Drivers 'cut petrol use by 15%'

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4 October 2011 Last updated at 23:18 GMT By Simon Gompertz Personal finance correspondent, BBC News The fall in petrol sales cost the Treasury nearly ￡1bn over the six months to June, the AA reckoned Drivers have cut their petrol consumption by more than 15% since the credit crunch and the recession.

The AA has calculated that petrol sales in the first six months of 2011 were 1.7bn litres less than in the same period three years ago.

The AA says the drop in petrol sales is a direct result of record fuel prices.

Many drivers are struggling to make ends meet in any case, so the high cost of petrol leaves them with no option but to try to use less.

And businesses have been cutting back as well.

The cut in fuel purchases, comparing the first six months of this year with pre-recession levels, is equivalent to 40,000 delivery rounds by fully-laden petrol tankers.

One result has been lower emissions of potentially damaging exhaust fumes.

Another, says the AA, is that the fall in sales has deprived the Treasury of nearly ￡1bn in fuel duty between January and June this year.

And while supermarkets have attracted drivers looking for bargain fuel, hundreds of other petrol stations have gone out of business.

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Firms vie for UK rescue service

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AppId is over the quota
5 October 2011 Last updated at 12:06 GMT The successful company would run rescue services out of four bases, including Stornaway At least four companies are competing for a contract to run part of the UK's search and rescue helicopter service.

Firms had until Wednesday to submit bids for a new five-year contract to run four coastguard rescue services in Scotland and southern England.

Bids have been submitted by Bond, Bristow, a consortium including British International Helicopters and CHC, the current coastguard contractors.

The government is to announce which has been successful by the end of the year.

The preferred bidder will take over the operation of helicopter rescue services out of bases in Portland in Dorset, Lee-on-the-Solent in Hampshire, Sumburgh in the Shetland Islands, and Stornoway in the Outer Hebrides from June 2013.

The UK's search and rescue service is currently operated out of four Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) bases, six RAF ones and two Navy ones.

All four coastguard bases are run by CHC, but its contract expires next year.

The Department for Transport needed to find a contractor to run the service after plans for a private consortium to take over all 12 UK helicopter rescue bases were shelved earlier this year.

The Soteria consortium did not get the contract after admitting it had access to commercially sensitive information.

Ministry of Defence police are investigating how the information came to be in the group's possession.

This new contract is expected to plug a gap until a private finance deal is reached for the takeover of the entire search and rescue service.

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Citic securities dips on HK debut

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6 October 2011 Last updated at 04:55 GMT The Hong Kong stock exchange has seen many proposed listings being cancelled or postponed Shares of Citic Securities have fallen on their debut at the Hong Kong stock exchange as market volatility continues to dent investor sentiment.

Its shares fell by as much as 10% in early trade to HK$11.90 from an offer price of HK$13.30.

Citic securities, China's largest listed brokerage had sold 995.3m shares raising HK$13.2bn ($1.7bn, ￡1.1bn).

Many Chinese firms have recently cancelled or postponed their proposed listing on the exchange.

"It is a very difficult time for any initial public offering (IPO) because market sentiment is so weak right now," said Patrick Yiu of CASH Asset Management.

No appetite?

Hong Kong stock exchange has witnessed sharp falls in recent days, with the Hang Seng index hitting a two-and-a-half year low on Tuesday.

Analysts said that given the uncertainty surrounding the global economy and the volatility in the stock markets, investors were being cautious.

"Investors want to look for stocks now with a track record, with very low valuations," said Mr Liu. "They don't have the appetite for new stocks."

The lack of investor confidence has seen listings worth some $4.5bn being cancelled or postponed.

Sany Heavy Industry Co has delayed the launch of the retail portion of its $3.3bn offering and also pushed back its listing date.

XCMG Construction Machinery Co, China's biggest crane maker also cancelled its proposed $1.1bn listing after some of the underwriters pulled out.

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Chelsea make stadium shares bid

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AppId is over the quota
Chelsea played their first home game at Stamford Bridge back in 1905 Chelsea are a step closer to building a new stadium after making a bid to buy back parts of Stamford Bridge.

The club is still to decide whether to move, but cannot do so unless it regains ownership of the stadium's pitch and stands.

They are owned by Chelsea Pitch Owners - formed in 1993 to prevent the ground being bought by property developers.

"That threat has now gone under (Roman) Abramovich's ownership," insisted Blues chairman Bruce Buck.

Buck and chief executive Ron Gourlay have appealed to the 12,000 shareholders, who are mostly fans, to sell their 15,000 shares to the club for the price they paid in return for various incentives at any new stadium.

Each share cost ￡100 and Chelsea are hopeful they would not be held to ransom, insisting there was no room for negotiation.

Buck said shareholders were getting back far more than the land was worth when the 199-year lease on Stamford Bridge was taken into account.

He said: "Bear in mind that no-one bought these shares as a financial investment.

"Everyone bought these shares as a way of helping the club and they also bought them as mementoes and souvenirs.

"We think we're paying well over the odds."

The incentives for selling include a guarantee that Chelsea would only relocate within a three-mile radius of Stamford Bridge if the club did decide to move before 2020.

A decision on the bid is expected at a Chelsea Pitch Owners' general meeting on 27 October.

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Survey finds 28p beer price gap

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5 October 2011 Last updated at 23:08 GMT Even the cheapest pint of bitter in London costs more than ￡3, the survey says The cheapest pint of beer is 28p cheaper in pubs in the north of England compared with south-eastern hostelries, a survey suggests.

Some 650 pubs were asked for the cost of their cheapest pint of bitter by researchers for the Good Pub Guide.

They found that this pint cost ￡3.15 on average in the south-east of England and London, but ￡2.87 in Yorkshire and the North.

Campaigners say that overheads faced by pubs could explain the difference.

Rates and rents were often higher for London publicans and that could be reflected in the cost of a drink, said Tony Jerome, spokesman for the Campaign for Real Ale (Camra).

Brewers

The 30th edition of the Good Pub Guide, published on Thursday, found that prices had risen by 7% over the last year - and that the north-south price divide had been in evidence for some time.

However, it suggested that pubs brewing their own ale were often charging less than ￡2.50 a pint, with scarcely any increase over the last year. A recent Camra survey claimed West Yorkshire had more breweries producing more types of beer than any other county in the UK.

Figures from the British Beer and Pub Association's Statistical Handbook claimed that the price differential for a pint in London and in the North East in 2010 was even greater - at 84p.

One brewer warned that the price of a pint could continue to rise

Paul Maloney, national officer of the GMB union, said: "Since the Good Pub Guide was first published, the Beer Orders were introduced in 1989. The aim was to foster competition to increase consumer choice and bring down prices.

"The opposite of this aim has been achieved. The average price for a pint of lager in Britain has risen by 80p higher than justified by inflation and changes in taxes in pubs, as property companies replaced brewers as owners."

Rising costs

Brewer Shepherd Neame said on Wednesday that beer prices would continue to rise in the coming months.

The brewer, which produces real ales such as Spitfire and Bishops Finger, said cereals such as barley were up to 30% more expensive than a year ago, while the price of glass has also increased, pushing up the cost of beer bottles and pint jars.

However, changes to the tax system have made some drinks cheaper.

Since 1 October, all beers with an alcohol content of 2.8% abv and below are being taxed less, to the equivalent of around 35p on every pint when compared with a typical 4.2% cent beer.

The Good Pub Guide also suggested that steak-in-ale pie was the most popular pub food.

Editor Fiona Stapley said that many pubs were diversifying, such as offering breakfasts and coffee mornings, to get through tough economic conditions.

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Samsung pays Microsoft royalties

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29 September 2011 Last updated at 14:19 GMT Samsung said it would work with Microsoft on future smart phone technologies Samsung is to start paying Microsoft royalties for every sale of its smartphone and tablet computers that run the rival Google Android platform.

Microsoft has long accused Android of violating its patents.

Google said its US rival Microsoft was "resorting to legal measures to extort profit from others' achievements and hinder the pace of innovation".

Meanwhile, Samsung has received support from T-Mobile in its continuing legal fight with Apple.

IP wars

Google said Microsoft was resorting to "the same tactic we've seen time and again".

It added: "We remain focused on building new technology and supporting Android partners."

Per Roman of technology investment bank GP Bullhound said he was not surprised by the Samsung-Microsoft announcement.

"Many people have long said that Android contains some Microsoft technology," he said.

"Ultimately we are in the area of IP [intellectual property] wars. There is now an intense battle among the technology giants regarding their IP portfolios."

Court side

Samsung has also received help from T-Mobile in its continuing legal battle with Apple.

Samsung and Apple are facing each other in courts around the world as they wrangle over patents used in smartphones and tablets.

Apple has applied for an injunction that would stop Samsung selling many of its products in the US. A hearing on the injunction is scheduled for 13 October.

Now T-Mobile has filed papers with the court saying any ban would bring "unnecessarily harm" to it and its customers because it would not be able to find alternative products before the busy holiday season.

T-Mobile's backing for Samsung follows support from Verizon which earlier this week said legal rows over who owns which patent should not hamper the flow of future devices.

'Dramatic growth'

Microsoft and Samsung also said they would cross license their patent portfolios.

South Korea's Samsung has further agreed to co-operate in the development and marketing of Windows Phone, Microsoft's own smart phone operating system.

Andy Lees, president of Microsoft's Windows Phone division, said: "Microsoft and Samsung see the opportunity for dramatic growth in Windows Phone and we're investing to make that a reality."

Samsung's executive vice president of global product strategy, Hong Won-Pyo, added that the two firms would "continue to bring the latest innovations to the mobile industry".

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Qantas boss threatened in job row

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5 October 2011 Last updated at 07:33 GMT Mr Joyce has received a threatening letter about his role in the dispute Qantas says its chief executive, Alan Joyce, has received a threatening letter related to its current industrial dispute.

The letter comes amid a row between the Australian airline and unions on a restructuring and outsourcing plan that could lead to job cuts.

But officials from two unions have raised doubts about the authenticity of the letter, saying that it was not clear who sent it.

Police are investigating the matter.

According to reports in the Australian media, the letter went on to read: "The unions will fight you... Qantas is our airline, started and staffed by Australians, not foreign filth like you."

Irish-born Mr Joyce has been Qantas' chief executive since November 2008.

Luke Enright of Qantas confirmed to the contents of the letter to the BBC, though he refused to comment further on the matter.

Unions' anger However, the Transport Workers Union (TWU) and Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers Association (ALAEA) accused the airline to turning the issue into a public relations exercise.

"We are unsure whether it came from an angry employee, or it may have been fabricated by the Qantas management to gain sympathy from the public," Steve Purvinas, federal secretary of ALAEA, told the BBC.

TWU's national secretary, Tony Sheldon, said: "This is an unsubstantiated piece of correspondence, that was either created by Qantas or sent by any of its 35,000 employees or people outside the company."

They said the airline had been losing public support because of its plans to restructure its business and relocate jobs outside Australia and as a result, it was trying to garner public sympathy using such tactics.

"The question here is, did they go to the police first or the media," TWU's Mr Sheldon said. "They released the letter to the media even before their staff knew about it."

Flights cancelled

The airline and the union members have been involved in a dispute that has seen Qantas' services being disrupted.

Last month, Qantas cancelled 28 flights, while another 27 were delayed after ground staff stopped work for four hours at all major Australian airports.

The union members have been striking against the planned restructuring that will see the airline's operations expand in Asia.

Qantas has also announced plans to launch two new airlines, including a budget carrier based out of Japan. At the same time, Singapore and Malaysia are being talked about as potential hubs for the other venture.

There have also been concerns that the outsourcing of certain jobs could result in as many as 1,000 job cuts in Australia.

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