Report: Retail Bankruptcy Increased In 2012

The number of retail firms filing for bankruptcy continues to grow, according to new research.

Business advisory firm Deloitte said the number of retailers falling into administration in 2012 increased by 6%, compared with 2011.

It said 194 retailers entered administration last year, compared with 183 in 2011 - up 18% from the 165 bankruptcies in 2010.

Deloitte restructuring services partner Lee Manning said: "These figures are a stark reminder of the difficulties which continue to face the high street.

"Constrained household budgets and the structural challenges facing the sector mean it is certain that we will see further distress this year.

"Christmas trading appears to have been reasonable, though not spectacular and not enough to prevent insolvencies in the first quarter of 2013."

Deloitte said there had been a slight fall in the number of retail administrations during the last three months of 2012 compared to the fourth quarter of 2011, with bankruptcies down to 37 from 42.

Although administration proceedings across all sectors were down 9% in 2012 to 1,883, the retail sector was also noted for a number of high profile chains being hit.

"In 2012 alone we have seen Peacocks, La Senza, Blacks, Game, Clinton Cards, JJB Sports and Comet enter administration," Mr Manning said.

"Consumer confidence remains fragile and where we have seen some respite through lower inflation, this has not translated into increased spending with many consumers preferring to pay down existing debt or save."

The outlook continues to appear bleak for the retail sector, with the move to online shopping impacting heavily on future strategy.

"There will always be a need for physical retail space but at present too many retailers have too many stores and 2013 is likely to be marked by further closure programmes, both within and outside of formal insolvency processes.

"Similarly, as an increasing proportion of retail sales move to online and mobile, retailers need to consider how their stores support sales across all channels by offering flexible delivery or collection options, becoming a product showroom and developing brand engagement and loyalty."

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US Fiscal Cliff: Markets Rally After Late Deal

Global markets have rallied in response to a deal in the United States to avert its so-called fiscal cliff.

The market boost came after US Democrats and Republicans finally agreed a deal that will stop hundreds of billions of dollars in automatic tax increases and spending cuts that risked plunging the world's biggest economy into recession.

Stocks around the world started 2013 with hefty gains as investors welcomed the vote in the House of Representatives.

London's FTSE 100 was up 2.2% at the close, after earlier busting through the 6,000-point mark for the first time since July 2011.

Key European markets were up between 2.19% to 3.81%, while in Asia Hong Kong's Hang Seng index shot up 2.9% at the close - its highest finish since June 1, 2011.

In New York, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended 2.4% higher.

The lights of the Capitol burned late into the night as the deal went on

"Investors are trading with a sense of relief after lawmakers in Washington agreed on a compromise to avoid the fiscal cliff that has been the dominant theme in equity markets since the presidential elections back in November," Mike McCudden, head of derivatives at stockbroker Interactive Investor, said.

The fiscal cliff deal is likely to remain the focus of attention in financial markets, as US institutions open for trading.

Mr Obama welcomed the agreement and said it was just one step in a broader effort to strengthen the economy.

He said: "Thanks to the votes of Republicans and Democrats in Congress I will sign a law that raises taxes on the wealthiest 2% of Americans while preventing tax hikes that could have sent the economy back into recession."

Some House Republicans had wanted to amend the bill to incorporate more spending cuts but dropped the idea.

Mr Obama headed to Hawaii for a break after the deal was brokered

In the end, 172 Democrats and 85 Republicans voted in favour of the bill, which marks a triumph for the president less than two months after he secured re-election while campaigning for higher taxes on the wealthy.

The legislation cleared the Senate hours after Vice President Joe Biden and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, veteran negotiators, sealed the deal.

The fiscal cliff deadline would have triggered tax increases of $536bn (£328bn) and spending cuts of $109bn (£67bn) from domestic and military programmes.

The compromise Senate deal extends the tax cuts for Americans earning under $400,000 (£246,000) - up from the $250,000 (£153,000) level that Democrats had originally sought.

But longer-term fiscal problems remain and Mr Obama will likely face more battles with the Republican-dominated House of Representatives.

"Cynics will point out that another argument has been booked in for two months' time, when the debt ceiling comes up for debate, IG market analyst Chris Beauchamp said.

"And Republicans will be looking to make progress on the spending cuts that haven't featured in the New Year deal."

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Start-Up Loans Scheme Gets £30m Boost

Thousands more young entrepreneurs could get loans to start their own businesses as the Government announces it is boosting its scheme.

Prime Minister David Cameron said funding for the coalition's Start-Up Loans scheme was being boosted by £30m to £110m over three years.

The age limit for applying was also being raised from 24 to 30 in response to what Downing Street aides said was "high demand".

Number 10 insisted the initiative was on target to issue more than 2,500 loans by March - despite criticism that only a small portion of loans had been finalised since the scheme was formally launched last autumn.

Some 3,000 people are said to have registered an interest in the money and mentoring packages, which are only available in England and being delivered through charities such as The Prince's Trust.

Those whose business plans are deemed "robust" typically receive £2,500, which can be repaid over five years at a relatively low interest rate.

"Start-Up loans are an important part of my mission to back aspiration, and all those young people who want to work hard and get on in life, so this country competes and thrives in the global race," Mr Cameron said.

He said the scheme was a "great way to help this next generation of entrepreneurs get the financial help - and the confidence - to turn that spark of an idea into a growing, thriving business."

James Caan, panellist of the Dragons' Den BBC show and chairman of the company, said: "There has been a major shift in the way business is viewed by the public, and entrepreneurs are now seen as creative and exciting role models".

He added: "I am delighted to see that more and more young people are now looking to set up their own business."

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Many Benefits Up By 20% Since 2007, Says IDS

Welfare payouts for the jobless have risen almost twice as fast as average salaries over the last five years, according to official figures.

Out-of-work benefits have increased in value by 20% since 2007, compared to a rise of 12% in private sector pay.

Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith said the increases had cost the taxpayer £6.3bn since the start of the recession in 2008.

He claimed that the figures proved automatically increasing the handouts with the rate of inflation is unfair on working people.

Mr Duncan Smith said: "Working people across the country have been tightening their belts after years of pay restraint while at the same watching benefits increase. That is not fair.

"The welfare state under Labour effectively trapped thousands of families into dependency as it made no sense to give up the certainty of a benefit payment in order to go back to work.

"This government is restoring fairness to the system and Universal Credit will ensure it always pays to be in work."

The Government wants to reform the system and impose a 1% cap on most working-age benefits and tax credits for the next three years but Labour are against the move.

Iain Duncan Smith

However, the Opposition has produced its own analysis claiming that Jobseeker's Allowance (JSA) had not risen in line with wages over the past decade.

Shadow work and pensions secretary Liam Byrne said longer-term figures showed JSA had risen by 32% since 2002/3 while average earnings rose 36% over that time.

"Iain Duncan Smith has given the green light to a £14bn cut to tax credits that's pushing millions of working families into poverty and now means thousands of part-time workers are better off on benefits," he said.

"Now he wants to hit working families again with his strivers tax bill. Yet this omnishambles government thinks its right to give an average £107,000 tax cut for 8,000 millionaires," he said.

"This Tory-led government is comprehensively out of touch with the reality of Britain's working families."

Under Chancellor George Osborne's plans, child benefit, housing benefit and Universal Credit will also be capped for two years from 2014/15.

Breaking the link with inflation is predicted to save the Government almost £2.4bn by the 2015 general election and a further £11.8bn in the three years after it.

But critics say it will hit low and middle-income families and increase homelessness and hunger.

The Government is also introducing a new Universal Credit system this year, which will replace most out-of-work handouts and is aimed at making it pay to work.

The scheme will unite tax and benefits in one system and prevent total handouts exceeding the average wage.

The Government claims around three million families - mostly from the bottom of the income scale - will be better off by around £168-a-month under the changes.

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US Fiscal Cliff Averted As Bill Approved

A "fiscal cliff" of massive tax hikes and drastic spending cuts in the US has been avoided at the eleventh hour.

The House of Representatives voted to approve a bill which averts tax increases for the middle classes - and the possibility of sending the country into recession.

The bill - which also stops massive spending cuts - was approved by 257 votes to 167 after being supported earlier by the Senate.

President Barack Obama welcomed the deal and said it was just one step in a broader effort to strengthen the economy.

He said: "Thanks to the votes of Republicans and Democrats in Congress I will sign a law that raises taxes on the wealthiest 2% of Americans while preventing tax hikes that could have sent the economy back into recession."

The vote came just hours before financial markets reopen following the New Year holiday.

Some House Republicans had wanted to amend the bill to incorporate more spending cuts, but they dropped the idea.

In the end, 172 Democrats and 85 Republicans voted in favour of the bill.

It marks a political triumph for President Obama, less than two months after he secured re-election while campaigning for higher taxes on the wealthy.

The legislation cleared the Senate hours after Vice President Joe Biden and Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell, veteran negotiators, sealed a deal.

The spending cuts and drastic tax increases which made up the so-called "fiscal cliff" came into effect at midnight on Monday when George W Bush-era tax cuts expired.

The deadline triggered tax increases of $536bn (£328bn) and spending cuts of $109bn (£67bn) from domestic and military programmes.

The compromise Senate deal extends the tax cuts for Americans earning under $400,000 (£246,000) - up from the $250,000 (£153,000) level Democrats had originally sought.

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Rail Fares: Call For End To Price Increases

How Much Will Your Ticket Cost?

Updated: 2:14am UK, Wednesday 02 January 2013

This is a table of rail fare rises, comparing the price of a 12-month season ticket bought in December with one bought from January 2.

The table does not include the price paid if within-London travelcards are also purchased for Tube and bus journeys in the capital.

Where London is mentioned, this means travel to London terminal stations where travel is allowed by any route option shown by the National Rail Enquiry system, Journey Planner, where the journey can be made using only one ticket.

ROUTE                          DEC 2012  JAN 2013  % RISE

Leeds-Wakefield              £908      £964            6.16%

Bishop's Stortford-London  £3,560    £3,704     4.04%

Portsmouth Harbour-London  £4,480    £4,668  4.19%

Basingstoke-London         £3,800    £3,960       4.21%

Ramsgate-London            £4,640    £4,864     4.82%

Woking-London              £2,780    £2,896        4.17%

Folkestone-London          £4,612    £4,836      4.85%

Reading-London             £3,800    £3,960       4.21%

Sevenoaks-London           £2,980    £3,112    4.43%

Aylesbury-London           £3,520    £3,632      3.18%

Bedford-London             £4,004    £4,172      4.19%

Hastings-London            £4,400    £4,584     4.18%

Canterbury-London          £4,588    £4,812    4.80%

Deal-London                £4,640    £4,864    4.82%

Dover Priory-London        £4,640    £4,864    4.82%

Ludlow-Hereford            £1,892    £1,992    5.28%

Bangor-Llandudno           £1,084    £1,140    5.16%

Morpeth-Newcastle            £960    £1,008    5%

West Malling-London        £3,712    £3,876    4.42%

Guildford-London           £3,092    £3,224    4.27%

Bracknell-London           £3,800    £3,960    4.21%

Braintree-London           £3,960    £4,124    4.14%

Tunbridge Wells-London     £3,968    £4,132    4.13%

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French Court Rejects 75% Tax Rate For Rich

French president Francois Hollande has suffered a fresh setback as the country's highest court threw out his plan to tax the ultra-wealthy at a 75% rate, saying it was unfair.

It had been one of the flagship campaign promises of Mr Hollande's election and the government has vowed to resubmit the measure.

But France's Constitutional Council ruled that the way the highly contentious tax was designed was unconstitutional.

The largely symbolic measure would have only affected a few thousand people who earned over €1m (£818,000) and brought in an estimated €100m to €300m (£82m to £245m).

But it has infuriated high earners in France, prompting some such as actor Gerard Depardieu to flee abroad, and has led to accusations that Mr Hollande is 'anti-business'.

Finance minister Pierre Moscovici said the rejection of the 75% tax and other minor measures could cut up to €500m in forecast tax revenues but would not hurt efforts to slash the public deficit to below a European Union ceiling of 3% of economic output next year.

"The rejected measures represent €300m to €500m. Our deficit-cutting path will not be affected," Mr Moscovici told BFM television.

Socialist President Hollande has his sights set on the super rich

Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said in a statement that the government would resubmit the measure to take the court's concerns into account.

The court's ruling took issue not with the size of the tax, but with the way it discriminated between households depending on how incomes were distributed among its members.

A household with two earners each making just under €1m would be exempt from the tax, while one with one earner making €1.2m would have to pay.

The French government approved the tax in its most recent budget, amid criticism by some that it would do little to stem the country's mounting fiscal problems and would drive away the wealthiest citizens.

In recent weeks, Gerard Depardieu - France's most famous actor - announced his intention to turn in his French passport and move to a village in a tax-friendly Belgium.

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Think Tank Warns Of Sluggish 'Groundhog' 2013

A think tank has warned that 2013 could turn out to be a "groundhog year" with a repeat of sluggish growth and crisis in Europe seen in 2012.

The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) said that consumer and business spirits have been so thoroughly dampened by talk of years of austerity ahead that the economy mail fail to grown again this year.

In a gloomy New Year message, IPPR chief economist Tony Dolphin said the Government "still does not have a path back to growth" and appeared to be pinning hopes on "something just turning up".

The Office for Budget Responsibility's forecast of 1.2% GDP growth in 2013 and 2% in 2014 depend on a "very unlikely" readiness for hard-pressed households to drop the habits of the last four years and take on additional debt, he added.

The IPPR is calling on the Government to boost demand in the economy, pump more investment into infrastructure, establish a British Investment Bank and guarantee a minimum wage job in charity or local government for anyone unemployed for more than a year.

Mr Dolphin said: "Policy-makers appear to have little idea how to boost growth in the economy and are left hoping that the news will get better.

"The risk is that 2013 could be groundhog year for the UK economy.

"The latest forecasts suggest growth in 2013 will be weak, but better than in 2012, and that unemployment will rise.

"The risk is that they are too optimistic about growth, but that - unlike in 2012 - they are right about unemployment."

He added: "How this plays out politically will depend to some extent on what happens to unemployment.

"In 2012, the double-dip recession did less damage to the credibility of Government economic policy than it might have done because employment increased and unemployment fell by more than expected.

"The best way to describe the outlook for the UK economy is 'uncertain'."

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Last-Minute Deal Reached On US Fiscal Cliff

The US Senate has approved legislation aimed at averting the so-called fiscal cliff by stopping most tax hikes and across-the-board spending cuts that were due to begin with the New Year.

The legislation was approved with an overwhelming 89-8 vote, and came well after midnight on New Year's Day.

The House of Representatives must still approve the measure, possibly on Tuesday.

Without the legislation, economists had warned of a possible new recession and spike in unemployment.

The White House-backed legislation would prevent middle-class taxes from rising, and raise rates on incomes over $400,000 for individuals and $450,000 for couples.

It also blocks spending cuts for two months, extends unemployment benefits for the long-term jobless, prevents a 27% cut in fees for doctors who treat Medicare patients and prevents a spike in milk prices.

The deal would allow the White House and lawmakers time to regroup before plunging quickly into a new round of budget brinkmanship certain to revolve around Republican calls to rein in the cost of the Medicare health programme for the elderly and other government benefit programmes.

Vice President Joe Biden after a Senate Democratic caucus meeting on Monday

Officials also decided at the last minute to use the measure to prevent a $900 pay rise for lawmakers due to take effect this spring.

Vice President Joe Biden, who negotiated the deal with Republican Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell, was on Capitol Hill to sell it to Democratic senators.

The tax hikes and spending cuts were due to come into force at midnight. But as global markets are closed for New Year's day, lawmakers have time to vote the deal into law.

The White House and Congressional leaders hope to send legislation to President Barack Obama within a day or two, meaning consumers shouldn't notice any impact.

Mr Obama had originally campaigned for tax hikes to kick in for those making $250,000 and above and his acceptance of a higher threshold has already angered liberals, though still represents a political victory.

The president said the deal would extend tax credits for clean energy firms and also unemployment insurance for two million people.

Both sides are already gearing up for the next legislative showdown over the need to lift the government's statutory borrowing limit of $16.4trn, which was reached on Monday.

The Treasury will now take extraordinary measures to keep the government afloat for an undisclosed period of time until the ceiling is raised. Republicans are already demanding spending cuts in return.

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French Court Rejects 75% Tax Rate For Rich

French president Francois Hollande has suffered a fresh setback as the country's highest court threw out his plan to tax the ultra-wealthy at a 75% rate, saying it was unfair.

It had been one of the flagship campaign promises of Mr Hollande's election and the government has vowed to resubmit the measure.

But France's Constitutional Council ruled that the way the highly contentious tax was designed was unconstitutional.

The largely symbolic measure would have only affected a few thousand people who earned over €1m (£818,000) and brought in an estimated €100m to €300m (£82m to £245m).

But it has infuriated high earners in France, prompting some such as actor Gerard Depardieu to flee abroad, and has led to accusations that Mr Hollande is 'anti-business'.

Finance minister Pierre Moscovici said the rejection of the 75% tax and other minor measures could cut up to €500m in forecast tax revenues but would not hurt efforts to slash the public deficit to below a European Union ceiling of 3% of economic output next year.

"The rejected measures represent €300m to €500m. Our deficit-cutting path will not be affected," Mr Moscovici told BFM television.

Socialist President Hollande has his sights set on the super rich

Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said in a statement that the government would resubmit the measure to take the court's concerns into account.

The court's ruling took issue not with the size of the tax, but with the way it discriminated between households depending on how incomes were distributed among its members.

A household with two earners each making just under €1m would be exempt from the tax, while one with one earner making €1.2m would have to pay.

The French government approved the tax in its most recent budget, amid criticism by some that it would do little to stem the country's mounting fiscal problems and would drive away the wealthiest citizens.

In recent weeks, Gerard Depardieu - France's most famous actor - announced his intention to turn in his French passport and move to a village in a tax-friendly Belgium.

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