Stoke-On-Trent's Rundown Homes On Sale For £1

Thirty-five rundown houses are going on sale for £1 each in Stoke-on-Trent.

The city council wants to sell the empty council-run buildings as part of its aim to regenerate an area of the city.

A spokesman told Sky News Online that over 600 people have expressed an interest in buying one of the properties since the application process opened on Monday.

The cost of refurbishing the homes, which are mainly two bedroom terraces, will initially be covered by the council which will then sell them on for the tiny sum.

However, the new owners will have to pay back the cost of the refurbishment over a set period of time.

It is the first phase in a £3m project which will see 124 long-term empty homes in Portland Street and Bond Street in the Cobridge area brought back into use.

Eligible residents are being encouraged to fill in application forms before May 12. The properties will be randomly allocated to the 35 successful applicants.

Councillor Janine Bridges, cabinet member for housing, neighbourhoods and community safety, said: "We are now at a very exciting stage in this major project which will see a rundown area of the city transformed. This is a long running commitment to Cobridge on behalf of the city council.

"The project will not only benefit the residents who are currently living next to properties that have been vacant for some time, it will also give families moving into the homes the chance to take their first step on the property ladder."

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EE Reports 'Strong Demand' For 4G Broadband

EE - which owns the Orange and T Mobile brands - has said almost 320,000 customers have signed up for its 4G services.

It is the first time Britain's largest mobile network operator has given subscriber numbers since it launched its super-fast broadband service earlier than rivals.

The company used its existing airwaves to launch 4G in October last year - but competitors have to wait until later this year, following the auction of the UK's 4G spectrum.

EE - a joint-venture owned by France Telecom and Deutsche Telekom - said it was "firmly on track" to meet its target of more than one million 4G customers by the end of 2013.

It added that the super-fast broadband services had boosted the average amount each customer paid by 2.2% in the first quarter of the year.

Chief financial officer Neal Milsom said the company was making "good progress" and the results were in line with expectations

He said:"We're announcing 318,000 4G customers after just five months of trading, strong postpaid net adds and continued growth in our underlying average revenue per user.

"We expect to strengthen our industry leadership position in the year ahead as the 4G roll out continues and we introduce double-speed 4GEE."

Average speeds will climb to 20 mbps in ten UK cities by the end of June, the company said.

The existing 4G service already offers speeds around five times faster than 3G, meaning quicker downloads and internet browsing.

EE added that it was on track to expand its 4G coverage to cover 55% of the population by the end of June, and 70% by the end of the year.

The company, which now has around 27 million customers, was formed when Orange and T-Mobile joined forces in 2010.

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Twitter And Starcom In Huge Advertising Deal

Twitter has signed a multimillion-dollar deal with media and advertising giant Starcom MediaVest Group (SMG)

The agreement - thought to be worth up in the hundreds of millions of dollars - is the social media website's largest advertising deal to date, sources familiar with the situation said.

The multi-year partnership gives SMG, which is part of the world's third-largest communications group Publicis, direct access to Twitter's data feed for media planning purposes.

SMG buys and plans media on behalf of clients that include Samsung and Kelloggs, and is attempting to connect traditional media - like television adverts - with social media.

As part of the deal, the two companies will create a product that researches how people tweet and watch television - called Social TV Lab.

They are also expected to launch a mobile product to survey Twitter users - and what they are saying - in real-time.

SMG and Twitter said the partnership was the "first of its kind".

Twitter's president of global revenue, Adam Bain, said: "The deal is about research and experiences on behalf of SMG's clients.

"We think agencies play a big role bringing interesting new ideas to the platform and we want to support that."

He added that the company was planning to sign more, similar deals.

The agreement comes as Twitter attempts to boost revenues by expanding its advertising business.

It has also recently started to offer companies more precisely targeted adverts based on specific words used in a person's tweets.

The social media website has 200 million users, but is facing increasing competition from rivals Facebook and Google.

Researchers eMarketer estimate Twitter will generate less than $600m (£394m) in revenue this year.

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Asda Creates 2,500 Jobs Amid Online Boom

Asda is to create 2,500 jobs this year as it shifts investment to its growing multichannel business, with stores supporting its internet and smartphone channels.

The company said it would spend £700m on new and existing stores and its supply chain, with its website also benefiting from the investment.

The news was announced as the retailer confirmed a 4.5% lift in total sales, including petrol, to £22.8bn in 2012.

Andy Clarke, president and CEO of Asda, said: "I'm proud that in the continuing and very challenging trading environment we were able to increase total sales by 4.5% last year. This shows that we are continuing to get it right for customers.

"By focusing on their needs through accelerating our investment in the technology and infrastructure to make shopping more convenient, customers can shop for what they want, when they want it."

Asda, which claims to be Britain's second biggest online grocer, said previous investment in its web-based operations had paid off with double-digit growth and was the primary reason for its new capital spend.

The retailer increased its home shopping capacity with the opening of a third purpose-built 'picking centre' in Nottingham last month, creating more than 600 new jobs.

As part of its wider plans, its 'Click and Collect' business, where customers can order online and collect from a store, will soon include same day delivery on food.

The retailer is planning to open 10 more new stores, including four new small format supermarkets, five superstores and one new non-food outlet.

The latest grocery share figures from Kantar Worldpanel, for the 12 weeks ending 14 April, show how intense competition has become with Waitrose, Aldi and Lidl all recording record market shares.

Within the big four, Sainsbury's was found to have delivered the strongest growth with 5.4% and was the only one to increase market share, now at 16.9%.

Tesco's market share currently stands at 29.9%, Asda's at 17.5% and Morrisons' at 11.5%.

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HSBC Cuts Over 1,100 British Jobs

HSBC has announced further redundancies in Britain as part of the bank's three-year Revival plan to cut costs.

It said 3,166 positions in the UK would be affected by the cost-cutting exercise - but that just over 2,000 would be redeployed, resulting in 1,149 jobs losses.

But the Unite union described the announcement as a "disgrace" and said more than 2,000 people would be made redundant as a result of the changes.

It comes a year after 2,200 UK jobs were axed by the bank, which employs just over 47,000 staff in Britain.

The cuts will mainly come from HSBC's wealth management division, as it starts to move advisors to its consumer retail banking business in June.

The group's chief executive, Stuart Gulliver, is attempting to save money, boost returns and focus on its most profitable areas.

Since taking over in early 2011, he has cut 34,500 jobs globally - or 12% of staff.

Stuart Gulliver has cut 12% of HSBC's staff globally

The head of HSBC Bank, Brian Robertson, said: "I understand change is always unsettling, particularly for those directly affected.

"However, I also firmly believe what we are proposing is essential in order for us to fulfil our customers' expectations.

"With the banking behaviour of our customers continually evolving we must change our business to meet their needs." 

He added that affected employees would be offered new roles where possible and he was confident "a significant majority" would remain at the bank.

But Unite said that displaced workers would either not have the right qualifications or would be based in the wrong part of the country to be able to secure a new role at the bank.

The union's national officer Dominic Hook said: "HSBC is making staff suffer in the search for ever greater profits.

"The bank's behaviour is a disgrace ... These cuts are about putting profits before people and will do nothing to improve service or the image of the banking industry."

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Mitie Boss Joins Ranks Of Whitehall Women

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

One of Britain's top women bosses is to join the ranks of Whitehall non-executive directors as the Government intensifies pressure on major companies to increase their complement of female board members.

I understand that Ruby McGregor-Smith, chief executive of the FTSE-250 support services group Mitie, is to join the board of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) during the next few months.

Mrs McGregor-Smith, who was awarded an OBE in the 2012 New Year's Honours List, will become the latest non-executive appointee to a Government department under a Coalition initiative launched in 2010 to improve efficiency in Whitehall.

Ruby McGregor-Smith (image: Mitie)

Her recruitment follows the departure from the DCMS board of Lord Coe and the anticipated exit of Sir Peter Bazalgette, the new chairman of the Arts Council.

Mrs McGregor-Smith, who has been chief executive of Mitie since 2007, will become the twentieth female non-executive appointed as part of the Whitehall efficiency drive.

Led by Lord Browne, the former BP chief executive who serves as the lead non-executive across Government departments, the initiative involves around 60 leading figures from the business community, including Sir Andrew Witty, chief executive of GlaxoSmithKline, Paul Walsh, chief executive of Diageo, and Ian Cheshire, who runs the DIY retailer Kingfisher.

Roughly one-third of the 60 non-executives are women, reflecting the Government's determination to avoid being accused of failing to employ sufficient women in boardroom posts at a time when it is pressing UK plc to do the same.

Research published earlier this month by Cranfield International Centre for Women Leaders showed that the proportion of women promoted to the boards of public companies had slowed, jeopardising the prospects of reaching a target of a quarter of boardroom roles being occupied by women by 2015.

Mitie declined to comment.

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Public Sector Borrowing Falls Slightly

The total amount of public sector net borrowing has fallen to £120.6bn over the last financial year, according to the Office for National Statistics.

The figure was slightly lower than the previous tax year's £120.9bn and the independent Office for Budget Responsibility's forecast.

Borrowing also fell in March - by £1.6bn on a year earlier to £15.1bn - as spending cuts across Government departments kicked in.

The totals exclude the cost of bank bailouts, cash transfers from the Government's quantitative easing programme and a boost from the Royal Mail pension assets.

Chancellor George Osborne is likely to welcome the figures after a difficult week in which his austerity programme was criticised by the International Monetary Fund.

Fitch Ratings also became the second agency to strip Britain of its triple-A credit rating.

A Treasury spokeswoman said: "Though it is taking time, the Government is fixing this country's economic problems.

"The deficit is down by a third, a million and a quarter new private sector jobs have been created and interest rates are at near-record lows, benefiting households and businesses."

But Deutsche Bank's UK economist George Buckley said the UK's public finances remained a concern.

"We've seen another downgrade over the past week ... it's going to take a long time to get back to where the Government would like it to be in terms of the underlying fiscal deficit," he said.

The falls in borrowing - although "encouraging" - come after three years of austerity, he said, adding: "There's a long way to go yet."

Investec's Victoria Clarke said: "The Chancellor just made it in under the OBR's forecast, albeit by the skin of his teeth.

"The bigger test will be if he can continue to meet the forecasts for the years ahead, and we think it's looking vulnerable because of the weakness of the euro area, which could decrease tax revenues and mean higher spending pressures."

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Independent Scotland Could Lose The Pound

George Osborne has warned Scotland there is no guarantee it can retain the pound if it becomes independent.

The Chancellor said independence would force Scotland to adopt new currency arrangements, which would be a "very deep dive into uncharted waters".

The Scottish Government has outlined plans to keep the pound if the country becomes independent after next year's referendum.

But in a new report, the Treasury said the economic case for creating a "sterling zone" was not clear and cast doubt on whether a deal could be reached.

Mr Osborne, launching the report in Glasgow, said the analysis showed the imperative to agree a currency union would be less strong for the UK than for Scotland.

"Why would 58 million citizens give away some of their sovereignty over monetary and potentially other economic policy to give million people in another state?" he asked.

He added: "Could a situation where an independent Scotland and the rest of the UK share the pound and the Bank of England be made to work? Frankly, it's unlikely."

Scottish First Minister Alex Salmond is pushing for independence

With a currency union off the table, the only other options are for Scotland to unilaterally keep the pound, to create its own currency or to join the euro.

 "All of these alternative currency arrangements are less suitable economically than we have now for both Scotland and the rest of the UK," Mr Osborne said.

He added: "The conclusion is clear - the pound we share works well. The saying goes 'If it ain't broke, why fix it?' but I say 'If it ain't broke, don't break it'.

"The alternatives to the way Scotland now uses the pound are second best. Is second best really good enough for Scotland and for all our United Kingdom? We are better together."

The Scottish Government wants a "sterling zone" and economic experts there have concluded it is "sensible" and an attractive choice for the rest of the UK.

But the Treasury report said it "would only be possible if both an independent Scotland and the continuing UK could reach an agreement that satisfied both countries' economic interests".

It argues a formal sterling currency union would be "very different to the current arrangements and would be a profound economic change for both states".

Scottish banks currently issue their own sterling notes

An independent Scotland would "need to agree a negotiated set of constraints on its economic and fiscal policies", the report said.

It added: "In practice, this would be likely to require rigorous oversight of Scotland's economic and fiscal plans by both the new Scottish and the continuing UK authorities.

"Even with constraints in place, the economic rationale for the UK to agree to enter a formal sterling union with a separate state is not clear.

"The recent experience of the euro area has shown that it is extremely challenging to sustain a successful formal currency union without close fiscal integration and common arrangements for the resolution of banking sector difficulties."

The paper argues the "current currency and monetary policy arrangements within the UK serve Scotland well", describing the UK as "one of the most successful monetary, fiscal and political unions in history".

It concluded: "All of the alternative currency arrangements would be likely to be less economically suitable for both Scotland and the rest of the UK."

It also claims both the Scottish and UK governments would need to agree for the commercial banks in an independent Scotland to continue issuing sterling notes as part of a currency union.

The Treasury has said the role of the Bank of England, as the central bank of the UK responsible for issuing notes by all commercial banks, would have to be reviewed under independence.

First Minister Alex Salmond accused Mr Osborne of "scaremongering" as he insisted a "sterling zone" would be the best option for both sides.

He told Sky News: "It would be good for Scotland and it would be overwhelmingly in the interests of the rest of the United Kingdom.

"The only things you would need in terms of a fiscal sustainability agreement is an agreement on borrowing levels and debt levels but all countries have to observe borrowing and debt levels.

"You would have control over your taxation policy and spending policy. That's what independence means in a fiscal sense."

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Apple Quarterly Profits Tipped To Tumble

It is widely predicted that Apple will report its first fall in profits for a decade later - a move that could further threaten its market value.

Analysts expect a tumble of up to 18% in earnings when the company delivers its second quarter trading statement on Tuesday, although revenues are expected to rise.

It is rumoured that higher component prices and the lower costs of some of its products will have eaten into its profit margins.

Stronger competition in the smartphone and tablet markets is also expected to be reflected in the statement.

Weaker demand - largely because of the competition issue - has been blamed for the 40% drop in Apple's stock value since September last year.

Apple shares fell below the $400 (£262) mark last week for the first time since December 2011.

A surprise warning about disappointing revenue at Cirrus Logic, which makes audio chips for the iPhone and iPad, sparked the sell-off.

The US firm's forecast added to market speculation that sales of the iPhone - which make up more than half of Apple's revenue - are slowing more quickly than expected as Samsung and other rivals flood the market with cheaper devices.

A cloud was lifted from the iPhone on Monday night when the US International Trade Commission threw out a Motorola Mobility patent claim that threatened to block the import of some iPhone models into the US.

The commission dismissed a complaint by the Google-owned firm which accused Apple of infringing technology that makes touch screens ignore fingers when people are holding smartphones to their ears for calls.

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Investors Deliver New Barclays Pay Warning

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

Leading shareholders in Barclays have delivered a warning that its new management team must accelerate reform of the bank's lavish pay practices or risk a fresh public revolt on the issue.

I have learnt that Aviva Investors and F&C Investments, two of the City's biggest investment institutions, have told Sir David Walker, Barclays' new chairman, that he has only earned their qualified support after his first six months in the job.

While Thursday's annual meeting will not play host to a repeat of last year's widespread rebellion over Barclays' pay policies, the stance of several major investors will fire a renewed warning shot across the bank's bows.

F&C is understood to have decided to abstain on the motion relating to Barclays' remuneration report, reflecting unhappiness about recent disclosures such as the decision to pay more than 400 staff packages of at least £1m in 2012, a year in which Barclays was fined £290m for manipulating the interbank borrowing rate, Libor.

Aviva has decided to support the remuneration report motion at Thursday's AGM but said continued momentum in reforming employees' pay was essential if that backing was to continue.

Speaking to Sky News, David Lis, a senior fund manager at Aviva, said he had met Sir David in recent weeks to discuss the fund manager's ongoing concerns about pay at Barclays, which remains among the most generous payers in the City.

"Under normal circumstances we would have voted against the pay arrangements but we agreed at the meeting with Sir David that if we were to support the pay arrangements we would have to explain to our clients that it was on the basis that we are supportive of the direction that the company is taking on pay and that they would continue to improve," he said.

"If we feel the progress has stalled by the next AGM we would have to review our voting stance. Sir David agreed that this was a reasonable approach."

Last month, Barclays sparked fresh anger when it announced on the day of the Budget that nine top executives were receiving deferred share awards totalling approximately £40m.

Of the recipients, Tom Kalaris, the head of Barclays' wealth management business, and Rich Ricci, boss of its investment bank, were last week ousted by Antony Jenkins, the group's new chief executive.

Chris Lucas, the finance director and another member of the nine-strong group, is also leaving Barclays later this year.

Last year's AGM was one of the key flashpoints of the so-called shareholder spring, which saw revolts over pay at a string of FTSE-100 companies.

Almost one-third of shareholders refused to back the remuneration report, with the equivalent number expected to be much lower this year.

Several leading investors said Sir David, a leading advocate of pay and governance reforms in the banking sector, deserved "the benefit of the doubt" because he had been in the job for such a short period.

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