The German economy and a 'Sputnik' moment for British jobs

On my way from Frankfurt to Davos, driving around the Alps. And ringing in my ears is the sound of British economic existentialism. What exactly is the point of the British economy? Clearly yesterday’s awful GDP figure is a starting point, and the snow-capped mountains are a vivid reminder of that horror.

Link to the article: Channel 4 News

What is the Plan B for the UK economy..?

David Cameron insists he won't change course on the UK economy despite a shock contraction but do we need a "Plan B" to boost growth? Cathy Newman reports as two economists debate for Channel 4 News.

Link to the article: Channel 4 News

Bank of England Chief warns of 'choppy' economic recovery

Bank of England boss Mervyn King warns that grim GDP figures serve as a stark reminder of Britain's "choppy" economic recovery and says Britons should expect "uncomfortably high" levels of inflation.

Link to the article: Channel 4 News

UK economy shrinks by an unexpected 0.5 percent

The economic recovery of the UK suffers a blow, with a shock contraction of 0.5 per cent in the last three months of 2010. It means a double-dip recession is on the cards, says Faisal Islam.

Link to the article: Channel 4 News

Impartiality over Prime Minister and BSkyB Deal

The Prime Minister's private dinner with News Corporation executives raises questions over his impartiality in the light of News Corp's attempt to take over BSkyB, one MP tells Channel 4 News.

Link to the article: Channel 4 News

The Labour MP, Tom Watson, demanded to know whether Prime Minister David Cameron would be holding any meetings with Rupert Murdoch, the head of News Corporation, on his visit to the UK over the next few days.

Mr Watson told Channel 4 News that "deep questions" over impartiality had been raised by the news revealed in the Independent, that Mr Cameron and his wife dined privately with Mr Murdoch's son and chairman of News Corp in Europe and Asia, James Murdoch, as well as News International Chief Executive Rebekah Brooks and her husband, over Christmas.

Inflation Rises to 3.7 per cent

The rising cost of fuel and food caused inflation to hit 3.7 per cent in December, up from 3.3 per cent in November. As Faisal Islam reports, this could lead to a rise in interest rates.

Link to the article: Channel 4 News



The Consumer Price Index tracks everyday costs like petrol, utility bills, food and air fares and is used by the Government to measure inflation. The rise in December to 3.7 per cent was the biggest month on month rise since 1996.The only sign of a fall in living costs came in the clothing sector, where the bad weather put pressure on retailers to offer competitive prices.

The rise was partly driven by domestic pressures, as a cold winter damaged vegetable crops, leading to a 1.6 per cent increase in the cost of food. Gas price rises added to the cost of household services, which rose by 1.4 per cent.

But global influences played a large part. Droughts and fires around the world, including in Russia, led to a shortage of bread and grains. Experts are also pointing to an impact from US monetary policy, which has been encouraging risky investment in commodities.

Inflation rises to 3.7 percent

The rising cost of fuel and food caused inflation to hit 3.7 per cent in December, up from 3.3 per cent in November. As Faisal Islam reports, this could lead to a rise in interest rates.

Link to the article: Channel 4 News

Apple shares fall as Steve Jobs suffers fresh health scare

Apple share price falls as CEO Steve Jobs takes a medical leave of absence - but the software giant is on too much of a roll to suffer long-term damage, a market expert tells Channel 4 News.

Link to the article: Channel4 News

Russian firm to take stake in BP

State-owned Russian oil giant Rosneft has taken a 5 per cent stake in BP, in the first major deal for BP since the Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster, as Siobhan Kennedy writes.

Link to the article: Channel 4 News



Earlier in the day, the oil giant BP confirmed it was in discussions with Rosneft regarding a "possible arrangement".

But underscoring the deal's significance, the company's chief executive Bob Dubley held a press conference at BP's headquarters in London at 9pm on Friday to announce the deal.

The deal basically involves the two companies swapping shares in each other. Rosneft will now have a 5 per cent stake in BP, which it has swapped for approximately 9.5 per cent of Rosneft's shares. The aggregate value of the shares in BP to be issued to Rosneft is approximately $7.8bn.

Petrol price rise will 'slow economy'

Petrol prices are predicted to reach an average of 136p a litre by Easter. One transport group tells Channel 4 News that rising prices at the pumps risk slowing down the economy at difficult time.

Link to the article: Channel 4 News

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.