RBS Sued In £150m Pre-Crash Advice Battle

Royal Bank of Scotland and a leading rating agency are being sued for £150m over so-called toxic products in the global financial crash.

Sixteen European institutional investors have launched legal action against Standard and Poor's (S&P), and the UK taxpayer-backed RBS, over losses stemming from 2007 and 2008.

"We have created a foundation in the Netherlands and it has filed a claim in the district court in Amsterdam," the executive director of Bentham IMF, John Walker, said.

Bentham IMF is a litigation finance company providing investment capital to plaintiffs for large disputes in the United States and abroad.

S&P told Sky News it would defend the legal action

A court official in the Dutch capital confirmed the filing, saying "proceedings are under way in this regard".

The investors from Austria, France, Germany and Switzerland want the damages over financial products which collapsed during the crisis.

Approached by Sky News, RBS - which is 81% owned by taxpayers - declined to comment on the dispute.

S&P told Sky News: "This claim has no merit and we will oppose it vigorously.

"The ratings on these securities, which date back to 2005-6, were assigned in good faith based on the information available to us at the time."

The complex products, known as constant proportion debt obligations (CPDOs), were created in 2006 and given a top AAA credit rating by S&P's before their value crashed, Mr Walker said.

RBS became involved in a hostile takeover bid of the Dutch ABN Amro

He previously estimated that CPDO notes worth up to €2bn (£1.67bn) were issued in Europe in the three years before the collapse.

They were issued by a branch of the Netherlands' third-biggest bank ABN Amro - which in itself was later taken over by the RBS.

Mr Walker alleged that S&P's used a model created by ABN Amro to evaluate the CPDOs.

"What we are saying is that Standard & Poor's is guilty of negligence and intentional misconduct by allocating triple-A ratings, the highest, to these products," he said.

"Without the rating, investors would not have bought the product, one of the material causes for the crisis," Mr Walker said.

Fred Goodwin was the RBS boss who headed the ABN takeover

Betham IMF filed the claim in the Netherlands as ABN Amro was based there and because Dutch procedures were "cheaper and faster" than in Britain, where RBS is based.

An S&P spokesman told Sky News: "In May this year, we filed an action in the London courts challenging the jurisdiction of the Netherlands in any such claim and that action has now been served on the Dutch claimant.

"S&P has never had a presence in the Netherlands and its CPDO ratings were assigned in the UK."

Betham IMF won a world-first lawsuit against the ratings agency last year on behalf of 13 Australian towns that lost US$16.5m (£10m) on synthetic CPDO derivatives.

It was the first time a ratings agency had stood trial over the complex derivatives, whose collapse was seen as a major cause of the 2008 global meltdown.

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US Jobless Rate At Lowest For Five Years

The unemployment rate in the United States dropped to 7% in November, the lowest figure for five years.

The sharp drop in the rate, from 7.3% in October, was unexpected and raised the odds that the Federal Reserve could soon begin moving away from its huge stimulus plan.

Meanwhile, the number of non-farm jobs in November went up by a net total of 203,000, which beat analysts' expectations.

The strengthening job market is likely to fuel speculation that the Federal Reserve may scale back its bond purchases when it meets later this month.

The economy has now generated an average of 204,000 jobs from August through November. That is up from 159,000 a month from April through July.

Many of the November job gains were in higher-paying industries. Manufacturers added 27,000 positions, the most since March 2012. Construction firms gained 17,000. The two industries have created a combined 113,000 jobs in the past four months.

Another month of robust hiring follows other positive economic news.

The economy expanded at an annual rate of 3.6% in the July-September quarter, the fastest growth since early 2012, the government said.

Still, nearly half that gain came from businesses building their stockpiles. Consumer spending grew at the slowest pace since late 2009.

Greater hiring could support healthier spending as job growth has a dominant influence over much of the economy.

If hiring continues at the current pace, a virtuous cycle starts to build. More jobs usually lead to higher wages, more spending and faster growth.

Roughly half the jobs that were added in the six months through October were in four low-wage industries - retail, hotels, restaurants and entertainment, temp jobs and home health care workers.

The Fed has pegged its stimulus efforts to the unemployment rate and chairman Ben Bernanke has said the Fed will ease its monthly purchases of $85bn (£51bn) in bonds once hiring has improved consistently.

The bond purchases have kept long-term interest rates low.

The recent economic upturn has been surprising. Many economists expected the government shutdown in October to hobble growth, yet the economy motored along without much interruption.

Early reports on holiday shopping have been disappointing.

The National Retail Federation said sales during the Thanksgiving weekend - probably the most important stretch for retailers - fell for the first time since the group began keeping track in 2006.

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NatWest Website Hit By A 'Surge Attack'

The NatWest personal banking website has been hit by a cyber attack in the wake of its IT woes earlier this week, Sky News has confirmed.

Some customers trying to log on to the website found it impossible to enter the site.

NatWest, which is owned by the Royal Bank of Scotland Group, said there had been a deliberate swamping of its site.

An RBS spokesperson told Sky News: "Due to a surge in internet traffic deliberately directed at the NatWest website, customers experienced difficulties accessing some of our customer web sites today.

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

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

The bank stressed that the problems on Thursday night and Friday were not connected with its banking blackout which began on Cyber Monday - the biggest online retail day of the year - and stretched into Tuesday.

Some technical problems continued until Wednesday and thousands of customers who were unable to use the banks' websites or card services vented their fury online.

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

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

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience we caused our customers. We know we have to do better.

"I will be outlining plans in the New Year for making RBS the bank that our customers and the UK need it to be.

"This will include an outline of where we intend to invest for the future."

As well as this week's problems, a glitch in May left RBS and NatWest customers using mobile apps unable to access their accounts online.

That followed a major fiasco in June last year which saw payments go awry, wages appear to go missing and home purchases and holidays interrupted - and cost the group £175m in compensation.

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

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Autumn Statement: The Key Points At A Glance

The main measures and forecasts as outlined by the Chancellor George Osborne in his Autumn Statement:

ECONOMY

:: Aim is "To fix the roof while the sun is shining" rather than spend beyond our means.

:: "We will not let up in dealing with our country's debts."

:: OBR expects national debt to be 75.5% of GDP this year, £18bn lower than forecast.

:: OBR says 2013/14 borrowing forecast is revised down to £111bn - £9bn less than expected.

:: OBR forecasts underlying measure of deficit revised down to 6.8% this year, no deficit by 2018/19.

:: OBR forecasts 7.6% jobless rate in 2013, falling to 7% in 2015.

:: Doubling export finance capacity to £50bn.

:: Britain is currently growing faster than any other major world economy.

:: OBR GDP growth forecast for 2014 rises to 2.2% from 1.8%.

:: Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) more than doubles forecast for GDP growth in 2013 to 1.4% from 0.6%.

:: Pays tribute to "the sacrifice and endeavour of the British people."

:: "Britain's economic plan is working but the job is not done."

TAX

:: New £1,000 transferable tax allowance for married couples from April. Allowance to be uprated.

:: Levy on bank balance sheets to rise to 0.156% - to raise £2.7bn in 2014/15.

:: Capital Gains Tax to be paid by foreign sellers of UK homes from April 2015.

:: Tax and fraud measures to raise £9bn over five years.

WELFARE

:: Increase in state pension age to 68 in mid 2030s and 69 in late 2040s.

:: State Pension to rise by £2.95 a week from April.

JOBS

:: To promote youth employment, National Insurance contributions removed for workers aged under 21.

TRANSPORT

:: Plans to increase train fares by 1% above inflation from January cancelled, so they go up in line with inflation.

:: Fuel Duty rise cancelled for next year.

ENERGY

:: Green levies on energy bills rolled back by average £50 per household.

BUSINESS

:: To help improve shop vacancy rates in town centres, discount in business rates for small retailers in England.

:: Extending small business rate relief. Rate rises capped at 2% from April.

EDUCATION

:: 30,000 more student places next year with cap abolished in 2015 - Higher education investment funded by sale of old student loan book.

:: 18 to 21-year olds required to undertake training or lose benefits.

:: Free school meals for all children in reception, year one and year two.

HOUSING MARKET

:: OBR forecasts house prices 3.1% lower in 2018 than 2007 peak.

:: Bank of England has power to take action to ensure a functioning, stable housing market.

:: £1bn of loans to unlock large housing developments outside London.

SPENDING

:: £100m more of Libor fines to be made available to Armed Forces and emergency service charities.

:: Government's contingency reserve reduced by £1bn this year and departmental budgets by similar amount in the next two years, saving £3bn - NHS, schools and security services exempted.

:: Whitehall spending cut by £1bn over next two years.

:: To cap total welfare spending from next year though state pension excluded.

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Autumn Statement: 'The Plan Is Working'

Chancellor George Osborne has told the country "Britain's economic plan is working but the job is not done".

Making his Autumn Statement, Mr Osborne delivered good news for the economy with a freeze in fuel duty as well as help for young people seeking work and for small businesses.

Mr Osborne announced revised figures that doubled growth forecasts for this year. Borrowing is down to just £2,500 for every household, he said, and the country's debt was £18bn lower than forecast in March.

But he warned of "more difficult decisions", setting the tone for a statement that would contain little respite from the tough austerity measures of previous years.

 "The hard work of the British people is paying off and we will not squander their efforts," he said.

Mr Osborne said Britain was growing faster than any other major economy as he announced that the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) had more than doubled its growth forecast for this year from 0.6% to 1.4%.

Mr Osborne and chief secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander

He said that instead of forecasting growth of 1.8% for 2014 they were now predicting 2.5% and, similarly, the forecasts for growth for the next four years had been increased.

However, he stressed that the country could not stop fighting for its recovery as a reassessment by the Office for National Statistics showed that the 2008/9 recession had been worse than thought - with £112bn wiped off the British economy. 

The statement had been so widely trailed that it contained few surprises. Mr Osborne outlined a number of smaller measures to target the cost-of-living crisis but concentrated on a continued and strong recovery.

Key measures included:

:: Pensions to be increased by £2.95 a week from April - with state pension age raised to 68 by the mid 2030s.

:: The 2p rise in fuel duty next year is cancelled.

:: £1,000 off bills for all small high street retailers in an attempt to revitalise town centres.

:: £50 off annual energy bills by rolling back green levies.

:: Tax breaks worth £200 for married couples who will be able to transfer personal allowances.

:: A new capital gains tax for foreign investors aimed at preventing a property bubble in London and the South-East.

:: £375bn of planned public and private investments in infrastructure projects to 2030 and beyond.

:: Free school meals for children up to the age of seven.

:: Job seekers aged 18 to 21 without basic maths or English to be forced to agree to training or lose benefits.

:: A 2% cap on business rates and an extension of the rate relief scheme for small businesses

:: Employer national insurance contributions for under 21s removed

:: An extra 20,000 higher apprenticeships to be offered in 2014/15

:: £11m space technology centre named after "God particle" scientist Peter Higgs to be built in Edinburgh. 

Ed Balls responds to the Autumn Statement

Mr Osborne announced that while the NHS would be protected from spending cuts, welfare spending would be capped.

He said: "Welfare budgets were completely out of control when we came to office and the number of households where no-one had ever worked nearly doubled.

"We have taken very difficult decisions to bring benefit bills down - and saved £19bn a year for the taxpayer. We need to maintain that discipline."

Mr Osborne also said that the budget of Britain's spies would be protected amid public disquiet over the reach of the intelligence services.

Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls accused Mr Osborne of being "out of touch" and said he had done nothing to improve living standards.

He said "living standards are not rising, they are falling year after year, after year", and pointed out that working people were £1,600-a-year worse off now than they were when the coalition came to power in 2010.

Reaction to Mr Osborne's statement was mixed, while small business groups welcomed many of the measures others said little had been done to help households struggling with debt.

Mark Serwotka, leader of the Public and Commercial Services union, said: "This is not an economic plan, it's austerity for austerity's sake, as the Tories - propped up by the Lib Dems - look to reshape our society for years to come and make the poor, sick and unemployed pay for the greed and recklessness of wealthy elites."

However, John Allan, chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, said: "The statement is a sobering reminder about the scale of the deficit the country faces and the tough choices which need to be made. We therefore welcome the use of what spare resources the Chancellor could find to focus tax cuts on encouraging firms to take on younger workers, which must be an overriding priority."

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Qantas Sinks To 'Junk' Status In Airline War

The credit standing of embattled Australian airline Qantas has been downgraded by a leading rating agency to "junk" status.

Standard & Poor's reassessment of the world's second oldest airline comes after the carrier issued a shock profit warning and slashed jobs on Thursday

Qantas revealed a half-year loss of £165m and said it would axe 1,000 jobs as it struggles under the weight of record fuel costs, fierce competition from subsidised rivals, and a strong Australian dollar.

In response, S&P cut the airline's rating from BBB-, the lowest investment grade, to BB+ and placed it on a credit watch with negative implications.

Qantas shares closed 3.74% lower on Friday, having lost more than 10% on Thursday.

At one point on Thursday its share price dropped more than 17%.

The BB+ rating puts Qantas in what is known as "junk" status among professional investors, increasing the cost of financing for the carrier and restricting access for investors that do not put their money in lower rated companies.

"The downgrades reflect our view that intense competition in the airline industry has weakened Qantas' business risk profile to 'fair' from 'satisfactory', and financial risk profile to 'significant' from 'intermediate'," S&P said.

"We don't expect Qantas to recover to a credit profile commensurate with a 'BBB-' rating in the near term."

The move comes after another ratings agency, Moody's, on Thursday put the airline's investment-grade Baa rating on review for a potential downgrade, saying the forecast conditions were "outside the rating expectation".

Industrial action has hit passengers in recent years

Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce said the challenges facing the airline were "immense" and "urgent" action was needed.

"Since the global financial crisis, Qantas has confronted a fiercely difficult operating environment - including the strong Australian dollar and record jet fuel costs, which have exacerbated Qantas' high cost base," he said.

"The Australian international market is the toughest anywhere in the world."

As well as axing 1,000 jobs, Mr Joyce said he would take a 38% pay cut while the airline would conduct a review of spending with top suppliers and put in place a salary and bonus freeze.

The airline claims domestic rival Virgin Australia, which is majority-owned by state-backed Singapore Airlines, Air New Zealand and Etihad, is waging a campaign to weaken it in the lucrative domestic market with cheap seats underwritten by foreign cash injections.

Mr Joyce has been lobbying the government for the easing of restrictions that limit foreign ownership in the national carrier to 49 percent, or state intervention to shore up Qantas.

But Prime Minister Tony Abbott said government help was unlikely and said: "If we subsidise Qantas, why not subsidise everyone?"

Qantas - originally an acronym for Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services - was founded in 1920 by two Australian former First World War pilots.

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Autumn Statement: Longer Wait For Pensions

By Sophy Ridge, Political Correspondent

People will have to work until they are 68 years old before receiving a state pension from the mid 2030s, in a move that will raise around £400bn for the Treasury.

Chancellor George Osborne will also announce the age will rise to 69 in the 2040s in his Autumn Statement.

The changes will affect people currently aged 49 or younger.

A Government source said: "This is part of the Government's long-term plan to secure a responsible recovery.

"It is a difficult decision to make sure there is a fair deal across future generations and that the country can live within its means.

"It will help make sure the country can offer people decent pensions in their old age in a way that with increasing life expectancy the country can also afford."

Currently the state pension age is due to rise to 68 from 2046 and to 69 in the late 2040s.

The news - released by the Treasury ahead of the Autumn Statement - is intended to show the Government is determined to keep making tough decisions to drive down the deficit despite improving economic figures.

Most government departments also face a 1% cut in their budgets for the next three years, which will save £1bn a year.

Health, schools, international aid, local government, HMRC and the security services will be exempt because their budgets are protected.

In an interview with Sky News, Prime Minister David Cameron said: "The truth is you're not really delivering a higher level of standards and actions on the cost of living unless you secure a long-term growth and success of the British economy.

"From that everything else will follow.

"But should we at the same time try to help families with their budgets? Yes of course we should."

The Autumn Statement's good news is likely to be focused around the cost of living, to counter Ed Miliband's pledge to freeze energy bills for 20 months.

Labour argues most people are not benefiting from the improving economy because of rising prices and stagnating wages.

The Chancellor will also announce a £50 cut in the average energy bill and free school meals for every child under seven years old.

Firms will see a business rates capped at 2%, while the Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander has confirmed £375bn of planned public and private investment in infrastructure.

For the first time since becoming Chancellor, Mr Osborne is expected to announce more positive economic figures to show growth is returning.

:: Watch live coverage of the Autumn Statement throughout Thursday on Sky News on Sky 501, Virgin Media 602, Freesat 202, Freeview 82, Skynews.com and Sky News for iPad.

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The Autumn Statement: What's Expected?

Longer Wait For Pensions Revealed

Updated: 7:02am UK, Thursday 05 December 2013

By Sophy Ridge, Political Correspondent

People will have to work until they are 68 years old before receiving a state pension from the mid 2030s, in a move that will raise around £400bn for the Treasury.

Chancellor George Osborne will also announce the age will rise to 69 in the 2040s in his Autumn Statement.

The changes will affect people currently aged 49 or younger.

A Government source said: "This is part of the Government's long-term plan to secure a responsible recovery.

"It is a difficult decision to make sure there is a fair deal across future generations and that the country can live within its means.

"It will help make sure the country can offer people decent pensions in their old age in a way that with increasing life expectancy the country can also afford."

Currently the state pension age is due to rise to 68 from 2046 and to 69 in the late 2040s.

The news - released by the Treasury ahead of the Autumn Statement - is intended to show the Government is determined to keep making tough decisions to drive down the deficit despite improving economic figures.

Most government departments also face a 1% cut in their budgets for the next three years, which will save £1bn a year.

Health, schools, international aid, local government, HMRC and the security services will be exempt because their budgets are protected.

In an interview with Sky News, Prime Minister David Cameron said: "The truth is you're not really delivering a higher level of standards and actions on the cost of living unless you secure a long-term growth and success of the British economy.

"From that everything else will follow.

"But should we at the same time try to help families with their budgets? Yes of course we should."

The Autumn Statement's good news is likely to be focused around the cost of living, to counter Ed Miliband's pledge to freeze energy bills for 20 months.

Labour argues most people are not benefiting from the improving economy because of rising prices and stagnating wages.

The Chancellor will also announce a £50 cut in the average energy bill and free school meals for every child under seven years old.

Firms will see a business rates capped at 2%, while the Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander has confirmed £375bn of planned public and private investment in infrastructure.

For the first time since becoming Chancellor, Mr Osborne is expected to announce more positive economic figures to show growth is returning.

:: Watch live coverage of the Autumn Statement throughout Thursday on Sky News on Sky 501, Virgin Media 602, Freesat 202, Freeview 82, Skynews.com and Sky News for iPad.

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Blockbuster To Shut With 1,200 Job Losses

The movie and games rental chain Blockbuster is to be closed down by the year's end with the loss of 1,200 jobs, Sky sources say.

The development will be a bitter but hardly surprising blow to the staff as store numbers were slowly cut by administrators Moorfields Corporate Recovery in the weeks after the retailer's collapse following the failure of a turnaround plan.

It is understood no buyer has been found for the remaining 153 shops and 62 of them will be shut in the next few days with the loss of 427 posts.

The other 91 stores are set to close by the end of the year, resulting in the remaining 808 jobs being axed.

An official statement is expected later on Thursday.

Last month the chain's owner, Gordon Brothers, said the plan to transform the retailer's fortunes had failed amid the consumer trend towards online movie rentals and on-demand TV.

Blockbuster was also hit hard by intense competition from supermarkets and online DVD sales.

The devastating impact of web-based sales on Britain's high streets has been laid bare in the past year by the demise of camera chain Jessops and electricals group Comet, which also cited competition from online players as a major reason for their declines.

Jessops was later reborn under the control of entrepreneur Peter Jones of TV Dragons' Den fame.

More follows...

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Eurostar: Government's 40% Stake Up For Sale

The Government is to sell its 40% stake in Eurostar as part of a plan to privatise £20bn of financial and corporate assets by 2020.

The announcement is contained in the new national infrastructure plan (NIP) which sets out over £375bn of planned public and private investments to 2030 and beyond.

The plans include a new target for selling off financial assets, doubling the amount from £10bn to £20bn including shareholding in the cross-channel train operator.

It comes just weeks after ministers were criticised for undervaluing the Royal Mail before its flotation.

Ministers have been given a boost by major insurers, who have announced plans to invest £25bn in UK infrastructure projects over the next five years.

Danny Alexander will announce the plans

Last month Eurostar revealed it had seen an increase in revenues and passenger numbers compared with last summer.

Sales revenue for the period July-September 2013 reached £207m - a 10% increase on the same period last year - and passenger numbers in summer 2013 rose 5% to 2.7 million.

The planned infrastructure investment has increased from £309bn last year to more than £375bn, with 291 of the 646 projects and programmes already under construction.

The decision by insurers Legal and General, Prudential, Aviva, Standard Life, Friends Life and Scottish Widows to invest in infrastructure follows changes in European rules pushed for by the UK which incentivise investment in a wider range of assets.

Treasury Chief Secretary Danny Alexander will unveil the NIP alongside Commercial Secretary and former London Olympics chief Lord Deighton.

Mr Alexander will say the announcement is a "massive vote of confidence in the UK economy".

"It supports the wider £100bn public investment to rebuild Britain over the next seven years that I announced at the Spending Round 2013. Underground, overground, onshore, offshore, wired or wireless, tarmac or train track. You name it, we're building it right now.

"This is great news for the people of the UK because after years of neglect, the UK's energy, road, rail, flood defence, communications and water infrastructure needs renewal."

Shadow chief secretary to the Treasury Chris Leslie said: "Scheme after scheme has been announced to great fanfare, but then little actually delivered.

"Yet another announcement from ministers about possible future investment will do little to reassure business that warm words will finally translate into diggers in the ground."

Other measures being announced include:

:: The scrapping of plans to create the UK's first toll road for a decade. Motorists will not be charged to use the A14 between Cambridge and Huntingdon once the improvement scheme, due to start in 2016, is completed.

:: A further £50m will be allocated to redevelop the railway station at Gatwick Airport.

:: A Government guarantee could support finance for the development of a new nuclear power station at Wylfa on Anglesey.

:: The £1bn Northern Line extension to Battersea in southwest London will also be guaranteed by the Government.

:: Watch live coverage of the Autumn Statement throughout Thursday on Sky News HD

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