Romney Win 'Could Boost Dow By 500 Points'

The Dow Jones industrial index might be boosted by up to 500 points if Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney wins the election, it has been claimed.

The Centre for Economic Business Research (CEBR) said the bounce could occur before Mr Romney, who has trailed Democrat candidate Barack Obama in some polls, implemented his new policies.

"A President Romney has promised a radical departure, with bigger budget cuts and tax cuts," CEBR head Douglas McWilliams said.

"And he would be perceived as pro-business which might boost the financial markets."

Mr McWilliams added: "I would be surprised if a President Romney changed the economy as much in the short term as his policy platform suggests.

The CEBR believes Congress may be divided irrespective of the winner

"Though there would be an initial market bounce of perhaps 500 points on the Dow because a Romney victory is not priced in."

The CEBR believes that quantitative easing (QE) – the injection of liquidity into the financial system – has been effective in boosting a return to modest growth.

"What is different is that in the US, QE has worked; in the UK it has been much less effective," Mr McWilliams said.

"Bank lending in the US is growing for both business and households. Even property lending, which for a long time had been in the doldrums and was holding back the US economy is growing."

Mr McWilliams, a former chief economic adviser to the CBI and chief economist for IBM UK, said US growth may accelerate by its newly exploited source of cheap energy - shale gas.

"The country is gradually becoming self-sufficient in energy which is very cheap by Western standards," he said.

"Because of increased drilling, oil is a fifth cheaper than in Europe while shale gas is available at the equivalent of a quarter of the price of oil."

However, the competitive edge given by the cheap gas is set to be exploited by key competitor China, which is could hold the world's biggest reserves of shale gas.

Shale gas extraction has been trialled on a small scale in Britain

The Chinese government has announced a subsidy to spur the industry and it hopes to use shale gas for at least 6% of the market by 2015.

While Mr Obama has needed to broach the issue of tax rises within a divided Congress, Mr Romney has urged tax cuts to spur future growth – a concept the CEBR believes could be innovative amid a record deficit.

"In the longer term there is more scope for a President to make a difference and we could see the option of low spending and low taxation applied in a major Western economy," Mr McWilliams said.

"It could prove an exciting experiment."

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Sickness Benefit Crackdown In £25m Trial

Sickness benefit will be stripped from claimants who refuse to get treatment for their problems under a crackdown to be tested in a £25 million Government trial.

Ministers want to extend the concept of "conditionality" used to force the jobless to seek work to welfare payments for those with health complaints as well.

A series of pilots around the country for what is being touted as a "tough love" approach by Downing Street sources will be announced before Christmas.

Chancellor George Osborne is seeking ways to slash a further £10 billion from the welfare budget by 2016/17 on top of £18 billion of cuts already announced.

Under the proposals, claimants would be expected to attend regular sessions with a health care professional who could require them to attend therapy and other treatments to help them recover.

It is unclear exactly what conditions would be caught but No. 10 suggested drug and alcohol addicts who failed to attend rehab courses would be among them in the initial trials.

Funding for the pilots has been agreed, they said.

"This is a tough love approach towards our aim of ending the something for nothing culture in benefits," a Government source said.

"It's right that we provide support for people in need, but we should also expect something back in return. We are already helping people back into work through unemployment benefit conditionality.

"Now we are looking at transferring that principle to sickness benefits, so that for those people who are sick but able to take practical steps to improve their health, the benefits system encourages them to get better."

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UK Economy: 1,500 New Jobs Delivered By DPD

The growth of online retail has prompted another major delivery company to confirm a big investment, which will create 1,500 new UK jobs.

DPD is to spend £175m over the next few years - with the bulk of the money going on a new parcel sorting hub in the East Midlands.

The location for the sorting hub, which will be the company's fourth, has yet to be decided but DPD is looking at sites near Rugby and Leicester.

Ten new depots are also planned over the next 15 months as the firm looks to meet growing demand for its service from online retailers.

The business, which is based in Smethwick in the West Midlands and is a subsidiary of French-owned La Poste, said it had clinched £70m of new business as a result of its Predict service, which uses GPS technology to provide customers with a one-hour delivery window.

DPD chief executive Dwain McDonald said: "The online retail market is expanding rapidly with consumers now prepared to buy a much wider range of goods online."

The announcement follows a similar move by Royal Mail, which said last month it would create some 1,000 jobs over four years as part of a £75m investment in its express parcels business.

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BRC: Retail Sales 'Fall' Before Christmas Rush

Retail sales have grown at their slowest pace for almost a year as shoppers stick to buying only essential items, according to new research.

Like-for-like sales were down 0.1% in October, compared with the same period last year, a study by the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and professional services group KPMG showed.

Meanwhile, total sales were up 1.1%, against a 1.5% rise the year before - the slowest growth in total sales, excluding Easter, since November 2011.

It follows a surprise hike in September when like-for-like sales were up 1.5% and total sales were up 3.4%, which the BRC's director general described a "something of a false dawn".

"October's poor performance wasn't a one off," Stephen Robertson said.

"Year-to-date average growth hasn't outpaced inflation meaning overall sales volumes going backwards."

October's online sales were especially poor, he said, adding that the last three months include the two weakest growth rates recorded in four years.

"Falling consumer confidence means people are limiting spending to essential items and are cautious about committing to big-ticket and discretionary buying," he said.

"This underwhelming showing means there's all to play for as Christmas approaches."

KPMG's head of retail, David McCorquodale, said that although official figures last month showed the UK was out of recession, consumer confidence has not yet bounced back.

"Retailers are holding less stock than a year ago and may choose to be cautious with pre-Christmas sales in order to protect margins," he added

"However, the disappointing sales figures for October indicate that winning share of the Christmas wallet will be just as competitive over the next two months as it was last year."

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Greece: General Strike Before Austerity Vote

Tens of thousands of protesters have taken to the streets of Athens as a two-day general strike begins ahead of a tight Parliamentary vote on a new round of austerity measures.

The 13.5bn euro (£10.8bn) package of proposed cuts and tax increases includes a rise in the retirement age to 67 as well as pensions being slashed by up to 15% for workers whose pots are worth more than 1,000 euros (£800) per month.

The effects of the strike - the third general strike in six weeks organised by the country's two main unions - are being felt in both the public and private sectors with at hundreds of thousands failing to show for work.

Many schools, banks and local government offices have been closed while scores of flights have been cancelled.

Public bus workers in the capital and taxi drivers as well as metro, tram and train workers also walked out, paralysing traffic in the capital.

Ferry lines were also crippled, as ships linking to Greece's islands remained docked.

The General Strike has largely shut down the Greek public transport system

The government argues that the strikes only make the country's dire economic situation more perilous.

It needs the austerity bill to pass through parliament to secure crucial international aid totalling 31.5bn euros (£25bn) and prevent the debt-laden nation from potentially defaulting later this month.

According to EU economic and monetary affairs commissioner Olli Rehn, the international lenders and Greece are on track to reach a deal to unfreeze the next tranche of loans at a meeting of eurozone finance ministers on November 12.

The EU, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund demanded more savings in return for further financial support.

The austerity package, which was put to the Greek parliament late on Monday, would also include salary cuts for academics, hospital doctors, judges, diplomats and members of the armed forces.

There is a heavy police presence outside the Greek Parliament

Greek MPs are due to hold an emergency vote on Wednesday with opposition critics saying the measures will only deepen the country's five-year recession.

It is understood unions are lobbying sceptics of the plan in a bid to force a defeat on the government - a nightmare scenario for the pro-euro camp which could force the country back to the drachma.

But there is support among the public for the austerity plan as many admit there may not be a better solution.

Yannis Levas, who works in a recruitment company aimed at finding jobs for Greeks abroad, called the measures "a double-edged sword".

"On the one side they must not go through, on the other they must. There is always that dilemma if we will return or not to the drachma," he said.

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SMMT: New Car Registrations Up 12% In October

Sales of new cars have risen strongly in October compared with the same month last year despite weak European demand, industry figures have revealed.

The number of new car registrations shot up by over 12% to 151,252 vehicles, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

Ford's Fiesta was the month's best-seller, and has been the most popular new car in the year so far.

In total, the new car market has increased by 5% over the year to date with more than 1.7m cars sold - 83,800 more than a year ago.

As a result, the SMMT revised up its forecast of full-year new car registrations to over two million units, from 1.94 million in 2011.

The organisation's chief executive said the figures show the UK continues to buck the trend of weak demand across the Europe as a whole.

"Despite uncertainty in the European economy, the UK new car market continues to grow," the SMMT's chief executive Paul Everitt said.

This slump in the region led carmakers Toyota and Nissan to revise down the total number of vehicles they expect to sell this year.

And Ford warned that its European operations would lose in excess of $1.5bn (£0.9bn) this year, after announcing almost 6,000 job losses and the closure of two factories in the UK and one in Belgium.

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Shake-Up At Tesco As Price Isn't Right

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

The overhaul of Tesco's top management is to continue with the departure of the executive in charge of its British non-food business after just 18 months in the job.

I have learned that Terry Price, commercial director and one of the company's top-ranking managers below board level, is leaving following the lacklustre trading performance of the division.

Mr Price, a former Wal-Mart executive, was in charge of 'hardlines', the retailing term which encompasses non-food products such as electrical items, toys and sports goods.

His exit comes as Tesco faces searching questions from the City about its plans to improve trading in its core UK business.

In January, it unveiled a shock profit warning and said it would need a huge investment programme to fend off competition from the likes of J Sainsbury and Asda.

In April, Tesco reported a 3.9% fall in full-year like-for-like general merchandise, electricals and clothing sales, a performance which left the City questioning the company's non-food credentials.

Philip Clarke, Tesco chief executive, is responding to the decline by combining responsibility for general merchandise under Neela Mukherjee, a Tesco Direct executive.

Mr Price's departure is a surprise because he was seen as an ally of Mr Clarke's when he was brought back from China to head general merchandise last year.

A Tesco insider conceded that the two men had disagreed about the reasons for the performance of non-food but said Mr Price was leaving on good terms.

Earlier this year, Richard Brasher, the group's UK boss, left after Mr Clarke said that there "could not be two captains on the bridge".

Tesco declined to comment.

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M&S 'Taking Action' As Profits Take A Tumble

Marks and Spencer has reported a fall in underlying pre-tax profit to £297m for the first half of this year and pledged further moves to drive sales.

The chain, which is 18 months into a three year transformation plan, blamed pressure on consumers' disposable incomes and volatile trading conditions - hit by bad weather - for the figure, which compares with a £307m profit over the same period last year.  

But sales across the 128-year-old group were up 0.9% at £4.7bn - driven by a strong performance in its food division and internationally.

In its UK stores, however, sales were flat in the second quarter with a 1.6% rise in food partially offsetting a 1.8% fall in general merchandise sales. 

It follows a 6.8% slump in general merchandise sales in the first quarter as a result of the wet summer weather and problems with stock availability, which left stores short of bestselling womenswear lines.

The group's chief executive, Marc Bolland, told Sky News: "We have repaired our womenswear position strongly over the second quarter.

"The issues we had were with merchandising and stock, we're now bucking the trends."

He added: "The first quarter was a difficult quarter as we explained three months ago, the second quarter has improved quite strongly."

Marks and Spencer, which has 730 stores in the UK and 390 overseas, said it was "well set up" for its busiest time of the year.

"As we approach the all-important Christmas period, we have better than ever Christmas products, to help our customers enjoy a special Christmas at home," Mr Bolland said.

Primark has been one of the high street's best performing stores

Marks and Spencer's aiming to transform itself into an "international multi-channel retailer" by boosting its website and making it easier to buy products on smartphones and tablets. 

Mr Bolland said this strategy was making "strong progress", with growth across its multi-channel business.

Retail analysts Conlumino described the results as a "mixed bag".

"While the overall half year numbers look anaemic, there has been a material uplift in fortunes since the first quarter," managing director Neil Saunders said, adding that it is too early to say whether the group is on the path to sustainable growth.

"M&S has still underperformed the market in fashion and growth in general merchandise remains elusive on a like-for-like basis.

"All of this points to the fact that M&S still has plenty of issues to resolve and there is still much work to be done."

The results came as Associated British Foods revealed that revenue across its 230 Primark stores had grown by 17%.

The clothes retailer has been one of the best performing stores on the high streets in the UK, Ireland and Spain because of its low prices and quick adoption of fashion trends.

The group, which also includes Twinings, Silver Spoon and Ryvita among other brands, reported a 17% rise in full-year profit.

Following "exceptional performance", the company said its adjusted pre-tax profit was £974m and revenue was up 11% to £12.3bn.

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Halo Launched With UFO Over London

Hundreds of people stared into the skies of above London as a glowing disc appeared above Tower Bridge to mark the launch of the latest instalment of the Halo computer game franchise.

The Halo logo was suspended from a helicopter and flown over the capital's biggest landmarks as the Xbox 360 title went on sale.

The Halo franchise has already sold 46 million copies and the previous version made a total of $200m (£124m) in the first 24 hours following its launch.

Master Chief greets gamers waiting to buy the game

Microsoft hopes the return of Master Chief, the laconic green-armoured super-soldier protagonist of Halo, after a five-year hiatus will bring gamers out in droves.

Halo 4, which was launched simultaneously in 40 countries, is expected to outdo the box office takings of James Bond film Skyfall this weekend.

Halo 4 was launched simultaneously in 40 countries

The Halo series, made by Microsoft Game Studios, spearheaded the company's foray into gaming that began with the 2001 launch of the first Xbox console.

The Halo games, originally developed by Bungie, have been fundamental in giving the console a market lead over Sony's PlayStation and Nintendo's Wii and has generated revenues of $3bn.

Johnathan Ross with Master Chief at the launch event

However, it remains to be seen if the well-reviewed game can revive flagging video game sales or surpass Call Of Duty: Black Ops II, which goes on sale next week and is likely to vie for the title of 2012's top-selling game.

"Because there hasn't been a game to star Master Chief for five years, there's a bit of a pent-up demand," said Ryan McCaffrey of videogame website IGN.com.

"Call Of Duty has taken over as the most popular game on the Xbox, so I think it will be very close."

Halo 4 will be going head-to-head with the latest Call of Duty title

In Halo 4, Master Chief deals out death and destruction to evil aliens while embarking on a quest to save his longtime friend and artificial-intelligence construct Cortana.

:: The executive producer of Halo 4, Kiki Wolfkill, will be on Jeff Randall Live from 7pm tonight

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Prudential Fined For Customer Data Mix-Up

Prudential has been fined £50,000 for mixing up two customers with the same name and date of birth.

The insurance company accidentally merged the account details, leading to tens of thousands of pounds - meant for an individual's retirement fund - ending up in the wrong account.

Despite a number of complaints to the Prudential - including a letter from one of the customers - it took three years for the company to rectify its mistake, which was eventually resolved in 2010.

The Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), which issued the fine, said the incident was a "serious breach" of the Data Protection Act.

The fine should act as a warning to the financial sector more broadly, the organisation's head of enforcement Stephen Eckersley said.

"Organisations must make sure the information they hold on their customers' files is accurate and kept up to date in order to comply with the Data Protection Act," he said.

"In this case two customer files were consistently confused and the company failed to remedy the situation despite being alerted to the problem on more than one occasion before it was finally resolved.

"This case would be considered farcical were it not for the serious sums of money involved."

Prudential said the circumstances were "unique" because the customers had the same name and date of birth, adding that it has compensated both customers and apologised to them.

"We regret that this incident occurred and was not resolved more quickly," a spokesman said.

The merging of the account details occurred because of mistaken information given by one of the customer's financial advisers, the spokesman added.

The fine marks the first time the ICO has imposed a monetary penalty for a mistake not related to significant amounts of customers' data being lost by an organisation.

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