Forbes: Madonna Tops Celebrity Rich List

Madonna is the world's top-earning celebrity raking in an estimated £80m ($125m) last year, according to the Forbes rich list.

The pop star, 55, beat second-placed Steven Spielberg (£65m, $100m) to top spot, after her MDNA tour grossed more than £190m ($300m).

Spielberg, who had a big hit last year with the film "Lincoln", earned most of his income from his catalogue of past hits, such as "E.T." and "Jurassic Park".

At joint third, with earnings of £60m ($95m), were "50 Shades of Grey" author E.L. James, radio shock jock Howard Stern and music and television producer Simon Cowell.

Simon Cowell was joint third top earner

"Madonna's success, at age 55, just goes to show the incredible power of a successful music career," Forbes reporter Dorothy Pomerantz said.

Forbes compiles its annual list of celebrity earnings using input from agents, managers and producers.

The figures do not reflect tax deductions, agent fees or "the other expenses of being a celebrity".

Madonna's top spot compares with her previous peak of £70m ($110m) in 2009.

But it falls short of the £105m ($165m) taken in by Oprah Winfrey in the previous year, Forbes said.

Lady Gaga is following in the footsteps of Madonna's success

Talk show queen and media mogul Winfrey took a big pay cut this year according to Forbes, falling to 13 on the list with earnings of £50m ($77m).

Lady Gaga ranked 10th in the list, earning £51m ($80m).

Others in the top 10 included TV host Glenn Beck, director Michael Bay of the "Transformers" franchise, and thriller novelist James Patterson.

Patterson is now the best-selling author of all time, Forbes said.

Both Spielberg and Bay also made last year's top 10, though with significantly larger earnings.

The full list of top-earning celebrities can be viewed at www.forbes.com.

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Maternity Leave: New Mothers Lose Jobs

Up to 50,000 women cannot return to their jobs after taking maternity leave because of discrimination by employers, figures suggest.

Analysis by the House of Commons library found 14% of the 340,000 who stop work to have children every year find their positions under threat when they look to come back.

Some are not allowed to do their old job part-time and have to go into lesser roles, and others are constructively dismissed.

Those who do return to the role they performed before often struggle to get promotion, according to the figures obtained by The Independent.

Mother-of-three Yvette Cooper

Labour has highlighted the problem as it aims to make maternity rights a dividing line with the Tories ahead of the next election.

It warns that reforms requiring applicants to pay £1,200 to take a discrimination case to an employment tribunal will hit affected mothers.

Shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper vowed Labour would crack down on employers who disobey existing laws and would investigate how to improve childcare provision.

She said: "Businesses and the economy depend on the work women do. Families depend on mums being able to spend time with their newborn.

"Yet the evidence shows that too often new mothers are let down at an incredibly important time. The scale of discrimination during maternity leave is a hidden disgrace."

A survey of 1,000 mothers by lawyers Slater & Gordon found more than a quarter did not know their rights or what they could expect from their boss.

Nearly half said they had been faced with different duties when they returned to work, and more than a quarter were not allowed to do flexible hours.

One in 20 had accepted a completely different position.

Ms Cooper said: "The growing pressure on new parents has gone on long enough ... We need national action to deal with maternity discrimination."

The coalition recently launched a consultation on proposals to give working parents a £1,200 tax break on childcare costs per child per year.

It is also introducing shared parental leave from 2015.

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Facebook To Pay $20m Over 'Likes' Advertising

A judge has approved a deal in which Facebook will pay $20m (£13m) for using members' "likes" as endorsements for advertisers.

The money is to be shared between lawyers, internet privacy rights groups and Facebook users who filed claims in the class-action lawsuit against the social media giant.

US district judge Richard Seeborg reasoned that the sum, a small fraction of the billions being sought in the case, was fair given the challenges of proving Facebook members were financially harmed or that signalling "likes" for products did not imply some form of consent.

Facebook's Sponsored Stories programme used members' names or likenesses to endorse ads without getting their permission, according to the legal filing.

Judge Seeborg estimated the size of the class represented in the suit as 150 million people, but noted that so few had filed claims that there was ample money in the settlement fund.

"The settlement as a whole provides fair, reasonable, and adequate relief to the class, in light of all the circumstances, including the low probability that a substantially better result would be obtained through continued litigation," the judge ruled.

The settlement calls for Facebook to modify its rules to give members greater control when it comes to how their information is used regarding Sponsored Stories.

"Sponsored Stories, in Facebook's view, does nothing more than take information users have already voluntarily disclosed to their "friends," and sometimes redisplays it to the same persons, in a column that also contains more traditional paid advertising," the judge wrote while detailing his decision.

"Plaintiffs faced a substantial burden in showing they were injured by the Sponsored Stories."

So few Facebook members have filed claims that those negotiating the settlement proposed paying out $15 to each person and having enough cash left over for lawyer fees and routing funds to internet privacy groups, according to the ruling.

An original settlement rejected by the judge recommended the same pool of money, but allocated none of it to Facebook members.

The lawsuit was filed in early 2011 after Facebook launched its Sponsored Stories advertising programme.

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Lloyds-Backed Firm In Silverstone Deal Talks

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

A private equity firm owned by the state-backed Lloyds Banking Group is in talks to buy a big stake in Silverstone, the spiritual home of British motorsport, Sky News can reveal.

LDC, which owns shareholdings in some of the UK's best-known companies, is in advanced negotiations about a deal, which is expected to be announced within weeks.

People familiar with the Silverstone transaction said on Tuesday that it would be structured as two separate agreements with the present owner, the British Racing Drivers' Club (BRDC).

LDC will invest millions of pounds in backing a management buyout of Silverstone Circuits, the entity which promotes and hosts the British Grand Prix, while MEPC, a property group owned by the BT pension fund, will acquire the development land around the site.

The BRDC struck a 17-year agreement to stage the British GP in 2009, paving the way for the redevelopment of the Northamptonshire circuit.

Under the proposals contained in planning applications which received outline permission in 2011, hundreds of acres of land surrounding the racetrack will be redeveloped to create a business and science park, with three hotels also expected to be built there.

MEPC's interest in Silverstone was first reported in June by Property Week, a trade title, which said the MEPC deal would be valued at £40m.

The price-tag attached to Silverstone Circuits is less clear. One source familiar with LDC's talks said the two deals with the BRDC were "inter-related" and that the value of LDC's investment had yet to be finalised.

If the talks result in a concrete agreement, LDC's investment in Silverstone would not be its first exposure to motorsport. The private equity firm, which also owns stakes in the restaurant group established by Sir Terence Conran and Uswitch, the price comparison website, sold a minority stake in the loss-making Marussia F1 team earlier this year.

The BRDC's 800 members, who include former British F1 world champions such as Damon Hill and Lewis Hamilton, would have to approve the Silverstone sale before it is completed. The club is expected to use the proceeds from the sale of the site, which it will then lease back, to invest in revamping many of the facilities at the racetrack.

Silverstone staged its first race in 1948 and in addition to the annual F1 Grand Prix it hosts race weekends for most of the year. For many years it was the subject of speculation that it would lose the right to host F1 races but persuaded Bernie Ecclestone, the sport's boss, that it had a credible plan for a multimillion pound facelift.

LDC declined to comment on the talks, while PriceWaterhouseCoopers, which is advising the BRDC, also declined to comment.

The BRDC was unavailable for comment but in response to a story about the MEPC talks earlier this month, it said:

"[The BRDC] can confirm that it remains in discussion with parties interested in investing in Silverstone. Those discussions are progressing. Under the terms of non-disclosure agreements, the BRDC is not able to comment on any details or speculation surrounding potential investors."

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Congress Warned US Debt Ceiling Looms

The Obama administration has warned Congress the US could run out of money to pay its bills soon after mid-October unless swift action is taken to raise government borrowing limits.

Treasury Secretary Jack Lew made the plea in a letter to Congressional leaders following several bruising political battles over the country's finances in recent years that have resulted in last-minute emergency measures to avert disaster.

Mr Lew said "Congress should act as soon as possible to protect America's good credit" urging action "well before any risk of default becomes imminent".

He warned that the government would exhaust its borrowing capacity in the middle of October and be left with about $50bn (£32.2bn) in cash on hand, an amount that he said could conceivably be wiped out in a single day.

"Such a scenario could undermine financial markets and result in significant disruptions to our economy," Mr Lew added.

House speaker John Boehner wants concessions from the White House

A heated debate in Washington over the debt ceiling nearly led to default in 2011, rattling financial markets and prompting a major rating agency to downgrade America's credit rating.

Earlier this year, a divided Congress officially missed the deadline for averting $85bn of cuts to defence and other programmes, which had been designed to be so ugly that Washington would be forced to avoid them.

The government has been scraping up against its current $16.7trn (£10.7trn) debt limit since May, but has avoided defaulting on any of its obligations by employing a number of emergency measures to manage its cash, like suspending investments in pension funds for federal workers.

Republicans are considering using the need to raise the debt ceiling as leverage for their agenda in Congress.

Among the party's aims is weakening President Obama's signature healthcare overhaul.

"The debt limit remains a reminder that, under President Obama, Washington has failed to deal seriously with America's debt and deficit," said Michael Steel, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner.

While Congress has already taken the tax and spending decisions that have fuelled US budget deficits, it also separately controls the limit on the nation's debt.

However, the President is vowing not to let the debt ceiling be a bargaining chip in other political discussions - suggesting Americans face another anxious wait for a deal.

"We will not negotiate with Republicans in Congress over Congress' responsibility to pay the bills that Congress has racked up, period," White House spokesman Jay Carney said.

The Obama administration has been bolstered by improved tax receipts amid economic recovery but while that has bought some time there is no sign of any compromise in sight.

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MS And Parkinson's Sufferers Told: 'Get To Work'

By Frazer Maude, Sky New Reporter

Thousands of people with progressive conditions such as Parkinson's and MS are being told they could recover enough to look for work, according to charities.

The government's controversial Work Capability Assessment is again under fire after a coalition of four leading charities claimed that 45% of people were told they would be able to work again following assessment for Employment Support Allowance.

Parkinson's UK, MS Society, National Rheumatoid Arthritis Society and Cystic Fibrosis Trust have called for the abolition of the system saying it is "farcical" and "defies belief".

Between 2008 and 2011, 13,600 people with cystic fibrosis, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's or rheumatoid arthritis applied for Employment Support Allowance, figures show.

Nearly half were placed in the Work Related Activity Group (WRAG) after being assessed for Employment Support Allowance, where charities claim they should have been in the Support Group, which doesn't require the individual to seek work.

Sue Watson, from Leeds, is one of  580,000 people in England who suffer from Rheumatoid Arthritis.

On bad days it can make even the smallest movements intensely painful.

When she was forced to give up her work as an aromatherapist her Work Capability Assessment placed her in WRAG.

"It has a detrimental effect because stress affects rheumatoid arthritis," she says.

Iain Duncan Smith's Department for Work and Pensions has defended claims

"So the stress of being felt that you're on the scrap heap and that you're not believed, and to think that I'm going to be forced to go back into work even though I can't, that had a huge impact on me."

Caroline Hacker, Head of Policy at Parkinson's UK said "This is the latest in a long line of unspeakable failures by Atos Healthcare (who carry out the assessments) and the Government when it comes to supporting those who need it most.

"To set up a system which tells people who've had to give up work because of a debilitating progressive condition that they'll recover, is farcical and simply defies belief."

A Department for Work and Pensions spokesman said: "It's ridiculous to suggest that we think people with degenerative conditions will 'recover'. However, it is important that we don't simply write people off. There is strong evidence that working can be beneficial for many people who have a health condition."

An Atos Healthcare spokesman said: "Our healthcare professionals are trained in the assessment of chronic and progressive conditions such as Parkinson's and understand that, sadly, some people's conditions will only get worse over time.

"However, the advice we are asked to give DWP concentrates on how individuals are affected by their illness at present.

"All decisions on the outcome of claims, for example whether they are placed in the WRAG or the Support Group, are made by DWP."

The charities though are calling for an end to a system which they say causes unnecessary stress and anxiety for people who are already in poor health.

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HS2 'A Grand Folly' Says Business Group

HS2 Network 'Could Cost £80bn'

Updated: 10:51am UK, Sunday 18 August 2013

The cost of the new High Speed 2 rail network will be £80bn, double the current estimate, according to a new report.

The Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) says the plan "defies economic logic" and is calling for the project to be cancelled.

The Department for Transport's official estimate currently stands at £43bn  - a rise from its original figure of £33bn.

The think tank argues that the £80bn price tag could deliver £320bn of value if spent on road and other rail and transport projects.

Work on the first leg between London and Birmingham is due to begin in 2017.

The report's author Dr Richard Welling said: "It's time the Government abandoned its plans to proceed with HS2.

"The evidence is now overwhelming that this will be unbelievably costly to the taxpayer while delivering incredibly poor value for money."

A spokesman for the DfT said: "HS2 is absolutely vital for this country, providing a huge economic boost which will generate a return on investment that will continue paying back for generations to come.

"Without it the key rail routes connecting London, the Midlands and the North will be overwhelmed. HS2 will provide the capacity needed in a way that will generate hundreds of thousands of jobs and billions of pounds worth of economic benefits.

"The Government is committed to managing the cost within the budget we have set for the project and to securing maximum value for money for the taxpayer, while also ensuring that preparations are properly made for the most significant infrastructure investment the UK has seen in modern times."

The IEA's 58-page report on the cost will be published on Monday.

Meanwhile campaigners are claiming that more than half a million people across Middle England will have their lives affected by the construction of the project.

The Campaign for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE) is warning that life in towns and villages up to 25 miles from the rail route will be disrupted by the movement of construction vehicles while the line is being built.

The organisation is publishing its analysis of the impact of the project, in the form of a series of maps, based on information it has obtained from HS2.

According to advance details released to The Mail on Sunday, towns along a 40-mile wide corridor - such as Thame in Oxfordshire, Princes Risborough and Beaconsfield in Buckinghamshire, and Leamington Spa in Warwickshire - will be affected by the millions of extra lorry journeys.

When it is built, some of the country's most tranquil areas will be blighted by train noise of up to 95 decibels near the track - the equivalent of a Tube train - from up to 16 trains an hour travelling at 225mph, the paper said.

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Regulator Sounds Warning On Mobile Banking

Mobile phone networks and banks are being urged to ensure there are adequate protections in place for consumers as the popularity of mobile banking increases.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published a report exploring some early findings of a review into mobile banking services, setting out the possible risks to people and areas that firms should consider when developing their products.

The regulator, which has no powers of supervision over mobile device manufacturers, said that among its worries was that consumers may suffer as a result of small, fiddly keypads - with people being punished for making mistakes and not being easily able to correct them.

Mobile banking, which includes contactless payments, financial transfers and account monitoring - all via mobile devices such as smartphones and tablet computers - will be considered in greater depth by the FCA in the full review to be published in the first half of 2014. 

The FCA said it had objectives "to ensure an appropriate degree of protection for consumers and to promote the integrity of the UK's financial system".

The FCA says it wants to ensure consumers get the best possible service

Clive Adamson, director of supervision at the FCA, added: "Mobile banking is an exciting development in financial services, with increasing numbers of consumers attracted to the convenience of banking on the move.

"With the market growing, now is the right time for us to take stock and, as part of the FCA's forward looking approach, to ensure that consumers are appropriately protected.

"By publishing these initial thoughts we want to make sure that the industry knows exactly what we're looking into, and consumers have a clearer idea of some of the potential risks, he concluded."

As part of its forthcoming review, the FCA said it would be looking into whether providers of mobile banking services ensure their products and services are secure, reliable and straightforward to use.

The areas of potential risk it has identified include fraud, security and consumer awareness.

The FCA said users of mobile banking services also needed to consider their own actions, including taking steps to reduce the risk of fraud, such as making sure that should they lose their phone, others can't easily gain access to their account.

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UK-US Couple Held In China For 'Selling Data'

A British corporate investigator and his American wife have been arrested in Shanghai on suspicion of illegally buying and selling personal information about Chinese citizens.

Former journalist Peter Humphrey and his wife Yingzeng Yu are accused of obtaining people's addresses, as well as information about their families, homes and cars, and selling the details to lawyers, manufacturers and financial companies.

Police in Shanghai claimed the pair had "seriously violated the legitimate rights of citizens" and said they were formally arrested earlier this month.

Humphrey, speaking in Mandarin as he appeared on state television with his face blurred, said: "To obtain this information, I sometimes used illegal means. I want to apologise to the Chinese government."

A spokesman from the British Embassy said: "We are aware of reports in the Chinese media relating to Peter Humphrey.

"We were concerned to see that Peter Humphrey was interviewed about the details of a case which is currently under investigation and has yet to come to trial.

"We are continuing to provide consular assistance to Mr Humphrey and his family."

Humphrey and Yu run a company called ChinaWhys, which offers services including the screening of potential employees or business partners.

Chinese companies use such firms to protect themselves against fraud, embezzlement or misconduct by employees or business partners.

Humphrey, who worked as a foreign correspondent for 20 years, studied at Durham University and founded ChinaWhys in 2003.

Humphrey is led down a corridor by police officers in Shanghai

He was detained as police investigated bribery allegations against drugs company GlaxoSmithKline, one of the companies he worked for, Reuters said.

Chinese police have detained four GSK executives claiming they organised a scheme to funnel bribes to doctors in return for buying its products.

It is not clear whether Humphrey's arrest is linked to the probe.

A report last week claimed that western firms were warned about illegal practises at a meeting in a Beijing hotel in July.

China's National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) held a closed-door meeting with representatives from around 30 foreign firms, including Siemens and General Electric.

At the meeting, the firms were reportedly warned about corruption and violating Chinese law.

One source claimed the Chinese official had said half of the companies in the room were either being investigated or had been probed by the NDRC.

Sky's China Correspondent Mark Stone, in Beijing, said: "Over the past few months, the Chinese operations of a number of foreign companies have been subjected to probes by Chinese investigators, ostensibly as part of a country-wide crackdown on corruption.

"The focus on foreign firms is seen as being increasingly aggressive and could threaten foreign investment in China.

"Given how important the Chinese market is to foreign companies, none will want China to become too risky a market in which to operate."

According to a profile on his company's website, Humphrey's achievements include eliminating fraud in the buying operation of a well-known chain of stores, uncovering fraudulent deals for a global appliances manufacturer and helping recover a kidnapped child in China.

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Struggling G4S Lures Misys Finance Chief

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

The troubled security contractor G4S will on Wednesday mount a fightback against its escalating problems when its chief executive unveils the first clues about his strategy for the company and announces the appointment of a new finance director.

Sky News has learnt that G4S plans to name Himanshu Raja, a troubleshooter who helped to overhaul the balance sheets of BT Global Services and Logica during periods of corporate difficulty, as its next chief financial officer.

The announcement will come alongside half-year results which the City anticipates will underline the scale of the challenges facing the group.

Mr Raja will join from Misys, the financial software provider that was taken private by Vista Equity Partners last year, just six months after his appointment.

He is understood to have decided that the challenge of helping to reshape G4S, one of the world's largest private sector employers, was too big to turn down, and is expected to join within months.

The new finance chief will report to G4S's new chief executive, Ashley Almanza, who was himself only drafted into his current role in June.

Mr Almanza's arrival, initially as the finance director, followed a series of episodes which had damaged the company's reputation, the most notable of which was the failure to fulfil the terms of a contract to provide security staff at last year's London Olympic Games.

The fiasco resulted in Mr Almanza's predecessor Nick Buckles enduring a humiliating session in front of MPs on the home affairs select committee, and a £70m loss for G4S.

More recently, the group has been attacked by the Justice Secretary Chris Grayling over its alleged overcharging of the taxpayer for the provision of electronic tagging services.

Mr Grayling said this month that both G4S and Serco, another company implicated in the situation, would have to undertake a process of "corporate renewal" if they wished to be considered for future public sector contracts. G4S, which is being probed by the Serious Fraud Office over the issue, eventually withdrew from the bidding to renew its deal.

City analysts believe that Mr Almanza may indicate plans to launch a cash call that would see investors tapped for hundreds of millions of pounds of new capital, as well as a slimming-down of G4S through a string of disposals.

"The key question to our minds is how the company plans to deleverage, with disposals likely to be the preferred route albeit we do not think an equity rights issue can be fully discounted at this stage," said Mike Allen, an analyst at Panmure Gordon

One person close to the company said on Tuesday that Mr Almanza's more detailed outlook for G4S would not emerge until later this year but leading investors have pledged to support him on the basis of his strong track record in previous jobs.

The new boss has also had to contend in recent weeks with the arrival of Cevian Capital, one of Europe's most notorious activist investment funds, on G4S's share register.

Cevian Capital's UK operation is chaired by Lord Myners, the former City Minister who has been critical of the "absentee landlord" status of City fund managers. The Sunday Times reported at the weekend that Cevian was seeking to double its 5% stake in G4S.

The security giant, whose shares closed down 0.2% on Tuesday, declined to comment on Mr Raja's appointment.

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