Petrol Price Cuts Demanded By Treasury

A failure by petrol firms and supermarkets to pass on the full benefit of falling oil prices to customers filling up at the pumps would be an "outrage", a Cabinet Minister has warned.

Treasury Chief Secretary Danny Alexander has demanded guarantees from fuel companies and distributors that they were doing all they could to pass on the price cuts to hard-pressed motorists.

Danny Alexander is seeking assurances on petrol prices

His comments came as Asda announced it would be cutting the price of petrol and diesel by 1p to 119.7pm and 123.7p a litre.

Asda said it was the first time its petrol had gone under 120p a litre in four years.

Video: Chancellor On Petrol Prices

It triggered a supermarket price war and Sainsbury's and Tescos quickly followed suit with 1p cuts of their own.

At a speech in Aberdeen, Mr Alexander said consumers felt petrol prices rise "like a rocket" when oil costs went up, but fall "like a feather" when they came down.

And he said people would "rightly be angry" if they felt prices were not coming down as much as they should.

Brent crude slumped as low as $82 (£51) a barrel earlier this week, its lowest level in just over four years due to concerns about over-supply.

The Liberal Democrat frontbencher will say: "Especially in the current economic circumstances people would rightly be angry if they feel that pump prices don't fall as much as they should on the back of falling oil prices."

However, investigations into the failure to pass on the fall in the price of oil has been inconclusive.

Video: 'We Still Pay Too Much For Fuel'

Mr Alexander has written to the industry's major players "seeking their assurance that they are doing all they can to pass on the benefit of falling oil prices as quickly as possible".

He said: "When the price of oil falls, the public have a right to expect pump prices to fall like a stone, not a feather."

Motoring organisations were quick to say there was more then Government could do that just put pressure on oil firms.

RAC Foundation director Professor Stephen Glaister said: "It is encouraging that Mr Alexander shares the concerns of the nation's drivers but in a way he is passing the buck.

"The biggest driver of pump prices remains the Government. Well over 60% of the price is tax."

AA president Edmund King said: "They themselves could do more.

Video: Cuts: A Loss Leader Or Real Deal?

"First, policies to help strengthen the pound by just 10 cents against the dollar would double the potential for a 2p-a-litre fall in the price of petrol to 4p.

"Secondly, the Government's failure to introduce fuel price transparency, showing the relationship between oil, wholesale and pump prices, has helped no one."

Shadow chief secretary to the Treasury Chris Leslie said: "Of course it's right that drivers should benefit from falling oil prices with lower prices at the pumps.

"But since 2011 people have paid 3p more on every litre of petrol because the Lib Dems broke their promise and backed the Tories in raising VAT."

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Box Office Magic For Disney As Profits Surge

Walt Disney's movie releases have been credited with driving a surge in profits during the entertainment firm's fourth quarter.

The success of animated tale "Frozen" and Marvel movie "Guardians of the Galaxy" helped revenue surpass expectations, rising 7% to $12.39bn, ahead of market expectations.

Profits for the period rose 8% to $1.5bn with merchandise sales from "Frozen" - the biggest-grossing animation - aiding the performance.

Disney chief executive Bob Iger told an analyst call following the release of the results that the company's movie and TV offerings were helping it compete in a "new golden age for content."

The Disney Studios business has had a string of hits that is likely to continue with the first of its new "Star Wars" movies launching next year, titled "The Force Awakens."

Disney has released five Marvel franchise movies

The company also announced Thursday that Toy Story 4 will hit cinemas in 2017, directed by John Lasseter, who created the blockbuster franchise and directed the first two movies.

Mr Iger said the five Marvel movies that Disney has released since acquiring the brand in 2009 have averaged $1bn in global box office receipts.

Disney Studios had the strongest results among the media company's divisions, with revenue climbing 18% to $1.78bn.

Revenue from media and cable networks rose 5% while parks and resorts enjoyed growth of 7% to $4bn.

Disney's market value, which has almost doubled in two years, fell back slightly from a record high after the results were posted.

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PM To Warn EU Leaders Over £1.7bn Demand

By Darren McCaffrey, Sky News Politics Reporter

The scale and timetable of Britain's proposed £1.7bn extra contribution to the European Union is unacceptable, both David Cameron and George Osborne will tell EU leaders today.

The Chancellor, who is attending a meeting of Economic and Financial Affairs Council (ECOFIN) ministers in Brussels, will start negotiations with the intention of delaying and reducing what the UK should pay.

Meanwhile, Mr Cameron, at a meeting of northern European leaders in Helsinki, is trying to gain support for Britain's position with the message that it is the UK this time - but could be another country next.

The meeting is part of a two-day summit of Scandinavian and Baltic state leaders called the Northern Future Forum.

The primary aim is to promote growth and economic reform throughout Europe, but Downing Street is clear the Prime Minister will be raising other issues such as budget control and migration.

Video: PM: £1.7bn EU Surcharge 'Appalling'

Mr Cameron's hopes of winning allies in his attempt to curb internal migration within the EU have been met with strong resistance from other European leaders, including hosts Finland.

Finnish leader Alexander Stubb told the Financial Times: "We need to understand what the UK wants, and the UK needs to learn where are the limits of other member states.

"Whether some kind of arrangement can be found, I don't know.

Video: PM Defiant Over £1.7bn EU Bill

"But to start putting restrictions on free movement in one way or another I would find quite difficult."

Sweden and Germany's opposition to migration reform have made the Prime Minister's task very difficult.

But Mr Osborne may have more success with the surcharge.

Video: EC Chief: £1.7bn UK Surcharge Fair

There are suggestions Brussels may be willing to allow interest-free instalments rather than the UK having to pay the full amount on 1 December.

The Labour Party has piled on the pressure, with Ed Balls and Douglas Alexander saying "the Government must have all eyes on the detail of the deal being discussed, not looking back over their shoulders at the Eurosceptic backbenchers who still seem to be pulling the strings".

A programme of instalments will not go far enough for the UK, but could be the start of a process allowing for an acceptable agreement that Mr Cameron can sell to his party and the country.

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Morrisons Sales Slump 6.3% In Third Quarter

Morrisons has reported another big fall in sales as the supermarket sector scraps for market share amid a challenge from discounters.

The grocer posted a 6.3% drop in like-for-like sales in its third quarter - a figure that hit 8% when the effects of fuel sales were included.

Morrisons said it had previously announced that it would take time for its pricing initiatives to bear fruit.

However the group, which trails market leader Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury's in annual sales, said it remained confident in its full
year 2014-15 profit outlook.

It now expects underlying profit before tax to be in the narrower range of £335m-£365m versus previous guidance of £325m-£375m.

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Petrol Price Guarantees Demanded By Treasury

A failure by petrol firms and supermarkets to pass on the full benefit of falling oil prices to customers filling up at the pumps would be an "outrage", a Cabinet Minister will warn.

Treasury Chief Secretary Danny Alexander is to demand guarantees from fuel companies and distributors that they are doing all they can to pass on the price cuts to hard-pressed motorists.

Danny Alexander is seeking assurances on petrol prices

Mr Alexander will use a speech in Aberdeen to say consumers feel petrol prices rise "like a rocket" when oil costs go up, but fall "like a feather" when they come down.

And people would "rightly be angry" if they felt prices were not coming down as much as they should.

Video: 'We Still Pay Too Much For Fuel'

Brent crude slumped as low as $82 (£51) a barrel earlier this week, its lowest level in just over four years due to concerns about over-supply.

The Liberal Democrat frontbencher will say: "Especially in the current economic circumstances people would rightly be angry if they feel that pump prices don't fall as much as they should on the back of falling oil prices.

"I believe it's called the rocket and feather effect.

"The public have a suspicion that when the price of oil rises, pump prices go up like a rocket.

"But when the price of oil falls, pump prices drift down like a feather.

"This has been investigated before and no conclusive evidence was found.

Video: Cuts: A Loss Leader Or Real Deal?

"But even if there were a suspicion it could be true this time it would be an outrage."

Mr Alexander promises to write to the industry's major players "seeking their assurance that they are doing all they can to pass on the benefit of falling oil prices as quickly as possible".

He will say: "When the price of oil falls, the public have a right to expect pump prices to fall like a stone, not a feather."

Pointing to the Treasury's fuel duty freeze, Mr Alexander will say: "I have made sure over the last four years that Government has helped with the cost of fuel.

"And when the oil price falls, industry must do all it can to help too."

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Banking Industry Competition Probe Ordered

Regulators have ordered a full market inquiry into banks over fears the dominance of the largest lenders is stifling competition.

The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said its investigation would scrutinise the personal current account and small business  retail banking sectors.

Sky News reported on Tuesday night how major banks had called off their efforts to stall the inquiry.

The UK's four largest banks, Lloyds, RBS, Barclays, and HSBC collectively supply 77% of personal current accounts in the UK - a market worth £8bn.

The 'Big Four' also control about 85% of all small and medium-sized business accounts, an industry worth another £2bn.

Video: 'Retail Banking Isn't Working'

The CMA said there has been "very little movement" in their collective market share as the level of customers shopping around and switching current accounts is "low".

It blamed limited transparency in the sector.

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Credit Threat To Child Maintenance Dodgers

Parents who refuse to pay child maintenance face being turned down for credit cards and mortgages.

Under government plans, details of those who default on contributions towards their child's upbringing will be shared with credit reference agencies, threatening their credit score.

Having a weak credit rating can mean people are refused forms of financial credit such as personal loans, mortgages, credit cards, hire purchase finance arrangements and mobile phone contracts.

Even if someone is not turned down for credit, a blotted history could mean that they are given a smaller credit limit or charged a worse rate of interest.

Information about non-payment of child maintenance could be shared with credit reference agencies at the point where a liability order is made against a parent.

These are granted after an application is made to a court for legal recognition of a debt.

Just under 1.5 million child maintenance cases are being overseen by the Child Maintenance Service and the Child Support Agency and in the majority of cases, parents who no longer live in the family home do contribute towards their child's upbringing.

Between April 2013 and March 2014, 12,410 liability orders were granted.

The new powers, which are subject to parliamentary approval, will also mean that parents with a good payment record can ask that this information is shared if they feel that it could boost their ability to get credit.

Child Maintenance Minister Steve Webb said: "For too long, a minority of absent parents have got away with failing to pay maintenance, leaving families without that financial support.

"This Government is determined to take action to tackle this kind of irresponsible behaviour and support families.

"I would hope that we see this power used very little, because the deterrent effect of a possible negative mark on a person's credit rating will convince those who have previously failed to pay towards their children's upbringing to do the right thing."

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Juncker Says PM Misleading On £1.7bn EU Bill

The new European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker has accused David Cameron and his Italian counterpart of misleading their citizens over budget talks with Brussels.

He claims what the Prime Minister said publicly about the EU demand for £1.7bn contradicted what was said to other leaders behind closed doors at last month's summit.

Mr Cameron has refused to pay the bill, making clear he believed the call for extra cash and ensuing row undermined support for British membership of the EU.

The increase would add almost a fifth to the UK's annual contribution of £8.6bn.

Brussels responded by warning the UK would face "late payment fines" if it failed to hand over the cash - which reflects changes in the relative national income of different EU states - by the December 1 deadline.

Video: Oct 27: EU Demand 'Not Acceptable'

Referring to the October meeting, Mr Juncker told a European Parliament hearing: "I don't like the way that certain prime ministers behaved after the summit.

"I took notes and when I compared what they had said inside the room with what they said outside, they did not tally up."

His comments are set to further sour relations with Mr Cameron, who bitterly opposed Mr Juncker's appointment as commission boss.

France is the biggest gainer from the recalculation of national contributions to EU budgets, and is due to receive one billion euro (£800m), while EU partners including the Netherlands, Italy, and even bailed-out Greece and Ireland face surcharges.

Mr Juncker also took a sideswipe at the Italian leader Matteo Renzi, who vowed at the summit to make public the cost of European Union "palaces" in a row over Italy's budget projections, earning a sharp rebuke from then-Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso.

"I said to Matteo Renzi that I was not the leader of some gang of bureaucrats," Mr Juncker said.

Video: EU Demand: Should UK Pay More?

"I am the president of the European Commission, a political institution, and I want prime ministers to respect these institutions."

He also suggested Rome was lucky to scrape through an initial review by Brussels of its 2015 budget despite running an excessive deficit.

He said: "If Barroso only listened to bureaucrats, Italy's budget would have been treated differently."

Mr Renzi took to Twitter to hitback at Mr Juncker, demanding respect from Brussels for his country.

He said: "I'm not going to go to Brussels to have what needs to be done explained to me, and I told Barroso and Junker that."

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EU Migrants Pay In More Than They Take - Study

EU migrants contribute more to the UK in taxes than they receive in benefits and services, according to new research.

But the study showed those arriving from outside Europe over a 17-year period took more from the public purse than they put back in.

The findings come as David Cameron moves to tighten the UK's immigration controls in the face of the growing popularity of UKIP.

The Prime Minister is aware of the need to calm Tory jitters ahead of this month's crunch by-election in Rochester and Strood, where the party is desperate to prevent a second seat falling to UKIP.

The University College London (UCL) report revealed European immigrants made a positive financial contribution of £4.4bn to the UK between 1995 and 2011.

Video: Report: Migrants Boost UK Economy

However, immigrants from outside the European Economic Area (EEA) made a negative contribution of £118bn.

Over the same period, UK-born workers made a negative contribution of £591bn.

The figures improved for more recent arrivals with EU migrants between 2001-11 making a positive contribution of £20bn, and those from outside Europe £5bn.

Professor Christian Dustmann, director of UCL's Centre for Research and Analysis of Migration (Cream) and co-author of the study, said: "A key concern in the public debate on migration is whether immigrants contribute their fair share to the tax and welfare systems.

"Our new analysis draws a positive picture of the overall fiscal contribution made by recent immigrant cohorts, particularly of immigrants arriving from the EU."

He added: "European immigrants, particularly, both from the new accession countries and the rest of the European Union, make the most substantial contributions.

"This is mainly down to their higher average labour market participation compared with natives and their lower receipt of welfare benefits."

Responding to the report, chairman of the MigrationWatch UK think tank Sir Andrew Green said: "This report confirms that immigration as a whole has cost up to £150bn in the last 17 years.

"As for recent European migrants, even on their own figures - which we dispute - their contribution to the exchequer amounts to less than £1 a week per head of our population."

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Long-Term Shift Work Ages Brain, Study Finds

Working shifts long-term has an ageing effect on the brain impairing the ability to think and remember, according to research.

A study found changing shift patterns "chronically impairs cognition", and even had potential safety implications.

The scientists, who included British researchers from the University of Swansea, said the problems increased with the length of time people worked shifts.

After 10 years of rotating shift work the association became "highly significant".

A decade or more working rotating shifts led to a loss of brain function equivalent to 6.5 years of age-related mental decline, said the researchers.

And while stopping shift work led to gradual recovery, this took at least five years.

The scientists believe disruption of the body clock, which is based on natural day and night cycles, may cause stresses that may affect brain functioning.

Other studies have linked vitamin D deficiency due to reduced exposure to sunlight to poorer mental ability.

Writing in the journal Occupational and Environmental Medicine, the international team led by Dr Jean-Claude Marquie, from the University of Toulouse, France, concluded: "Shift work chronically impairs cognition, with potentially important safety consequences not only for the individuals concerned, but also for society."

The scientists assessed more than 3,000 workers from southern France who had their mental abilities tested on three occasions over a 10-year period.

Those taking part were aged 32, 42, 52 and 62 at the time of the first test in 1996.

Around a fifth had worked a shift pattern that switched between mornings, afternoons and nights.

Shift workers had lower average scores for memory, processing speed and overall brain function than those working normal office hours.

Compared with people who had never worked rotating shifts, participants employed this way for 10 or more years had lower overall thinking and memory scores.

The researchers said: "Measures should be considered that mitigate the impact that prolonged exposure to shift work has on cognitive abilities, including switching to normal day work."

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