'Kevlar' To Protect Cables From Shark Bites

Google is reinforcing its undersea internet cables with a Kevlar-like material because sharks keep biting them.

It is going back to 100,000 miles of fibre optic cable that it owns around the globe and reinforcing it with the protective matting.

Since the mid-1980s it has been known that sharks are drawn to undersea cables but it is unclear why.

Some have suggested that they are attracted by the electromagnetic signals given off by the lines which resembles the field created by fish.

Google is protecting its private fibre-optic cables around the world

Given that fibre-optic cables are made of strands of glass, they are particularly vulnerable to damage compared to the older and slower copper cables.

Undersea cables are the backbone of the internet, transmitting data around the world.

Earlier this week Google announced plans to build a new trans-Pacific cable network connecting Japan and the United States.

Working with a consortium of Asian telecoms companies, the $300m (£179m) system which address the demand for broadband on the key route with a 60 terabits per second connection.

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New Rules To Boost Home-Based Businesses

Entrepreneurs will have more freedom to begin a business from home under new measures to be announced by the Government.

They include legislation which will make it simpler to run a company from a rented property and new guidance on business rates.

There will also be updates to planning guidance to make it clear that planning permission will not normally be required to run a home-based business.

Business minister Matthew Hancock said: "It's this spirit of personal endeavour and self-determination that is driving our economic recovery.

"But home businesses don't just fire up the economic engines and create jobs, they turn dormitory towns into living communities, they keep our streets safer, and by driving down car emissions, cleaner too.

"We'll give people the confidence they need to run a business from a rented home, making sure that the majority of home businesses are exempt from business rates and our aspiring entrepreneurs have the information they need to start up and grow."

Under the measures a new model tenancy agreement will be made available to landlords.

The law will also be changed so landlords can be confident that agreeing to a business within their property will not undermine their tenancy agreement.

Liz Peace, chief executive of the British Property Federation, said it firmly supported the removal of "unnecessary barriers" to setting up at home.

"At least some of the kitchen table businesses of today will expand and become the commercial property space-seekers of tomorrow," she said.

"We therefore have an interest in ensuring that the law and our sector is adapting to modern business practice and supporting UK entrepreneurs at every stage of their business development."

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Rents Rise Again As Home Costs Swallow Income

Rental bills are rising above the rate of inflation again after a break of more than a year- as a separate study warns over the impact on families of higher housing costs.

According to LSL Property Services, which runs the Reeds Rains and Your Move chains, the average monthly rent across England and Wales increased by 2% in the 12 months to July as the market picked up with students starting to book accommodation.

That took the pace higher than the 1.9% rate of inflation for the first time since June last year - with the average rent now standing at £753 per calendar month.

London and the South East regions led the way in terms of the highest values - with a £1,143 average in the capital - though London's rate of increase stood at 2.3% over the 12-month period, compared to 3% in the North West.

The North East was the only region where rents had fallen over the period, LSL said, with a 3.8% reduction to reach £507 typically.

Its report was released as another study warned that almost 1.6 million UK households were now seeing more than half their disposable income being taken up with rent or mortgage costs.

The Resolution Foundation think-tank, which carried out the research, said "pinched" households were more likely to rent privately, be young, live alone, live in one bedroom properties, have recently moved and live in London.

Its analyst, Laura Gardiner, said: "The majority of the housing-pinched are in work but on low and middle incomes, leaving little left over after housing costs to spend on other essentials.

"With house prices and rents rising in some parts of the country, interest rates expected to start to go up and income growth remaining weak, we should be concerned about the ability of this group to absorb additional pressure on their household budgets from higher mortgage payments and rents.

"It is vital that more money is invested in the supply of new housing in order to drive down costs, otherwise we can expect to see a steady rise in the number of households that are 'housing pinched' over the coming years."

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Economy: Eurozone GDP Growth 'Breaks Down'

The 18 nations which use the euro recorded zero GDP growth as a bloc in the second quarter of 2014, with Germany's economy - Europe's biggest - contracting.

Official GDP figures showed that weakness in France and Germany - which together make up 66% of GDP output in the single currency area - choked off some improvements elsewhere including in bailed-out Portugal and in Spain.

Germany recorded a surprise 0.2% GDP dip between April and June as foreign trade and investment, particularly in the construction sector, weighed on growth.

Investor and business confidence has since taken a knock because of the crisis in Ukraine - straining relations with Russia - raising fears of an even weaker recovery because of the threat of deepening tit-for-tat sanctions.

France called on the European Central Bank (ECB) to do more to tackle the risk of deflation and bring the euro to a more competitive level as it posted zero GDP growth for the second consecutive quarter.

French President Francois Hollande's popularity has tumbled

The figures also prompted the finance minister Michel Sapin to slash his government's forecast for growth in 2014 to "around 0.5%" compared with a previous projection of 1%.

He told the daily Le Monde newspaper: "Growth has broken down, in Europe and in France.

"With zero growth in the second quarter, thereby extending the stagnation we saw in the first, our country is slowing down and will not achieve the 1% growth observers were predicting three months ago".

Analysts have warned for months that France, the second biggest economy in the eurozone, looks increasingly the weak link in a halting recovery as the government battles to push through much-needed reforms.

Unemployment hit a new record in June to a shade under 3.4 million while the forecast for France's public deficit is now predicted to be above 4% of GDP this year - missing key targets demanded of it by the EU.

The country's statistics agency blamed falling manufacturing output as a key component of its performance and cited a large number of midweek public holidays as having a particular impact on productivity.

Jitters about eurozone output were reflected in financial markets on opening - with the German DAX and the CAC 40 in Paris both losing ground amid a wider sell-off across Europe - but the major indices later turned positive on hopes of further ECB measures to combat deflation and even quantitative easing.

The performance of the 18 nations using the single currency contrasts sharply with the UK's economic recovery which continues to gather steam despite worries over falling wage packets.

Employment has reached record levels while GDP grew by 0.8% in both the first and second quarters of the year.

On Wednesday, the Bank of England raised the prospect of a delay to an expected rise in the base rate of interest over fears that increased borrowing costs and a time of stagnant wage growth would choke off the recovery.

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Npower's Profit Plummets By Almost 40%

Npower has become the latest of the so-called big six energy suppliers to announce a double-digit drop in profits.

The company reported a pre-tax profit of £109m for the first half of the year, dropping 38% from £176m for the same period in 2013.

Npower said it represented a profit of just £14 per customer account in the six months to June and the fall was due to its investment in energy efficiency and increased costs in improving customer service levels.

It comes after consumer group Which? revealed that Npower received the most amount of complaints of the 'Big Six' in the first quarter of the year with 83 complaints per 1,000 customers during the period.

Npower was deluged with complaints relating to a new billing system - a situation it has repeatedly said it is putting right.

Last month the energy Ombudsman said complaints about energy companies had soared to their highest ever level in the first half of the year.

On releasing its financial results Npower said: "Since the end of last year the company has substantially cut the number of customers who are billed late, and is now billing 96% of its customers on time.

"Total number of complaints received by Npower in Q2 2014 has been reduced by over 18% compared to Q1."

As well as increased spending on customer services, Npower said investments around the Energy Companies Obligation (ECO) strategy, had also cost the company.

The ECO was introduced by the Government last year to reduce the UK's energy consumption.

Npower said it had spent millions of pounds installing energy efficiency measures in homes across Britain and saw higher costs in the first half of 2014 compared to the same period in 2013.

It said it had invested a total of £324m into Britain so far this year, predominantly into renewable energy projects.

Npower is not alone in reporting falls in first half profits.

On Wednesday, E.ON UK announced its pre-tax profit for the period fell by 31%, while Owner of British Gas, Centrica, last month revealed it saw a 26% decrease in its profit.

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Alibaba Film Unit Probes Cash Irregularities

The film unit recently acquired by Chinese e-commerce powerhouse Alibaba has announced an investigation into possible accounting irregularities.

Alibaba Pictures Group confirmed the news to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and said the probe's scope pre-dated its purchase by Alibaba in June and only related to its time as ChinaVision Media Group.

Trading in Alibaba Pictures shares was suspended pending the results of the inquiry while the group's latest financial results were also delayed.

The disclosure was made as its parent company readies for what is expected to be the biggest-ever listing by a tech firm.

It is believed Alibaba will look to raise $20bn (£12bn) in its planned initial public offering in New York next month - more than Facebook's $16bn two years ago.

Alibaba - which has made a string of big-money purchases to broaden its interests - makes more money than Amazon and eBay combined.

It bought 60% of ChinaVision Media for more than $800m as part of its push into online content and changed its name to Alibaba Pictures.

The statement to the Hong Kong stock exchange said the new management team had found "certain possibly non-compliant treatment of financial information" in the company's accounts.

The film business said the discrepancies meant it was likely that there had been "insufficient provision for impairment of certain assets" in the January-June period - potentially valuing assets at more than they are worth.

An audit committee is investigating whether it would affect the company's previous financial reports.

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Most Expensive Car Ever Sells For Record £23m

A Ferrari considered to be one of the greatest models ever built has sold at auction for a record £22.84m.

The 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO Berlinetta is one of only 39 models made.

The car sold at auction was the 19th of the 39 and has been owned by the Ferrari and motor-racing enthusiast Violati family since 1965.

It competed in a number of races including one which ended in tragedy when, in 1962, driver and former French ski champion Henri Oreiller was killed.

The car was the 19th of 39 built

The wrecked car was repaired and the family continued to race it until very recently.

The Ferrari went under the hammer at Bonhams' auction in Carmel, California, and the huge crowd watching the bidding clapped as the auctioneer confirmed the final price.

The auctioneer said it was a privilege to lead the sale

That topped the previous record for a car sold at auction, set at Bonhams' Goodwood Festival of Speed auction in Sussex last year, with the sale of a 1954 Mercedes-Benz W196 R F1 Racer for $30m (£18m).

Bonhams chairman Robert Brooks said: "It's been a genuine privilege to represent this outstanding car and we are absolutely delighted with today's results."

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UK Growth Hits Fastest Annual Pace Since 2007

The annual rate of UK economic growth has been revised upwards to 3.2% - its fastest pace since the end of 2007.

The announcement was made by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) as it confirmed GDP growth of 0.8% in the second quarter of the year.

While that figure represented no change on its original estimate, the ONS said it had measured a stronger performance in the construction sector than previously calculated in its wider revisions.

It confirmed that the service sector - which makes up more than 75% of GDP - remained the main driver of Britain's economy between April and June, expanding by 1%.

Much of this has been attributed to consumer spending despite huge pressure on budgets because of weak wage growth - a situation that had been tipped to ease during 2014 but has worsened again in recent months.

The ONS confirmed on Wednesday that wages shrank at an annual rate of 0.2% in the second quarter while the main measure of inflation rose to 1.9%, meaning the gap between wages and price rises was widening further.

The Bank of England has now made the weak pay issue a core factor in its discussions over the timing of an interest rate rise.

The UK's resilient GDP growth is in sharp contrast to economic fortunes in the euro area.

It was confirmed on Thursday that Germany's GDP was in decline and French growth was stagnating.

Chief UK economist at Citigroup, Michael Saunders, told Sky News he was not overly concerned that the woes being experienced by the country's biggest trading partners would damage the UK's recovery.

He said the suro had been "in economic terms, something of a zombie for a number of years now" and backed calls from France for the European Central Bank (ECB) to provide stimulus.

"The ECB will eventually get around to QE (quantitative easing) - five years too late - I think they're going to do it in the next couple of quarters and that will give some boost but it really is a sad story of multiple policy failures in the euro area," he said.

"Even if it gets a bit better I don't think it will get a lot better in the euro area."

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Osmond's Sun Closes In On Keepmoat Deal

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

The co-founder of PizzaExpress and one of the restaurant chain's former owners are poised to clinch a £400m takeover of Keepmoat, one of Britain's biggest social housing developers.

Sky News has learnt that Sun Capital Partners, an investment firm headed by Hugh Osmond, the prominent City financier, is in exclusive talks to buy the Doncaster-based company alongside TDR Capital, a private equity group.

The negotiations are at an advanced stage and could lead to a deal being signed as soon as next week, according to insiders.

A takeover of Keepmoat, which built, refurbished or repaired more than 350,000 properties last year, would remove another equity stake in a major housebuilder from the books of Britain's state-backed banks.

The company became a ward of the state when Lloyds Banking Group was rescued by British taxpayers in 2008.

Lloyds and JP Morgan, which has been overseeing the auction, are providing financing for the deal, a source said on Friday.

Sun and TDR have seen off competition from rival bidders including Apollo Management although it is possible that the deal could yet fall apart.

The firms' interest in acquiring Keepmoat reflects their belief that the housing market outside London is likely to demonstrate steady growth during the coming years, the source added.

The deal will follow Mr Osmond's involvement in corporate turnarounds in sectors including pubs, insurance and energy.

Sun and TDR Capital previously worked together during their investment in Phoenix, a closed life assurance fund provider.

It also comes four years after Mr Osmond tried to buy Crest Nicholson, the housebuilder which subsequently floated on the stock market and which has been among the major beneficiaries of the Government's Help to Buy programme.

Keepmoat is one of a string of housebuilders which ended up in the control of Lloyds - now 25%-owned by taxpayers - in the aftermath of its takeover of stricken rival HBOS.

The company, which employs more than 3,000 people across the UK, describes itself as "a leading national provider of integrated affordable housing development and community regeneration services".

Having been in Lloyds' control since 2009, Keepmoat was later sold to Caird Capital, an investment firm started by the former heads of HBOS's private equity operation.

Caird then merged Keepmoat with Apollo, another housebuilder, before Lloyds again took a stake in October 2012 as part of a debt-for-equity swap.

A number of other housebuilders which had been in the bank's possession, including Countryside Properties, McCarthy & Stone and Cala Homes, have since been sold or floated on the stock market.

Another, Avant, which was previously called Gladedale, is also in the process of being sold.

The flurry of disposals involving housebuilding groups backed by Lloyds underlines the extent to which HBOS became embroiled in excessive lending to the sector during the boom which preceded the financial crisis.

The bank's lending practices were criticised in a report last year by the Parliamentary Commission on Banking Standards.

In the year to March, Keepmoat recorded revenue of £930m, with nearly 2000 properties sold by its homes division and its regeneration arm boosted by a major private finance initiative contract win in Leeds.

Sun Capital and Keepmoat declined to comment, while TDR could not be reached.

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Lastminute Owner Eyes Sale Of UK Dotcom Icon

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

Lastminute.com, one of the icons of the original dotcom boom, is being put up for sale nearly a decade after its takeover by an American technology giant.

Sky News has learnt that Sabre Holdings, which is listed in New York, is exploring plans to offload Lastminute.

Sabre has appointed bankers at Houlihan Lokey, an advisory firm, to oversee an auction, and has already begun sounding out potential buyers.

A sale of Lastminute could still be aborted if the terms of a deal are not sufficiently attractive to Sabre, but sources said on Saturday that the US company was prepared to accept a substantial loss on the roughly £600m it paid in 2005.

Prospective buyers could include private equity firms or rival online travel groups such as Expedia.

Sabre has itself listed on the public markets, floating on Nasdaq in April with a valuation of nearly $4bn.

It has four main divisions, with Lastminute operating as a subsidiary of Travelocity, Sabre's group of travel e-commerce businesses.

Lastminute was one of the darlings of the early UK internet industry, floating in 2000 two years after being founded by Brent Hoberman and Martha - now Baroness - Lane Fox.

However, Lastminute's performance has been underwhelming, despite it continuing to spend substantial sums on marketing and advertising.

Its biggest market shares are in the UK and France but it has struggled to make an impact elsewhere in Europe.

Analysts say that Travelocity failed to integrate Lastminute effectively or to build the network of hotels or other partners to which it has access during a period when some rivals have expanded aggressively.

Mr Hoberman has also criticised Sabre's exploitation of the Lastminute brand, calling it "an under-utilized asset" last year.

A Sabre spokeswoman said in a statement: "We are always reviewing options to make our technology company as successful, relevant and innovative as possible.

"If we have news to share, we commit to doing so quickly and transparently."

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