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Friday 17 May 2013

UK Financial News on 2013-05-17

Morrisons agrees deal with Ocado
Morrisons, the UK's fourth largest supermarket chain, says it will launch online shopping by January 2014 after agreeing a tie-up with Ocado......

Europe car sales break losing streak
Car sales across Europe rose in April for the first time in 18 months, helped by strong demand in the UK and by the early Easter break......

Public sector pensions face big hit
Four million public sector employees will see a dramatic reduction in the overall value of their pension schemes, a new report claims......

Ofcom: 'Too many' nuisance calls
UK households are receiving too many nuisance calls, according to the telecoms regulator, Ofcom......

Lloyds shares hit break-even point
Lloyds Banking Group's share price passes 61.2p in morning trading, the break-even point for the government's investment in the group......

Jockey Club hits its bond target
The Jockey Club hits its 15m Racecourse Bond target and extends the application window until 28 May......

Spain reports monthly trade surplus
Spain records its first monthly trade surplus in more than 40 years as demand for imports dries up......

Turkish bonds yield at record low
Turkish bond yields have hit new lows as investors greeted Moody's increase in the country's credit rating to investment grade......

Dell posts 79% fall in profits
Dell reports a 79% fall in quarterly profits to $130m (85m) amid falling computer sales and a takeover battle......

Hayward appointed Glencore chairman
Glencore Xstrata shareholders vote to appoint Tony Hayward, BP's former chief executive, as interim chairman to replace Sir John Bond......

China's Sina Corp sees loss narrow
Sina, which runs China's biggest micro-blogging site, sees losses narrow in the first three months of the year as revenues rise......

MPs challenge Google over UK tax
The internet giant Google has been challenged by MPs over the way it reports its income for tax......

RBS to cut a further 1,400 jobs
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is to cut a further 1,400 jobs from its retail banking head office over the next two years......

Economic benefits of HS2 questioned
The HS2 rail project has an estimated 3.3bn funding gap and the benefits for the economy are "unclear", the National Audit Office says......

BP asks Cameron to curb US leak cost
BP appeals to Prime Minister David Cameron to intervene over the escalating compensation costs of the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster......

HMRC wins Goldman Sachs court case
HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has won its case in the High Court, where it had been accused of illegally letting investment bank Goldman Sachs off part of its tax bill......

Man lists 12,000 call menu options
An IT manager who grew frustrated with call centre menus has catalogued shortcuts to thousands of phone services.....

Fuel poverty gap widens
The UK's so-called "fuel poverty gap" is widening, although the total number in fuel poverty has fallen, according to a government report......

Eurozone and US inflation falls
Inflation in both the 17-strong eurozone bloc and the US falls to its lowest level in years......

Wal-Mart and Asda see profits rise
The world's biggest retailer Wal-Mart, which owns the UK chain Asda, says profits in the three months to April nudged higher......

Honda to supply 2015 McLaren engines
Japanese car manufacturer Honda will return to Formula 1 in 2015 as engine suppliers to the McLaren team......

Currys and PC World see rising sales
Dixons Retail, the owner of Currys and PC World, reports growth in sales in the last 12 months......

Dravid 'shock' over cricket arrests
India batsman Rahul Dravid is shocked after three of his Rajasthan Royals IPL stars are arrested over spot-fixing claims......

Olympic venue's future secured
More than 4,500 jobs are to be created as the final venue to be permanently based in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park has its future secured......

Blatter questions summer World Cup
Fifa president Sepp Blatter believes it is "not rational" to play the 2022 World Cup in the summer heat of Qatar......

VIDEO: Inside the human robot factory
Roboticist Will Jackson of Engineered Arts gives a tour of his robot factory in Cornwall, and talks about recent developments in the industry......

VIDEO: Hughs review: Is the economy turning?
Hugh Pym and guests discuss the Bank of England's optimistic forecasts on growth and inflation.....

VIDEO: Europe on road to more austere measures?
Europe's GDP shrank by 0.2% in the first three months of this year as politicians debate whether to carry on with austerity plans or to change course......

VIDEO: Morrisons announces deal with Ocado
Morrisons has agreed a deal with internet grocer Ocado as it prepares to offer shoppers the option to buy good online......

VIDEO: Mega-ships head for shipping firm
Danish shipping firm Maersk Line is taking delivery of 20 of the world's largest ships, despite posting a drop in earnings......

VIDEO: WTO trade talks 'must go on'
India's commerce minister says that the latest round of global trade talks must go on - a collapse would be "disastrous" for the world economy......

VIDEO: Keeping a step ahead of cyber criminals
The threat to business from cyber attacks is increasing, with hackers becoming far more sophisticated. How can companies keep one step ahead of the cyber criminals?.....

VIDEO: European week in 60 seconds
The political week in Europe is reviewed in 60 seconds by David Thompson who looks back over the headlines from London, Strasbourg and Brussels, including the EU budget, fishing numbers, alleged price fixing in the oil market, and European staff set .....

The great credit card takeaway
Fraudsters con people into handing over their plastic.....

Turkey booms but where are the Brits?
But are British firms making the most of the opportunity?.....

Europe's outlook: Cheer or jeer?
Should we cheer or jeer at Europe's prospects?.....

Running a business Q&A
Send us questions on building a new business from old tech.....

Quantifying the benefits of HS2
How will HS2 produce 48.2bn in benefits to society?.....

Global brand who remained the genuine article
Global icon who became a byword for marketability.....

Bringing Lebanon's designers online
Selling online where internet speeds are painfully slow.....

Tunisia Viewpoint
An apology to Rached Ghannouchi.....

Newsmaker: Jim Rogers on Japan, Korea and shorting JPMorgan
May 17- Investor Jim Rogers gives his take on where the Nikkei will go, what a united Korea means and why JPM boss Dimon didn't creating his company......

Newsmaker: Japan, get ready for a united Korea - Rogers
May 17 - Korea will unite in five years and challenge Japan's economic might according to Jim Rogers, CEO, Rogers Holdings......

U.S. Week Ahead: Jamie Dimon would be mad to leave JPM
Breakingviews' Antony Currie......

Newsmaker: Jim Rogers betting against JPMorgan
Investor Jim Rogers is betting against JPM through the options market. He says having a separate CEO and Chairman is probably a better way of running the company......

NEWSMAKER: No reason why Nikkei couldn't double - Rogers
May 17 - Japans markets are massively under-invested according to Jim Rogers, CEO of Rogers Holdings......

Daily Digit: Zuckerberg's $5.8 bln cut
May 17 - Mark Zuckerberg has lost $5.8 billion in value on his Facebook stock since the worlds leading social network went public just about a year ago. Conway G. Gittens reports......

Techquity: Yahoo could tumble with Tumblr, Tim Cook vs. IRS
Breakingviews Columnist Rob Cyran gives his take on Yahoo's reported interest in buying Tumblr and Apple CEO Tim Cook's scheduled appearance before Congress on tax issues......

MuniLand: Detroit Chp. 9 possible in 12-16 months-investor
May 17 - Director of Northern Trust's Municipal Fixed Income unit, Tim McGregor says a bankruptcy filing could be in Detroit's future in the next 12 to 16 months......

Breakingviews: Bank boss bingo
May 17 - Breakingviews editors namecheck Wells Fargo's John Stumpf, who is venturing onto the anti-regulation soapbox, and Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan, who faces a potentially contentious annual meeting......

Dermal fillers - a cosmetic surgery crisis in waiting?
May 17 -As the trial of the makers of PIP breast implants comes to a close in France, cosmetic surgeons in Britain warn that dermal fillers are the latest cause for concern, due to Europe's relatively loose regulation. As Joanna Partridge reports, pl.....

Trading at Noon: A look at tech IPO's on FB's anniversary
May 17 - A look at tech IPO's that debuted alongside Facebook in 2012 & which IPO will make the biggest splash this year......

Europe car registrations: IG N1TE
May 17 - Europe's ailing car market returns to growth after 18 straight months of declines, helping to boost shares in the bloc's biggest carmakers......

Hayward's corporate comeback
May 17 - A profile of former BP boss Tony Hayward, whose corporate rehabilition seems complete with his new role as interim chairman of Glencore Xstrata......

Glencore post completes the corporate rehabilitation of Tony Hayward
He was once described as the most hated man in the United States, but the corporate rehabilitation of former BP boss Tony Hayward appears complete, after he was appointed as interim chairman of commodities giant Glencore Xstrata. Andrew Potter report.....

Europe Day Ahead: Draghi makes a bee-line for London
May 17 - A look ahead to next weeks key events including Mario Draghis return to London, the latest euro zone flash PMI data, plus fashion forward numbers from Burberry and M&S......

Hackers who "wreaked havoc" at Sony jailed in UK
May 17 - Four are men sentenced to jail for a hacking spree that caused millions of dollars of damage. Tom Dinham reports......

U.S. Morning Call: New JCP CEO to face shareholders
May 17 - J.C. Penney CEO Mike Ullman heads to the company's headquarters in Texas for its annual meeting......

Market Pulse: "Buy dollars, wear diamonds"; Turkey sizzles
May 17 - You name it, the US dollar is rising against it. But upcoming comments from Fed chief Bernanke will be critical. And after a sovereign rating upgrade to investment-grade status, Turkish assets sizzle......

Reuters Breakingviews: Hollande gets serious on Europe - at last
May 17 - French President Francois Hollande's plan for a centralised euro zone 'economic government' may be premature, but it has legs argues Breakingviews......

Aureus Mining on Liberia expansion
May 17 - The CEO of what's set to become Liberia's first commercial gold producer - Aureus Mining - examines the prospects and challenges of operating.....

Reuters Today: Top Stories and Analysis
May 17 - A look at the early action in the European markets and the day's hot stocks, as well as a final wrap-up of Asia trading......

Daily Digit: European car sales rise
May 17 - Europe's ailing car market returned to growth after 18 straight months of declines with two extra sales day compared to last year and a 15 percent boom in the UK helped new car registrations rise by 1.8 percent in April to 1.08 million. Hayl.....

KFC smugglers deliver fast food the hard way
May 17 - KFC meals are being ordered from Egypt and delivered via smuggling tunnels to the besieged Gaza Strip. Lily Grimes reports......

NEWSMAKER: Larry Summers on challenges to the economy
' Chrystia Freeland discuss global economic growth, the future of higher education and whether you should get a law degree......

Fed officials in slugfest over stimulus
May 16 - The fight over whether to keep buying bonds or curtail purchases heats up as Federal Reserve officials speak out and inflation drops out of sight. Fred Katayama reports......

FirstGroup chairman Martin Gilbert set to resign amid 600m rights issue
The long-serving chairman of the FirstGroup transport business, Martin Gilbert, is set to resign next week and the company launch a 600m rights issue.<img width='1' height='1' src='http://telegraph.feedsportal.com/c/32726/f/568300/s/2c12db40/mf.gi.....

Oil price manipulation 'could have driven up food and household goods prices' as well as petrol
Families could have been paying too much for food and household goods if companies are found to have fixed the oil price, the Government says.<img width='1' height='1' src='http://telegraph.feedsportal.com/c/32726/f/568300/s/2c12db45/mf.gif' borde.....

Morrisons signs deal with Ocado to launch online service
The chief executive of Wm Morrison has defended the supermarket's 216m deal with Ocado for an online groceries delivery service amid the threat of legal action by rival Waitrose.<img width='1' height='1' src='http://telegraph.feedsportal.com/c/327.....

Blue-chips secure 6,700 mark
The FTSE 100 ended the week at the highest level since October 2007.<img width='1' height='1' src='http://telegraph.feedsportal.com/c/32726/f/568300/s/2c124f0e/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'><tr>&l.....

Forget three runways, Heathrow needs four
Airport chief executive's submission to the Davies Commission only tells half the story.<img width='1' height='1' src='http://telegraph.feedsportal.com/c/32726/f/568300/s/2c124f10/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border.....

Morrisons signs Ocado deal: 'From a standing start we go straight into the fast lane'
The deal between Wm Morrisons and Ocado to launch an online business creates perhaps the most unlikely alliance in the City - the Bradford grocer and the Goldman Sachs whizz kids.<img width='1' height='1' src='http://telegraph.feedsportal.com/c/32.....

ENRC bid deadline extended after miner rejects offer
The trio of ENRC founding shareholders has been given more time to improve their offer for the miner by the Takeover Panel after the board rejected a proposed offer.<img width='1' height='1' src='http://telegraph.feedsportal.com/c/32726/f/568300/s.....

FTSE 100 in striking distance of 1999 peak
The FTSE 100, which closed at 6723 points on Friday, was a whisker higher than the level it hit in 2007.<img width='1' height='1' src='http://telegraph.feedsportal.com/c/32726/f/568300/s/2c113feb/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'>.....

Global growth could accelerate, but China's fortunes hold the key
In the last three decades, the world economy has grown by a remarkably similar rate.<img width='1' height='1' src='http://telegraph.feedsportal.com/c/32726/f/568300/s/2c113ff4/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'.....

Tougher EU bonus curbs to snare more bankers - PwC
Tougher European Union curbs on bonuses will snare far more bankers than current pay limits, with banks having little time to prepare for the change, consultancy PwC said on Friday.<img width='1' height='1' src='http://telegraph.feedsportal.com/c/.....

Business news and markets: as it happened - Friday, May 17
German economist and ECB board member Joerg Asmussen warns the eurozone powerhouse risks becoming the "sick man of Europe" if it does not implement widespread reforms.<img width='1' height='1' src='http://telegraph.feedsportal.com/c/32726/f/568300.....

Court settles estranged hedge fund couple's IP battle
The founder of one of Europe's biggest hedge funds has won her three-year battle against her estranged husband over ownership of the software that made them both multi-millionaires.<img width='1' height='1' src='http://telegraph.feedsportal.com/c/.....

Business news and markets: live
German economist and ECB board member Joerg Asmussen warns the eurozone powerhouse risks becoming the "sick man of Europe" if it does not implement widespread reforms.<img width='1' height='1' src='http://telegraph.feedsportal.com/c/32726/f/568300.....

Demand for fixed mortgages hits all-time high
Borrowers have rushed to fixed-rate mortgages in unprecedented numbers in recent months, industry figures show. Andrew Oxlade explains why.<img width='1' height='1' src='http://telegraph.feedsportal.com/c/32726/f/568300/s/2c0f95d9/mf.gif' border='.....

Britain puts brake on slide in European car sales
An acceleration last month in British car helped to put the brakes on Europe's 18 straight months of sliding sales.<img width='1' height='1' src='http://telegraph.feedsportal.com/c/32726/f/568300/s/2c0f95da/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf.....

How to stop nuisance calls and junk mail
As it emerges that we receive on average two unwanted sales calls a week, we explain how to cross yourself off the "suckers list".<img width='1' height='1' src='http://telegraph.feedsportal.com/c/32726/f/568300/s/2c0f8f97/mf.gif' border='0'/>&l.....

Apple chief Tim Cook urges 'simplification' of US tax law
Tim Cook, the boss of Apple, is to call for a "dramatic simplification" of America's tax laws, in a move that could have a dramatic effect on the valuations of UK companies.<img width='1' height='1' src='http://telegraph.feedsportal.com/c/32726/f/.....

BoE policymaker Martin Weale douses hopes of monetary stimulus when Mark Carney arrives
A top Bank of England policymaker has doused hopes that the incoming Governor Mark Carney will be able to give the economy a boost following his arrival in July.<img width='1' height='1' src='http://telegraph.feedsportal.com/c/32726/f/568300/s/2c0.....

BoE policymaker Martin Weale douses hopes of monetary stimulus
A top Bank of England policymaker has doused hopes that the incoming Governor Mark Carney will be able to give the economy a boost following his arrival in July.<img width='1' height='1' src='http://telegraph.feedsportal.com/c/32726/f/568300/s/2c0.....

Financial Times hacked by Syrian Electronic Army
The Financial Times website and multiple Twitter accounts belonging to the news organisation were hacked today, the company confirmed, apparently by hacker group the Syrian Electronic Army.<img width='1' height='1' src='http://telegraph.feedsporta.....

MPs to recall Amazon for grilling over tax
Internet retailer Amazon is to be recalled to give evidence to MPs about how its activities in the UK justify its low corporate income tax bill.<img width='1' height='1' src='http://telegraph.feedsportal.com/c/32726/f/568300/s/2c0d0240/mf.gif' bor.....

PPI claims firms make up half of nuisance calls
Consumers receive on average two unsolicited phone calls a week, prompted regulator to take action against claims management companies.<img width='1' height='1' src='http://telegraph.feedsportal.com/c/32726/f/568300/s/2c0c9327/mf.gif' border='0'/&.....

Rupert Murdoch warns Facebook faces same fate as MySpace
Rupert Murdoch has taken to Twitter to compare Facebook with troubled peer MySpace.<img width='1' height='1' src='http://telegraph.feedsportal.com/c/32726/f/568300/s/2c0c89a7/mf.gif' border='0'/><div class='mf-viral'><table border='0'&.....

Lloyds share rise above 'break-even' price
Share in Lloyds Banking Group have this morning traded above the state's "break-even" price, increasing the likelihood of a sale of some of the taxpayer's 39pc stake in the lender.<img width='1' height='1' src='http://telegraph.feedsportal.com/c/3.....

Yahoo in talks with Tumblr - report
Yahoo! has had talks with blog site Tumblr regarding a possible $1bn takeover, according to tech news website AllThingsD.<img width='1' height='1' src='http://telegraph.feedsportal.com/c/32726/f/568300/s/2c0c89a2/mf.gif' border='0'/><div cla.....