Wet February Wipes £270m From Building Sector

Woolly weather in February caused a sharp decline in UK construction, wiping more than a quarter of a billion pounds from the sector.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said output fell to £5.8bn, down 2.8% from January.

Output is defined as the amount charged by construction companies to customers for value of work in the period, excluding VAT and payments to sub-contractors.

It said new work dropped to 2.6% - equivalent to £160m - while the repair and maintenance sub-sector fell by 3.1% to £110m.

The ONS said: "While most private indicators of construction activity picked up throughout 2013 and 2014, a number were seen to temporarily depart from this trend in February 2014.

"Many also cited adverse weather conditions as the primary reason for lower activity levels, especially in the house building sector."

The ONS said the February dip caused construction to stay virtually flat over the quarter.

It said between December and February, the total sector grew by only 0.3%, compared to the September to November period.

The small amount of growth over the three-month winter period was due to a 1% increase in new construction work.

During the same period repair and maintenance decreased by 0.8%, despite a slight rise of 0.3% in work for public housing.

It said the level of construction was an eighth below the best monthly peak, which was recorded in June 2011 at £6.6bn.

Construction in the housing industry was particularly affected in February because of the weather.

It fell 6.3% on January's figure and was the biggest monthly drop since March last year, when below average temperatures and snow hit the country.

But overall, while public housing was down, private new housing was up 15.3% compared to February last year.

The ONS said damage to property in February caused by storms, wind and flooding is yet to be recorded in monthly data and is expected to be reflected when March's figures are released.

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Co-op Bank In Record £1.3bn Annual Loss

The struggling Co-operative Bank has reported a pre-tax annual loss of £1.3bn and said it would not return to profit for at least two years.

The bank also confirmed it would not make £4.97m deferred annual bonuses to its former bosses.

Chief executive Niall Booker said an overhaul plan known as the liability management exercise (LME) had "kept the bank alive".

Taking into account a profit made by the LME, it said the loss was reduced to £586m for the year ending December 31.

Mr Booker said: "The results today reflect the magnitude of the issues that have come to light since I jointed the Co-operative Bank ten months ago.

"It is early days but initial progress on our business plan is encouraging and we remain enthusiastic about the long-term potential for the bank."

The embattled parent mutual, the Co-operative Group, lost overall control of its banking arm to US hedge funds in December as part of its rescue plan. It now holds a 30% stake.

The Co-operative Group consists of a number of divisions

The £1.5bn funding 'black hole' was added to in March when it revealed a further £400m gap, forcing it to seek further investor funds.

The institution, which continues to market itself as having "ethical principles", said it cut assets last year by £2.1bn and reduced staff levels by 14% - around 1,000 employees.

It said it would try to restore its capital position, and refocus attention on being a bank for householders and small to medium-sized businesses.

Part of the plan includes reducing its product range, along with improving digital and branch-based banking services.

Although former executives would miss out on deferred bonuses, Mr Booker is to receive a £1.2m salary and benefits package and £1.7m bonus - dependant on the bank's future performance.

A further £1.2m is part of a long-term incentive plan that is payable over three years.

The bank's annual results were published on Friday after two earlier delays to the release.

The parent Co-op Group, which is expected to report an even larger loss later this month, also continues to struggle to find its way in an increasingly competitive environment.

 Earlier this week the former City minister, Lord Myners, quit the board amid opposition to his planned reforms of the business.

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House Prices To Soar Amid Property Shortage

Housing sales have reached their highest level for six year, fuelling fears that many buyers will be priced out of the market.

Surveyors sold an average of 23 homes during the three months to March - the highest number since February 2008, according to the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics).

All areas except Wales, where the level was unchanged, saw a rise in interest from buyers.

But while buying activity is rising in more regions, the expected "spring bounce", which sees more people put homes up for sale, has not happened, Rics said.

The mismatch between the lack of supply and rising demand is a "major concern" and is continuing to put an upward pressure on prices, the surveyors' body said.

Simon Rubinsohn, Rics chief economist, said: "Now that the housing market recovery is well and truly under way and mortgage finance is more readily available, buyers seem to be looking to test the market right across the country, not just in the usual hotspots of the South East.

"That said, it is a major concern that we are not seeing enough houses coming on to the market.

More homes are needed in areas where people want to buy

"For the market to operate effectively, we desperately need more homes in areas where people want to buy and want to live.

"Until this happens we're likely to see prices continue to increase and it is going to be ever harder for many first-time buyers to conceive of ever owning their own home."

Prices are expected to rise by around 9.3% a year in London, which would push average property prices in the capital to over #567,000 by 2020.

While in the North prices are set to increase by 2% annually, which would see average house prices there increase to just under £132,000 by 2020.

In Wales, it is predicted house prices will rise by 4.9% annually and in Scotland a 4% rise is predicted.

Government support schemes such as Help to Buy have made mortgages more widely available, particularly for people with only smaller deposits saved who may have previously been struggling to get a deal.

But critics of the scheme argue the impact it is having in pushing up demand, without a corresponding increase in the supply of homes, is also pushing up house prices and encouraging people to stretch their borrowing.

Toughened mortgage lending rules are coming into force later this month with the aim of preventing overlending to borrowers who may end up having trouble paying back, particularly when interest rates rise.

Housing Minister Kris Hopkins said: "Leading developers have pledged to build more as a direct result of this increased demand, and we've already delivered 420,000 new homes since 2010, including 170,000 new affordable homes."

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Push To Boost Number Of Women In Boardrooms

By Anushka Asthana, Sky Political Correspondent

Ministers have started a process they hope will pave the way for all-women short lists in business for the first time.

Sky News has seen a letter sent to the Government's equality body asking it to rule on whether the practice could be legally applied when companies are recruiting to their boards.

It asks the Equality and Human Rights Commission to provide guidance on the matter.

"This should help make the recruitment process easier for companies and executive search firms," writes Jenny Willott, the equalities minister.

"In turn, it could also help enable businesses to increase gender diversity on their boards and could be vital in helping us achieve the 25% target for women on boards of FTSE 100 companies by 2015."

She told Sky News that business was missing out on female talent by failing to promote enough high-flying women to the top of their companies.

The latest move is part of an effort to drive up the number of women on boards.

Progress has been made with the FTSE 100 with the proportion of female board members rising from 12.5% to 20.7% - but that still leaves women outnumbered by four to one.

And just two of the 100 have female chairs. One company - Glencore Xstrata - has no women at all.

The situation is bad among chief executives with only five of the 100 top companies led by a woman, and one of them - Burberry's Angela Ahrendts - soon to step down.

Vince Cable, the business secretary, supports radical action in this area because it is thought that more diverse boards tend to result in better company performance.

But the Government has tended to support voluntary means over any type of quota. If all-women short lists were to happen they would be a tool that companies could choose to use.

Top female executives at an event to match them up with FTSE 100 chairs were wary about the idea.

Beatriz Butsana-Sita, managing director of global telecom markets for BT, said she would never want to feel that she was given a job because of a target or quota.

Ann Cormak, director international of Rolls Royce, said she found the idea of all-women short lists "constrictive" and would prefer decisions to be based purely on talent.

And Laura Frith, vice president of global talent at the Intercontinental Hotel Group, agreed that it ought to be only about merit.

All women did feel, however, that more could be done.

A survey of 46 leading business figures - including 16 FTSE chairs and 30 top female executives - found that all believed that balanced boards were best for a company. But they felt more action was needed.

Most of those questioned thought their companies were not doing enough – with the majority of chairmen saying the 2015 25% target was likely to be missed.

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IMF Warns Investors Over 'Rock-Bottom Rates'

By Ed Conway, Economics Editor, in Washington DC

Investors are becoming dangerously reliant on rock-bottom interest rates, with many becoming so indebted they will face serious problems when borrowing costs rise, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned.

The IMF said that the amount of cash spent on leveraged loans - the high-debt instruments with financial problems - now exceeds the level in 2007 before the crisis.

The same is the case with covenant-lite loans, which have become more lax than normal debt - they are also being created at a significantly faster rate than in 2007.

The warnings came in the IMF's Global Financial Stability Report. It said that financial markets may struggle when, eventually, the Federal Reserve, Bank of England and other central banks raise interest rates.

The report's lead author, Jose Vinals, said that many economies were reliant on these "liquidity crutches".

Referring to the market slumps last summer when the Fed signalled it was preparing to end its quantitative easing programme, the report said: "As the turbulence of last May demonstrated, the timing and management of exit is critical.

"Undue delay could lead to a further build-up of financial stability risks, and too rapid an exit could jeopardise the economic recovery and exacerbate still-elevated debt burdens in some segments of the economy."

However, it was the warning that investors are returning to the high-debt instruments that caused many problems in recent years that is likely to resonate most.

The IMF said: "The proportion of bonds with lower underwriting standards - such as covenant-lite and second-lien loans - is on the rise, as it was before the financial crisis, and this could contribute, as it did then, to higher default rates and lower recoveries as the credit cycle turns."

It warned that although share prices had risen sharply in recent years, "markets risk disappointment - especially in an environment of rising interest rates - unless equity valuations become better supported by rising earnings, capital investment, and aggregate demand".

The report also raised concerns about levels of household debt in the UK, though it added that they had fallen sharply in recent years.

The IMF said it was also concerned about the levels of debt in the emerging markets.

It added that if interest rates rose and earnings deteriorated the share of emerging market corporate debt classed as "debt at risk" of default, could rise to more than a third of the total.

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Half A Billion Pounds 'Wasted' On Anti-Flu Drugs

Half a billion pounds has been wasted stockpiling two ineffective anti-flu drugs, according to researchers.

A study claims there is "no good evidence" Tamiflu and Relenza stop the spread of the infection or prevent the complications of influenza.

Researchers, from The Cochrane Collaboration and the British Medical Journal (BMJ), also claim taking the drug could increase a person's risk of nausea and vomiting.

The authors also said the drugs had a number of side effects including headaches, kidney problems and psychiatric syndromes.

Cochrane's editor in chief Dr David Tovey said: "Initially thought to reduce hospitalisations and serious complications from influenza, the review highlights that Tamiflu is not proven to do this, and it also seems to lead to harmful effects that were not fully reported in the original publications.

"This shows the importance of ensuring that trial data are transparent and accessible."

Pharmaceutical company Roche, which makes Tamiflu, said it "fundamentally disagrees" with the latest review.

Roche's UK medical director Dr Daniel Thurley said: "Roche stands behind the wealth of data for Tamiflu and the decisions of public health agencies worldwide, including the US and European Centres for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organisation."

The Department of Health said Tamiflu has a "proven record" of safety, quality and efficacy.

However, a spokeswoman said: "We regularly review all published data and will consider the Cochrane review closely."

Professor Wendy Barclay, influenza virology expert at Imperial College London, said: "This new report, taken alongside a lot of other data collected in different settings, does not convince me that the risks of taking Tamiflu or Relenza would outweigh the benefits."

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Asda Plans 12,000 New Jobs Over Five Years

By George! Why Asda Jobs Fit UK Recovery

Updated: 3:34pm UK, Monday 07 April 2014

By Poppy Trowbridge, Consumer Affairs Correspondent

It is not every day a company, albeit a major employer, confirms plans to create 12,000 jobs in the UK.

That's clearly a significant amount of badly needed new work.

But as unemployment across the UK is coming off uncomfortable highs hit during the recession, some economists and many politicians are concerned that the jobs being created are the wrong kind: temporary, badly paid, with little security.

Despite the UK's reputation for the wrong kind of snow, the wrong kind of rain etc these jobs, for the most part, are the right kind.

The 12,000 positions represent full-time roles. So, even if split by part-timers, the number of jobs simply multiplies.

The job creation has already begun in the North of England, the company having opened 14 new stores already in 2014, and will pick up pace significantly in the two years to 2018 as Asda makes its presence felt in London and the South East.

While the majority will be shop floor spots, Asda's plan to expand with superstores, supermarkets and 'click and collect' locations will require a variety of skilled back office staff, managers, accountants and logistics personnel.

Asda does not offer zero-hours contracts, which means employees can bank on a certain income stream, even if not top of the range.

So, the 12,000 promised spots look somewhat more secure, dispersed across the country, and come with the promise of accelerated creation.

That counts for quality these days.

And if Asda delivers on these promises, we should not turn our noses up at it.

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Top Locations Named But How Does London Fare?

Paris, New York and Prague are among the glamour capitals pipped to the post by London as a favourite traveller destination.

The UK capital is placed third in the global rankings compiled by TripAdvisor from millions of reviews, with only Istanbul and Rome edging ahead.

On people's favourite world city, London beat the top two destinations from 2013 - Paris and New York - which fell to 7th and 12th places respectively.

Fourth in the world list was Beijing, with Prague fifth and Marrakech in Morocco sixth.

London beat both Paris and New York in the destination rankings

Meanwhile, the traditional seaside resort of Torquay in Devon, came behind only London and Edinburgh as the best destination within the UK.

It saw off competition from the likes of York, Bristol, Leeds and Birmingham.

Manchester, Glasgow and Blackpool all dropped out of the top 10.

TripAdvisor spokesman James Kay said: "These awards are based on millions of reviews and ratings by those that really matter - travellers themselves.

"There is no doubt the birth of the royal baby helped keep the eyes of the world on London in 2013, but the capital's continued appeal among travellers around the world surpasses any one event."

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Benefit At Risk Unless Jobseekers Make Effort

By Siobhan Robbins, News Correspondent

Jobseekers will soon have to prove they are taking steps to make themselves more employable or face losing some of their benefits.

From April 28, those looking for work will be expected to have written a CV, set up an email account and logged onto the Government's jobs website before they meet a Jobcentre Plus adviser.

Ministers said the move signalled a "fundamental shift" in expectations, and would help put to an end the "one-way street" to benefits where people start claiming Jobseeker's Allowance by just signing-on without first taking steps to make themselves attractive to employers.

Employment Minister Esther McVey said: "With the economy growing, unemployment falling and record numbers of people in work, now is the time to start expecting more of people if they want to claim benefits.

"It's only right that we should ask people to take the first basic steps to getting a job before they start claiming Jobseeker's Allowance - it will show they are taking their search for work seriously.

"This is about treating people like adults and setting out clearly what is expected of them so they can hit the ground running.

"In return, we will give people as much help and support as possible to move off benefits and into work because we know from employers that it's the people who are prepared and enthusiastic who are most likely to get the job."

There are currently 1.17 million people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance.

Employment Minister Esther McVey says more should be expected of claimants

Under the changes, people will also be able to meet with Jobcentre Plus advisers weekly, rather than fortnightly.

Kate Shoesmith, from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, is one of many employers welcoming the move.

She said: "Everything that helps the long-term unemployed back into work has to be one of the Government's top priorities right now, along with helping those who are young and looking for work, and we think this is a good move forward."

However, some are concerned political point-scoring means people on benefits are increasingly being labelled scroungers.

Sue Marsh has not been able to work for the last 13 years due to health problems.

She is now campaigning for a change to the current benefit system, and told Sky News: "The tough line actually makes people less likely to move off benefits, it makes them less likely to be confident and inspired to try to find work and makes them feel like it's better to just hold tight and dig in, which is exactly the opposite of what Iain Duncan Smith wants to achieve."

Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the Public and Commercial Services union, said: "This Government is already making life intolerable for people who are out of work, with a massive increase in the number of benefits sanctions for even minor transgressions.

"Instead of dreaming up new ways to turn the screw, ministers should be doing something about consistently high unemployment, a drastic shortage of job vacancies and the fact so many new jobs are low paid and insecure."

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Energy Complaints Soar By Staggering 224%

Complaints about energy companies have trebled in the first quarter of this year, according to the energy sector's ombudsman who is calling for "increased transparency".

The record figures showing a 224% rise in the first three months of this year come after regulator Ofgem said it was referring the energy sector to the Competition and Markets Authority for a full-scale competition inquiry.

Between January and March, complaints trebled to 10,638, compared with 3,277 received during the same period last year.

More than 2,000 consumers complained about not receiving bills, 1,474 people made complaints about billing charges, and over 1,000 consumers criticised the quality of customer service.

The numbers suggest that 2014 will see more complaints overall, as there were 17,960 complaints made over a 12-month period last year.

Chief Energy Ombudsman Lewis Shand Smith said: "Consumer frustration and dissatisfaction is something that we hear about every day, and we welcome any attempts by Ofgem to make the energy market fairer.

"With energy complaints trebling in the first quarter of this year and problems relating to billing the greatest concern, increased transparency is something that should be addressed."

A competition inquiry will be held into the household energy supply market

A spokeswoman for Energy UK, the trade body that represents the industry, said most customers had no problems with their energy company, but accepted that sometimes things go wrong.

She added: "If a customer has any concerns relating to their bills, they should contact their provider as soon as they can, and if possible have an up-to-date meter reading to hand which will ensure their bill is as accurate as possible.

"Energy companies work very hard to resolve problems and most complaints are fixed within a few working days with no more than a phone call."

The spokeswoman said there were new rules in force which made matters "more open and clear for customers including: explaining bills so people understand what they are paying; making it easy to switch; ensuring customers are on the right deals; and simplifying tariffs".

But Richard Lloyd, executive director of Which?, the consumer watchdog, said the rise in complaints was "further proof that the energy market is broken".

He added it was "right" that the energy sector had been referred for a full-scale investigation.

A Department of Energy and Climate Change spokeswoman said the figures were "worrying", and added: "We would advise consumers to shop around and switch to find a better deal, whether on cost or customer service."

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House Of Fraser Bought By Chinese Tycoon

A Chinese tycoon has bought British high street chain the House of Fraser, according to sources.

Reuters said a 89% stake was bought by Sanpower, a Nanjing-based conglomerate controlled by Yafei Yuan.

Sources have told Sky News an announcement is expected imminently.

House of Fraser will now seek strategic growth in mainland China as part of a wider, global expansion.

The deal values the department stores at more than £450m.

The two sides are thought to have been in secret discussions for several months.

This follows a protracted search for investors led by House of Fraser's chairman, Don McCarthy.

Just months ago the company was tipped for a public flotation.

But Sky News City Editor Mark Kleinman reported in February that Mr McCarthy apparently had no desire to chair a publicly-listed company.

Sports Direct and Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley was also tipped as a making a possible move for the company.

The British group enjoyed strong Christmas trading, with like-for-like sales at its 61 stores up more than 7% during the three weeks to December 28 and more than 4% in the nine weeks to the same date.

Established during the 1850s, House of Fraser was taken private in 2006 for £351m by a consortium led by Baugur alongside Mr McCarthy and entrepreneur and philanthropist Sir Tom Hunter.

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Food Waste 'Is Morally Repugnant', Say Lords

The scale of food waste, which sees 15 million tonnes of food dumped each year in the UK and at least 90 million tonnes across the EU, has been branded "morally repugnant" by a House of Lords committee.

The Lords EU Committee said supermarkets should abolish "buy one get one free" offers and cancel orders of food from farmers after the produce has been grown, a practice which leads to edible food being ploughed back into the fields. 

They also suggested that more unused food sold by retailers should be donated to food banks, rather than sent for composting or landfill as is often the case at present.

In a report, the committee said EU efforts to reduce food waste were "fragmented and untargeted" and called for the new European Commission to publish a five-year strategy within six months of taking office later this year.

Committee chairwoman Baroness Scott said: "Food waste in the EU and the UK is clearly a huge issue. Not only is it morally repugnant, but it has serious economic and environmental implications.

The committee says taking action against food waste cannot be delayed

"The fact that 90 million tonnes of food is wasted across the EU each year shows the extent of the problem and explains why we are calling for urgent action.

"Globally, consumers in industrialised nations waste up to 222 million tonnes of food a year, which is equivalent to nearly the entire level of net food production of Sub-Saharan Africa.

"We cannot allow the complexity of the issues around defining and monitoring food waste to delay action any further.

"We are calling on the new European Commission, which will be appointed in November this year, to publish a five-year strategy for reducing food waste across the EU, and to do so within six months of taking office."

The report found that the carbon footprint of worldwide food waste is equivalent to twice the global greenhouse gas emissions of all road transportation in the US.

Lady Scott added: "We were shocked at the extent of food waste in the EU. Especially given the current economic challenges the EU faces, it is an absolutely shocking waste of resources.

"Some efforts are already being made, which is very positive, but much more can be done, and so we are calling on the EU, the Government, businesses and consumers to make sure it is."

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