost the provision of debt advice to struggling borrowers.

The estimated size of the payday loan sector has doubled over a five-year period to be worth around £2.2bn.

Payday lenders have come under intense criticism this year, with the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) referring them to the Competition Commission for a report due out in 2014.

The Government announced plans last month to place a cap on the total cost of a payday loan.

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Serco And G4S Braced For Investigation Outcome

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

The two outsourcing giants at the centre of a scandal over the delivery of Government projects are braced for more bad news on Thursday as they fight to start bidding again for major Whitehall contracts.

Sky News understands that G4S and Serco will be informed in the coming hours about the outcome of a cross-Government probe of their work following the discovery that they had overcharged tens of millions of pounds in fees for monitoring prisoners on their release from jail.

Ministers are said to have decided that while the two companies have embarked on genuine attempts to rebuild their relationship with the Government, they have not yet done so sufficiently to enable them to be considered for significant contracts in the short term.

An announcement about the outcome is expected on Thursday although it could be delayed, say people close to the situation.

Whitehall insiders said on Wednesday that a settlement being thrashed out with the two FTSE-100 companies will include the repayment of well over £50m of fees that the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) had decided had been wrongly paid.

One source added that fees relating to other contracts handled by the two companies may also have to be repaid, although the scale of these was unclear.

The financial impact is understood to be larger for Serco than the City is expecting. Last month, it said it had incurred £27m of costs relating to the electronic monitoring, or tagging, contract, as well as another for providing Prisoner Escort and Custody Services.

Serco, which is without a chief executive following the departure of Chris Hyman, added that the MoJ had "calculated that their interpretation of the difference on billing totalled low tens of millions of pounds since the contract commenced in 2005. Any such potential repayment and any other directly-related incremental costs, would be charged as further exceptional items."

A person close to the situation said Serco's repayment would be less than £100m but higher than shareholders had been led to anticipate.

The MoJ inquiry has been run in tandem with the Cabinet Office. It was unclear whether the former would make a separate announcement on Thursday, although it is understood to have discovered further shocking examples of charging irregularities as part of its review.

Ministers reacted furiously during the autumn when it emerged that G4S and Serco had billed Whitehall for tagging prisoners who had died, were in prison or were living abroad. Earlier this week, Capita was handed the electronic monitoring contract in their place.

The effective barring of G4S and Serco from bidding for new Government work has highlighted the dearth of companies able to provide key public services.

A Serious Fraud Office probe into the two companies is ongoing, although the Government's settlement with them is unlikely to include additional financial penalties beyond the repayment of the overcharged fees, one insider said.

G4S and Serco executives are understood to have been locked in meetings on Wednesday to negotiate the outcome of the Government's review of their work.

Serco is due to update the City on its performance in a pre-close trading statement on Thursday.

Restoring good relations with Whitehall is a priority for Ashley Almanza, G4S's new chief executive, who is attempting to protect about £700m in annual revenues flowing from a client that accounts for roughly 10% of the company's entire global turnover.

He took the helm of a business still reeling from the reputational crisis triggered by its failure to deliver enough security staff at last year's London Olympics.

"Our reviews into G4S and Serco's contracts are rigorous and extensive," Francis Maude, Cabinet Office Minister, said in November. "But when they report, and we are satisfied full health has been restored, we will move on quickly."

G4S, Serco, the Cabinet Office and the MoJ all declined to comment.

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MPs Demand Crackdown On Payday Lender Ads

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

Payday loan companies should be barred from advertising during children's television programmes, MPs will demand in a hard-hitting report this week.

Sky News has learnt that the Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) Select Committee will say on Friday that payday lenders should be restricted from buying media space during specific programming segments.

People familiar with the MPs' report said that it would also urge Ofcom to conduct a review of the use of cartoon-style characters in payday lenders' advertising.

However, they will stop short of calling for an overall ban on ads during daytime TV programmes despite the exhortations of some committee members.

The call for fresh restrictions will follow the disclosure last week by Ofcom, the media regulator, that children watch on average 70 TV ads each year for payday lenders.

The MPs are also expected to call for a limit on payday lenders allowing one extension to loans for borrowers who choose not to repay, an insider said.

If a clampdown on ads was to result from the report, it would affect the now-ubiquitous TV campaigns of companies such as Wonga.

Ofcom's research showed that payday loan advertising had grown to the extent that it now accounted for 7.3% of all finance ads on TV and more than 90% of all advertising linked to personal loans.

Ofcom added that on average 80% of children's TV viewing took place before 9pm, although nearly 6 per cent took place between 11pm and 3am the following morning.

Last month, George Osborne, the Chancellor, announced a u-turn when he said that the Government would limit the cost of payday loans.

Earlier this year, the sector was referred to the Competition Commission amid political anger about the activities of some short-term lenders.

In 2014, the industry will come under the remit of the Financial Conduct Authority, and the City regulator will have powers allowing it to ban advertising and impose a cap on interest rates charged by lenders.

In remarks published on its website this year, Wonga said that since 2007 it had "responsibly lent over £2bn and we now have over a million customers.

"We've done that despite declining three quarters of all first loan applications and ensuring a principal default rate (money lent that we don't get back) of around 7%. This is comparable to other forms of short-term credit, such as credit cards.

"We work hard to lend only to the people who can pay us back, and our mainstream services for individuals and businesses are now available across three continents."

A spokesman for the BIS select committee declined to comment.

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HMRC Failing To Pursue Big Business, MPs Warn

By Gerard Tubb, Sky News Correspondent

The tax man is too keen to chase small businesses for unpaid tax and is not doing enough to prosecute multinational firms, according to MPs.

The Public Accounts Committee claimed Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) does not know how much tax is lost through aggressive tax avoidance and said it should be more willing to pursue prosecutions.

The committee's chair, Margaret Hodge MP, said: "HMRC has not clearly demonstrated that it is on the side of the majority of taxpayers who pay their taxes in full."

She accused the department of allowing the Tax Gap, the theoretical amount that is not collected, to grow by £1bn in 2011/12 and of not doing enough about it.

She said: "HMRC holds back from using the full range of sanctions at its disposal.

"It pursues tax owed by the smaller businesses, but seems to lose its nerve when it comes to mounting prosecutions against multinational corporations."

The committee's report said inspectors should be "more willing ... to test the boundaries of the law".

"HMRC has not attempted to gather intelligence about how much tax revenue is lost through aggressive tax avoidance schemes," it claimed.

The focus on tax avoidance follows on from high-profile cases like Starbucks - which was revealed last year to have only reported taxable profit in the UK once in 15 years.

The company has since promised to pay £20m.

In a statement a spokesman for HMRC said it "strongly disputes the conclusions in the Public Accounts Committee report and challenges the committee's selective and misleading use of figures".

The department said it had secured more than £50bn of additional tax from compliance work since 2010, including £23bn from large businesses.

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