BlackBerry Brings Back Keyboard With Q10

BlackBerry's latest phone, the Q10, is going on sale in the UK as the company continues its fightback.

The launch of the Q10 comes three months after the company unveiled the Z10, the other phone in its two-pronged attack to claw back sales from the likes of Apple and Samsung.

The Canadian firm said in March that the touchscreen-only Z10 had helped it return to profit. However, there were still concerns from analysts that the phone was not being marketed properly.

The new device is aimed at those who enjoy the traditional BlackBerry keyboard, but who also want touchscreen functionality.

It has a dual-core 1.5Ghz processor, 2GB of Ram, an 8 megapixel camera and a 3.1" display.

Initial reviews of the Q10 have been complimentary, but there are concerns the relatively small screen size could deter some buyers.

Phones like the Samsung Galaxy S4 and the HTC One have a larger viewing area, and BlackBerry could lose out to its rivals in this area.

The Blackberry Z10 helped the firm return to profit

BlackBerry has lost market share in recent years as iPhone and Android devices have become more popular. Its reputation was also damaged after much-publicised service disruptions.

The success of the new handsets is seen as crucial to the company's survival, but competition is fierce.

The financial power of Samsung has seen the South Korean firm launch a massive marketing push for its Galaxy phones, and big sales are expected for the S4, which is due out on Saturday.

Meanwhile, despite this week's fall in profits and whispers of weakening innovation, the popularity of Apple's iPhone continues.

The US technology giant managed to sell 37.4 million devices in the first quarter of 2013.

BlackBerry is not the only manufacturer that is suffering. Taiwanese firm HTC has also been hit by Apple and Samsung's dominance.

The two leaders own 71.4% of the worldwide smartphone market, with LG a distant third.

The BlackBerry Q10 goes on general sale in the UK on Monday, but is available in some shops this weekend.

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Late Tax Returns Mean HMRC Fines For Many

By Pete Norman, Sky News Online

More than half a million taxpayers are set to be hit with daily fines after failing to file their tax returns, Sky News has learned.

An estimated 650,000 to 850,000 self-assessment taxpayers still have not given HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) annual returns for the 2011-12 financial year.

The Tax Office cut-off date for the returns was January 31.

HMRC sent out automatic £100 penalties to around 850,000 people by February 20, boosting tax coffers by some £85m.

The defaulting taxpayers were then given three months to file their accounts.

However, it is believed that hundreds of thousands have still to complete their forms.

On May 1, three months after the January deadline, a new daily fine will be levied on those who have not processed the form.

In addition to the earlier £100 penalty they will be hit with the daily £10 fine, up to a maximum of £900.

An HMRC spokesman told Sky News: "Anyone who hasn't yet sent their 2011-12 tax return to HMRC will have already incurred a £100 late-filing penalty.

"Non-filers have to file to avoid further penalties or contact us to ask to be taken out of self-assessment, and provided they meet the criteria, we will take them out of SA and cull any penalties incurred."

Those who allow the filing delay to extend beyond six months are handed another £300 fine or 5% of the tax due, whichever is higher.

HMRC is then entitled to give those who fail to file within 12 months a tax demand up to 100% of the tax due instead.

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Tax Avoidance: MPs Slam 'Insider' Accountants

Big accountancy firms have been accused by MPs of using "insider knowledge" gained from staff seconded to the Treasury to help companies and wealthy individuals avoid paying UK taxes.

The Commons Public Accounts Committee said it is "very concerned" at the way the "big four" firms - Deloitte, Ernst and Young, KPMG, and PwC - are able to exploit loopholes in the tax laws.

Committee chairman Margaret Hodge said the practice represented a "ridiculous conflict of interest" which should be banned.

"The large accountancy firms are in a powerful position in the tax world and have an unhealthily cosy relationship with Government," she said.

The committee warned that HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) was engaged in a "battle it cannot win" in seeking to stem the losses to the Exchequer from tax avoidance.

It had far fewer resources than the big four firms which employed almost 9,000 staff and earned £2bn a year from their tax work in the UK, the committee said.

The committee said it was particularly concerned by claims that the major accountancy firms seconded staff to the Treasury to advise on technical issues in the drafting of legislation only for the individuals concerned to return to advise clients on how to use those laws to avoid tax.

A report by the committee said: "Through their work in advising government on changes to legislation they have a detailed knowledge of UK tax law, and the insight to identify loopholes in new legislation quickly."

It gave the example of KPMG whose staff advised on the development of "controlled foreign company" and "patent box" rules, and then issued marketing brochures highlighting the role it had played.

The brochure "Patent Box: what's in it for you" had, it said, suggested the legislation represented a business opportunity to reduce UK tax and that KPMG could help clients in the "preparation of defendable expense allocation".

The committee said it was "inappropriate" for individuals from firms to consult on tax law and then advise on ways to avoid the tax.

The report said: "We have seen what look like cases of poacher, turned gamekeeper, turned poacher again, whereby individuals who advise government go back to their firms and advise their clients on how they can use those laws to reduce the amount of tax they pay.

"We are ... very concerned by the way that the four firms appear to use their insider knowledge of legislation to sell clients advice on how to use those rules to pay less tax."

While the firms insisted they no longer sold the "very aggressive" avoidance schemes on offer 10 years ago, the committee said they had simply moved on to offering other forms of tax avoidance advice.

It said they still offered schemes with as little as a 50% chance of succeeding if challenged - suggesting a willingness to take advantage of HMRC's need to weigh the risks of becoming involved in protracted legal battles.

Representatives of some of the big four challenged the committee's assertions.

Bill Dodwell, head of tax policy at Deloitte, said: "We've usually sent a junior person, somebody with five or seven years tax experience; and they've gone to work at the bottom of the team.

"They are very much led by the senior people at the Treasury and Revenue & Customs, and they work to them. And they do not, in any sense, determine any of the policy outcomes from that measure.

"The people that are sent to the HMRC/Treasury are at a junior level; they are not at decision-making level."

Treasury Minister David Gauke defended the practice of seconding staff from the private sector to Government departments.

"If there were any issues of people acting outside the letter of the law, or indeed the spirit of the law, then HMRC would act.

"But the idea that we should not make use of private sector expertise in developing the tax system that will bring jobs and investment to the UK I'm afraid is absurd," he told Sky News. 

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Honda Gets Into Gear With Huge Profit Rise

Japanese motor firm Honda has said its net profit for the year to March soared 73.6% to £2.4bn, thanks to robust overseas sales, a weaker yen, and cost cutting.

The bottom-line figure underscores a recovery among the nation's major car makers after Japan's 2011 earthquake and tsunami devastated sales and production.

The results also highlighted strong demand in the key Asian and US markets.

The yen, which has lost about 20% of its value on the dollar since November, has also helped, boosting Japanese firms' competitiveness overseas and repatriated foreign income.

"In general Japan's major automakers showed a brisk performance for the past fiscal year on the back of strong demand in North America and the positive impact of the weak yen," Shigeru Matsumura, auto analyst with SMBC Friend Securities, said.

"They are expected to continue to show firm results for the current fiscal year thanks to those issues."

Honda, Japan's third-biggest motor firm, said it earned 367.15bn yen (£2.4bn) on revenue of 9.87trn yen (£64bn), up from 7.95trn yen (£52bn) a year earlier.

It also reported an operating profit of 544.8bn yen (£3.57bn), up 135.5% from the previous year.

Sales increase for the quarter, year-on-year, were up 14% and quarterly profit up nearly 6%. The company expects continued profit growth into 2014.

Japanese car and durable goods producers are expecting sales increases before the government hikes the national VAT rate to 8% from the current 5% over the next year. It is due to reach 10% by 2015.

Japanese industry has benefited from the big-spending and easy-money policies of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who swept December elections on a promise to inject new life into the world's third-largest economy with quantitative easing policies.

Honda's latest results appeared to cast off a downturn in China stemming from a diplomatic row that sparked a consumer boycott of Japanese goods in the world's biggest vehicle market.

The encouraging Honda news comes amid languishing European demand and falling UK vehicle numbers.

Production fell across Britain's car making industry by 2% - with the drop in March reaching 6.3%.

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Cyprus Banks: Withdrawals Double Amid Crisis

Withdrawals in March from Cypriot banks were almost double February's total - even though its financial institutions were shut for half of the month due to a banking crisis.

Both consumers and companies pulled deposits in Cyprus, where big account holders in the two largest lenders were forced to take a hit as part of an international bailout.

Private-sector deposits fell by 3.9% to 44.6bn euros (£37.6bn), according to European Central Bank (ECB) data.

Withdrawals from accounts in February were 2% up on those of January.

Banks on the southern part of the divided island were shut for nearly two weeks in March after Cyprus agreed the 10bn euro (£8.5bn) bailout, which forced major depositors to pay part of the cost of the rescue.

Scuffles occurred after banks reopened after the unprecedented closure

In addition to Cypriot nationals, expatriate residents and Russian investors were caught up in the imposed levy.

After days of negotiations, which originally included a plan to impose a levy on all account holders, those with deposits above 100,000 euros were hit with the tax.

Capital controls are still in place on the island, with limits on how much people can transfer from their accounts.

Cyprus reiterated a promise to gradually ease the financial controls.

Meanwhile, in the wider eurozone, ECB executive board member Benoit Coeure said there was no undue stress on bank deposits since the Cypriot bailout.

Many Cypriot residents opposed the strict imposition of a levy on savings

The data backed this up - Greece recorded a 1% increase in private sector deposits to 172bn euros (£145bn), and deposits in Italian banks also rose, by 3.1% to 1.5trn euros (£1.3trn).

Deposits in Ireland recorded a 6.5% jump to 210bn euros (£177bn), reaching the highest level since October 2010.

Monthly fluctuations in the figures are common, though sharp consecutive drops in countries with stable banking systems are unusual.

The data, which are for all currencies combined, are not seasonally adjusted and differ slightly from national central bank figures.

They exclude deposits from central government and banks.

But negativity remains in certain areas, with the ECB admitting that lending to companies is still weak.

Russia and Cyprus share orthodox roots but expats were also hit by the levy

Further uncertainty comes as the Bundesbank confirmed as genuine a leaked report prepared for Germany's constitutional court that criticises the ECB's plan to buy the debt of highly indebted states.

The 29-page report, dated December 21, was published by German newspaper Handelsblatt.

In it, the German central bank warned that the purchase of stressed countries' sovereign debt could "compromise the independence of the central bank" and could be difficult to stop.

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Spain Slashes Economic Growth Forecasts

The Spanish government has forecast that the economy will contract by more than expected in 2013, but will return to growth next near.

The country's deputy prime minister said its gross domestic product (GDP) would shrink by 1.3% in 2013 - down from the 0.5% contraction previously forecast.

But Soraya Saenz de Santamaria said Spain's economy is expected to return to growth of 0.5% in 2014, and will expand by 0.9% in 2015.

At a press conference following the adoption of a new economic plan for the country, she said that no major new reforms, tax hikes and spending cuts were needed to meet the new targets.

The forecasts come a day after protestors took to the streets of Madrid

She added that the government - which had to backtrack from its promise to cut taxes next year - was still aiming to cut some taxes in 2015.

The economy minister, Luis de Guindos, said the deficit-reduction strategy had been agreed with the European Commission and other eurozone officials.

"2014 will be the year of recovery," he said.

The deficit is now forecast to reach 6.3% of GDP in 2013 - well above earlier targets - but would fall to 2.7% by 2016, Mr de Guindos added.

The unemployment rate - which hit a record high of 27.2% in the first quarter of this year - is expected to fall back to 26.7% in 2014, and 25% in 2015.

It comes as protests broke out in Madrid on Wednesday following the release of the latest jobs data.

Around 1,000 people took to the streets in the latest demonstration against the country's austerity measures and tax hikes that have left many without jobs.

The country's economy has been struggling to show signs of recovery since the collapse of its once-booming property market in 2008.

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US Economy Misses Forecasts In Last Quarter

The US economy has expanded at a rate below that forecast by economists, the latest official figures have shown.

Although economic growth regained speed in the first quarter, it was not as much as expected, heightening fears the already weakening economy could struggle to handle deep government spending cuts and higher taxes.

Gross domestic product (GDP) expanded at 2.5% annualised rate in the first three months of 2013, according to the Commerce Department.

The figure was up on the previous quarter, after growth nearly stalled at 0.4%.

The latest increase, however, missed economists' expectations for a 3% growth pace.

Part of the acceleration in activity reflected farmers' filling up silos after a drought last summer decimated crop output.

Removing inventories, the growth rate was reduced to a tepid 1.5%.

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Winston Churchill To Appear On New £5 Notes

Former British prime minister Sir Winston Churchill is to appear on the next banknotes, it has been announced.

Bank of England Governor Sir Mervyn King revealed the image of Churchill which will be used to members of his family at his former home, Chartwell, on Friday.

Sir Mervyn said: "Our banknotes acknowledge the life and work of great Britons. Sir Winston Churchill was a truly great British leader, orator and writer.

"Above that, he remains a hero of the entire free world. His energy, courage, eloquence, wit and public service are an inspiration to us all. I am proud to announce that he will appear on our next banknote."

The Churchill banknote is due to be issued as a £5 note for use during 2016.

The design on the reverse of the note will include a portrait of Churchill from a photograph taken in Ottawa by Yousuf Karsh on December 30, 1941 and a view of Westminster and the Elizabeth Tower from the South Bank looking across Westminster Bridge.

The image of the Elizabeth Tower will feature the hands of the Great Clock at 3pm - the approximate time on May 13, 1940 when Churchill declared in a speech to the House of Commons: "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat." This declaration is quoted beneath the portrait.

In the background, there will be the Nobel Prize medal which Churchill was awarded in 1953 for literature, together with the wording of the prize citation.

Sir Mervyn King with Lady Soames, Churchill's only surviving child.

Sir Mervyn, due to retire later this year, suggested the new note could become known as a "Winston" - and that the spirit of Churchill's inspirational "blood, toil, tears and sweat" speech was just as important during today's times of economic difficulty as during the War.

He said: "We do not face the challenges faced by Churchill's generation. But we have our own.

"And the spirit of those words remains as relevant today as it was to my parents' generation who fought for the survival of our country and freedom under Churchill's leadership."

Churchill's image replaces that of Elizabeth Fry, the philanthropist and penal reformer, who appears on current notes first issued in 2002.

These will be phased out over two or three years, leaving no notes featuring the face of a famous woman - other than the Queen.

The choice of Churchill reflects the fact that, though a political figure, he is widely revered across the spectrum as the man who saved Britain in its darkest hour from the fearful advance of Nazism across Europe.

Another war hero, the Duke of Wellington, is the only other prime minister to have featured on a banknote image - the old £5 phased out in the 1990s.

Speaking in the grounds of Chartwell, Sir Winston's grandson, Mid Sussex Tory MP Nicholas Soames, said featuring on a bank note would have given the former wartime prime minister great pleasure.

He said: "He was an extraordinary man and his ability to capture the mood and the people's mood was one of his great gifts as a statesman.

"The design of the bank note, the quotation and the whole idea behind it is so appropriate and fitting, and my grandfather would have been truly very proud."

Churchill had a long parliamentary career during which he served as home secretary and chancellor before a spell in the political wilderness in the 1930s when he warned of the increasing threat of German rearmament.

In May 1940, he replaced Neville Chamberlain as prime minister in the newly-formed National Government. His leadership and brilliant oratory were credited with helping to steer Britain to victory.

Defeated by Labour in the 1945 general election, he served again as prime minister from 1951 to 1955, when he retired aged 80. Churchill died in 1965 and was given a full state funeral, the first commoner to receive such an honour since Gladstone in 1898.

He was also the first commoner to feature on a British coin - the 1965 crown or five-shilling piece.

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Sainsbury's Begins Hunt For King Successor

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

Directors of J Sainsbury have retained headhunters to help prepare for the eventual departure of Justin King, the chief executive of Britain's third-biggest supermarket chain.

I have learnt that David Tyler, Sainsbury's chairman, has engaged Egon Zehnder International, the executive search firm, to work on succession planning for one of the biggest jobs in British business.

Although Mr King remains committed to the role and is unlikely to leave for at least a year, the hiring of headhunters by Mr Tyler, which is understood to have taken place some time ago, indicates that the chief executive's exit is now being actively prepared for.

The likeliest successor to Mr King is seen in the City as Mike Coupe, Sainsbury's commercial director and a long-standing colleague of the current boss.

Other candidates are being considered as part of the process being run through Egon Zehnder. Analysts suggested that John Dixon, Marks & Spencer's general merchandise director, and Kate Swann, the departing chief executive of WH Smith, were likely to be considered.

When Mr King does step down, he will leave having achieved a transformation of Sainsbury's business, if not the company's share price.

When he arrived nine years ago, Sainsbury's was beset by distribution and marketing crises, with City analysts questioning whether it could recover the ground it had lost to Tesco and Asda.

Although it is still ranked in third place by some measures, Mr King has won plaudits for the way he has cemented Sainsbury's brand among Middle England customers and for the quality of its food and own-label ranges.

A former member of David Cameron's business advisory group, he was also credited with Sainsbury's successful involvement with last year's Paralympic Games.

Mr King has also had to fend off a takeover bid during his tenure, in the shape of an approach from the Qatar Investment Authority in 2006. The Qataris remain Sainsbury's biggest shareholder.

People close to the process played down the idea that Mr King had identified a specific date for his departure or that any announcement would be made in the near future.

Sainsbury's will announce its full-year results on May 8, when it is expected to unveil the ninth consecutive rise in annual profit since Mr King joined the company. An announcement on that day about Mr King's planned departure is not likely.

A former Asda and Marks & Spencer executive, he has frequently been linked with a move to other retail jobs as well as roles outside the sector.

Mr King has no concrete plans beyond completing his tenure at Sainsbury's, one friend said.

Repeating a statement made last year which had been triggered by a report that Mr King's departure would be announced in February, a Sainsbury's spokeswoman said: "Justin has made his commitment to the business clear and is excited about the opportunities to grow and develop it.

"Any discussion of succession is totally premature."

The spokeswoman declined to comment on Egon Zehnder's work on planning for Mr King's departure, although the firm is understood to work on a range of board succession projects for the company.

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Boeing Dreamliner Passenger Flights Resume

Boeing 787 Dreamliner Timeline

Updated: 2:36pm UK, Saturday 27 April 2013

The turbulent history of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner:

Apr 27, 2013: Eithiopian Airlines 787 Dreamliner flies from Addis Ababa to Nairobi in Kenya

Apr 25, 2013:  The FAA gives formal approval to Boeing's new lithium-ion battery system

Apr 22, 2013: The batteries in five All Nippon Airways Dreamliners and two Japan Airlines jets are replaced

Apr 19, 2013: The Federal Aviation Administration approves Boeing's battery modification plans

Apr 3, 2013: Company says it has completed more than half of its battery tests

Mar 25, 2013: Boeing says its first test flight with the new lithium-ion battery went according to plan.

Mar 15, 2013: Boeing unveils modifications to its 787 batteries, saying the Dreamliner is "absolutely safe"

Mar 12, 2013:  FAA approves Boeing's certification plan for a new battery system for the aircraft

Mar 7, 2013: US National Transportation Safety Board says it has failed to identify the cause of the Jan 7 fire

Feb 28, 2013: Boeing says it has found a "permanent" solution to fix problems with Dreamliner batteries

Feb 25, 2013: All Nippon Air (ANA) confirms all of its fleet will remain grounded until the end of May

Feb 8, 2013: Boeing confirms it has sent letters to airlines expecting imminent deliveries of possible delays

Feb 7, 2013: US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) allows limited test flight of the grounded Dreamliner

Feb 5, 2013: Japanese official reveal CT scans of failed batteries does not reveal fire cause

Feb 4, 2013: Boeing requests FAA approval for test flights of grounded model

Jan 30, 2013: Amid revenue loss forecasts of $500m to $5bn, Boeing CEO addresses investors and downplays impact

Jan 28, 2013: Investigators widen battery examination to sub-contractors of lithium ion battery maker GS Yuasa

Jan 21, 2013: Safety officials start probe of lithium ion battery maker GS Yuasa

Jan 19, 2013: Boeing says it is stopping deliveries of the Dreamliner to airlines

Jan 18, 2013: FAA officials arrive in Japan to examine a 787 and its melted battery pack after an ANA emergency landing two days earlier

Jan 17, 2013: The European Aviation Safety Agency,  FAA and Qatar Airways ground Dreamliners under their regulatory control

Jan 16, 2013: Japan Air Lines Co Ltd (JAL) follows suit and suspends Dreamliner flights from Japan over safety concerns

Jan 16, 2013: ANA grounds all 17 of its 787s after four of its aircraft suffer problems

Jan 16, 2013: ANA 787 Dreamliner makes emergency landing in Takamatsu, Japan, after smoke appears in cabin

Jan 11, 2013: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announces a review of the 787 design and systems

Jan 11, 2013: ANA discovers engine oil leak after a domestic flight lands at Miyazaki

Jan 11, 2013: A separate ANA flight to Matsuyama reported a crack appearing in the pilot's window

Jan 9, 2013: ANA cancels a Boeing 787 Dreamliner flight due to a brake problem

Jan 8, 2013: Japan Air Lines (JAL) grounds a jet at Boston Logan International Airport after a 787 leaks 150 litres of fuel

Jan 7, 2013: A fire erupts in a battery pack in another JAL Dreamliner at Boston

Dec 13, 2012: Qatar Airways grounds one of its Dreamliners because of a faulty generator

Dec 5, 2012: The FAA orders inspections of all 787 Dreamliners in service in the US

Dec 4, 2012: A United Airlines 787 is forced to make an emergency landing in New Orleans after a generator fails

July 23, 2012: ANA grounds five Dreamliners due to an engine component issue

Feb 22, 2012: Boeing says around 55 Dreamliners may be affected by a flaw in the fuselage

Oct 26, 2011: The Dreamliner makes its maiden flight with paying passengers on board an ANA jet

Sep 26, 2011: Boeing delivers its first 787 Dreamliner to Japan's ANA, three years late

Jun 23, 2010: Boeing postpones the first flight of the Dreamliner because of a structural flaw

Dec 15, 2009: The passenger jet 787 Dreamliner takes off on its maiden test flight

Apr 9, 2008: Boeing says there will be a revised plan for the first 787 flight and initial deliveries

Dec 11, 2008: Boeing announces further delays due to strike action by machinists Sept-Nov

Oct 19, 2007: Boeing says there will be a six-month delay to deliveries due to assembly issues

Jul 8, 2007: The first assembled 787 goes on display to media, employees and customers

Jul 18, 2006: Boeing says it is making "solid progress" on the 787 Dreamliner programme

Jan 28, 2005: Boeing gives its new commercial airplane an official model designation number - 787

Jan 29, 2003: Boeing announces the launch of a new aircraft called the 7E7

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