Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 14 Februari 2015 | 14.47
The engineering firm Rolls-Royce has warned of the impact falling oil prices could have on its customers while confirming its first fall in annual revenues for a decade.
The company, which announced plans in November to cut 2,600 jobs, has been hit by defence spending cuts, global economic uncertainty and falling commodity prices.
It reported a 6% drop in underlying revenues to £14.6bn for 2014 and said underlying profits were 8% lower at £1.62bn.
The company, which has major bases in Bristol and Derby, said it expected 2015 to be tougher than expected as the recent slide in oil prices - by more than 50% - had resulted in "increasing uncertainty" for many of its customers.
The announcement represented the second downgrade on its expectations for the year in four months - with profits for 2015 now expected to be in the range of £1.4bn to £1.55bn.
That represents a 14% drop on its previous guidance.
Chief executive John Rishton said: "2014 has been a mixed year during which underlying revenue fell for the first time in a decade, reflecting reduced spending by our defence customers, macroeconomic uncertainty, and falling commodity prices."
Rolls, the world's second-largest maker of aircraft engines after US group General Electric said it was seeing lower demand for the turbine engine-based power systems and associated services which it sells to oil and gas companies.
Demand for the engine equipment used in power generation, construction and mining projects had also been hit, the company said.
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The man in charge previously led teams developing the iPod and iPhones
Apple is moving into the automotive industry by designing an electric car, according to reports.
A team of 1,000 has been assembled by the company to build the vehicle, which the Wall Street Journal says "resembles a minivan".
The newspaper reports it could take several years for "Project Titan" to reach the production stage.
Apple may not even end up producing a car at all, the paper writes.
Instead it could use any prototype to test other mobility technologies it is working on, such as CarPlay, which integrates your phone with the dashboard.
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Gallery: A Legacy: Apple Products Timeline
The Apple II was the first computer that Apple made in large numbers. It was released in 1977
The Macintosh was released in 1984 and was the first mass-produced personal computer to feature a mouse
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The Mac Portable was Apple's first laptop computer. It was released in 1989
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The iBook was released in 1999 in two colours, orange and blue, with these colours added a year later
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This redesigned G3 Power Mac was released in 1999
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Apple executive Steve Zadesky, a former Ford engineer, is apparently heading the project.
He previously led teams developing the iPod and iPhones.
The Wall Street Journal claims Apple staff have visited car builders such as Magna Steyr, which has produced vehicles for Mercedes and BMW.
There are reports that Apple is recruiting experts in automotive technology and vehicle design to work at a new top-secret research lab in Silicon Valley.
Apple has made no comment on its reported move into automotives.
Video:May: Google's Self-Driving Cars
However, chief executive Tim Cook admitted this week that he feels Apple can have an impact in the industry.
"We've taken iOS and extended it into your car, into your home, into your health," Mr Cook said.
"All of these are really critical parts of your life and none of us want to have different platforms in different parts of our lives."
Google, one of Apple's leading rivals, has spent years developing an autonomous vehicle.
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We use cookies to give you the best experience. If you do nothing we'll assume that it's ok.
The man in charge previously led teams developing the iPod and iPhones
Apple is moving into the automotive industry by designing an electric car, according to reports.
A team of 1,000 has been assembled by the company to build the vehicle, which the Wall Street Journal says "resembles a minivan".
The newspaper reports it could take several years for "Project Titan" to reach the production stage.
Apple may not even end up producing a car at all, the paper writes.
Instead it could use any prototype to test other mobility technologies it is working on, such as CarPlay, which integrates your phone with the dashboard.
1/24
Gallery: A Legacy: Apple Products Timeline
The Apple II was the first computer that Apple made in large numbers. It was released in 1977
The Macintosh was released in 1984 and was the first mass-produced personal computer to feature a mouse
]]>
The Mac Portable was Apple's first laptop computer. It was released in 1989
]]>
The iBook was released in 1999 in two colours, orange and blue, with these colours added a year later
]]>
This redesigned G3 Power Mac was released in 1999
]]>
Apple executive Steve Zadesky, a former Ford engineer, is apparently heading the project.
He previously led teams developing the iPod and iPhones.
The Wall Street Journal claims Apple staff have visited car builders such as Magna Steyr, which has produced vehicles for Mercedes and BMW.
There are reports that Apple is recruiting experts in automotive technology and vehicle design to work at a new top-secret research lab in Silicon Valley.
Apple has made no comment on its reported move into automotives.
Video:May: Google's Self-Driving Cars
However, chief executive Tim Cook admitted this week that he feels Apple can have an impact in the industry.
"We've taken iOS and extended it into your car, into your home, into your health," Mr Cook said.
"All of these are really critical parts of your life and none of us want to have different platforms in different parts of our lives."
Google, one of Apple's leading rivals, has spent years developing an autonomous vehicle.
Revelations about tax-dodging activities facilitated by the private wealth arm of HSBC have been painful and frustrating, the bank's chief executive told staff on Friday as he conceded that it had failed to meet the standards expected of it.
In a memo to more than 250,000 employees around the world and seen by Sky News, Stuart Gulliver said the media firestorm surrounding the operations of its Swiss private bank had obscured an overhaul of the group's compliance and financial crime-fighting efforts.
"You have been working tirelessly and with great dedication to build a stronger HSBC with fully global businesses and functions, rigorous controls and the highest global standards, all underpinned by a clear strategy to serve our millions of loyal customers," Mr Gulliver wrote.
"I share your frustration that the media focus on historical events makes it harder for people to see the efforts we have made to put things right.
"But we must acknowledge we sometimes failed to live up to the standards the societies we serve rightly expected from us."
In his first remarks to the bank's workforce since the scandal re-emerged this week, Mr Gulliver said that HSBC's Swiss private bank had been "completely overhauled" since 2008, when a whistleblower, Herve Falciani, stole data relating to tens of thousands of accounts and passed it to French authorities.
The disclosure of the identities of some of those account-holders has sparked an international outcry, ensnaring a number of prominent political donors in the UK.
While many of the accounts were held legally, the details of tax-evading assistance given to wealthy customers by HSBC's Swiss private bank has raised the prospect of new investigations by regulators in the UK, US and elsewhere.
Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs is also facing scrutiny over the dearth of successful prosecutions of HSBC customers found to have evaded taxes, while David Cameron has been urged to disclose whether he knew about the scale of the issue when he appointed Lord Green, the bank's chairman, as his trade minister in 2010.
In his memo to staff, Mr Gulliver said that media coverage had focused on 140 prominent names, "the vast majority" of whom were no longer clients of the bank.
One had ceased to be a client as long ago as 1991, he added, while 105 others were no longer with the bank.
Mr Gulliver, who took over at the helm of HSBC in 2011 after a stint running its investment banking operations, said that at its peak, the Swiss private bank had had roughly 25,000 clients - far fewer than the 100,000 mentioned in some reports.
The HSBC chief, who has had to secure a number of gruelling regulatory settlements since taking over, insisted that his new management team had "fundamentally changed the way HSBC is run, with much tighter central control".
"HSBC has been putting in place tough, world-class financial crime, regulatory compliance and tax transparency standards, enforced by a compliance team of over 7,000 people, more than two times the number we had in 2011," he wrote.
The number of clients at its Swiss private bank had been reduced by nearly 70%, Mr Gulliver added.
He said that HSBC "strongly supports government initiatives to exchange tax information".
"We implemented FATCA, the US tax information disclosure regime, in 2014, and we are implementing the new global regime, the Common Reporting Standard, which is supported by 98 countries and comes into force from 2016."
The HSBC chief added that the bank had "absolutely no appetite to do business with clients who are evading their taxes or who fail to meet our financial crime compliance or other standards".
Mr Gulliver said that along with HSBC's chairman, Douglas Flint, he had been asked to give evidence to a parliamentary committee, although he did not provide further details in the memo.
"We welcome the opportunity to explain everything we are doing to build the HSBC we all want to work for," he wrote.
"I would like to reiterate my thanks to all of you for your dedication and hard work."
Written By Unknown on Jumat, 13 Februari 2015 | 14.47
Russia has been warned sanctions will be ramped up if the truce to end the Ukraine conflict is not fully implemented.
The ceasefire is due to come into force on Sunday following 16-hour talks between Russia, Ukraine, France and Germany.
Previous ceasefires have failed to hold and German Chancellor Angela Merkel described the agreement as "a glimmer of hope - no more, no less".
Russia is already enduring financial and diplomatic sanctions for its alleged role in helping separatists who control parts of eastern Ukraine.
And Mrs Merkel warned: "We hold open the possibility, if these new agreements are not implemented, that we must take further measures."
Video:Ceasefire Deal In Ukraine Conflict
EU officials have been asked to prepare extra sanctions in case the ceasefire collapses, Mrs Merkel added.
European Council President Donald Tusk said previously agreed sanctions against 19 Russian and Ukrainian individuals and nine entities would still come into force next week.
"Our trust in the goodwill of (Russian) President Putin is limited, this is why we have to maintain our decision on sanctions," he said.
Video:Poroshenko Expresses Surprise
The terms of the ceasefire include a withdrawal of heavy weapons, Ukraine taking control of its Russian border, the granting of special status to rebel regions and addressing the humanitarian crisis created by the 10-month conflict.
Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko admitted to having doubts.
"It was very difficult negotiation and we expect a not easy implementation process," he said.
Video:The Demands From Both Sides
Soon after the ceasefire was announced, Kiev complained of a new mass influx of Russian armour into rebel-held areas.
The US labelled the agreement, which was brokered in Belarus, as "potentially significant", but also expressed concern about the situation on the ground.
"The United States is particularly concerned about the escalation of fighting today, which is inconsistent with the spirit of the accord," the White House said in a statement.
The governor of the Bank of England has said interest rates could be cut further and asset purchases expanded if negative inflation gives way to "bad" deflation.
Outlining the Bank's quarterly Inflation Report, Mark Carney said it was "more likely than not" that the core consumer prices index (CPI) measure of inflation would turn negative in the spring.
However, he insisted that falling prices should be short-lived and that the UK was not expected to experience a damaging spiral into deflation - a more entrenched period of negative price growth.
Mr Carney welcomed weak inflation in the short term, saying that falling commodity costs, particularly oil, provided a boost in spending power to UK households and most businesses.
CPI, which follows the price changes on a range of goods in the economy, currently stands at a joint-record low of 0.5% but has been falling steadily in the past few months given the halving in Brent crude prices.
The latest projections in the report suggested CPI would average around zero in the second and third quarters this year before starting to climb towards the end of 2015.
Mr Carney said the Bank's monetary policy committee (MPC) would need to provide "more support" should negative inflation prove more persistent.
He said the Bank could decide to expand its £375bn quantitative easing (QE) programme to bolster money supply or cut its Bank rate further towards zero from its current level of 0.5%.
It has been at that level for 71 months as the UK economy recovers from the effects of the world financial crisis.
Fears of a spiral into deflation are more real in the eurozone where the European Central Bank is set to introduce its first QE programme from March with bond purchases expected to total €1.1tn (£815bn).
Mr Carney stressed to reporters that low inflation was not the "main story" as the Bank also upgraded forecasts for wages and economic growth in the coming years.
He reiterated that the next change in monetary policy was likely to be a rise in interest rates - something financial markets are not forecasting until mid-2016.
But he conceded that a Greek exit from the eurozone would change the outlook for the UK.
Germany has relaxed its fierce opposition to an easing of the bailout demands faced by Greece, though there are no signs a new deal is imminent.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel offered an olive branch at a summit of EU leaders in Brussels after the country's biggest creditor had previously ruled out writing off debt or allowing a relaxation of austerity.
She told reporters: "Europe always has been geared towards finding compromises. Compromises are agreed when the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. Germany is ready for this."
The new Greek government - led by prime minister Alexis Tsipras - rose to power on the back of anger at the rescue deal among Greeks that it was killing off any chance of economic recovery.
Its economy is around 25% smaller than it was before the crisis and poverty and unemployment have swelled, with the youth jobless rate above 60%.
Merkel has been the key cheerleader for austerity, fearing that any relaxation of the €240bn bailout's terms would send a signal to other heavily indebted nations that they could divert from reforms.
It was confirmed on Thursday that technical discussions had begun ahead of another meeting of eurozone finance ministers on Monday after talks broke down between them on Wednesday.
Hope that a deal can be reached to support Greek economic recovery and avoid the possibility of a default and exit from the single currency helped support Greek stocks on Thursday following days of volatility.
Tsipras expressed his hope that a "mutually acceptable" debt deal can be secured next week.
He said: "The Greek delegation will take part in these meetings with crystal clear proposals and we will try and convince, not blackmail, our partners about our proposals.
"Our program will respect European rules .... we will keep balanced budget, respect the fiscal rules of the EU.
"We don't want to go back to era of deficits."
Tsipras said his government will propose a set of reforms particularly dealing with the "shortcomings of the Greek state" such as corruption and tax evasion.
The Greek government sees compromise as the way forward but it has ruled out extending the current bailout programme and its associated austerity.
It wants to negotiate a so-called bridge to tide Greece over for the summer until such time as a more permanent deal can be arranged.
Written By Unknown on Kamis, 12 Februari 2015 | 14.47
Talks between Greece and its eurozone creditors have broken down without even agreement on a way forward as the country seeks to ditch its bailout deal.
Following a seven-hour emergency meeting in Brussels, the two sides failed to even issue a statement as the new Greek government made its case - blaming the terms of the €240bn rescue deal for exacerbating the country's economic problems.
A draft statement, which reportedly spoke of "extending" its current bailout agreement as a "bridge" to a new package, was rejected by Athens, according to the Reuters news agency.
The finance ministers of the 19 nations which use the single currency next plan to meet again on Monday, when pressure for progress will intensify as the clock ticks towards the end of the month when the current funding arrangements will expire.
Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the head of the eurogroup of finance ministers, said detailed proposals weren't even discussed and there was not enough common ground to chart the road to the next meeting.
He added: "We explored a number of issues, one of which was the current programme."
"We discussed the possibility of an extension. For some that is clear that is preferred option but we haven't come to that conclusion as yet. We will need a little more time."
Germany - the largest creditor of the Greek economy - has pushed hard for the current bailout arrangements to continue for fear of sending a signal to other nations that budgetary responsibility can be eased.
Greece has refused to accept the current terms of its bailout.
Its own so-called bridge agreement proposals include Greece tapping the European Central Bank (ECB) for €1.9bn in profits made from Greek state bonds and the issuance of up to €8bn in short-term debt to meet its immediate financing needs.
Athens has also promised a 10-point plan which will include renewed efforts to tackle tax evasion and corruption but also promote employment.
One condition of its EU-International Monetary Fund rescue was delivering a primary budget surplus of 3% in 2015 before debt repayments.
The new government has argued such targets - achieved through tax hikes and wage cuts - make an economic recovery impossible and it is pushing to halve that figure to 1.5%, a result it delivered in 2014.
Greek finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, laid out hope that progress could be made at Monday's meeting following the breakdown of Wednesday night's talks.
"We had a very constructive and extensive discussion of all the facets of the Greek crisis and the way in which the eurogroup can facilitate the transition to a new phase in the history of the Greek social economy so we overcome the debt deflationary crisis, the humanitarian crisis and so on," Varoufakis said.
"We understand each other much, much better now than we did this morning, so I think this is a major achievement because, you know, from understanding, the agreement follows."
A Conservative Party treasurer has hit back at a suggestion by Labour leader Ed Miliband that he was involved in "tax avoidance activities".
Mr Miliband accused Lord Fink of seeking to avoid paying taxes by holding a Swiss bank account.
But the Tory peer has written a letter to the Labour chief, saying the claim was "untrue and defamatory".
He challenged Mr Miliband to repeat the allegation outside the Commons, where he would not be protected from legal action by parliamentary privilege, or withdraw it publicly.
Allegations of tax evasion and avoidance centre on HSBC in Switzerland
Meanwhile, the man who lifted the lid on the HSBC tax scandal has told Sky News he first raised concerns about suspect practices at the bank in 2008 - two years earlier than previously thought.
In an interview with Sky News , Herve Falciani said he emailed and called Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs seven years ago.
Video:HSBC Whistleblower Speaks Out
The claims came as David Cameron was challenged to reveal whether he discussed tax evasion at HSBC with Lord Green, the bank's former boss who was subsequently appointed a Tory minister.
There were fierce clashes at Prime Minister's Questions on Wednesday amid revelations that wealthy donors to political parties were among those who legally held accounts with HSBC's private Swiss bank.
Mr Miliband said Mr Cameron was a "dodgy prime minister" who was "up to his neck" in the HSBC tax avoidance scandal - but the PM hit back, claiming his rival had relied on trade union cash to win the Labour leadership.
The Guardian has published a list of nine Conservative donors who it said were listed in files relating to clients of HSBC's Swiss subsidiary.
The newspaper stated that the accounts were held legally for a wide variety of reasons, and made no allegation of wrongdoing against those listed.
Video:Fierce Clashes Over HSBC At PMQs
Mr Miliband told the Commons that on the list was Lord Fink, who gave £3m to the Conservatives and was appointed party treasurer and given a peerage by Mr Cameron.
Lord Fink said he had a Swiss bank account because he was working for the Man Group in the country for four years from 1996 to 2000.
"During this time I had need of a local bank account to do simple things like receive my Swiss franc salary and pay grocery bills," he said.
"As I already banked with HSBC in London, I set up an account with HSBC. I subsequently set up an account with Credit Suisse as they had a branch much closer to my home and office.
"I submitted tax returns in both Switzerland and Britain showing my revised tax status, which was accepted by the Inland Revenue.
Video:Cameron And Miliband Clash On HSBC
"The only way I have ever sought to depress my income tax liability is by giving a lot of my income to charity."
Mr Miliband claimed that the PM must have talked to Lord Green about HSBC as a coalition minister issued a press release in 2011 referring to the investigation into HSBC's Geneva account holders.
The Opposition leader said: "Do you expect us to believe that in Stephen Green's three years as a minister you never had a conversation with him about what was happening at HSBC?"
Mr Cameron said the Tories had a far better record than Labour on tax avoidance - introducing measures to stop hedge funds dodging levies, make foreigners pay stamp duty and tax all bank profits.
Labour MP Sharon Hodgson asked Mr Cameron directly whether he had conversations about HSBC tax avoidance with Lord Green, adding: "If not, why not?"
Video:Labour MP Asks Cameron About HSBC
The Prime Minister said "every proper process was followed" when Lord Green was made a minister in 2011.
He said: "I consulted the Cabinet Secretary, I consulted the director for propriety and ethics, and of course the House of Lords appointments commission now looks at someone's individual tax affairs before giving them a peerage.
"I made the appointment, it was welcomed by Labour, and three years later they were still holding meetings with him."
Mr Cameron pointed out that Lord Green was the head of Labour PM Gordon Brown's business advisory council and was invited on a trade mission by the party in 2013 - three years after the HSBC revelations first surfaced.
During PMQs, Mr Miliband said: "You gave a job to the head of HSBC and you let the tax avoiders get away with it.
Video:Hodge 'Astonished' By Lord Green
"There's something rotten at the heart of the Conservative Party and it's you."
Mr Cameron replied: "For 13 years they sat in the Treasury, they did nothing about tax transparency, nothing about tax dodging, nothing about tax avoidance.
"This government has been tougher than any previous government. That's why they are desperate, that's why they are losing."
The PM pointed out that Labour donor Lord Paul was also caught up in the revelations.
Herve Falciani, the man who exposed a tax scandal at HSBC by leaking thousands of account details from the bank's Geneva branch, says he first raised concerns about suspect practices at the bank seven years ago.
In an interview with Sky News, Mr Falciani claims to have emailed and called Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs in 2008 - though he said the full processed data was only given to UK authorities in 2010.
Mr Falciani initially obtained the details while employed as an IT worker in 2007 and passed them to French authorities.
The details of 30,000 accounts - holding almost £78bn of assets - have been revealed after they were obtained by a French newspaper and analysed by a team of investigative journalists.
They accused HSBC's Swiss banking arm of helping wealthy customers avoid tax and hide millions of dollars, and providing accounts to international criminals, corrupt businessmen, politicians and celebrities.
Video:Cameron And Miliband Clash On HSBC
Senior politicians and HM Revenue & Customs have been accused of failing to act over the claims that HSBC helped clients dodge taxes.
And a furious blame game is under way between the Tories and Labour.
Mr Falciani said: "I sent an email, a very naive email, in 2008 ... to England - to the department dedicated to tax evasion - and afterwards I even called them.
"And finally the most efficient move was through the French authorities because when we accepted to work together it was established and agreed that what we were doing should be available to any countries having co-operation treaties signed with France."
The date of this offer is an important part of the scandal impacting British politics.
HSBC now admits problems in controls and compliance in the period before 2008.
Mr Falciani said he was "relieved" that it had made the admission, something he had suggested for years.
Video:Lord Fink Responds To Tax Claims
So this raises questions on all sides.
Firstly, the problems on compliance and control occurred at a time when Lord Green was chief executive and then chairman of Britain's biggest bank.
He was then made a lord, trade minister, and appointed to a Cabinet committee on post-crisis banking reform by the Prime Minister, after HMRC had received a full account of thousands of Britons suspected of avoiding taxes with HSBC's help.
However, Mr Falciani confirms he first tried to contact HMRC in 2008, at a time when Labour was in office.
The picture painted by Mr Falciani is of a Britain reluctant to delve into illegally obtained data that nonetheless contains revelations about personal and corporate conduct.
He said he was used to being ignored by authorities that should have wanted to know more.
"Never did British tax authorities, Parliament nor Government invite me ... right now the British investigators received just a tiny part of the available information on HSBC. Just 1%."
Video:HSBC Files: Debate On Significance
His actions were the ultimate source of the data that has caused political havoc in Greece, Spain, India, France, Belgium and now the UK.
He says he is glad that another French source handed the full data to Le Monde newspaper, who then passed it on to the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists.
"We hope it would increase public awareness of offshore banking which is out of control ... We have proof in front of us".
Mr Falciani is now advising political parties such as Podemos in Spain and the Indian government on how to combat tax avoidance by their richest citizens.
He said he would be delighted to come to Britain, but fears arrest by Interpol on account of a Swiss extradition warrant.
He was arrested in Spain because of the warrant, but his extradition was blocked on account of the help his data had given to Spanish tax and judicial authorities, after he appeared, disguised, at a tribunal.
Written By Unknown on Rabu, 11 Februari 2015 | 14.47
By Paul Kelso, Sports Correspondent
Sky has won the rights to show 126 live Premier League matches per season for three years from 2016-17 after winning the rights to five packages of games.
The broadcaster, which owns Sky News, won the rights to games kicking off at 12.30pm on Saturdays, 28 games on Sunday at 1.30pm and 28 at 4pm.
A further 28 matches split between Monday and for the first time Friday evenings, and 14 games divided between Bank Holidays and Sundays, were also part of the packages.
The Sky matches are part of a record-breaking broadcast deal that will see Premier League clubs receive a record revenue of £5.136bn, a 70% increase on the current deal.
After an intensely competitive auction that went to two rounds of closed bids, Sky and BT agreed to pay the equivalent of £10m per game for the right to screen live matches over three seasons from 2016-17 to 2018-19.
The deal represents a £2.118bn increase on the £3.018bn Sky and BT agreed to pay for their current three-year rights deal, which expires at the end of next season.
Jeremy Darroch, Sky's Group Chief Executive, said: "This is a good result and confirms that Sky is the unrivalled choice for sports fans.
Video:Scudamore Announces Rights Winners
"We went into the Premier League auction with a clear objective and are pleased to have secured the rights that we wanted.
"Our strong performance across the board gives us financial strength and flexibility. We have a clear plan to absorb the cost of the new Premier League deal while delivering our financial plans."
Under the new deal Sky will pay £4.176bn to show 126 games each season. The remaining rights, which include Saturday evening and midweek matches, were secured by BT for £960m.
Richard Scudamore, chief executive of the Premier League, welcomed the deal.
He said: "It is an endorsement of what the Barclays Premier League delivers that these broadcast partnerships have been extended and enhanced today.
"We are grateful for the continued belief that Sky Sports and BT Sport have in the Premier League and our clubs, both as a sporting competition and organisations to work with."
The broadcasters were competing to buy the rights to 168 games a season, divided in seven packages of matches including various kick-off slots Friday evening and the right for broadcaster to have first or second choices of matches.
There were five packages of 28 games and two of 14 games each, with no broadcaster able to purchase more than 126 games.
The record-breaking deal means the Premier League is now the second most valuable sporting competition in the world, with only the NFL generating more revenue from broadcast contracts.
The deal emphasises the popularity of the Premier League and the power of its brand.
The competition has seen a huge increase in the value of its rights since it was founded in 1992, when Sky paid £191m for a five-year deal to show 60 matches per season.
By 2001 that had increased to £1.75bn over three years, and in 2012 the league secured a 71% increase in its value to more than £3bn for 154 games a year, or £6.5m per match.
The major beneficiaries will be the clubs and players. Under the current deal even the club finishing bottom of the league is guaranteed £60m, enough to ensure that all 20 Premier League clubs are ranked among the richest 40 clubs in Europe.
The league says its distribution of the income means it is the most equitable and competitive in world football, with a ratio of 1-1.6 between the top and bottom clubs.
Players can look forward to an increase in wages in line with the rise in value of the deal as clubs compete for the best talent.
Currently the average Premier League player earns around £40,000-a-week, or £2.08m-a-year, with the very best players earning more than five times as much.
The deal is likely to be just the start of the good news for clubs.
The league will now begin the process of selling its international rights, which generated a further £2.28bn in the last rights sale, nudging the total from all broadcast rights, including highlights, above £5.5bn.
That figure is likely to be eclipsed when the sales process concludes later this year.
The deal will see the clubs come under pressure from supporters' groups and politicians to ensure some of the vast wealth is distributed to the grassroots game and lower leagues, as well as to fund a reduction in ticket prices for match-going fans.
John Petter, BT Consumer CEO, said: "I am pleased we will be showing Premier League football for a further three years and that we have secured the prime Saturday evening slot.
"These new rights will enhance our existing schedule of football, rugby and other international sport."
A project to test driverless vehicles is being launched today in the hope the UK will become a leading global supplier.
A shuttle is being tried out in the London borough of Greenwich and an electric pod will be used on closed roads and pedestrian areas in Milton Keynes and Coventry.
Vehicles trialled in Bristol will also help gauge public reaction to the cars and assess legal and insurance issues.
Business Secretary Vince Cable said: "The UK is at the cutting edge of automotive technology - from the all-electric cars built in Sunderland to the Formula One expertise in the Midlands.
"It's important for jobs, growth and society that we keep at the forefront of innovation, that's why I launched a competition to research and develop driverless cars.
Video:UK Driverless Car Trials Begin
"The projects we are now funding will help to ensure we are world leaders in this field and able to benefit from what is expected to be a £900bn industry by 2025."
The Government says there are no legal barriers to the testing of automated vehicles on public roads.
Dr Nick Reed from the Transport Research Lab, which is running the Greenwich trials, said the shuttles use sensors to avoid hazards.
"Safety is paramount in our research and the vehicle is detecting moving objects around it, and if pedestrians are moving into its path it will slow down, and if they continue into its path it will come to a safe stop ahead of the pedestrian," he said.
Video:How The Finished Pods Will Look
It is hoped £19m of Government funding will help British designers get ahead of competitors.
In the US, Google has been testing its version for several years and car companies have been showing off their designs.
For the UK trials, a qualified driver will be ready to take control if necessary.
Insurer David Williams said: "Currently whoever is driving the car, or cars, are responsible for the accident, but going forward what's it going to be?
1/5
Gallery: Mercedes Unveils Driverless Car At CES
The Mercedes-Benz F015 Luxury in Motion autonomous concept car is shown on stage during the 2015 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas
The interior features a wooden floor and four futuristic armchairs covered in white Nappa leather, which rotate to face each other
Apple is the first company in US history to achieve a value above $700bn (£459bn).
The tech firm set the record at the close of trading on Wall Street on Tuesday, making it almost twice the size of the next biggest company, oil producer Exxon Mobil at $385bn.
Apple shares rose almost 2% in the trading session, closing at $122.02.
It gave the company a market value of $710.7bn (£466.1bn).
Apple, which has reported record sales and profit in recent quarters, has crossed the $700bn line before in the course of daily trading but Tuesday was the first time any US company had finished the day above that line.
At the end of January the company reported quarterly profit of $18bn (£11.8bn) for the final three months of 2014 - the largest ever made by a public company.
Its financial performance was driven by its new range of larger iPhones, with 74.5 million handsets sold between October and December.
And a job advert recently sparked speculation it was preparing to challenge Google's search engine dominance.
Apple had announced earlier on Tuesday that it was to spend nearly $850m on a solar energy project, aimed at generating enough power for its new corporate headquarters in Cupertino, retail stores and other operations in California.
It is being constructed on 2,900 acres of land and was a response, Apple CEO Tim Cook said, to the company's concerns about climate change.
He said construction would begin later this year and be completed by the end of 2016.
Written By Unknown on Selasa, 10 Februari 2015 | 14.47
By Katie Stallard, Moscow Correspondent, in Blagoveshchensk
Blagoveshchensk translates as the "city of good news", but there has been precious little of that for the Russian economy lately.
The value of the rouble has plummeted and the country is heading into recession, hit by the falling oil price and Western sanctions.
Russia's sovereign credit rating has been downgraded to one notch above junk level.
The government says inflation could reach 17% this year, but people we spoke to on the streets of Blagoveshchensk in the Russian Far East said prices in shops were already spiralling.
"Oh, the prices have really jumped here!" 75-year-old Valentina Kirrilova said.
Spiralling prices are hitting home on the Russian side of the river
"It's awful, horrible. I can come to a shop with 1,000 roubles (approximately £10) and it's not enough to buy anything."
"The prices are rising for everything," an elderly couple added.
"Our rouble now buys nothing. We went shopping, bought nothing, but spent all the money."
From the riverside in Blagoveshchensk, they can look across to the gleaming towers of Heihe City in China.
The two great powers are separated by just a few hundred metres, the breadth of the frozen Amur River.
There were plans to build a bridge across to make this a trade gateway between Russia and China.
But, as with so much of the Russian economy, the promised development has so far failed to materialise.
Instead, you take an old bus over a temporary pontoon bridge - in summer everything has to go by boat.
Restaurant owner Dmitry Gudzovskiy says business in Russia is 'impossible'
This time last year Russians found shopping on the Chinese side cheap, but now it's the other way around, the rouble buys you half as much.
Lubov Pikolova moved here from Russia five years ago. She works in one of Heihe's hotels and sees better prospects in China.
"We have non-stop crises in Russia," she explained.
"We always have to pay for this or for that. It's not easy economically to live in Russia, so many people are trying to leave it."
Others are coming for health care. In a Chinese dental clinic we found a number of Russian patients.
"Many Russians are coming here for dentistry because it's high quality," patient Inna Sergienko said.
"The prices are low and they are excellent doctors."
Back on the Russian side, we met businessman Dmitry Gudzovskiy, who runs two Chinese restaurants in Blagoveschensk.
There are plans to boost trade by building a bridge to Heihe City
He outlined the problems of doing business in Russia - the endless battle with bureaucracy, and to stay on the right side of the many laws.
"Not a single businessman will tell you on camera that he is paying bribes," he said, "but you should guess yourself."
"You cannot do everything correctly in business, it's just impossible. If you will act as it is written in law you should stop your business right now and just go home.
"I think that the biggest problem of the Russian economy is that there is no dialogue between the Russian government and businessmen, they don't talk to us, they treat us as vassals."
Down by the Amur River, a bronze Soviet border guard stands to attention, a monument to a lost empire.
While the oil price was high, it was easy to believe President Vladimir Putin was rebuilding that power, reclaiming Russia's place in the world, but it doesn't feel so convincing here now.
Marina Gennadievna tends her hot dog stall all day in the bitter cold.
She's bundled up in thick winter clothes, peering at customers from under her hat, huddled near the stove for warmth.
It's -20C, but apparently this is nothing - the temperature regularly drops to -40C.
She told Sky News prices in the shops are rising and she cannot afford to live on her pension.
She has to be out here working, but she doesn't think any of it is Russian President Vladimir Putin's fault.
Video:Russian Economy On Thin Ice
"Putin is doing everything correctly, but he should really monitor his comrades, check their work," she said.
"The housing and public utility prices are rising even though Putin said on TV not to do so.
"He is so busy with politics now in Ukraine and other places."
The president she sees on the television news is busy - he's firm, resolute, robustly defending the Russian interests he insists the West is seeking to undermine.
But not everyone sees it that way.
In Blagoveshchensk they have a unique perspective - on the other side of the frozen Amur River, you can see the gleaming towers of Heihe City in China.
The argument that Russia's economic problems are all the fault of the West perhaps carries less water when you can see what looks like the rise of your neighbour to the East.
The region's former economic development minister said the country needs new management - that Mr Putin's administration had brought stability, but now Russia needed a government to develop the economy.
"From my perspective the current government should get off the stage," Andrey Koniushok said.
"They completed their role, but now we need another manager - someone who can build up small businesses."
And he was frank about the reality of doing business in Mr Putin's Russia.
"Our federal agencies do not work for the monitoring of businesses. They just exist to fine businesses, for any small particular reason," he said.
"A big portion of earnings goes to pay fines, and sometimes bribes."
Businessman Dmitry Gudzovskiy described the bureaucracy, and what he sees as the Soviet mentality, he's up against.
"In our country they make laws like hot apple pies and I don't really understand why they do it," he said.
"Not a single businessman will tell you on camera that he is paying bribes, but you should guess yourself."
Russia now wants to build a gas pipeline through this region to China.
It would bring some jobs, but it's not exactly a new strategy for a country already so heavily dependent on sales of oil and gas.
And China has its own issues with weakening growth.
Both countries' citizens are allowed to cross the border, via an old bus across the frozen river.
Russians used to find shopping on the Chinese side cheap, but now it's the other way around - the rouble is worth about half as much as it was against the yuan.
"It feels like they're getting richer," one man told us, "and we're getting poorer."
David Cameron will call for business leaders to pass the benefits of economic growth and low oil prices to employees, saying Britain deserves a pay rise.
In a speech at the British Chambers of Commerce annual conference today, Mr Cameron will say economic success should be reflected in the contents of workers' wallets.
The Prime Minister will argue that business chiefs should share the proceeds of economic growth with their workers.
"Economic success can't just be shown in the GDP figures or on the balance sheets of British businesses ... but in people's pay packets and bank accounts and lifestyles," he is expected to say.
"The most recent figures show that wages are already growing faster than inflation and as the economy continues to grow it's important this continues and that everyone benefits.
"Put simply - it's time Britain had a pay rise."
He will tell the conference in Westminster that Britain is currently seeing "the strongest growth for seven years".
"We are seeing falling oil prices, meaning businesses up and down the country have lower prices on their inputs," he will say.
"Now that your costs are falling and it's cheaper to do business, I'm confident that more businesses will pass on that good economic news to their workers in rising pay cheques and higher earnings.
TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady has dismissed Mr Cameron's comments
"That's good for your employees, it's good for you to have happier and more productive staff and frankly it's good for anyone who wants to make the argument for business."
But the TUC's general secretary Frances O'Grady dismissed Mr Cameron's call as "no more than pre-election mood music".
"Since David Cameron became Prime Minister, the average wage is worth £2,500 less a year, the worst fall in living standards since Queen Victoria was on the throne," she said.
"Saying it would be nice if wages went up is no more than pre-election mood music.
"If elected again his policies would do the opposite."
Shadow chancellor Ed Balls will also address the conference in Westminster
Shadow chancellor Ed Balls will also address the conference, and is expected to attack the Conservatives for creating damaging uncertainty for Britain's businesses.
He will also argue that with working people £1,600 a year worse off than in 2010, more needs to be done to ensure rising prosperity for all.
"This is set to be the first time since the 1920s when working people are worse off at the end of the Parliament than they were at the beginning," Mr Balls will say.
"So at a time when, even as our economy recovers, most people are not yet seeing the benefit in their wages and living standards, this is no time for complacency.
"If we are to win the argument that Britain can succeed in an open global economy, we have to show that our economy can deliver rising prosperity for everyone who works hard and plays by the rules.
"And that is not what people think is happening in our country at the moment."
Written By Unknown on Senin, 09 Februari 2015 | 14.47
By Mark Kleinman, City Editor
Ministers are to unveil a fresh drive urging consumers to switch energy companies just weeks before the main parties pledge renewed oversight of the industry in their general election manifestos.
Sky News understands that Ed Davey, the Energy and Climate Change Secretary, will spearhead a renewed push to encourage the public to consider alternatives to their existing gas and electricity tariffs.
Mr Davey's latest intervention, which Whitehall insiders said would take place the week after next, is designed to remove the sting from Labour's repeated accusation that the Coalition has done too little to help millions of consumers.
This week, the consumer group Which? said the big six energy companies had failed to pass on price cuts in full despite a round of recently announced reductions, costing the average household £145 a year.
The group said its research highlighted a failure to align retail prices with wholesale costs, which meant that consumers had paid an extra £2.9bn during the last year.
The Government's new switching push will not specifically target customers of the six biggest suppliers – British Gas, EDF Energy, E.On, Npower, Scottish Power and SSE – but will highlight the recent cut in the time it takes to switch provider.
Last month Mr Davey claimed the Government had "introduced more competition in the energy market and made it much quicker for people to switch energy supplier".
"Industry is delivering on my challenge so now my challenge is for more consumers to take advantage. There's never been a better time to shop around, switch and save money faster than ever before," he said.
Mr Davey added that companies were being challenged to further reduce the switching timetable to 24 hours as soon as possible.
Ministers are expected to use this month's initiative to say that households which shop around could save more than £200 annually on their energy bills, as well as a new Confidence Code agreed between Ofgem, the industry regulator, and switching sites.
Matthew Hancock, the Conservative Business and Energy Minister, met the bosses of the big six companies last month to discuss whether recent price cuts were sufficiently generous to consumers.
"Political factors have... become increasingly significant over the last few years, particularly as we approach the UK general election," Paul Massara, Npower's chief executive wrote in a letter to Mr Hancock ahead of their meeting.
"Any change in prices in the short term will inevitably have to take account (of) potential outcomes after May this year," he added.
The price cuts have been announced even though Labour leader Ed Miliband plans to freeze energy prices until 2017 if the party wins the General Election in May.
Last month Labour was defeated in a House of Commons vote to secure support for powers for the regulator, Ofgem, to be able to force companies to reduce consumer bills in line with wholesale price movements.
Labour was forced to adapt the language of its energy policy, insisting that the freeze was actually intended to be a cap, although it continues to use the original language in online material promoting one of its flagship policies.
Labour will significantly boost paternity leave if it wins the election - doubling to four weeks the time fathers can take off and adding more than £100 a week to match the minimum wage.
The plans are expected to cost the taxpayer at least £150m a year if they succeed in raising the take-up by around a quarter, an amount the party says would be more than offset by savings in tax credits from extending free childcare.
Labour is launching what it has dubbed "Father's Month" as part of a coordinated push of family-friendly policies.
Leader Ed Miliband contrasted the paternity leave reform with the Conservative promise of a tax break for married couples.
"The Tories want to spend £700m on what they call a married couple's allowance but which in fact will go to just one in five families with children," he said.
Video:What Are The Paternity Leave Rules?
"Instead, at the heart of Labour's plan is the belief that Britain succeeds when modern working families succeed.
"That means giving dads, as well as mums, the chance to spend more time at home in those crucial weeks after babies have been born."
Enacting the reforms, which were first proposed by the left-leaning IPPR think tank last year, would benefit up to 400,000 families a year, the party said.
Under the current rules, new fathers qualify for a statutory £138.18 a week, equivalent to £3.45 an hour for a 40-hour week.
Employers are encouraged to make up the gap between this and the employee's usual pay.
But only just over half of new fathers (55%) currently take it up.
Increasing the taxpayer-funded contribution to the minimum wage level would increase take-up to around 70%, the IPPR estimates.
This would cost the Treasury around £150m in 2015/16.
Labour also said House of Commons figures show its policy of extending free childcare to three and four-year-olds - funded by a levy on the banks - would save "significantly" more in tax credits than the cost of the increased paternity pay.
"The modern British family needs government to be more flexible in what it does to help," Mr Miliband said.
"Thanks to the last Labour government, fathers have two weeks' paid paternity leave.
"Millions of families have benefited, with parents saying this has helped them support each other, share caring responsibilities and bond with their children.
"But the money isn't great - and too many dads don't take up their rights because they feel they have to go back to work so they can provide for their family."
HSBC's Swiss banking arm helped wealthy customers avoid tax and hide millions of dollars, according to a report by a network of investigative journalists.
The British banking giant provided accounts to international criminals, corrupt businessmen, politicians and celebrities, secret files analysed by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) show.
The documents have led to criminal investigations in several countries and attempts to get the money back after being stolen by an IT worker in 2007 and passed to authorities in France.
Details of the 30,000 accounts, which hold nearly £78bn of assets, are coming to light after the files were obtained by the French newspaper Le Monde and analysed by the ICIJ.
The files are reported to include evidence that the bank colluded with some clients to hide accounts from tax authorities in their home countries.
While holding a secret bank account is not illegal, they have been used by some to deliberately conceal assets to dodge tax, which is against the law.
"HSBC profited from doing business with arms dealers who channelled mortar bombs to child soldiers in Africa, bag men for Third World dictators, traffickers in blood diamonds and other international outlaws," the ICIJ reported.
According to the files, the bank's clients included former and current politicians from Britain, Russia, India and a number of African countries.
Russian oligarch Gennady Timchenko was named on US sanction list
Those named in the files include people sanctioned by the US, such as Turkish businessman Selim Alguadis and Gennady Timchenko, an associate of Russian President Vladimir Putin who was the subject of sanctions over the Ukraine crisis.
HM Revenue and Customs was passed the data in 2010 and has since then clawed back £135m from some of the 3,600 Britons identified as potentially avoiding tax.
But some MPs have complained about HMRC's perceived slow progress and the fact that only one evader has been prosecuted to date.
The bank said in a statement that since the period in question, it had "implemented numerous initiatives designed to prevent its banking services being used to evade taxes or launder money".
"Although there are numerous legitimate reasons to have a Swiss bank account, in some cases individuals took advantage of bank secrecy to hold undeclared accounts," the statement continued.
"This resulted in private banks, including HSBC's Swiss private bank, having a number of clients that may not have fully met their applicable tax obligations.
"We have taken significant steps over the past several years to implement reforms and exit clients who did not meet strict new HSBC standards, including those where we had concerns in relation to tax compliance," it added.
"We are fully committed to the exchange of information with relevant authorities and are actively pursuing measures that ensure clients are tax transparent, even in advance of a regulatory or legal requirement to do so.
"We are also co-operating with relevant authorities investigating these matters and we acknowledge and are accountable for past control failures."
Written By Unknown on Minggu, 08 Februari 2015 | 14.48
By Jon Craig, Chief Political Correspondent
Tax havens such as Bermuda, Jersey and Guernsey will have six months to open their books or face international blacklisting if Labour wins the General Election in May, Ed Miliband has vowed.
The Labour leader has accused David Cameron of failing to follow through on demands that all overseas territories and crown dependencies adopt transparency measures being introduced in the UK.
Agreement on action to expose the owners of "shell companies" used to evade tax was hailed by Mr Cameron as a key achievement of the G8 summit in Northern Ireland in 2013.
He said then: "The UK is today leading the way by committing to create a central registry of company ownership.
"Each and every one of our overseas territories and crown dependencies has agreed to sign up to the multi-lateral convention on information exchange to exchange information automatically with the UK and to produce action plans on beneficial ownership."
Video:Miliband's Tax Haven Threat
But so far, according to Mr Miliband, none of the countries around the world over which Britain retains sovereignty has accepted the Prime Minister's appeal to them to "move forward together in raising standards of transparency" and some have ruled out reform.
Among the 10 countries whose leaders were called to No 10, Bermuda has rejected calls to make public the companies registered there.
So too have the Cayman Islands. Gibraltar has taken no further action. Neither has Guernsey or the Isle of Man.
Video:Top Firm 'Promoted Tax Avoidance'
In a letter to the leaders of the overseas territories and crown dependencies, Mr Miliband put them "on notice" that, if elected in May, his government would refer any that failed to produce publicly accessible central registers of beneficial ownership - who profits from a company - to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
"I am writing to put you on notice that a Labour government will not allow this situation of delay and secrecy to continue," he wrote.
"Labour will act on tax avoidance where the Tories will not," he added, ending protection from international scrutiny and requesting OECD blacklisting.
Video:Is Miliband Anti-Business?
Mr Miliband, accused this week of being anti-business, told a conference of Labour councillors in Nottingham: "The current Conservative leadership have become the political wing of offshore hedge funds.
"Unlike them, we will not stand by. We will ensure a country where everyone plays by the rules, from top to bottom."
But a Conservative Party spokesman said: "People should judge Ed Miliband by his record, not his rhetoric.
Video:#AskTheLeaders Highlights: Labour
"For 13 years - including when he was an adviser in the Treasury - Labour did absolutely nothing to tackle tax avoidance. This shows that Ed Miliband is simply too weak to deliver on what he promises.
"In contrast, we are tackling the problem head-on. David Cameron put tax dodging at the top of the global agenda at the UK's G8 summit, securing major new international rules to ensure that companies pay what they owe."
Poundland has agreed a £55m takeover of discount rival 99p Stores, subject to clearance by competition authorities.
Poundland, which has previously expressed an ambition to double its UK and Ireland network of more than 500 stores, said the deal comprised a cash consideration of £47.5m and the issue of new Poundland Shares with a value of £7.5m.
The company's statement said: "Poundland believes that the combination of the two businesses will provide better choice, value and service for 99p Stores' customers."
However, it was confirmed that 99p shoppers would have to pay a bit more for each item under Poundland's plans.
Its chief executive Jim McCarthy said paying an extra 1p for goods at the expanded Poundland chain, where everything costs £1, would not be a problem for customers.
He argued the quality of his offering "more than compensates" and he pointed to the prospect of shorter till queues too as fewer people required change.
It planned to take ownership of all 251 stores trading as 99p Stores or Family Bargains, as well the group's warehouse and distribution centre, which would all be rebranded under the Poundland name over time.
But Poundland said the acquisition was conditional on the approval of the Competition & Markets Authority (CMA), which had already held preliminary talks with both parties.
The statement added: "The CMA may require Poundland to take actions or give remedies to address any impact on competition arising as a result of the proposed transaction.
"The CMA will commence its public consultation and review process shortly and this process is expected to take at least two months.
"The proposed transaction is conditional on an outcome of this CMA process that is acceptable to Poundland and to the CMA."
Poundland opened its first store in 1990 and its growth has formed part of the changing face of the high street since the collapse of Woolworth's in 2008 and the financial crisis.
99p Stores was founded by Nadir Lalani with a single site in Holloway, north London, in 2001.
The discount sector has become somewhat squeezed given the rise in recent years of supermarket chains such as Aldi and Lidl, where consumers can also complete a food shop.
99p Stores had recently expanded its offering to include more food products, including baked goods.
Ministers are to unveil a fresh drive urging consumers to switch energy companies just weeks before the main parties pledge renewed oversight of the industry in their general election manifestos.
Sky News understands that Ed Davey, the Energy and Climate Change Secretary, will spearhead a renewed push to encourage the public to consider alternatives to their existing gas and electricity tariffs.
Mr Davey's latest intervention, which Whitehall insiders said would take place the week after next, is designed to remove the sting from Labour's repeated accusation that the Coalition has done too little to help millions of consumers.
This week, the consumer group Which? said the big six energy companies had failed to pass on price cuts in full despite a round of recently announced reductions, costing the average household £145 a year.
The group said its research highlighted a failure to align retail prices with wholesale costs, which meant that consumers had paid an extra £2.9bn during the last year.
The Government's new switching push will not specifically target customers of the six biggest suppliers – British Gas, EDF Energy, E.On, Npower, Scottish Power and SSE – but will highlight the recent cut in the time it takes to switch provider.
Last month Mr Davey claimed the Government had "introduced more competition in the energy market and made it much quicker for people to switch energy supplier".
"Industry is delivering on my challenge so now my challenge is for more consumers to take advantage. There's never been a better time to shop around, switch and save money faster than ever before," he said.
Mr Davey added that companies were being challenged to further reduce the switching timetable to 24 hours as soon as possible.
Ministers are expected to use this month's initiative to say that households which shop around could save more than £200 annually on their energy bills, as well as a new Confidence Code agreed between Ofgem, the industry regulator, and switching sites.
Matthew Hancock, the Conservative Business and Energy Minister, met the bosses of the big six companies last month to discuss whether recent price cuts were sufficiently generous to consumers.
"Political factors have... become increasingly significant over the last few years, particularly as we approach the UK general election," Paul Massara, Npower's chief executive wrote in a letter to Mr Hancock ahead of their meeting.
"Any change in prices in the short term will inevitably have to take account (of) potential outcomes after May this year," he added.
The price cuts have been announced even though Labour leader Ed Miliband plans to freeze energy prices until 2017 if the party wins the General Election in May.
Last month Labour was defeated in a House of Commons vote to secure support for powers for the regulator, Ofgem, to be able to force companies to reduce consumer bills in line with wholesale price movements.
Labour was forced to adapt the language of its energy policy, insisting that the freeze was actually intended to be a cap, although it continues to use the original language in online material promoting one of its flagship policies.
