Police to restart News of the World phone hack inquiry
January 29, 2011
The head of Scotland Yard, Tim Godwin, has this week pledged to restart the police enquiry into the allegations of phone hacking linked to the News of the World newspaper, saying that detectives will “leave no stone unturned”.
The police have been forced to reopen their investigation into the allegations in the light of new claims and new evidence. Mr Godwin has described the new enquiry as robust and under scrutiny, promising that some of the country’s most skilled investigators will be put on the case.
The Acting Commissioner also pledged to “restore confidence” to the alleged victims in this case.
Pakistan may be subjected to deeper US strikes in future
March 24, 2009
At present America is carrying on covert war in Pakistan in the unruly tribal areas. President Barrack Obama and his national security advisors are considering expanding the American covert war in Pakistan to the areas considered as Taliban power centre of Baluchistan, where top rebel leaders are presumed orchestrating attacks into southern Afghanistan.
According to the New York Times, in separate reports, groups led by both general David H Petraeus, commander of US forces in the region, and lieutenant general Douglas E Lute, a top White House official on Afghanistan, have recommended expanding US operations to reach the major sanctuary of the Taliban and other insurgent groups in and around the city f Quetta.
At present, the missile strikes being carried out by CIA-operated drones have been limited to the tribal areas, and never been extended into Baluchistan, a sprawling province under the authority of the central government. However, the US government fears that extending the raids would probably worsen tensions with Pakistan complaining that the strikes violate its sovereignty.
One senior administration official said:
“It is fair to say that there is wide agreement to sustain and continue these covert programs. One of the foundations on which the recommendations to the president will be based is that we have got to sustain the disruption of the safe havens.”
UK budget deficit reaches record level
March 20, 2009
The UK’s deficit widened to a whopping £8.99bn in February. This is a record level for the month, according to official data.
The data shows that tax receipts have fallen 10%. This made the UK government to borrow more. Unemployment has risen; firms have witnessed falling profits. This has hit the government revenue from taxes.
This fiscal year’s cumulative deficit is £75.2bn. This has increased the chance of government borrowing exceeding its own £77bn forecast for the year. The total debt is already equivalent to nearly 49% of gross domestic product (GDP). An economist at Investec, Philip Shaw, stated the deficit was ‘slightly wider than earlier expectations’.
He added:
“The escalation of public borrowing in the medium term is of great concern. There is going to be a significant pressure on capital markets over the next couple of years.”
According to him, public borrowing next year could well be in the region of £150bn. In longer term it would be “unsustainable”.
The finances have been hit as the UK government is being forced to spend money for the bailout of ailing banks. The Office for National Statistics stated last month that the debts of Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) would be added to the public finances as the government took stakes in the firms.
Britons love dicount coupons and online voucher codes
March 11, 2009
According to information released by shopping website, BView.co.uk, more people than ever are making good use of discount coupons and voucher codes offered on websites.
According to BView, shoppers are expected to save a total of £600million by the end of the current year, this works out as an average of ten pounds per person in the whole of the UK. This is despite the fact we are only taking advantage of 2% of the savings we could be making, meaning everyone could be saving up to £500 every year.
If everyone were to make full use of the potential savings available with voucher codes online and discount coupons in store, the total amount saved could be up to £30billion pounds.
This suggests more and more people are disregarding the “cheapskate” stigma that used to envelop using discount vouchers, instead replacing it with a wiser, more sensible persona.
Head of BView, Brad Liebmann, states:
“Moneyoff vouchers have suddenly become very popular among families who are watching the pennies but still want an occasional treat.
“There may’ve been some stigma towards using discount coupons in the past but that seems to have disappeared.”
So, it seems the recession is teaching us all new lessons to help cut the costs.
Workers putting in record hours of ‘unpaid overtime’
March 10, 2009
The economic downturn is making workers to put in record hours of ‘unpaid overtime’, according to the TUC. It estimated that nearly 5.24 million workers put in additional work worth almost £26.9bn in 2008. Read more
UK retail sales increase in January
February 23, 2009
UK retail sales increased in January, as savvy shoppers decided to take advantage of post-Christmas price cuts and promotional gifts, according to official data released. Total sales increased 0.7% compared with December. They were up by 3.6% compared with sales in January 2008, stated the Office for National Statistics.
ONS figure confirmed earlier data from the British Retail Consortium that also noted sales indeed rose during January 2009. Clothing and footwear witnessed the biggest increase in sales said the ONS. The 0.7% rise noted in overall sales compares with an estimated average 0.1% decline that was expected by economists. For the quarter to the end of January, retail sales were up 3.2% in comparison with the same period a year ago. Analysts cautioned the rise was unlikely to last.
The UK economist at Capital Economics, Vicky Redwood, stated:
“Anecdotal evidence suggests that January spending started off very strong, and tailed off as the clearance sales ended. Meanwhile, further falls in house prices and rising unemployment will mean that households save any money freed up by falling inflation.”
Ms Redwood expects consumer spending to go down by about 3.5% this year. Howard Archer, the Chief European and UK economist, IHS Global Insight, stated he was expecting sales to now decline.
Nuclear-powered submarines loaded with nuclear weapons crash in Atlantic
February 22, 2009
British and French sub-marines carrying nuclear weapons recently collided in the Atlantic Ocean. The HMS Vanguard, Britain’s first Trident class nuclear-armed submarine, and the French Le Triumphant submarine collided, while traversing the ocean, suffering minor damage.
Defence Ministry of France issued a statement saying the ballistic missile submarines had been carrying out routine patrols when they collided.
“They briefly came into contact at a very low speed while submerged. There were no injuries. Neither their nuclear deterrence missions nor their safety were affected”.
A British official stated on the condition of anonymity, that there was no danger to Vanguard’s deterrent capability as it remained unaffected and at the same time there was no compromise to the nuclear safety. All the crew members are safe as none of them are injured.
France’s defence ministry echoed the same observation. The Vanguard capable of carrying up to 16 nuclear-armed Trident Missiles was towed back to submarine base in Scotland reported BBC. The Le Triomphant, though it suffered damage to a sonar dome in the front of the submarine, returned under its own power to its base on L’Tle Longue on France’s western tip.
UK cops will not be charged for subway killing
February 17, 2009
Following the 2005 London terror attacks, a Brazilian was mistakenly shot dead by the Uk police officers. As a result of the new review, prosecutors announced on Friday that UK cops will not be charged for the subway killing
Jean Charles de Menezes, 27-year-old was killed in a London subway car, just two weeks following the dreaded attack in which 52 commuters lost their lives in suicide bombings. According to prosecutor Stephen O’Doherty, sufficient evidence was not there pointing to the fact that the police had committed any offence. De Menezes was mistaken for a suicide bomber.
De Menezes resided in an apartment in the same building as Hussain Osman, a alleged suspect of the subway bombing who was later convicted in the failed July 21 attack. However, in their verdicts in December, the 10 jurors rejected many claims put forth by the police Mr. Stephenson London’s acting police chief said:
“De Menezes killing had been a “terrible mistake.” He was an innocent man and we must do and accept full responsibility for his death. The anti-terror squad set out with the intention to defend and protect the public and no one had set out to kill an innocent man on that day.”
Mortgage lending on the rise
January 30, 2009
The number of new mortgages has risen to 31,000, up from 27,000 in November 2008. While the rise is slightly reassuring for the market that is always on edge during these pessimistic times, the number is still one of the lowest on record.
With banks being highly withdrawn and lending at a minimum this news, though not amazing, will hopefully help to raise spirits.
The difference is obvious, when you cast back to as little as a year ago and it was common to see advertisements offering bad credit loans and mortgages to anyone. Now, you are luck if you can get a loan with a perfect credit rating.
The cycle caused by banks not lending and people not spending their money, has been on a downwards spiral for around a year now. Maybe this positive result will mark a slight improvement in somewhat bleak times. Simon Rubinsohn, chief economist for the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) suggests that it is no accident there has been an increase in mortgages;
“The pick-up in activity reflects in part the increased interest from buyers who are being attracted to the market by both the fall in house prices and drop in mortgage rates,” he stated.
Who knows? Another year from now and you may be able to get your bad credit loans and banks might be offering great deals on their mortgages once again. Only time will tell.
A death knell for final salary schemes
January 24, 2009
A quarter of leading private sector companies expect to shut their final salary pension plans to existing members, according to a survey.
Many firms have already stopped their schemes to new members, stating they are too costly to finance. Barring current contributors is going to get more common, states the National Association of Pensions Fund. The association is pressing for additional government help. Nearly 25 of the 100 firms that responded to its study expected to do so, it found.
Final salary schemes that offer guaranteed benefits are facing intense pressure from falling interest rates, plunging stock markets and growing life expectancy. The latest estimate of overall company pension deficits is close to £200bn.
Many final salary schemes have stopped catering to new recruits. The finding that some of the UK’s biggest private firms are planning to close them to even existing members points to a new worrying trend. A former government adviser, Ros Altmann, noted the ‘death knell’ had already been sounded for the system of final salary pension. He added:
“”Employees cannot anymore afford to fund these long term, open-ended commitments.”
Closing schemes to new members will be more likely owing to the credit crunch, the NAPF survey pointed out.
