Snow Hit Retail Sales In January - Down 0.5%

UK retail sales, excluding fuel, fell 0.5% month-on-month in January with food sales hard hit and snow affecting small grocers.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said disruption caused by the weather had a measurable impact.

Food sales tumbled by their biggest monthly margin since May 2011.

Including fuel, sales volumes fell by 0.6%. This follows a downward-revised fall of 0.3% in December, the ONS said.

Ian Geddes, UK head of retail at Deloitte, said: "Today's figures bring into sharp focus the unsettled picture for UK retailers.

"Despite a decent Christmas and tight stock management ensuring effective seasonal discounting, the figures are another blow for the high street."

The official figures follow those released earlier this month by the British Retail Consortium, which found that total retail sales rose by 3% in January.

The ONS figures indicate month-on-month volumes whereas the BRC are year-on-year values and include inflation.

With differences stripped out, they show a broadly similar picture - one of a high street that is flatlining at best.

Many people were unable to travel because of the snow's impact

The pound hit a 6.5-month low against the dollar and gilts extended gains after the sales data was released, wrongfooting market players who had positioned for a better ONS number.

It was the biggest yearly fall in overall retail sales volumes since April 2012 and the biggest consecutive three-month fall in retail sales since March 2010.

The January drop has already prompted fears of Britain entering a so-called triple-dip recession.

Berenberg bank economist Rob Wood said: "This probably brings the question of triple-dip back on the table again.

"If this is the sort of disruption we see from snow, and it's reflected in output in the rest of the economy, then it could be bad news for Q1."

Firms with the ability to offer online trade have continued to benefit

Jens Larsen from RBC added: "There is never a lot of signal in retail sales for consumption demand, and here we have to be particularly careful because of the weather effect.

"But it does look a surprisingly weak number and not all of it can be a weather effect. There is no escaping that this is a weak start to Q1."

According to Deloitte, there are positive signs for retailers, primarily for those who can embrace and exploit technology, which can adversely affect many smaller independents.

Mr Geddes said: "Online and mobile channels have continued to see significant year-on-year growth.

"Perhaps more than ever before, January's results demonstrate the importance of a sophisticated multi-channel strategy.

"Those with effective digital and mobile services have reaped the rewards, whilst those still coming to terms with the online revolution have struggled."

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BMG Buys Top Brit Acts On Sanctuary Records

German music rights company BMG has signed a deal to acquire the famous Sanctuary Records from Universal Music, it has been confirmed.

The reported £40m sale, which still needs approval by the European Commission (EC), follows on from a divestment plan after French-owned Universal purchased EMI Records for £1.2bn.

The Sanctuary catalogue includes over 170,000 recordings, and rights to Black Sabbath, Motorhead, Iron Maiden and The Kinks - including iconic songs You Really Got Me, All Day And All Of The Night, Waterloo Sunset and Lola.

The purchase also includes reggae, punk, folk and famous British artists from the 1960s, and comes after its purchase last year of Mute Records - whose roster includes Depeche Mode, Erasure, Nick Cave and Moby.

BMG boss Hartwig Masuch said: "We are delighted to have won the opportunity to work with the exceptional line-up of artists in the Sanctuary catalogue.

"We have made no secret of our ambition to create a new force in the music industry focused on delivering service and revenue to artists.

"We believe this deal will be good news for those artists, good news for our partners particularly in the independent sector and good news for the music industry as a whole."

Within the last four years BMG has acquired one million music publishing copyrights. It is a joint venture between German media company Bertelsmann and the US private equity firm KKR, and is altering the music business model.

Ray Davies is famous for his iconic songs

Music Week editor Tim Ingham told Sky News: "The traditional deal that a music label has done with artists is not dissimilar to a mortgage, with not so favourable terms - it would be lots of cash and to pay that off could take millions of sales and several albums.

"BMG is now a traditional publisher with copyrights but they want to grow their masters business and won't give artists a big advance but will profit share.

"The artist shares risk and profit, and BMG see that as ground-breaking way to release records into the market."

Vivendi recently sold the iconic Parlophone label to Warner Music for £487m, above industry estimates, and there are fears smaller names are being squeezed out by the big players.

Mr Ingham added: "It is a revolutionary model BMG is using and I think it makes perfect sense for established artists that need less marketing, it remains to be seen on what it will mean for emerging artists.

"BMG bought Mute for a reported £7m and Sanctuary for £40m – I think they will be laughing all the way to the bank."

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Tesla's Boss Disputes New York Times Review

The chief executive of Tesla has defended its battery-powered Model S following a New York Times review claiming the vehicle ran out of power.

The company's co-founder Elon Musk posted a blog on its website claiming he was "upset" by the article because "it does not factually represent Tesla technology".

Last week, New York Times reporter John Broder wrote that the Model S did not travel as far as he expected in cold weather before it needed recharging.

The orginal article's title was "Stalled Out on Tesla's Electric Highway"

He said that on a journey from Washington DC to Connecticut he was forced to drive below the speed limit, turn down the car's heat - despite the cold - and in the end had to be towed to a charging station.

But on Thursday Mr Musk published data logs which he said were taken from the test drive in question and contradicted the claims.

In the blog, entitled 'A Most Peculiar Test Drive' he said the information showed the car was driven faster than described, and did not run out of battery.

He wrote that Mr Broder "worked very hard to force our car to stop running".

"When the facts didn't suit his opinion, he simply changed the facts," Mr Musk said.

In response, Mr Broder set out point-by-point responses to Mr Musk's assertions in an article on the New York Times website.

He said: "His (Mr Musk's) broadest charge is that I consciously set out to sabotage the test. That is not so.

"I was delighted to receive the assignment to try out the company's new East Coast Supercharger network and I … in no way anticipated - or deliberately caused - the troubles I encountered."

Following the publication of the original article, Mr Musk tweeted: "NYTimes article about Tesla range in cold is fake.

"Vehicle logs tell true story that he didn't actually charge to max & took a long detour."

In response to the tweet, New York Times spokeswoman Eileen Murphy said the article "was completely factual, describing the trip in detail exactly as it occurred."

She added: "Any suggestion that the account was 'fake' is, of course, flatly untrue."

Mr Musk, who co-founded Tesla in 2003, is the company's biggest shareholder.

The billionaire entrepreneur also co-founded PayPal and is behind SpaceX, which develops spacecraft with the aim of sending members of the public into space.

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Exclusive: Banks Split Over PPI Time Limit

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

A split is emerging among Britain's biggest banks over attempts to secure a deadline for consumers to file claims that they were mis-sold payment protection inurance (PPI) policies.

I have learnt that at least one of the major high street banks is having second thoughts about an industry-wide campaign to 'time-bar' PPI complaints, and is likely to pressure the industry lobbying group to abandon the effort in the coming weeks.

The British Bankers' Association (BBA) has been in talks with the Financial Services Authority (FSA) for several months about imposing a cut-off point for claims in an attempt to provide some certainty on the industry's vast compensation bill.

A number of banks, however, are sceptical about the initiative following a hostile reaction from many consumer lobbying groups, many of which have argued that a deadline would be unjust given the scale of mis-selling which took place over many years.

One of the sceptics is understood to have argued privately that the need for a time-barring exercise has diminished because the trend for PPI claims is slowing month-by-month.

Already, the four biggest banks (Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group and Royal Bank of Scotland) have set aside well over £11bn to compensate customers, with analysts estimating that the eventual bill could as much as double before the flood of historical claims comes to a halt.

A decision by one or more of the major banks to break ranks would deal a devastating blow to efforts to present a unified approach by the banking industry.

Lloyds is by far the most exposed of the big high street banks to the PPI scandal, having accounted for not far short of half the total sum set aside by the big four lenders.

Earlier this month, Barclays added £600m to its compensation bill, and the rest of the industry is expected to follow suit with additional provisions alongside annual results during the next three weeks.

The BBA said: "We are working with our members on a number of aspects of PPI complaints. The ongoing work focuses on three issues as a priority: addressing backlogs, making sure that customers can be confident that the offers they receive are right and highlighting that there is no need for them to engage a claims management company.

"Discussions with the FSA to clarify the parameters of their complaints handling guidance are ongoing. We are unable to comment further at this stage."

Last month, the City regulator said it had agreed to talks with the industry about a time limit, but would insist that the banks funded a huge advertising campaign to ensure sufficient awareness of the PPI issue.

"Our key priority is to ensure consumers are protected, so the FSA Board would need to be convinced that any proposals would be in the interests of consumers. We have had initial discussions and are prepared to consider the merits of this and other options. A key consideration will be the potential to get compensation to more consumers, more quickly.

"We will continue to hold discussions with the BBA as well as actively seeking the opinions of consumer groups and other stakeholders. However, no changes to existing FSA, or future Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), rules would take place without a full public consultation."

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Floods Insurance Payouts Top £1bn For 2012

Insurance companies paid out over £1bn in flood and storm damage claims last year - the highest amount in five years - according to the Association of British Insurers (ABI).

The claims cost a total of £1.19bn, the trade body said, which is the most since the £3bn paid in 2007 when heavy flooding affected large parts of the UK.

Around 486,000 homeowners, businesses and motorists filed insurance claims for flood and storm damage in 2012, equating to 1,330 each day.

The average payout for flood damaged properties was £18,200 and £1,300 for storm damage, the organisation said.

Met Office figures confirmed last year was the wettest year in England and Wales on record, and second wettest in the UK.

The ABI said insurers dealt with 411,000 claims for homes - paying out £690m to repair damage and replace ruined possessions.

They awarded £373m in business claims, and an extra £40m to help firms continue trading while their premises were being repaired.

Some 27,000 people claimed for damaged vehicles, and insurers paid out £84m to motor insurance customers.

Nick Starling, ABI's Director of General Insurance, said: "2012 may have been a record-breaking wet one, but it was business as usual for insurers, who helped thousands of customers recover from the trauma of flooding.

"Flooding is the greatest natural threat facing the UK and the risk is rising so political consensus and commitment on investment in flood defences, sensible planning decisions and working with the insurance industry is essential."

The figures comes as an agreement between the Government and insurers to ensure cover for high-risk homes is due to expire at the end of June.

The ABI said talks with the Government are ongoing about how affordable premiums in high-risk areas can continue.

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BlackBerry Pioneer Balsillie Sells His Shares

BlackBerry's former co-chief executive has sold all his shares in the company, according to papers filed in the US.

Jim Balsillie held no stock in the phone manufacturer by the end of 2012, when only a year earlier he owned 26.8 million shares.

He shed his 5% stake less than a year after he and co-CEO Mike Lazaridis stepped down from the helm of the company.

Balsillie, who joined the business in 1992, is credited as a key player in the Canadian company's early success and the popularity of the original BlackBerry models.

Before the sale, he was the company's third biggest shareholder.

A separate filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission shows former chief executive and company founder Mike Lazaridis increased his stake during 2012.

The 51-year-old now owns 5.7% of BlackBerry, or 29.9 million shares.

Last year's resignations from the BlackBerry pioneers came amid pressure from investors for the pair to stand aside.

The firm is now pinning its hopes on its new BlackBerry 10 handsets

The firm was rapidly losing market share to Android devices and Apple's iPhone, and its reputation had been damaged after much-publicised service disruptions.

Thorsten Heins, the company's new chief-executive, has recently been trying to turn around its fortunes with new handsets.

In January he launched the BlackBerry 10 handsets, with the Z10 featuring a full touchscreen for the first time.

Sales have exceeded expectations according to Heins, with reports of some UK stores selling out.

Reviews of the phone have also been generally positive.

However, Blackberry did receive unwelcome news earlier this week when US DIY store Home Depot said it was dropping BlackBerry as its handset supplier.

Shares dropped 8% on the news that the company had chosen to give its managers 10,000 iPhones.

When approached for reaction to the latest developments, BlackBerry said it never commented on individual shareholders.

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Facebook Targeted In 'Zero-Day' Hack Attack

Facebook has revealed it was the victim of a sophisticated attack by an unknown hacking group last month.

The site's security was breached after a handful of Facebook employees unknowingly visited a website that had been compromised with malicious code.

When a suspicious file was discovered on the company's computers, a forensic investigation was launched and the origin of the file was traced to an employee's laptop.

A further search uncovered other infected computers, but Facebook insists there was no data breach and no passwords or user data were compromised.

The company said in a statement: "Facebook, like every significant Internet service, is frequently targeted by those who want to disrupt or access our data and infrastructure.

"Last month we discovered that our systems had been targeted in a sophisticated attack which occurred when a handful of employees visited a mobile developer website that was compromised.

The company has launched a major investigation into the breach

"After analysing the website we found it was using a 'zero-day' (previously unseen) exploit to bypass the Java sandbox (built-in protections) to install the malware.

"As soon as we discovered the presence of the malware, we remediated all infected machines, informed law enforcement, and began a significant investigation that continues to this day."

There have a number of cyber-attacks on prominent websites recently. Some 250,000 Twitter accounts were potentially compromised after attackers obtained access to their names and email addresses.

The websites of The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal were also infiltrated by unknown hackers apparently targeting those papers' media coverage of China.

Although Facebook claimed that no user data was compromised, the incident could raise privacy concerns about the vulnerability of personal data stored within the social network.

The company has experienced several privacy rows over the years for the way it handles user data, including a privacy investigation with regulators that was settled in 2011.

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Home Ownership '£1,440 Cheaper' Than Renting

The cost of buying a home has become £1,440 a year cheaper than renting, according to new research.

Halifax found the average monthly costs associated with buying a three-bedroomed house stood at £621 in December, which is £120 cheaper than the typical monthly rent of £741 on a similar property.

The latest figures are an about-turn from December 2008, when buying a home was £217 a month more expensive than renting.

In recent years the gap has widened amid house price falls and record low interest rates which have made borrowing cheaper for those who can get access to a mortgage.

Meanwhile, increased demand in the rental sector from those struggling to raise a deposit or meet lenders' borrowing criteria has pushed up rental costs.

Home buying costs have declined by one third (34%) over the past four years, while average monthly rents have been pushed up by 14%, the study found.

The gap between buying and renting has widened by £21 a month over the past year. At the end of 2011, the monthly cost of home buying was £99 lower than renting.

Buying was found to be more affordable than renting in every UK region.

Buying is most affordable compared with renting in London, where the monthly difference is £193, while in Yorkshire and the Humber buying is just £1 a month cheaper than renting, Halifax found.

Martin Ellis, housing economist at Halifax, said that while the "financial attractiveness" of buying a home has improved in recent years, the tough economy is still holding would-be home buyers back.

He said: "Concerns over job security and raising a deposit are the main obstacles to people buying their own home. However, it is worth noting that once home buyers are on the first rung of the ladder, their monthly costs are notably lower."

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Osborne Plays Down Talk Of RBS Share Giveaway

By Katie Stallard, Moscow correspondent

George Osborne has played down claims he plans to give British taxpayers up to £400 in Royal Bank of Scotland shares before the next election.

The Chancellor, speaking to Sky News at a G20 meeting in Moscow, said it was too early to consider handing out shares and returning the bailed out bank to the private sector.

His intervention came after reports that Economic Secretary to the Treasury Sajid Javid was exploring plans to sell the Government's stake by 2015.

The Chancellor insisted a sell-off could not happen soon because it would mean a huge loss to the taxpayer, but he notably did not rule out such a move.

Mr Osborne said: "It is just a premature discussion about what to do with the shares when we get to the point where they are worth what the country paid for them.

"Gordon Brown bought them at a price that they are not worth today and we have got to get the Royal Bank of Scotland to a point where it is worth what the taxpayer paid.

"Then we can have a no doubt big national discussion about what to do with the shares and how to return it to the private sector."

RBS was bailed out with £45bn in public funds in 2008 at the height of the financial crisis and is now 81% owned by the state.

Royal Bank of Scotland is 81% state-owned after a £45bn bailout

In Moscow for the finance ministers' meeting, Mr Osborne also renewed his call for a global tax crackdown and issued a warning about international "currency wars".

There is increasing concern about competitive devaluations between major exporting economies as they struggle to recover from the global downturn.

Japan has been criticised for weakening the Yen, which is down 15% against the dollar since September, to give its exporters a price advantage in the short term.

"These so-called currency wars are what in previous decades have led to huge problems in the international economy," the Chancellor said.

"I think people will be pleasantly surprised by the strong statement that you'll see from the G20 today that currency is not a tool of economic warfare.

"What we want to do in our own countries is put our own houses in order and make our economies competitive and our currencies will reflect that rather than being used as a weapon to achieve it."

On tax, Mr Osborne said current rules are out of date and that Britain would lead efforts to stop companies shifting their profits around the globe to avoid large bills.

"The international rules on taxes haven't kept pace with changes in the world economy, changes in the way we shop online and use the internet so we're taking action with countries like France, Germany, and the United States," he said.

"Britain is leading the way in getting a set of rules that mean that businesses can come to Britain, and Britain is one of the best places to do business, but also when they come to Britain  - they pay their taxes.

"It means that big international companies that may have their headquarters in one country, their shops in many other countries, may locate their so-called intellectual property in another country altogether, perhaps a low tax place like Bermuda or the Cayman Islands.

"They'll find that a more difficult arrangement because the international tax rules will change and they will have to pay taxes much more where the profits are generated - that's the objective."

But he acknowledged  that Britain could not act alone and that they needed global consensus to make it happen.

Just getting agreement on the need for a crackdown from the 20 countries represented in Moscow on Saturday would represent significant progress in itself.

Mr Osborne said: "There is no single law Britain can pass that will make this happen.

"This has to be done internationally and so we are working with other countries to make sure it does happen and that the tax laws which were actually created about a 100 years ago are appropriate for an economy of the 21st century rather than the 20th century."

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Horsemeat: Three Arrested Released On Bail

Three men who were arrested by police investigating the horsemeat scandal have been released on bail, as political pressure mounts over the speed of the Government's response.

Dafydd Raw-Rees, 64, the owner of Farmbox Meats near Aberystwyth, a 42-year-old man from Wales and a 63-year-old man from the Peter Boddy Slaughterhouse in Todmorden, West Yorkshire, have been released from custody pending further inquiries.

All were arrested on Thursday on suspicion of offences under the Fraud Act and have been told they will answer police bail at a later date.

The time it has taken for all the meat considered at risk of being contaminated with horse DNA to be tested as led to criticism of the Government's response.

Ed Miliband told Sky News that the Government had not been as 'sure footed' as it could have been.

He said: "I think they've been too slow to get a grip on this situation ... we want this resolved quickly."

FSA tests have so far found around 1% of all products checked around the country contained a significant amount of horse meat.

Environment Secretary Owen Patterson said he wants all other tests to be completed by the end of next week.

"It's up to the food businesses to carry out the tests, to organise their businesses and to provide quality products," Mr Patterson told Sky News.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) said it has passed on evidence from two premises in north London and one in Yorkshire to Europol - the European Union's law enforcement agency - after it emerged they were raided on Thursday.

Dinos & Sons Continental Foods was raided in Tottenham it has emerged.

The two sites in Tottenham, North London, and one in Hull, Yorkshire, were searched by Food Standards Agency officials, who removed computer equipment and took away meat samples to be analysed.

The FSA has conceded it is unlikely the exact number of people in the UK who have unwittingly eaten horse meat will ever be known.

Farmers, meanwhile, have advertised in national newspapers urging people to buy British.

The National Farmers Union (NFU) has taken out adverts in 10 national newspapers, saying it is championing British produce as a direct response to the contamination and mislabelling of some beef products.

According to NFU President, Peter Kendall, British farmers feel let down.

"Farmers are very proud of what they produce and are, quite rightly, furious about this current situation. They feel let down by what looks like a criminal element in an isolated part of the food chain," he said.

One of the businesses being investigated by the FSA in Tottenh am is Dinos & Sons Continental Foods.

The company released a statement saying it is co-operating with officials, adding: "At no time has Dinos & Sons produced or manufactured anything that is under investigation or is the subject of any possible contamination or mislabelling."

The arrests of the men in Wales and Todmorden took place after plants were inspected on Tuesday by the FSA.

The problem has gone beyond supermarket bought burgers and lasagnes - hotels, restaurants and pubs have also been affected after confirmation from Whitbread, which owns Premier Inn, Beefeater Grill and Brewers Fayre, that horse DNA has been found in its food.

Cottage pie served to children at 47 schools in Lancashire has also tested positive and has now been removed from menus.

Tesco and other retailers have gone on the defensive this weekend by placing adverts in national newspapers and placing videos on Youtube in an attempt to tell consumers what they are doing to tackle the issue.

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