Written By Unknown on Sabtu, 21 Februari 2015 | 14.47
By Mark Kleinman, City Editor
The high street fashion retailer New Look has recruited bankers to work on a stock market listing that could value it at as much as £2bn.
Sky News has learnt that the company this week appointed JP Morgan, the Wall Street investment bank, to work on options for a flotation.
The hiring will fuel expectations that New Look's owners are actively preparing to take it public five years after it aborted an identical move amid challenging markets.
JP Morgan is working alongside Goldman Sachs, which is working with New Look to identify other potential investors for the company.
The chain, which trades from more than 800 stores in 21 countries around the world, is the UK's second-biggest women's value clothing and accessories retailer, according to Kantar Worldpanel, a research firm.
New Look has been owned since 2004 by Apax and Permira, two private equity firms, along with Tom Singh, its founder.
According to third-quarter financial results released last week, New Look saw like-for-like sales in the UK declined by 1%, a dip that it attributed to unseasonably warm weather.
The company is continuing to expand internationally, as well as attempting to grow its menswear business.
It now has nearly 20 shops in China although it retreated from Russia and Ukraine because of continuing instability in the two countries.
Anders Kristiansen, its chief executive, described New Look's trading performance as "robust...against a challenging backdrop".
"It was a record online sales performance over the Christmas period with all channels well-prepared for peaks in demand around Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Boxing Day, whilst our high street presence came into its own as we handled a surge in demand for our Click & Collect and Order in Store offerings," he said.
Mr Kristiansen said last week that New Look was a company "ready to float" although he added that a decision to do so rested with the chain's owners.
New Look's examination of a stock market listing makes it one of several well-known companies looking at such a move.
Sky News revealed earlier this week that Center Parcs had hired bankers to work on a flotation which would value it at about £2.5bn.
The chief executives of Britain's biggest high street banks will be handed more than £3m in annual bonuses for 2014 but will see their payouts curbed after another year in which their employers faced heavy regulatory fines.
Sky News can exclusively reveal that the boardroom pay committees at Barclays, HSBC and Lloyds Banking Group are finalising the bonus awards, which will be announced alongside the lenders' annual results during the next ten days.
News of the payouts, which will include a £1.3m bonus for Stuart Gulliver, the chief executive of HSBC, will come just weeks before the General Election campaign gets under way.
Insiders said that Mr Gulliver's bonus had been cut from last year's £1.83m, with a substantial proportion of the reduction attributable to the £216m fine from the City watchdog for control failings in HSBC's foreign exchange operations.
Mr Gulliver was paid a basic salary of £1.25m and a "role-based allowance" worth £1.7m introduced to mitigate the impact of new European pay rules in 2014.
Video:HSBC Tax Avoidance Row Continues
In total, he was awarded a remuneration package in 2014 of about £7.4m including pension contributions and other benefits, HSBC's annual report will disclose on Monday.
Mr Gulliver made a public apology last weekend over the re-emergence of a tax evasion scandal at HSBC's Swiss private banking arm and is focused on cleaning up the affair, which dates back a decade, according to one insider.
His annual bonus is expected to be the largest paid to a UK bank chief executive for 2014.
Sky News understands that the Barclays boss Antony Jenkins will receive an annual bonus of approximately £1m, roughly 50% of his maximum entitlement.
A bank insider pointed out that during 2014, Barclays improved its capital and leverage positions - both measures of its financial soundness - while removing £1.7bn from the bank's cost-base, sending sent its shares up by around a third over the last year.
Mr Jenkins is expected to accept the award, the first time he has done so since taking over as chief executive in 2012, taking his total pay for 2014 to in the region of £5m.
City analysts are forecasting that Barclays' profits will be higher than in 2013, while as Sky News reported earlier this week, the bank's overall bonus pool will fall from just under £2.4bn to less than £2bn.
At Lloyds, Antonio Horta-Osorio's annual bonus will be just under £1m, according to an insider.
The figure would have been higher based on Lloyds' performance but was cut to reflect the bank's £220m fine for its role in the Libor rate-rigging scandal, a source said.
Mr Horta-Osorio, who was recruited by the Treasury in 2011 to run bailed-out Lloyds, is also in line for a long-term share award dating back three years that would be worth around £7m.
Lloyds hopes to announce next week that it has gained permission to pay a dividend to shareholders for the first time since the banking crisis.
The chief executives' annual bonuses account for only part of their overall remuneration packages.
Under reforms introduced by the European Banking Authority (EBA) last year, material risk-takers in banks now have their variable pay capped at 100% of their fixed pay, or twice that sum if shareholders have explicitly approved the move.
Investors in Barclays, HSBC and Lloyds have all approved the higher threshold, while RBS fought an unsuccessful private battle with the Treasury which culminated with it only being able to pay out bonuses equivalent to an employee's salary.
The new rules have led to almost all major banks operating in Europe, including the big four UK institutions, introducing 'role-based allowances' to contend with the European cap.
These count towards fixed pay but can be adjusted on an annual or in some more cases more frequent basis, leading to a review by the EBA which may announce further restrictions on their payment in the coming weeks.
Mr Jenkins' allowance is £950,000, which gives him aggregate fixed pay of £2.05m, while at Lloyds, Mr Horta-Osorio is paid a £900,000 allowance on top of his £1.061m salary.
The figures are clouded by the changing value of bank shares, which means that long-term awards made three years ago can be worth markedly more or less than they were at the point of their allocation.
The exception to the structure of the bank chiefs' pay deals will be Ross McEwan, who runs Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS).
He is paid a £1m salary and from this year will receive a £1m role-based allowance, but is not entitled to an annual bonus following a decision by the taxpayer-backed lender to cease making such payments in order to minimise the prospect of a yearly public row over his remuneration.
Mr McEwan is, however, eligible for long-term share awards equivalent to the sum of his fixed pay.
None of the banks would comment ahead of the publication of their financial results or remuneration figures.
Eurozone finance ministers have agreed to extend Greece's rescue loans - although not by as long as the government wanted.
The deal, which will enable Athens to continue paying its bills, was reached at talks in Brussels which were delayed for four hours as ministers worked on a draft accord.
Jeroen Dijsselbloem, the eurozone's top official and the Dutch finance minister, said Athens had asked for a six-month extension but this was rejected.
"Four months is the appropriate delay in terms of financing and future challenges," he said.
The agreement was clinched just a week before Greece's €240bn (£178bn) bailout expires, leaving just enough time for some member country parliaments to endorse it.
Video:Greek Rescue Package Explained
As part of the deal Greece must provide a list of economic and other reforms based on the current bailout programme by Monday.
This will be reviewed on Tuesday by the European Central Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the European Commission.
If the three institutions do not believe the proposals go far enough, the list will be revised with a view to it being agreed by the end of April.
Greek Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis said the deal would mark a new era for Athens and its relations with the European Union.
Video:Osborne Urges Eurozone Deal
"Today was a pivotal moment because Greece for five years now has been lonely, isolated in the Eurogroup. Today that isolation has broken," Mr Varoufakis said.
He said Greece had not used any threats or bluff to get the agreement and added it was a small step in a new direction for the country.
Markets reacted positively to the deal, with the Dow and S&P 500 surging to fresh records on Wall Street.
Mr Dijsselbloem said it was a "first step in this process of rebuilding trust" between Greece and its euro partners and allows for a strategy to get the country "back on track."
Video:Greece: Everything You Need To Know
"Trust leaves quicker than it comes," he said.
Mr Dijsselbloem worked flat out on Friday to secure an agreement as Germany insisted Greece stick with the austerity commitments included in its bailout programme.
The fraught discussions focused on a new package of concessions beyond those contained in the formal request for a loan extension submitted on Thursday.
Greece has ruled out another bailout like the existing one, saying the people who swept the anti-austerity Syriza party to power last month would not tolerate it.
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Gallery: Art War On The Streets Of Athens
Athens has become a Mecca for street artists as anger grows over the impact of Greece's bailout deal with Europe
Wall paintings have sprung up all over the city reflecting the general frustration at rising unemployment and falling living standards
Written By Unknown on Jumat, 20 Februari 2015 | 14.47
These could well prove the most important few days in the euro's existence.
In the corridors and meeting rooms of the Justus Lipsus building in Brussels, Greece and its euro counterparts have been charged with discussing how to keep the struggling nation in the single currency.
Their chances of success seem to be flagging.
Quite how we got here is a complicated story - it involves political and economic mistakes, financial jiggery-pokery, many decades of historical animosity and some big personality clashes.
Uncertainty continues over the Greek debt negotiations
Let's leave that aside for a moment and recall where we stand today.
Briefly: Greece is in dire need of money. The state has a series of debts to repay in March, some to the International Monetary Fund, some to the European Central Bank.
Video:'Confusion And Noise Over Greece'
It can't easily raise cash in the open markets (would you really want to lend to Athens right now?) so it will have to find that money elsewhere.
That means borrowing it from its eurozone colleagues. Greece is of course still receiving bailout support from the so-called Troika lenders (the European Commission, ECB and IMF), so the most straightforward thing would be to extend the existing bailout and withdraw some extra cash from it (there's about €7bn of it left, which would be very helpful right now).
However, extending the bailout would also mean extending the conditions attached to it - austerity, privatisations, labour market and pension reforms.
Syriza, the party which leads the new Greek government, adamantly set itself against that in its election campaign. It also said it would refuse to co-operate with the Troika in future.
That leaves it in a sticky place. Its finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, has spent most of the past few weeks attempting to persuade his European counterparts to lend Greece some cash, but to do it as a "bridging loan" rather than as an extension of the "current programme".
That might seem like a mere terminological distinction - and in one sense it is. But underlying the terminology are real differences.
Signing up to the "current programme" again would mean obeying those hated conditions. A "bridging loan" of some sort, on the other hand, could have some discrete conditions of its own. Though some of these might be uncomfortable, they would at least be of Greece's new government's own making.
Video:Greeks Hope For Bailout Solution
The problem is that Greece's creditors are reluctant to let the country off all those conditions they set when lending them money.
For one thing, Greece has already been forgiven a chunk of its debts in 2012; the interest rates and maturities of its debts have been stretched out way into the future, making them cheaper to service.
For another, those conditions were not merely there as punishment - they were there to make the economy more healthy in the future.
Raising retirement ages, removing archaic protections on employees, privatising nationalised industries - those are precisely the kinds of Thatcherite reforms many other countries had to go through long ago, and are reaping the rewards of today.
Then there's the politics: German voters are becoming increasingly disenchanted with the idea of funding a poor creditor elsewhere whose own people seem to hate them.
The Spanish government is desperate that Syriza doesn't succeed, for fear of encouraging its people to vote for their own upstart leftist anti-austerity rival party, Podemos. The Irish would be furious if a country was given special treatment they were denied.
These countervailing forces mean getting an agreement, either today or this weekend or in the coming months, will be very difficult. And, as if things couldn't already be more difficult, the process has also been waylaid by some personal histrionics.
Video:Greek Bailout: The Key Numbers
The Greek negotiators have been unpredictable in the extreme - openly leaking bundles of documents, flagrantly disregarding the long-established rules of negotiations and publicly criticising their counterparts.
"These people are crazy," said one eurocrat when the talks broke down the last time, on Monday night. "They're totally crazy."
One can only assume yet more craziness to come in the next hours and days. The latest developments, on Thursday, included a letter from the Greek authorities which seemed to offer massive compromises on its position - including an extension of the bailout in some guise, and Troika supervision.
That was then dismissed abruptly by the Germans, who derided it as a "Trojan horse" gambit.
All of which threatens to make today's negotiations particularly awkward.
Meanwhile, hanging over all of this is the question of whether Greece will have money to pay its bills next month, whether it defaults, and, ultimately, whether it can stay in the euro.
Drivers could get refunds totalling tens of millions of pounds over "illegal" parking fines on private land.
The RAC Foundation claims "fines" of up to £100 for infringing conditions in private car parks may be illegal, and is calling on the Government to stop the practice.
Professor Stephen Glaister, director of the RAC Foundation, said: "Millions of drivers could be in line for a refund. We estimate that in 2013 alone, drivers might have been overcharged by some £100m."
Clamping on private land was outlawed by the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, but charges for infringements of private car park conditions have grown to an estimated £100m per year.
Barrister John de Waal QC argues that this is likely to be several times more than compensation for a genuine loss, and would not be enforceable by the courts.
Video:Private Land Clamping Outlawed
"They should be seen by the courts as penalties, which means they are unenforceable," he said.
Pauline Welsh, 57, was charged £60 after parking on what she thought was council-owned land - meaning it would have been free during the evening.
"It's shocking, and it needs sorting," the retired teacher told Sky News. "It's just not fair."
Mrs Welsh's husband, Alastair, appealed against her ticket - and another incurred by their son elsewhere. Both were overturned.
Figures from the British Parking Association show motorists won 49% of the 57,500 appeals made every year on average.
Professor Glaister called on the Government to set out what a reasonable charge should be.
"They allowed a system of ticketing to emerge which is barely regulated. In effect, drivers have been short-changed," he added.
The continuing stand-off between the eurozone and Greece over its debt could lead to a "full blown crisis", George Osborne has warned.
The Chancellor's comments come as eurozone finance ministers prepare for crunch talks later on whether to extend the EU loan programme to Greece which wants an extra six months but without austerity conditions.
Mr Osborne said: "What you see now in this stand-off between the eurozone and Greece is the risk of a full blown crisis which would do real damage to the European economy - and is a risk to Britain.
"We need the eurozone to find a common solution and here at home we need to go on working through our economic plan which has kept us safe".
Greece says the EU has "just two choices" when it comes to Athens' request - accept it or reject it.
Video:'Confusion And Noise Over Greece'
But Germany has already rejected it, saying it was "no substantial proposal for a solution" and "does not meet the criteria" laid out by the ministers.
The office of the German finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble issued the terse response just hours after Greece formally lodged its bid for a half-year deal to effectively replace its bailout, which is due to expire at the end of the month.
German finance ministry spokesman Martin Jaeger added that it amounted to a request "for bridge financing without fulfilling the demands of the (bailout) programme".
But after the snub, a Greek government source said: "The eurogroup has just two choices. To accept or reject the Greek request. We will now discover who wants to find a solution, and who does not."
Video:How Would World React To Grexit?
The country's new anti-austerity government is seeking a compromise to break the deadlock with European creditors, especially Germany, as it runs the risk of running out of cash and defaulting on its debts without agreement.
It has ruled out the prospect of any deal under the terms of its previous rescue because of its mandate from the Greek people who swept the anti-austerity Syriza party to power last month.
The details of the Greek request were not made public but the Reuters news agency published a document it had seen which suggested Greece had watered down some of its previous demands.
The letter, purportedly written by Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis, pledged to honour all Greek debts and not take unilateral action that would undermine agreed fiscal targets.
Video:Greek Bailout: The Key Numbers
The government of Alexis Tsipras blames the conditions attached to its bailout of hampering the country's recovery and leading to a deterioration of living standards.
Unemployment remains at more than 25%.
On Monday, the government rejected a plan to extend its current €240bn (£178bn) bailout deal, describing it as absurd.
Eurozone finance ministers had given Greece until Friday to request an extension of its current austerity and reform programme.
Video:Pressure Tightens On Defiant Greeks
Germany has been particularly vocal in insisting the country sticks to the terms of its commitments.
The formal Greek request was submitted after the European Central Bank (ECB) agreed to increase its emergency funding to Greek banks amid a capital flight from the country.
Depositors are fearful the lack of a deal will force Greece from the single currency and back to the drachma, representing a significant devaluation.
Written By Unknown on Kamis, 19 Februari 2015 | 14.47
The company which owns British Gas has blamed warm weather for a 23% slump in profits at its residential supply business.
Centrica reported earnings of £439m during 2014 at the division which supplies gas and electricity to homes, down from £571m in the previous year.
Total British Gas profits, which includes boiler services to households, fell 20%.
The company said the profit declines primarily reflected lower consumption in a "record warm year".
It said average dual fuel profit per household fell to £42., with average actual household energy bills "around £100 lower than in 2013".
Video:Big Six Criticised For Overcharging
The number of households taking its energy fell 2% in 2014 to 14.8 million.
Its results were announced just 24 hours after the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) confirmed it was examining the use of standard tariffs as a default for customers of the big six firms, suggesting households that had failed to switch supplier were paying up to £234 more annually for their energy.
The big six, made up of British Gas, SSE, Scottish Power, E.ON, EDF and npower, insist they welcome the CMA's investigation to help restore trust in profit levels.
Video:'Bills Should Be Cut By 10%'
Centrica reported a statutory loss before tax of £1.4bn against profits of £1.6bn in the previous year.
The performance was mainly driven by significant writedowns on a number of it Exploration & Production assets.
Adjusted operating profits fell 35%.
Video:Energy Bills: What We're Paying
Its share price, which has fallen 10% in the past 12 months, was expected to face further pressure when the FTSE 100 opened for trading on Thursday after the company confirmed a 30% reduction in its dividend.
Centrica said it was reacting to falling oil and gas prices by cutting investment.
Chief executive, Iain Conn, said: "2014 was a very difficult year for Centrica and the recent fall in oil and gas prices creates further challenge.
Video:Not Switching: Political Reaction
"We are cutting investment and costs in response. However, it is with regret that, along with reducing capital expenditure and driving efficiency beyond planned levels, we have taken the difficult decision to rebase the dividend by 30%, commencing with the final distribution for 2014.
"In addition, given the changed external environment we are reviewing the longer term strategy, and will conclude this by the Interim Results in July.
"Despite the obvious current challenges, I am confident in the quality of Centrica's team and the platform which has been established, and I believe the group is well-placed to take advantage of the longer term trends in the global energy markets.
"Our priorities remain to serve our customers competitively and with integrity, to develop new offers and services, to provide secure and reliable energy supplies and to deliver long term value for shareholders".
The cost of childcare is rising so quickly that for many families "it simply does not pay to work", a report has concluded.
The price of a part-time nursery place for a child under two has gone up by almost a third in the last five years with parents now being forced to pay more than £6,000 a year.
The annual survey, carried out by the Family and Childcare Trust, found that on average in England, Scotland and Wales sending a child to nursery for 25 hours a week costs £115.45.
That is 5.1% more than last year and 32.8% more than in 2010.
Parents who employ child minders are also paying more. The average cost of £104.06 per week is up 4.3% on last year.
Video:Childcare Costs May Have To Rise
"The reality is that for too many families it simply does not pay to work," the report said.
At Kidz R Us day nursery in Salford, Greater Manchester, parents told Sky News that paying for childcare takes up a significant portion of their income.
Mother-of-three Jennifer Lee said: "I'm a full time teacher and my partner's a fireman. You'd expect with two decent salaries to be able to cope financially, but it is difficult."
Amy Cooke said more than half her salary goes on paying for part-time childcare for her 15-month-old daughter Lilah.
If she has any more children or if nursery prices rise further she may have leave her job.
"I'd probably have to give up work and do it that way because my entire wage would go on childcare, so it wouldn't be worth it."
Stephen Dunmore, chief executive of the Family and Childcare Trust, has welcomed Government investment in childcare but says more needs to be done.
Video:More Kids To Get Free Childcare
"In spite of several positive initiatives, including more funding for free early education, the childcare system in Britain needs radical reform," he said.
"In the run-up to the General Election this May we want to see all political parties commit to an independent review of childcare. Britain needs a simple system that promotes quality, supports parents and delivers for children."
The issue of childcare costs is likely to feature highly in the coming months, with politicians keen to use today's report to score political points.
Labour's shadow minister for childcare and children, Alison McGovern MP, said "These figures lay bare the extent of David Cameron's failure - he is badly letting down working families.
"Since 2010 the failing Tory plan has seen the costs of childcare soar. On top of this, there are over 40,000 fewer childcare places and wages are down £1,600 a year on average."
A spokesperson for the Department for Education said: "This report only relates to the prices parents pay after they receive the Government's offer of 15 hours of free childcare.
"It therefore neglects the record amount of fully funded childcare we are giving - savings worth a maximum of almost £9,000 per child."
The European Central Bank has decided to increase its emergency funding to Greek banks, it has been reported.
"The increase has been approved," a bank source, who declined to be identified, told the AFP agency.
The source added the ceiling for emergency liquidity assistance - or ELA - to the banks had been raised from €65bn to €68.3bn (£50.3bn).
An anti-austerity protest against the previous government
According to the source, the Greek central bank had requested an extension of roughly € 10bn.
Banks need extra funds as depositors continue to extract cash on fears the country's banking system will collapse if it fails to agree a new loan deal and it has to leave the euro.
Video:Greek Bailout: The Key Numbers
Athens is expected to request on Thursday a six-month eurozone loan to replace its current bailout, which expires at the end of the month.
On Monday, it rejected a plan to extend its current €240bn (£178bn) bailout deal, describing it as absurd.
The offer came with more than 400 austerity measures - including shrinking pensions and lowering the minimum wage - conditions the Greek government blames for the country's failure to recover.
There are fears if a new deal is not agreed in principle this week, Greece could have difficulty servicing its debts.
Video:How Would World React To Grexit?
That could lead to more capital being pulled out of Greek banks and a so-called messy default, which could see a return to the drachma.
Greece's finance minister Yanis Varoufakis said its request for a loan extension will be worded in such a way as to be acceptable to all parties.
He said it "will be written in a way that covers both the Greek side and the president of the Eurogroup," referring to Dutch finance minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem.
Mr Varoufakis said he was hopeful of a positive outcome by the end of the week.
Video:Greeks Hope For Bailout Solution
Earlier, the Greek parliament elected veteran politician Prokopis Pavlopoulos as the country's new president.
The 64-year-old's election ends an impasse over the choice of president that triggered early general elections last month.
The latest developments come after a government source accused Germany of "arrogance" in its approach to the debt negotiations.
It followed German finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble dismissing talk of a loan extension as unacceptable.
Video:Osborne Fears Greek 'Chaos'
He told broadcaster ZDF: "It's not about extending a credit programme but about whether this bailout programme will be fulfilled, yes or no."
Written By Unknown on Rabu, 18 Februari 2015 | 14.47
Troubled supermarket Tesco has appointed John Allan as its new chairman, replacing Sir Richard Broadbent.
Mr Allan, who takes up his role on 1 March, is currently on the boards of electrical retailer Dixons Carphone and Royal Mail but will step down from those posts.
He said of the Tesco job: "I'm very pleased to be taking on this role at such a critical moment for the business and look forward to working with the new executive team and the board."
Mr Allan will be paid £650,000 a year as part of a three-year contract with Britain's biggest supermarket chain.
He is also chairman of property company Barratt Developments and payment processing firm Worldpay, but is expected to continue in those roles.
Video:8 Jan: Tesco Boss On Turnaround
Sir Richard announced his resignation in October after a £263m accounting blunder involving rebates to suppliers.
The fall-out from the affair led to the suspension of eight executives, and a shake-up of Tesco's commercial practices that partly caused a £500m profit warning in December.
Tesco's sales have also been hit, with the company facing tough competition from discount stores like Aldi and Lidl.
Under Tesco's new chief executive Dave Lewis, the firm has cut jobs, introduced price reductions across hundreds of lines, and said it would close 43 loss-making stores.
It has also scrapped plans to build 49 more shops.
Video:Tesco: Difficult Changes Are Ahead
Last week, industry figures suggested Tesco had returned to sales growth for the first time in a year.
Statistics for the 12 weeks ending 1 February by Kantar Worldpanel showed a 0.3% increase in sales compared to the same period last year, with the chain attracting an additional 236,000 shoppers.
However, it was not all good news for Mr Lewis, who took over in September following the departure of Philip Clarke.
Despite the increase in sales, Tesco's overall market share fell to 29%, down by 0.2 percentage points compared with last year as the effects of the supermarket price war continued to be felt.
The luxury carmaker Rolls-Royce has announced it will develop its first sports utility vehicle (SUV) designed to "cross any terrain".
The announcement was made via an open letter from Rolls-Royce chairman Peter Schwarzenbauer.
The company has revealed few details about the new model, but said it decided to develop a luxury off-roader following consultations with clients.
"Many discerning customers have urged us to develop this new car - and we have listened," the company said in a statement.
"At Rolls-Royce Motor Cars we are uniquely focused on the desires of our customers and are driven by our own thirst to innovate.
Jaguar Land Rover announced the development of its first SUV in January
"So we challenged our engineers and design team, led by director of design Giles Taylor, to create a different and exceptional new car."
The vehicle will be developed at the company's base in Goodwood.
Video:What's All The Fuss About?
Rolls-Royce has gradually expanded its range of vehicles beyond luxury limousines such as the Phantom model, released in 2003.
The smaller Ghost II became available in late 2014, and the Wraith Coupe entered showrooms in 2013.
Last month, Jaguar Land Rover announced the creation of 1,300 new jobs after the company said it would develop its first SUV vehicle in Britain.
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Gallery: Rolling Back The Years
The first design sketches of a new Rolls-Royce to be launched in 2010 have been released by the luxury car company. Known as the RR4, the new vehicle will be smaller than the existing Phantom and will be powered by a new engine unique to Rolls-Royce.
It's a far cry from the oldest-surviving Rolls. This 1904 10 horsepower two-seater dates from the company's first year of production.
A competition inquiry into the energy market has found suppliers routinely charging loyal customers up to £234 more per year.
The Competition and Markets Authority's (CMA) update on its continuing probe into the sector also contained criticism of the energy regulator's powers - as reported by Sky News on Tuesday evening - saying excessive regulation at Ofgem may be creating barriers to new market entrants.
The key finding in the CMA's updated Issues Statement for consumers concerned the power of switching supplier, with the regulator declaring that long-term customers - many of them vulnerable - were paying a higher price for failing to move between energy companies.
It said 95% of dual fuel customers of the so-called big six suppliers could have saved an average of between £158 and £234 a year by switching.
It found that the big six - British Gas, SSE, Scottish Power, E.ON, npower and EDF - earned 12% more from a customer on a standard - instead of fixed - dual fuel tariff.
Video:Should You Trust Comparison Sites?
The CMA said those on the cheapest fixed rates could save up to £235 annually across the whole market.
The report stated: "The evidence that we have seen to date also suggests that the gross margins that the six large energy firms earn are higher for customers on the SVT (Standard Variable Tariff) than for those on non-standard tariffs over the last three years."
While the Issues Statement does not contain any formal conclusions by the CMA, the ongoing designation of industry regulation as a key focus will embarrass Ofgem at a time when its leadership is under intense political pressure.
Labour has vowed to freeze prices for 20 months if it wins the General Election in May, a pledge which sparked fury among big six suppliers.
They recently cut standard gas tariffs by up to 5.1% in response to a 30% dip in wholesale prices but argue raw energy makes up less than 50% of a bill and they have to pay up to three years up front for their supplies.
They point to the growing cost of green levies and network costs.
Crucially for the big six suppliers, the CMA found that their average profit margin across gas and electricity is 3.3%, with gas being the more profitable of the two.
But the report questions whether the market is working for consumers as almost half of households have been with the same supplier for more than 10 years.
This week, the Government launched a campaign with the slogan "Power To Switch", which is designed to encourage consumers to shop around to find cheaper energy deals.
Written By Unknown on Selasa, 17 Februari 2015 | 14.48
By Jonathan Samuels, Sky News Correspondent
London's population is set to reach a record high of 8.6 million people, with housing expected to be a major General Election issue.
With limited space and prices that have gone through the roof, one survey suggests bricks and mortar could be as significant as the NHS in the ballot this May.
According to research by estate agents Your Move and Reeds Rains, one in six tenants (16%) say housing say housing is the issue most likely to affect their vote.
Sky News visited what has been billed as the smallest house currently on the market in the UK. The tiny one-room home in Islington is just over 150 square feet, with an asking price of £275,000.
You have to climb on to the kitchen surface to get into bed, the dining room is a pull-out table, and you can touch opposite walls at the same time.
Video:London Homes Become Unaffordable
"Obviously the price is quite absurd but I don't think the project is absurd," says architect Chris Dyvik, who took inspiration from caravans and boats.
"You might see similar types of compact units being built. People need to be creative in London to survive with these housing prices."
It is unlikely anyone would live in such a place for more than a few nights at a time, but the fact that such a small space can command such a big asking price means questions continue to be asked about London's property bubble.
Last year, some 60,000 30-somethings left London, the highest number ever. Soaring house prices have put homes out of reach for most first-time buyers.
According to the Office for National Statistics, 67% of the 25 to 34 age group were homeowners in 1991. By 2012 this had dropped to 43%.
George Cheetham got fed up with prices going up and up during the buying frenzy in London last year.
"Week-by-week, house prices grew," he said.
"You'd go for a viewing in the same street one week and by the next it had gone up by about £10,000."
He moved to Bristol, buying a three-bedroom flat with a garden, something which would have been impossible in the capital.
"It just didn't seem a realistic market to buy in, it was very easy for us to say enough is enough" he said.
Soaring prices have been partly driven by foreign investors.
Estate agent Savills estimates up to 70% of newly-built properties in central London are bought by foreign investors, with many flats in prime locations lying empty.
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Gallery: Property: What £1m Can Buy You
We take a look at what £1m can buy you around the UK. For example this one bedroom flat in Chelsea's Lennox Gardens, London, at exactly £1m. All photos courtesy of rightmove.co.uk
The modestly-sized flat is being sold in one of London's most sought-after areas. Pic: rightmove.co.uk
No-one expected the Eurogroup summit to end all the differences between Greece and the eurozone countries behind its bailout.
But, equally, no-one really expected it to end in the kind of acrimony we saw earlier in Brussels.
In the event, what we have witnessed is yet another demonstration of what happens when the euro collides with democratic politics.
It all comes back down to the key issue Syriza campaigned on in the Greek elections last month: ending the current €240bn bailout programme and replacing it with something more humane.
Most of Greece's euro counterparts have insisted that to do so is simply impossible - that if Greece wants to borrow more cash and continue to enjoy financial support from the European Central Bank, it must sign up to an extension of the existing programme, due to expire at the end of the month.
Video:There Is 'Substantial Disagreement'
However, doing so represents what Yanis Varoufakis, the Greek finance minister, has described as a red line.
Instead, he would rather agree to a separate "bridging loan" without the full conditions attached to the existing bailout (but with, he insists, "some conditionality, to build trust").
He claims that he was privately given such a promise by the European Commissioner in charge of the economy, Pierre Moscovici, last week.
But, in Mr Varoufakis' rendering, at the Eurogroup meeting on Monday afternoon, Mr Moscovici's draft proposal was replaced by Eurogroup head, Jeroen Djisselbloem, with something else entirely - an alternative communique that pledged that Greece should continue with the existing programme.
A copy of this document, with Mr Varoufakis' disapproving penmarks scrawled all over it, was leaked to the press.
In chaotic scenes, the meeting broke down within minutes.
Given it was billed as the make-or-break moment for the euro, the collapse of talks looks, on the surface of it, to be deeply worrying.
However, the reality is that Monday's deadline was always a self-imposed one.
The talks will continue in the coming days, and there is likely to be another Eurogroup meeting to confirm things as soon as something can be hatched behind the scenes.
But with every setback, worries grow that Greece could be edging slowly towards a possible default - or indeed a chaotic exit from the single currency.
There are still many more levers to be pulled by both sides between now and then. But the fact that a key meeting could break down so easily is a reminder that things will hardly be plain sailing in the coming weeks.
In other words, things are likely to get even worse before they get any better.
Greece has been warned of an impending "disaster" after crisis talks between the country's finance minister and Eurozone counterparts broke up without agreement in Brussels.
The country rejected a draft proposal put forward by European finance ministers that would see an extension of Greece's international bailout package.
Dutch finance minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem, who chaired the meeting, says Athens now has until Friday to request an extension or risk seeing the bailout expire at the end of the month.
If that happens the Greek state and its banks could face a looming cash crunch.
Greece's finance minister, Yanis Varoufakis, said negotiations will continue, adding he has "no doubt" an agreement will be reached that would be "therapeutic to Greece and for Europe".
Video:Greeks Back New Economic Strategy
But he added his country will not implement recessionary measures such as pension cuts and VAT hikes.
Greece's anti-austerity Syriza government recently swept to power on a promise to scrap the bailout as it stands.
But with Greece running out of money, Maltese finance minister Edward Scicluna said the country faces "disaster" unless it extends the bailout, which is due to end on 28 February.
"Greece has to adjust, to realise the seriousness of the situation," he said.
"It all depends on the realisation by Greece of the real seriousness of the situation because time is running out."
Video:What Is Greece's Future In Europe?
Mr Dijsselbloem said a "positive outcome" was still possible if Greece asked for the extension by the end of the week.
He said further talks are dependent upon Greece requesting a bailout.
"Given the timelines we have... we can use this week but that is about it," he said.
"The general feeling in the Eurogroup is still that the best way forward would be for the Greek authorities to seek an extension of the programme."
Mr Varoufakis and other European finance ministers are scheduled to remain in Brussels for routing talks on the EU economy today.
Video:Lamont: Write Off Greece's Debts
Sky's Economics Editor Ed Conway said: "The talks have broken down in rather acrimonious fashion.
"The ball is once again in Greece's court. European finance ministers leaving the talks said it was now up to Greece and its prime minister and ministers to request an extension to the deal.
"Otherwise the Eurogroup are not going to continue talking and there is the real prospect increasingly of Greece either defaulting or leaving the euro.
"The big problem is that Greece is potentially going to run out of money quite soon."
Written By Unknown on Senin, 16 Februari 2015 | 14.47
Lord Green is to step down from a financial services industry body amid claims HSBC enabled tax avoidance while he was in charge.
A former trade minister in the coalition government, the peer will step down as chairman of TheCityUK's Advisory Council with immediate effect.
He was the chairman of HSBC from 2006 to 2010, and is facing considerable pressure to answer questions about the behaviour of the bank's Swiss division.
Sir Gerry Grimstone, who will be succeeding Lord Green in his TheCityUK role, said: "Stephen Green is a man of great personal integrity who has given huge service to his country and the City.
"He doesn't want to damage the effectiveness of TheCityUK in promoting good governance and doing the right thing, so has decided to step aside from chairing our Advisory Council."
Video:HSBC Claims Timeline
Sir Gerry also stressed that Lord Green's departure "was entirely his own decision".
In a speech to the Welsh Labour conference in Swansea, Ed Miliband warn that "he will not back down" in his campaign on tax avoidance.
The Labour leader also launched a fresh attack on the Prime Minister, who he claimed is "turning a blind eye" to the practice, which mainly benefits the rich and powerful.
Mr Miliband welcomed Lord Green's decision to step down.
Video:Fierce Clashes Over HSBC At PMQs
He said: "I think it is right that he has done that. I think the bigger question is David Cameron and the questions he has got to answer.
"He has still not accounted for why he appointed Lord Green in the first place, when it was already public knowledge about what happened at HSBC.
"He has still not explained whether over the three years or so that Lord Green was a minister, whether he actually asked about what was going on about HSBC when it was public knowledge.
"The questions are mounting for David Cameron to answer."
HSBC has taken out adverts in national newspapers offering "sincerest apologies" over past activities at its Swiss operations.
In the open letter to its customers, shareholders and colleagues, HSBC's group chief executive Stuart Gulliver described recent media coverage about practices at the Swiss Private Bank eight years ago as a "painful experience".
However, the Business Secretary has said he wants greater assurances about tax transparency.
Vince Cable told Sky's Murnaghan programme that what emerged is "striking and unacceptable" - and he has called on former HSBC boss Lord Green to answer specific allegations about the business.
The full-page HSBC advert states: "We would like to provide some reassurance and state some of the facts that lie behind the stories.
The advert was published in the Mail On Sunday and The Sun On Sunday
"The media focus has been on historical events that show the standards to which we operate today were not universally in place in our Swiss operations eight years ago.
"We must show we understand that the societies we serve expect more from us. We therefore offer our sincerest apologies."
The bank added that since 2008 it had established a "much tighter central control around who are our customers".
It said it had also implemented tougher standards around tax transparency.
Earlier this week Mr Gulliver sent a memo to the bank's staff saying the revelations were painful and frustrating.
The adverts come amid a political row over tax avoidance, with Labour leader Ed Miliband on Saturday vowing to carry out an inquiry into the UK's tax authority should his party win power in the next General Election.
Mr Miliband argued that people not paying their fair share of tax had left "a £34bn hole in the nation's finances".
Promising an "aggressive" review into Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) if his party wins in May, Mr Miliband pointed to suspicions of "sweetheart deals" with wealthy firms.
And the shadow chancellor, Ed Balls, has told Sky News a "crackdown" is needed because there had only been one prosecution out of more than a thousand cases of tax avoidance at HSBC's private Swiss arm.
"Was that because the Conservatives were back-peddling, brushing it under the carpet? Was it because the HSBC boss had now become a minister? Was it because their donors were involved in that HSBC activity? I think we need answers from David Cameron and George Osborne, and we need them soon," he added.
This week, Mr Miliband seized on allegations about tax avoidance by HSBC clients to brand Prime Minister David Cameron a "dodgy Prime Minister, surrounded by dodgy donors".
Speaking on Sky News, Mr Cable said: "I think the worst period we went through was 10 years ago, when all the leading banks were offering industrial-scale tax avoidance to British citizens to avoid British tax - and they were doing it out of London.
"There are still things happening that should definitely not be happening."
After a week of clashes between Mr Miliband and Mr Cameron, the former Tory chancellor Ken Clarke said there needs to be agreement on a "more sensible and defensible" system for funding political parties.
Mr Clarke told The Observer newspaper that the Conservatives should break their reliance on wealthy donors and embrace the need for more state funding of politics.
The consolidation of London's professional services industry will accelerate this week when a division of Zolfo Cooper, an adviser on corporate restructurings, is snapped up in a deal worth just under $100m (£65m).
Sky News has learnt that AlixPartners, a New York-based advisory firm, is close to agreeing a takeover of the UK and European arm of Zolfo Cooper, an independent player in a sector increasingly dominated by global heavyweights.
Insiders said that AlixPartners had scheduled a board meeting on Sunday to approve the deal, with an announcement about the transaction expected as early as Monday.
If completed, the takeover will bring together two of the most prolific City advisers on the restructuring of companies which have run into financial or operational difficulties.
Zolfo Cooper has in recent weeks been working on a deal to secure the future of Intertain, the leisure group behind the Walkabout chain of bars.
The company is owned by Better Capital, the investment vehicle set up by Jon Moulton, who was forced to place another of his companies, City Link, into administration on Christmas Eve.
Zolfo Cooper's European operations are operated using the firm's name under licence from the US firm of the same name.
The takeover of its London-based operations is expected to crystallize significant payouts for its partners, although they are likely to remain with the combined group.
Among the firm's other assignments are the restructuring of Stemcor, the steel trading company which is part-owned by Margaret Hodge, the Labour MP who chairs the Commons Public Accounts Committee.
Last year, Zolfo Cooper also worked on a deal which saw dozens of Strada restaurants change hands.
For AlixPartners, the acquisition will be an important step towards achieving a five-year target of becoming the "leading global advisory, consulting, and interim management firm specialising in restoring, protecting, and enhancing corporate performance and value".
Employing more than 1200 people, AlixPartners is itself majority-owned by CVC Capital Partners, the private equity group which is the largest shareholder in Formula One motor racing.
CVC took control of AlixPartners in June 2012, with the financial terms of the deal remaining undisclosed.
Private equity investors have shown increased interest in professional services groups, while the big four accountancy firms have also been diversifying their offering by swallowing specialist players in areas such as cyber-security, investor relations and restructuring.
AlixPartners and Zolfo Cooper both declined to comment on Sunday.
