BAA owner's shares dive on Heathrow fines fears

Link to the article: The Independent

Shares in Ferrovial, the Spanish construction group that owns BAA, the Heathrow and Stansted airport operator, are under pressure after it emerged that the Coalition will introduce tough fines on underperforming airports.

BAA has come under fire for cancelling flights and even briefly shutting Heathrow airport during the cold snap. The company has been heavily criticised for not having enough de-icer to clear its runways during the crisis. It had stockpiled supplies sufficient for just 10 days.

BAA in war of words with BA as Heathrow disruption continues

Link to the article: The Independent

By Simon Calder, Senior Travel Editor

As 50,000 more travellers saw their Christmas plans wrecked by yesterday's flight cancellations at Heathrow, a war of words broke out between the airport owner, BAA, and its biggest customer. British Airways cancelled 150 flights on the basis of what it says turned out to be misleading guidance from the airport operator about when the second runway would reopen.

And as BAA's chief executive, Colin Matthews, bowed to pressure to forgo his bonus, the airport operator warned that it could deny access to airlines who fail to demonstrate their capacity to cope with a future crisis. But it is understood that BAA's board rubber-stamped a £10m snow investment programme on Tuesday after Mr Matthews acknowledged Heathrow's lack of equipment had been exposed.

Unemployment forecast brings warning for George Osborne

Link to the article: The Guardian

CIPD says pressing on with austerity measures would depress economy and lead to real-term wage cuts

Unemployment was yesterday predicted to rise by 200,000 to 2.7m by the end of 2011, adding to pressure on the chancellor, George Osborne, to delay the most severe cuts in public spending since the second world war.

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) warned in its annual employment barometer that the proportion of people out of work will hit 9% after widespread job losses in both public and private sectors. The human resources managers' professional body said pressing on with austerity measures would depress the economy and force employers to restrict pay rises, leading to a real-term cut in wages during the year.

Meccano toys - now Made in France, again

Link to the article: BBC News

If you have been buying toys for children this Christmas, chances are they were made in China.

But one toy company has decided to buck the trend and to repatriate production back from China to Europe.

And the company is not any old name: the construction kit maker Meccano has been around since the end of the 19th century and is now based in France.

Hugh Schofield reports.

Meccano revives French production

Banks used to have 'a social purpose'

Link to the article: The Today Programme (BBC Radio 4)

The Queen's bank, Coutts & Co, is one of the oldest banks in the world.

Adam Shaw spoke to its chief executive Michael Morley about the role of banks in society.

Vince Cable: I Have Declared War on Mr Murdoch

Link to the article: Channel 4 News

The Coalition has "bent over backwards" to keep Vince Cable in Government despite his comments that he had "declared war on Murdoch" over News Corp's deal to take over BSkyB, writes Gary Gibbon.

BAA boss refuses bonus over snow

Link to the article: BBC News

As thousands of passengers are still camped out at Heathrow, much anger is turning towards the company responsible for running the airport, BAA.

The airport operator has faced criticism ranging from being too slow to get Heathrow back up and running - the snow stopped on Saturday but one of its two runways only reopened on Tuesday evening - to a lack of information to customers, to not enough investment in dealing with snow and ice.

BAA boss denies Heathrow is under-prepared

Link to the article: BBC 5 Live Radio

The Chief Executive of BAA, which operates Heathrow, has refuted allegations that the airport has not invested in enough snow clearing equipment.

Unemployment Rises to 2.5 Million

Link to the article: Channel 4 News

Two and a half million people are now unemployed while the number of young people out of work soars to one of its highest levels in another bad blow to Britain's delicate economy, writes Faisal Islam.


New figures out today show unemployment rose by 35,000 in the third quarter of the year - taking experts by surprise and raising the threat that Britain, like the United States, could be heading into a "jobless recovery".

Almost one in five young people aged 16-24 are now out of work - while more than a million women are now jobless - the highest total for more than 20 years.

Around the country, the worse hit regions were Yorkshire, Northern Ireland and the North East - while the Midlands saw the single biggest rise in unemployment.

Price Rise in Food and Clothes Blamed for Inflation Increase

Link to the article: Channel 4 News

A record surge in food and clothing costs has driven up inflation for November, as Gary Gibbon writes that parts of the government are still looking at the potential for a "double-dip" recession.


The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) went up to 3.3 per cent last month, from 3.2 per cent in October, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The increase was driven by a 1.6 per cent rise in the cost of food and non-alcoholic drinks and a 2 per cent increase in clothing and footwear costs, which are the highest increases for both sectors in an October to November period since records began. The price of furniture and household equipment also rose.

China sets policy to rein in inflation

Link to the article: Financial Times

By Geoff Dyer in Beijing and Patti Waldmeir in Shanghai

China will step up efforts to fight inflation next year after prices rose more than 5 per cent in November, according to a statement released after an annual economic policy meeting in Beijing.

The 5.1 per cent rise in the consumer price index in November was higher than expected, and up from 4.4 per cent in October. It is also well above the government’s 3 per cent inflation target and will increase pressure on the authorities to raise interest rates and further rein in the huge monetary stimulus of the past two years.

What did banks do? It's not clear. What do they pay? They can't say. Why did they fail? It's a secret

Link to the article: The Guardian
The banking collapse is a tale of opacity and confusion. Now even the public report into RBS's collapse is confidential. We need transparency in banking, and we need it now.

By Andrew Clark

Fred the Shred could be at liberty to drive another bank into oblivion. Sir Fred Goodwin, the former boss of Royal Bank of Scotland, has escaped any regulatory penalty over the near collapse of the once mighty Caledonian institution. To universal frustration, the nation's financial watchdog won't tell us why.

Editor-At-Large: If women have it all now, they can thank my generation

Link to the article: The Independent

By Janet Street-Porter

Last week, the long struggle for equal pay reached a historic turning point. The latest statistics show that, on average, a woman in her twenties will earn 2.1 per cent more than a man of the same age. It's taken so long, and so much hard work.

Proof that a business based on happiness can change the world

Link to the article: The Independent

Twenty years ago, a young entrepreneur set up a travel company that aimed to do far more than turn a profit. Despite the recent recession, it's never been more successful. Mary Novakovich meets its founder.

Bruce Poon Tip was already on his fourth business when he launched Gap Adventures 20 years ago at the age of 23, with the help of two credit cards and some savings.

The Canadian's entrepreneurial streak first showed itself in his paper round as a 12-year-old, before he started to breed rabbits a year later. "It wasn't just breeding rabbits. You make it sound so cheap," he says in a mock-wounded tone. "I imported the first set of Dutch dwarf rabbits into Canada. I sold only the females and offered stud services for the males. I knew people would breed their own males eventually. Until then, I controlled the product."

Sean O'Grady: Population rise gives India the edge over one-child China

Link to the article: The Independent

One of the more disturbing realities facing the nation this festive season is that the cuts aren't just for Christmas – they're for life.

Face it. Your local library will never reopen; VAT will stick at 20 per cent for ages; higher tuition fees are here to stay. Indeed, I would guess that they could quite conceivably go beyond £9,000 a year, in a second coalition, or Conservative, term equipped with a bigger parliamentary majority.

Complete marketisation of fees might not be practicable, on the grounds, for example that the nation would be left with no doctors if it cost students hundreds of thousands to train. But there is plenty of room for the more rewarding courses (in salary terms) to grow still more expensive. Before any students get ready to push unpleasant parcels through my letterbox, I must stress that I'm not advocating this policy, merely pointing it out. Sadly, even if the parties promise to cap them at that level, who would believe them? Short of the NUS fielding its own candidates in student strongholds, I don't know how they could be guaranteed as reliable allies in Parliament. Even then, it would need young people to remember to register to vote. Pretty hopeless, really.

Ten dead as H1N1 flu returns to Britain

Link to the article: Reuters

(Reuters) - The H1N1 swine flu virus which swept the globe last year has returned to Britain with 10 people dying in the last six weeks, health officials said on Saturday.

Case Study 3: How Pernod Ricard has tackled the challenge of gathering and using data from over 70 subsidiaries around the world

Link to the podcast: FT

Case study 3: How Pernod Ricard has tackled the challenge of gathering and using data from over 70 subsidiaries around the world.

Logistical leaps help small companies go global

Link to the article: BBC News

Even a decade ago, it would be difficult to imagine eating fresh camel-milk chocolates in other parts of the world

Making expensive chocolates in the middle of the Arabian Desert seems foolhardy enough.

But how do you get them from there to the rest of the world without delivering a sticky mess?

Al Nassma Chocolate is based in Dubai, and makes its luxury sweets from the milk of camels, which are of course found only in some of the hottest places on Earth.

"Most of the demand for chocolate is from Europe, Asia and the US, so we are challenged getting our products to the consumer," says Martin van Almsick, general manager at Al Nassma.

"Our biggest challenge is just getting the chocolates from the factory to the airport, when the temperature is at 50C (122F)."

And these include delicate hollow chocolate camels, which are extremely difficult to transport.

But, using light aluminium packaging and layered ice-packs made by a German firm and a dedicated route to the runway devised by the shipping giant UPS, it is being done.

UPS guarantees Al Nassma that its chocolates will arrive almost anywhere in the world in perfect condition in 48 hours.

Pizza Express: come here often?

Link to the article: Reuters Video

Dec. 10 - UK restaurant chain Pizza Express has engaged a communications expert to teach staff the art of seductive conversation.Hayley Platt reports.

The Scotsman newspaper sales dip to new low

Link to the article: BBC News

Sales of The Scotsman newspaper have slipped to their lowest level in modern times, according to the latest figures.

The Scotsman's sales figure in November was 42,829 - slightly worse than the previous low in July, which is always a bad month for newspaper sales.

Its Glasgow rival, The Herald, recorded sales last month of 52,736 - its second worst figure in recent decades.

As recently as January 2007, The Herald sold 72,000 copies while The Scotsman sold more than 60,000.

The figures - provided by industry body ABC - chronicle the continuing circulation difficulties facing most Scottish and UK national newspapers.

While the Herald and Scotsman have seen their sales drop close to record lows, there will be some relief that there was only a small drop between October and November.

But the story was different at The Herald's sister title the Sunday Herald.

Its sales fell from 42,289 in October to 41,464 in November - possibly in response to a price rise from £1 to £1.30.

Wikileaks and Shell Oil

Link to the article: The Guardian

WikiLeaks: The oil giant Shell claimed it had inserted staff into all the main ministries of the Nigerian government, giving it access to politicians' every move in the oil-rich Niger Delta, according to a leaked US diplomatic cable.

Mulberry

Link to the article: The Guardian

And Mulberry's luxury leather handbags are in big demand around the world, as the company increasingly becomes a global brand. During the six months to the end of September, it opened new stores in Hong Kong, Korea, Qatar and UAE

Hershey

Link to the article: The Guardian

And there was good news for British fans of Hershey's Kisses. The US confectionery giant is launching a sales drive to put its chocolates into the hands of more European consumers

Renault F1 team to be renamed Lotus Renault GP in 2011

Link to the 'full' article: BBC Sport


The Renault car company has sold its remaining shares in the eponymous Formula 1 team, which will be renamed Lotus Renault in 2011.

Renault was left with a 25% shareholding in the team in 2010 after selling the remainder to private investment group Genii Capital.

Those shares have been sold to Genii and will be then taken by Lotus Cars, which is owned by Proton.

The move means there will be two F1 teams in 2011 with Lotus in their name.

The team that competed as Lotus Racing in 2010 will be renamed Team Lotus after buying the historic rights to the name under which Lotus raced from the 1960s until collapsing with financial difficulties in 1994.
Team Lotus boss Tony Fernandes, the owner of the Air Asia airline, is in dispute with Proton over the rights to use the Lotus name in F1.

The cars produced by Lotus Renault will still be called Renaults - changing that would need the permission of all the other F1 teams.

Cloud computing 'could give EU 763bn-euro boost'

Link to the article: BBC News

Widespread adoption of cloud computing could give the top five EU economies a 763bn-euro (£645bn; $1tn) boost over five years, a report has said.

The CEBR said it could also create 2.4m jobs. The technology gives software and computing power on demand over the net.

But experts warn that cloud computing can be very disruptive to business, and companies could end up "disillusioned".

"Nothing kills a new technology better than a poor user experience," said Damian Saunders of Citrix.

The report, by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR), was commissioned by EMC, a data storage and IT solutions firm that provides cloud computing services. The company is just one of many pushing into the sector, all saying that 2011 will be the year of the cloud, when the technology will find mainstream adoption.

When a company uses cloud computing, it does not build all IT infrastructure by itself. Instead, it rents storage, computing power or software services from other companies. The services are accessed via the internet, which in network diagrams is shown as a cloud, hence the name.

Manufacturing the dream: Game changing new production

Link to the video: BBC News

Dream maker: New manufacturing techniques make designing products like the Glif, above, an accessible reality

At one time or another many of us have had a great idea for a product. So good, we can see it clearly in our heads.

Topshop Protests Over Sir Philip Green's Taxes

Link to the article: Channel 4 News

Demonstrators have taken part in UK-wide protests over Topshop boss Sir Philip Green's tax affairs. They allege that he avoided paying hundreds of millions of pounds.

Protesters forced Topshop's main UK store to close its doors today during a demonstration against alleged tax avoidance by big businesses.

The action is focusing on the shop's owner, and government adviser, Sir Philip Green. The group claims Sir Philip deliberately tried to avoid paying hundreds of millions of pounds of UK tax by channelling £1.2 billion worth of funds from his Arcadia retail empire into an offshore vehicle registered to his wife in Monaco.

The Brighton branch of Topshop, where demonstrators have glued their hands to the windows, was also been forced to close. Protests are also taking place in Glasgow, Leeds, Bristol, Liverpool, Manchester and Nottingham. There have been further unscheduled demos at Vodafone shops.

One campaigner in London said: "I am a peaceful protester. A woman was being thrown out of the store and I objected so I was picked up by two private security men.

Tata Nano car sales sink by 85%

Link to the article: BBC News

Sales of Tata Motors' Nano, the world's cheapest car, plunged by 85% in November compared with a year earlier, the Indian carmaker has said.

It blamed the slump on the difficulty potential customers had in accessing loans to buy the car.

However, analysts pointed out that a series of fires in the Nano, as well as price rises, had also affected sales.

Tata said its total sales across all models in November were 54,622, a rise of 1% on a year earlier.

The carmaker also said that sales of its Jaguar Land Rover-branded models "continued their upward trend".