Heart Disease To Cost UK £15bn In 2014

Heart disease is expected to cost £15bn by the end of 2014 with billions wiped from British productivity, a new study has suggested.

Britain's healthcare system will see that cost rise 22% to £18.3bn by 2020, the research produced by the Centre for Economic and Business Research (CEBR) said.

The study, commissioned by pharmaceuticals giant AstraZeneca, also indicates that the cost to business of the disease afflicting working-age people is also significant.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the biggest killer of men in the UK and the second biggest for women - after dementia and Alzheimer's disease - according to the Office for National Statistics.

CVD is related to heart attacks and strokes and can affect people of all ages.

The study said 194,239 lives have been lost to the disease this year, with more than 20,000 among the working age.

The CEBR said CVD will have caused a total of 1.1 million deaths across six European countries it looked at, costing their economies a total of £81.2bn.

The research examined the disease in the UK, France, Italy, Germany, Spain and Sweden.

It said that the figure is the equivalent to the GDP of a mid-sized European economy, such as Hungary.

CEBR economist Sandra Bernick said: "The costs from cardiovascular disease to the UK economy currently stand at 1.4% of GDP.

"This is large in comparison with other European nations and unless actions are taken to address this challenge, the economic burden will become ever more substantial."

The research calculated that across 2014 in Britain, the direct cost of the disease is £11.1bn, with another £3.8bn from lost productivity caused by premature mortality.

Tom Keith-Roach from AstraZeneca said: "The figures set out in this new study are stark.

"The financial burden of cardiovascular disease and the human impact on individuals and their families is only set to rise unless we address this epidemic head on.

"This requires a continued, coordinated focus across industry, academia, healthcare systems and governments."

Mr Keith-Roach added: "As a pharmaceutical company, we believe it is our responsibility to play an integral role in the prevention and treatment of the disease by pushing the boundaries of science to create life-changing medicines for patients."

The research comes ahead a CVD conference in Barcelona at the weekend.

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Britain's Top Jobs Dominated By Private Schools

The majority of top jobs in Britain go to privately-educated pupils, a major new report has revealed.

The UK remains "deeply elitist" according to a study of 4,000 jobs by the Social Mobility and Child Poverty Commission.

The report says private-school pupils and Oxbridge graduates dominate top roles to such a degree that it could be called "social engineering".

The commission's chair, Alan Milburn, concludes that Britain is largely run by people not "familiar with the day-to-day challenges facing ordinary people".

The domination is most pronounced among senior judges, 71% of whom went to fee-paying schools.

Other figures include: senior armed forces officers (62%), permanent secretaries (55%), public body chairs (45%), Sunday Times Rich List members (44%), newspaper columnists (43%), national rugby players (35%) and England cricketers (33%).

Former private school pupils are also over-represented in politics, with half of the House of Lords attending an independent school along with 36% of the Cabinet, 33% of MPs and 22% of the shadow cabinet.

Nationally, about 7% of the population attended a private school.

Alan Milburn says the elite is out of touch with 'ordinary people'

The report says: "Our examination of who gets the top jobs in Britain today found elitism so stark that it could be called 'social engineering'."

It adds that the "sheer scale of the dominance of certain backgrounds" raises questions about whether getting a top job is about ability or knowing the right people.

Mr Milburn said: "Where institutions rely on too narrow a range of people from too narrow a range of backgrounds with too narrow a range of experiences they risk behaving in ways and focusing on issues that are of salience only to a minority but not the majority in society.

"Our research shows it is entirely possible for politicians to rely on advisors to advise, civil servants to devise policy solutions and journalists to report on their actions having all studied the same courses at the same universities, having read the same books, heard the same lectures and even being taught by the same tutors.

"This risks narrowing the conduct of public life to a small few, who are very familiar with each other but far less familiar with the day-to-day challenges facing ordinary people in the country."

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Tax Fugitives Brought To Justice By HMRC

Five of the UK's top tax fugitives have been brought back to the UK to face justice following a global HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) initiative, the organisation has said.

HMRC said it is "excellent news for all honest taxpayers" and released images of a further five people it wants to track down.

These are: Ahmed Salim Khezri, Norbert Dombo, Mohammed Kasim Farook (aka Mohammed Kasim), Paul Edwards and Murugasan Natarajan (aka Murucasan Natarajan and Raj Natarajan).

The five fugitives HMRC wants to apprehend

Those who have been apprehended in the last year are:

:: John Sabin, who fled to Spain after being convicted for his role in smuggling more than 150 million illicit cigarettes into the UK

:: Malcolm McGowan, who also fled to Spain before he could be sentenced for smuggling more than 28 million cigarettes

:: Magdalena Ferkova, returned from the Czech Republic after being found guilty of tax credit and child benefit fraud

:: Michael Voudouri, who fled to northern Cyprus prior to sentencing after being found guilty of an £11.6m money laundering scam

:: Michael Fearon, who fled to the Republic of Ireland while on trial for his part in smuggling more than 8 million cigarettes

Malcolm McGowan, one of those who has been caught in the last year

Jennie Granger, HMRC's Director General of Enforcement and Compliance, said: "This is down to the determination of our people with the help and support of the general public.

"We would like to thank the public for that help, and ask them to look at the 2014 list and help us to bring back the rest.

"These fugitives were involved in frauds that have collectively cost the UK more than  £844 million but the success of our campaign means those on the run should know that HMRC will relentlessly pursue them."

HMRC said it had also received "important information" on the location of five other people on its "most wanted" list.

It is two years since HMRC first published images of its top tax fraud absconders, and since then the pictures have been viewed three million times, leading to the capture of some of the fugitives.

There is also a map showing where HMRC believes the remaining people on the list to be.

HMRC says that, where legally possible, it will seek extraditions with the help of the Crown Prosecution Service and other partners in the UK and abroad to ensure they are brought back to the UK. 

:: Anyone with information should contact the Tax Evasion Hotline on 0800 788 887 or email via the HMRC website. Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

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Schools Divert Cash To Cover £1bn Funding Gap

A £1bn shortfall in funding for places is forcing many schools to borrow money as well as cut back on repairs and building projects, according to a new poll.

More than three quarters of authorities in England claim they have not received enough cash from the Government to create the extra school places needed by 2017.

The research by the Local Government Association (LGA) is released as concern grows about a squeeze on school places fuelled in part by a rising birth rate and changes in local populations.

Councillor David Simmonds, chairman of the LGA's children and young people's board, said: "The scale of this black hole is such that the cost of the creation of new school places cannot be met by council taxpayers.

"The lack of school places is no longer confined to primary schools but is spreading to secondary schools, and across the country we estimate more than 200,000 places will be needed.

"Councils face a challenge to create places on time and in the right areas, in a climate where they are also short of money to do so."

Local councils were asked by the LGA if money provided by the Department for Education (DfE) had fully met the cost of providing school places between 2011/12 and 2016/17.

Of those that responded - around 79 councils - a total of 77% said the funding had not been enough.

More than a third (38%) of the councils who said they did not receive enough funding said they had borrowed money, two thirds (67%) used money from developers, over a fifth (22%) took funds from other building programmes and half (50%) used cash from other school projects, such as school building maintenance, the LGA said.

The LGA claims 130,000 new places will be needed by 2017/18, along with 80,716 new secondary places by 2019/2020.

A DfE spokeswoman said: "We are making every effort to stop an unprecedented increase in pupil numbers affecting class sizes, and councils have a legal duty to provide school places for children in their area.

"We have also confirmed a further £2.35bn to support councils to create the places needed by September 2017.

"In addition we are allowing good schools to expand without the restrictions and bureaucracy they faced in the past.

"And there are now more than 320 free schools open or in the pipeline which will provide a further 175,000 places - the vast majority of which are in areas of need."

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Ecclestone Return Heralds New F1 Board Revamp

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

Formula One (F1) motor racing is preparing for further governance changes as the sport's boss, Bernie Ecclestone, retakes his boardroom seat following a £60m bribery trial settlement.

Sky News understands that Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc, which administers the estate of the bankrupt Wall Street investment bank and is F1's third-largest shareholder, is poised to name Sean Mahoney as its board representative.

Mr Mahoney, a former Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank executive, is expected to join the board of Delta Topco ahead of the next scheduled meeting of directors in September.

His arrival will follow a change of the director nominated by Waddell & Reed, a US-based fund manager, which recently named Michael Avery to represent its substantial minority stake in F1.

A director of Delphi Automotive, Mr Mahoney will replace Peter Sherratt, a former Lehman executive, at an important time for F1's ownership.

The Lehman estate is keen to sell its roughly 15% stake in F1, and has been approached by the US media groups Discovery Communications and Liberty Global about a possible deal.

Mr Ecclestone, who stood down from the Delta Topco board earlier this year pending the outcome of his bribery trial in Germany, will resume his place on the board after settling with prosecutors.

Speaking at Belgium's Spa-Francorchamps circuit on Friday ahead of this weekend's Grand Prix, Mr Ecclestone said he hoped to continue running F1 for as long as possible, adding that being reinstated to the board would make "no difference".

CVC Capital Partners, the private equity firm which took control of F1 in 2005, still owns approximately 35% of the sport but is likely to sell that stake or mount a renewed attempt to float the company in the next 12 months.

Last month, Delta Topco's board approved a £585m dividend payout financed through a renegotiation of the company's borrowing arrangements.

Another of F1's minority shareholders, Norway's vast sovereign wealth fund, has faced domestic criticism over its investment in the sport because of its mandate to own shares only in public companies or those which have concrete intentions to list on a stock exchange.

CVC declined to comment on Friday while Mr Mahoney could not be reached.

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Cable Blitz On Loopholes In Zero-Hours Contracts

Business Secretary Vince Cable has called on businesses and trade unions to expose any loopholes in plans to ban the use of exclusivity clauses in zero-hours contracts, under which employers prevent people from working for someone else.

Mr Cable said he wants to crack down on any potential abuse of the contract law which might see "rogue" employers trying to find a way of offering just one hour of work.

Around 620,000 workers are employed on zero-hours contracts, which do not guarantee work from one week to the next.

Around 620,000 workers are employed on zero-hours contracts

Mr Cable said: "We are looking closely at any potential loopholes that could arise from a ban, to ensure that these are closed off and no one can get round the new law. We are also ensuring there is access to justice for workers treated unfairly.

"The evidence shows that the vast majority of zero-hours contracts have been used responsibly by many businesses for many years, but unfortunately we know that some abuse does take place.

"This is why we are bringing in new laws to ban the use of exclusivity clauses in zero-hours contracts, which  currently stop employees getting other jobs if they need to top up their income.

"We want to give individuals the chance to find work that suits their individual circumstances whilst also giving employers the confidence to hire and create new jobs".

Business representatives and trade unions have been asked to draw up codes of practice to help guide the fair use of zero-hours contracts.

TUC general secretary Frances O'Grady said there was "much more the Government should be doing" to tackle the lack of uncertainty in such contracts.

Shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna said the measures "do not go far enough".

"We have seen a rising tide of insecurity in the workplace since David Cameron came to office, with his Government watering down the rights at work of every working person in this country," he said.

"So it is unsurprising the Government has put forward the minimum it thought it could get away with to deal with exploitative zero-hours contracts. Their measures simply do not go far enough."

The exclusivity ban becomes law this autumn.

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Draghi: ECB Ready To Spur On Euro Economy

The boss of the European Central Bank (ECB) has revealed it is ready to do more to boost a shaky recovery in Europe.

But Mario Draghi warned EU member governments they must still join in efforts to reduce unemployment, which remains stubbornly high.

Mr Draghi said: "I am confident that the package of measures we announced in June will indeed provide the intended boost to demand, and we stand ready to adjust our policy stance further."

So far the ECB has cut interest rates, offered cheap loans to banks and is weighing up asset purchases to help stimulate the 18-member eurozone.

The ECB has already pumped unprecedented amounts of liquidity into the banking system back in 2011 and 2012, but instead of lending the money on to businesses banks tended to park the cash with the ECB instead.

In June, the ECB created a negative interest rate to encourage banks to lend more.

Mr Draghi also said certain longstanding practices in some countries are helping to keep unemployment high.

He said freer wage adjustments and workforce levels would encourage companies to hire.

Mr Draghi made the comments as part of his speech at the US Federal Reserve conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Meanwhile, US shares eased on Friday after the Jackson Hole speech by Fed boss Janet Yellen left investors unsure on the possibility of a rate rise in coming months.

She said the financial crash complicated the Fed's ability to assess the US job market and made it harder to determine when to adjust interest rates.

Ms Yellen's remarks failed to offer strong signs that indicate she is moving away from the view of support through ultra-low interest rates.

The timing of a Fed rate increase remains unclear, though many economists foresee an increase by mid-2015.

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Ecclestone Return Heralds New F1 Board Revamp

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

Formula One (F1) motor racing is preparing for further governance changes as the sport's boss, Bernie Ecclestone, retakes his boardroom seat following a £60m bribery trial settlement.

Sky News understands that Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc, which administers the estate of the bankrupt Wall Street investment bank and is F1's third-largest shareholder, is poised to name Sean Mahoney as its board representative.

Mr Mahoney, a former Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank executive, is expected to join the board of Delta Topco ahead of the next scheduled meeting of directors in September.

His arrival will follow a change of the director nominated by Waddell & Reed, a US-based fund manager, which recently named Michael Avery to represent its substantial minority stake in F1.

A director of Delphi Automotive, Mr Mahoney will replace Peter Sherratt, a former Lehman executive, at an important time for F1's ownership.

The Lehman estate is keen to sell its roughly 15% stake in F1, and has been approached by the US media groups Discovery Communications and Liberty Global about a possible deal.

Mr Ecclestone, who stood down from the Delta Topco board earlier this year pending the outcome of his bribery trial in Germany, will resume his place on the board after settling with prosecutors.

Speaking at Belgium's Spa-Francorchamps circuit on Friday ahead of this weekend's Grand Prix, Mr Ecclestone said he hoped to continue running F1 for as long as possible, adding that being reinstated to the board would make "no difference".

CVC Capital Partners, the private equity firm which took control of F1 in 2005, still owns approximately 35% of the sport but is likely to sell that stake or mount a renewed attempt to float the company in the next 12 months.

Last month, Delta Topco's board approved a £585m dividend payout financed through a renegotiation of the company's borrowing arrangements.

Another of F1's minority shareholders, Norway's vast sovereign wealth fund, has faced domestic criticism over its investment in the sport because of its mandate to own shares only in public companies or those which have concrete intentions to list on a stock exchange.

CVC declined to comment on Friday while Mr Mahoney could not be reached.

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Draghi: ECB Ready To Spur On Euro Economy

The boss of the European Central Bank (ECB) has revealed it is ready to do more to boost a shaky recovery in Europe.

But Mario Draghi warned EU member governments they must still join in efforts to reduce unemployment, which remains stubbornly high.

Mr Draghi said: "I am confident that the package of measures we announced in June will indeed provide the intended boost to demand, and we stand ready to adjust our policy stance further."

So far the ECB has cut interest rates, offered cheap loans to banks and is weighing up asset purchases to help stimulate the 18-member eurozone.

The ECB has already pumped unprecedented amounts of liquidity into the banking system back in 2011 and 2012, but instead of lending the money on to businesses banks tended to park the cash with the ECB instead.

In June, the ECB created a negative interest rate to encourage banks to lend more.

Mr Draghi also said certain longstanding practices in some countries are helping to keep unemployment high.

He said freer wage adjustments and workforce levels would encourage companies to hire.

Mr Draghi made the comments as part of his speech at the US Federal Reserve conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming.

Meanwhile, US shares eased on Friday after the Jackson Hole speech by Fed boss Janet Yellen left investors unsure on the possibility of a rate rise in coming months.

She said the financial crash complicated the Fed's ability to assess the US job market and made it harder to determine when to adjust interest rates.

Ms Yellen's remarks failed to offer strong signs that indicate she is moving away from the view of support through ultra-low interest rates.

The timing of a Fed rate increase remains unclear, though many economists foresee an increase by mid-2015.

11.46 | 0 komentar | Read More

Ecclestone Return Heralds New F1 Board Revamp

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

Formula One (F1) motor racing is preparing for further governance changes as the sport's boss, Bernie Ecclestone, retakes his boardroom seat following a £60m bribery trial settlement.

Sky News understands that Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc, which administers the estate of the bankrupt Wall Street investment bank and is F1's third-largest shareholder, is poised to name Sean Mahoney as its board representative.

Mr Mahoney, a former Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank executive, is expected to join the board of Delta Topco ahead of the next scheduled meeting of directors in September.

His arrival will follow a change of the director nominated by Waddell & Reed, a US-based fund manager, which recently named Michael Avery to represent its substantial minority stake in F1.

A director of Delphi Automotive, Mr Mahoney will replace Peter Sherratt, a former Lehman executive, at an important time for F1's ownership.

The Lehman estate is keen to sell its roughly 15% stake in F1, and has been approached by the US media groups Discovery Communications and Liberty Global about a possible deal.

Mr Ecclestone, who stood down from the Delta Topco board earlier this year pending the outcome of his bribery trial in Germany, will resume his place on the board after settling with prosecutors.

Speaking at Belgium's Spa-Francorchamps circuit on Friday ahead of this weekend's Grand Prix, Mr Ecclestone said he hoped to continue running F1 for as long as possible, adding that being reinstated to the board would make "no difference".

CVC Capital Partners, the private equity firm which took control of F1 in 2005, still owns approximately 35% of the sport but is likely to sell that stake or mount a renewed attempt to float the company in the next 12 months.

Last month, Delta Topco's board approved a £585m dividend payout financed through a renegotiation of the company's borrowing arrangements.

Another of F1's minority shareholders, Norway's vast sovereign wealth fund, has faced domestic criticism over its investment in the sport because of its mandate to own shares only in public companies or those which have concrete intentions to list on a stock exchange.

CVC declined to comment on Friday while Mr Mahoney could not be reached.

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