Energy Bills: UK Gas Prices Hit Record Low

UK wholesale gas prices have hit a record low, piling more pressure on energy firms to explain why household bills have not been slashed.

The latest fall in raw costs - for November and December delivery - has resulted in a 23% fall over the year so far though bills have remained largely static.

The latest drop was a response to Ukraine and Russia signing a deal to end the threat of supplies being choked off.

The deal will see Moscow resume gas flows over the winter despite their continuing sovereignty row.

The agreement also guarantees delivery to the EU. Russian gas makes up approximately 15% of UK supply.

Raw energy costs, including oil too, have been tumbling in recent months - with Brent Crude losing 25% of its value since June on the back of weaker demand as the world's economic recovery shows signs of easing.

The energy regulator Ofgem told Sky News this week it was seeking an explanation from household suppliers on why they had not passed on to customers the significant falls in wholesale costs.

So-called 'Big Six' firms responded to today's development by insisting that bills reflected long term gas costs not short term pricing.

Companies have recently been tinkering with their offerings, taking their lowest annual tariffs below an average £1,000, but are yet to signal any major cuts to bills despite their wholesale costs diving by almost a quarter during 2014.

Industry body Energy UK said: "There are good deals on the market for customers shopping around and looking to fix their payments.

"Wholesale prices are just part of the bill and, although reduced pressure on the wholesale gas market is good news in the long term, companies buy energy days, weeks, months - even years - in advance to protect customers from sudden changes in costs, and will have bought gas when prices were higher."

Energy firms must use either the wholesale market or a contract with an electricity generator to purchase their energy, which is then delivered to households.

But some suppliers are also part of companies that generate their own energy, so they effectively sell energy to themselves - a situation that has led to calls for greater transparency on profits by splitting generation and supply businesses.

Reported profit levels have recently fallen back to levels not seen since 2009 and companies have consistently argued that their profits are fair and bills reflect not only the timing of their raw gas purchases and hedging strategies but also and high investment costs.

National Grid's latest Winter Outlook report warned that spare capacity was at its weakest level for seven years - a result of several factors including the failure to keep pace with power station closures and unscheduled plant outages.

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BBA: New Oversight Will Hurt Smaller Banks

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

Smaller lenders would be hit by new rules heralding the world's toughest oversight regime for senior bankers, according to the industry's main City-based lobbying groups.

The warning is contained in a confidential paper submitted on Friday to UK watchdogs ahead of sweeping reforms that will include the threat of seven-year prison terms for directors of failed banks.

In a joint response to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA), the British Bankers' Association (BBA) and Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME) said that smaller banks would suffer disproportionately high costs in order to comply with the new supervisory framework.

"Coupled with the existing funding, capital and payment access disadvantages already suffered, these new overheads will act as a further barrier to small banks which have fewer senior executives amongst whom responsibilities can be shared, reducing their ability to provide challenge and competitive alternatives in the UK retail and small business market," the lobby groups said.

Their submission, a copy of which has been obtained by Sky News, contains several other objections to the FCA and PRA proposals, including:

:: A suggestion that non-executive directors of banks would lose their independence and begin "man-marking" their full-time colleagues if they are covered by the same rules.

The response said: "The proposed regime could potentially alter the current nature of NED and executive director relationships, and impact the current collaborative and challenge-based board decision-making processes as individual NEDs seek to protect against their individual personal liability."

That warning comes weeks after Sky News revealed that two directors of HSBC's UK subsidiary were quitting in protest at the new rules, which will come into effect next year.

:: A concern that the FCA would have jurisdiction over the overseas employees of UK-based banks even when individuals have no direct connection with UK clients or a realistic possibility of causing harm to a UK-regulated firm.

:: A plan to discontinue the current FCA register of banking industry employees should be dropped because it "will have a negative effect on standards across the industry, in part because of a reduction in transparent (for the industry, consumers and regulators) of many individuals' conduct history".

:: Rejecting the idea that chairmen of banks should not be solely responsible for ensuring that whistleblowers are protected from detrimental treatment.

Regulators are likely to be particularly sensitive to the complaint about higher costs being imposed on smaller lenders following efforts led by George Osborne, the Chancellor, and Vince Cable, the Business Secretary, to pave the way for a new group of "challenger banks".

The new framework has emerged in the wake of pressure on regulators to toughen penalties in the wake of the financial crisis and subsequent trading scandals, including Libor and foreign exchange benchmarks.

Six banks are expected to pay well over £1bn to UK regulators alone to settle the forex issues, with an announcement expected next month.

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Starbucks Plans To Start Coffee Deliveries

By Sky News US Team

Starbucks plans to offer a delivery option on its mobile app in some parts of the US starting next year.

The announcement was made after the Seattle-based coffee giant reported lower-than-expected quarterly sales.

"We are playing offence," CEO Howard Schultz said.

Barack Obama made a Starbucks run last June

"Imagine the ability to create a standing order that Starbucks delivered hot or iced to your desk daily."

The world's biggest coffee chain is seeking to adapt to changing customer habits, including their move toward online shopping and away from brick-and-mortar stores.

It also previously said it plans to let customers across the country place orders ahead of time on their smartphone by next year, an option intended to get people in and out of stores quicker.

Starbucks is also pushing aggressively into different areas as it faces more competition from fast-food chains serving specialty coffees.

The company's net income was $587.9m, (£368m) or 77 cents per share, for the fiscal fourth quarter that ended 28 September.

Sales rose 5%, but fell short of Wall Street expectations.

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US Stocks Back At Record Highs After Stimulus

US stock indexes have climbed back to record highs after a surprise stimulus package from Japan's central bank.

Just two weeks after the US market had its biggest slump in two years, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 194 points - 1.1% - to close at an all-time high of 17,390 on Friday.

The Standard & Poor's 500 reached its own record, climbing 1.2% to 2,017 and the Nasdaq rose 1.4% - 64 points - to 4,630.

In the same week that the US Federal Reserve confirmed the end of its third round of quantitative easing, the Bank of Japan (BoJ) said it would increase its asset purchases by between 10 trillion yen and 20 trillion yen (£57bn to £114bn) to around 80 trillion yen (£454bn) annually.

The bank also announced it would triple its purchases of exchange-traded funds and real estate investment trusts, saying the loosening of monetary policy would continue as long as was needed to attain an inflation target of 2%.

Recent data shows the world's third-largest economy remains in a slump, with falling household spending and rising unemployment.

European markets also followed suit, with the FTSE 100 closing up 82.92 points, 1.28%, at 6,546.47.

BoJ governor, Haruhiko Kuroda, said: "We can say the Japanese economy is now at a critical moment in its process of getting out of deflation.

"The measures this time show the Bank of Japan's unwavering determination to exit deflation."

Deflation has dogged Japan's economy for two decades.

The measures followed the publication of the country's key economic indicators for September, which showed inflation and household spending both falling with unemployment rising.

Japan's central bank was under pressure to increase stimulus to support growth as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe weighs approval of another sales tax hike next year.

He and the central bank have sought to spur inflation as a way of encouraging consumers and businesses to spend more and thus support faster growth.

But a sales tax hike in April, from 5% to 8%, slowed a recovery that began in late 2012.

He is due to decide before the end of the year whether to raise the tax to 10% in 2105.

Economists say Japan needs to counter a huge public debt mountain of more than one quadrillion yen (£6.5trn) but increases have proved deeply unpopular.

The bank's action also helped the yen weaken further against the dollar - to a seven-year low - with a gradual weakening of the currency a crucial factor in a return to recent profits growth among many Japanese exporters.

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UK Begins Paying Back First World War Debt

The Government has announced it will pay off part of the UK's First World War debt - the first such payment for 67 years.

The Treasury will repay £218m of the £2bn still owed from the 1914 to 1918 war, as part of a redemption of bonds stretching as far back as the 18th century.

The payment, to be made on 1 February next year, will be the first repayment of National War Bonds by a Chancellor since 1947.

The 4% consolidated loans were first issued by Chancellor Winston Churchill in 1927, partly to refinance National War Bonds from the Great War.

Britain has paid £1.26bn in interest on them since then, according to the Debt Management Office.

Chancellor George Osborne said he had decided to redeem some of them now because interest rates are lower than the 4% it is currently paying.

Leaders mark the centenary of the start of the First World War in August

He said he could save taxpayers money by refinancing the debts at a lower rate.

"We are only able to take this action today thanks to the difficult decisions that this Government has taken to get a grip on the public finances," he said.

Video: First World War Records Released

"The fact that we will no longer have to pay the high rate of interest on these gilts means that most important of all, today's decision represents great value for money for the taxpayer."

The Government first issued National War Bonds in 1917 to help finance the crippling cost of the First World War, which saw the deaths of more than 700,000 British soldiers.

They paid out an attractive rate of 5% interest, with huge publicity campaigns urging the public to make a patriotic investment.

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1. Gallery: Ghost Images Put WW1 Back In Focus

   Ahead of the centenary of the First World War, a series of digital composite images have been created by the picture agency Getty Images, comparing scenes from the time and how the locations look today. Here, Serbian soldiers march in the Lord Mayor's show in 1918 with the Royal Courts of Justice in the background

2. Wounded soldiers play football outside Blenheim Palace around 1916 in Woodstock, England, blended with a modern day photo of the area

3. Australian soldiers outside Egypt House in New Broad Street, London, where The Australian Bank is located, in June 1917, and how the street looks today

4. Injured Indian soldiers from the British Army at the Brighton Pavilion in 1915, which was converted into a military hospital, combined with an image of the building today

5. Wounded soldiers and cadets at the Albert Hall on Empire Day in May 1918, with a modern day shot of the London landmark seen behind them

6. German prisoners of war on their way to Southend Pier in 1914 accompanied by guards and watched by locals, combined with a picture of the seafront taken this month

7. A 'male' MKIV tank at the Lord Mayor's show in November 1917, blended with a modern day photo of the street outside the Bank of England

8. British soldiers inspecting a captured German plane in the Horseguards' Parade, the modern day skyline now includes the London Eye

The bonds are held by 11,200 registered holders, with 92% owning less than £10,000 each.

Some of the repayment relates to bonds dating back more than 300 years.

In 1853, the Government consolidated the capital stock of the South Sea Company, which collapsed in the South Sea Bubble financial crisis of 1720.

Video: First World War Anniversary Held

And in 1888, Chancellor George Goschen converted bonds first issued in 1752 to finance the Napoleonic and Crimean Wars, the Slavery Abolition Act (1835) and the Irish Distress Loan (1847).

:: For each day of the four-year war, Sky News will post an update describing developments in the conflict through the special Twitter account, @skynewsWW1

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StanChart Board In Singapore For Crunch Talks

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

Directors of Standard Chartered will meet in Singapore next week amid growing investor pressure for the underperforming bank's chairman and chief executive to step down.

Sky News understands that the emerging markets lender will hold a board meeting next Tuesday, which will be followed by discussions with leading shareholders in Hong Kong later in November.

Insiders said on Friday that succession plans for Sir John Peace, Standard Chartered's chairman, and Peter Sands, the chief executive, were not formally on the agenda for next week's board meeting.

However, disgruntlement among big shareholders is intensifying following this week's profit warning, the third this year, from the Liverpool FC shirt sponsor.

There is also mounting concern about the reopening of an investigation by US authorities into whether Standard Chartered had concealed transactions that were in violation of sanctions laws when it was negotiating a settlement in 2012.

The original deal with regulators triggered a $667m fine, but the consequences of a fresh probe could be much more severe for the bank.

One top-20 shareholder expressed a desire for Sir John to hand over the chairmanship as quickly as possible.

"We don't believe he is the right man to oversee the selection of the next chief executive," the shareholder said.

Another large investor said change at the top was required.

"My view is that at some stage fresh capital will be needed and that part of that will probably involve a change in leadership."

The holdings of the two critical shareholders are modest by comparison with that of Temasek, the Singaporean state fund, which owns nearly 18% of Standard Chartered's shares.

Temasek is not agitating for changes at the top of the board, according to a person familiar with its views.

Sky News understands that Egon Zehnder International, the executive search firm, has a brief from Standard Chartered to work on further boardroom changes.

In a statement, Standard Chartered told Sky News:

"The board is united in its support of both Peter Sands and Sir John Peace, and the management team, to deliver the refreshed strategy, restore the bank to profitable growth and deliver returns for our shareholders.

"We are taking action to position ourselves for growth and the enormous opportunities our markets present.

"We are exiting non-core businesses, reducing costs, actively de-risking certain portfolios and shifting capital and investment spend to the most attractive opportunities.

"We are confident in our ability to translate all of this into sustained value creation for our shareholders."

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Superdry Owner Warns On Warm Weather Trading

The company behind Superdry is the latest clothing retailer to warn of a hit to profits from the unusually warm autumn.

SuperGroup said it had cut its full-year profit guidance - now in the range of £60m to £65m - from analyst forecasts of up to £73m.

Total retail sales in its second quarter to 25 October were up 11.4%, including new space, but fell 4.2% on a like-for-like basis at stores open over a year.

Its trading update said: "As widely reported by other retailers in the apparel sector, after a strong start to the quarter, September and October have both seen an exceptional period of warm weather across the UK and the rest of Europe which is expected to continue into November.

"This has resulted in a high degree of uncertainty around the future performance of the autumn/winter range, particularly outerwear which is a significant part of the Superdry product mix.

"As a result, the Group is adopting a more cautious view on the full-year outcome.

"Whilst recognising that 70% - 80% of the Group's full year profit is delivered in the second half of the year, the level of sector discounting and continuing weather-related uncertainty, together with the planned strategic investment in the cost base, has led the board to revise its full year profit guidance to a range of £60m-£65m."

Market values in M&S and Debenhams were among those hit earlier this week when Next warned the warm weather would result in profit damage of £25m.

The country's second-largest clothing retailer, which had warned one month ago that a lack of typically autumnal conditions in October would result in lower profit expectations, said third-quarter sales still grew by 5.4%.

But the growth was almost half the 10% it had previously forecast as demand for winter wear remained weak.

Its announcement signalled trouble for the wider clothing sector in the run-up to the Christmas trading season because Next has largely outperformed its rivals for a decade.

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World Savings Day: Banking On Zambia

By Sam Washington, Sky News Business Presenter, in Zambia

World Savings Day is a timely reminder that 2.5 billion people around the world have no access to formal financial services.

The International Monetary Fund and the World Bank believe that savings and access to bank accounts and credit is a necessary step to relieving global poverty.

Zambia enjoys economic growth of around 7% a year, but income inequality is a problem. Around 60% of the population are thought to not have registered bank accounts and nearly three-quarters of its young people live in poverty. 

In 2009, a programme called Banking on Change was started in Zambia and several other developing countries. 

The initiative has allowed for the creation of small savings groups in local communities. These co-operatives typically consist of 10 members, and are referred to locally as OSAWA, which stands for Own Savings for Asset and Wealth creation. 

Almost 19,000 Zambians are now part of these local savings communities

The meetings are held once a month. It is savings led, with each member expected to make regular contributions. 

From these funds, loans can be granted, which are typically used to finance small enterprises. The interest proceeds are split out among the group. 

Because the communities are tight, theft and not paying back loans isn't a problem. The default rate is less than 1%. The interest rate is decided collectively, and all the flows of money are carefully documented and signed off. 

The benefits are plain to see. Kelvin Mbuzi is 24 and thinks one day he could be president of his native country, Zambia. 

An orphan, he is content for the moment to pay his way through university with the proceeds of a very basic computer cafe he was able to start after joining his local OSAWE group.  

He told Sky News: "It is... group cooperation and the profit realising at the end of six months that has really helped me to grow. And it has given me a way to sponsor my sister's education as well." 

Budding entrepreneurs use loans from the scheme to start new businesses

As his profits have grown, so have his prospects. He now thinks he can fund himself through a science PhD, and help his sister through nursing college. 

Nearly 19,000 people in Zambia are now saving and borrowing in this way.

In total there are close to 300,000 people in these Banking on Change groups in different countries.

The programme is a partnership between the NGOs Plan and CareInternational and also Barclays Bank.

Because Africa is an untapped market for customers of financial services, many might be sceptical about the involvement of a bank in this social initiative. 

Masautoso Nyangu, Barclays Bank local representative told Sky News: "Not everybody we interact with will become our customer, most of them won't... but it feels fulfilling for us and it is the right thing to do."

It is estimated that if all of the 2.5 billion people without bank accounts were to save in this way, it would pump $145bn (£90.6bn) a year into the global economy. 

There is clearly a lot still to be done, but the simple vignettes of empowerment are testament to the fact a little goes a long way.  

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RBS Grows Profit But Sets Aside Further £780m

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has set aside a further £780m to cover the costs of conduct issues, including the PPI mis-selling scandal.

The news was released alongside its third-quarter results which demonstrated that the bank's recovery was continuing to build despite the burden of extra provisions for past mistakes.

RBS said it was taking a £400m charge in anticipation of regulatory action over the alleged manipulation of foreign exchange markets - following a similar move by rival Barclays 24-hours earlier.

It added £100m to its bill for PPI - taking the total to £3.3bn - citing "higher than expected reactive complaint volumes."

The bank, which is 80% owned by the taxpayer after its rescue during the financial crisis, said its profits for the third quarter were up to £1.27bn, compared with a loss of £634m in the same period last year.

It is the first time the bank has reported a profit for three quarters in a row since its bailout.

RBS also confirmed it was retaining Ulster Bank following a strategic review of the business.

Chief executive Ross McEwan said: "In February I placed trust at the heart of my new strategy for our bank.

"We have taken the first steps towards that goal, with early progress in making RBS simpler, clearer and fairer.

"We are reducing costs, and are on track to achieve our capital targets.

"UK and Ireland are showing signs of growth, and impairment trends are significantly better than we had anticipated at the start of the year.

"We have confirmed today that Ulster Bank remains a core part of our bank. We have a good market position and believe that, with investment, Ulster Bank can deliver attractive shareholder returns in the future.

"But we know we still have a long list of conduct and litigation issues to deal with and much, much more to do to restore our customers' trust in us."

The RBS share price rose 3% in early trading on the FTSE 100 in the wake of the update.

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'Psycho' Halloween Costumes 'Demonise' Ill

Some Halloween costumes are in danger of mocking the mentally ill, a Government minister believes.

The 31 October event is stigmatising mentally ill individuals by selling outfits branded "psychos or schizos or freaks", LibDem Care and Support Minister Norman Lamb says.

Norman Lamb has attacked irresponsible costumes

He is urging shops to stop "demonising" the mentally ill with the sales of trick-or-treat and party outfits that mock psychiatric patients.

Mr Lamb's speech to the National Child and Adult Services (NCAS) conference in Manchester comes after several joke outfits depicting mental patients in chains and wearing masks made headlines after going on sale online.

Video: The Edit: The Week's Weirdest Video

"For me it is horrendous that, this Halloween, a young person experiencing a mental health crisis could easily come across someone in a 'psycho ward' or 'schizo patient' costume - complete with handcuffs and ripped restraints - as much as they could see someone in a Dracula costume," he is to tell the conference.

"This Halloween culture is dangerous. It conditions all of us to fear mental illness - to see people as 'psychos', or 'schizos' or 'freaks'. It makes us believe that mental illness is something other worldly.

"We have to tackle this damaging stigma which prevents young people from seeking help when they need it, or talking about any problems they might be having.

Video: Latest UK Weather Forecast

"Everyone should be able to enjoy Halloween but I urge all retailers to behave more responsibly - don't demonise mental illness."

Supermarkets Asda and Tesco last year came under fire for selling outfits that were considered to be offensive.

As a result, Asda withdrew its "mental patient fancy dress costume" and Tesco took its "psycho ward" outfit off the shelves.

Video: Ebola-Themed Decor Draws Criticism

But such outfits can still be bought over the internet.

Earlier this month Northumberland, Tyne and Wear health trust boss John Lawlor said such Halloween fancy dress outfits were offensive and damaging, pointing out people would never wear a "cancer patient" Halloween outfit.

Video: Warning Of Halloween Drug Sweets

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1. Gallery: Take A Tour Of Historic Ghost Town For Sale

   A US ghost town in going on auction block just in time for Halloween

2. Online bidding for the historic mill village of Johnsonville in East Haddam, Connecticut, starts at $800,000 on 28 October

3. The 62-acre property boasts such features as a waterfall, 15-acre pond chapel, general store and a meeting house

4. The village was the site of a mill that supplied twine for fishing nets from the 19th century until 1972

5. It was later owned by an eccentric aerospace millionaire and the current owner is a real estate firm

6. Jim Kelly, of private brokerage firm RM Bradley, says the listing is a "real New England relic"

7. The Auction.com listing says it presents "a unique redevelopment opportunity"

8. RM Bradley says there has been "considerable interest" in the property

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1. Gallery: Halloween Around The World

   A toddler in fancy dress collects candies during the celebration of Halloween in Santiago, Chile.

2. The Queen meets children making halloween cakes as she visits the new 68 bed YHA South Downs hostel.

3. Erin Kunse dresses up as the Mona Lisa painting at the West Hollywood Halloween Costume Carnaval.

4. The White House glows orange.

5. US President Barack Obama gives a high five as he and first lady Michelle Obama greet children visiting the White House.

10. Hugh Grant attends The UNICEF Halloween Ball at One Mayfair.

11. Jemima Khan at The UNICEF Halloween Ball.

12. Dan Snow at The UNICEF Halloween Ball.

13. Gemma Arterton at The UNICEF Halloween Ball.

14. A reveller in costume participates in the West Hollywood Halloween Costume Carnaval.

15. A man dressed as the character Ichabod Crane invites visitors into his schoolhouse during a haunted trail tour known as the 'Horseman's Hollow' in the grounds of Philipsburg Manor in New York.

16. Revellers play snooker in masks and costumes as they attend a Halloween party at Majapahit Hotel, Indonesia.

17. A woman with part of a face drawn on her cheek at a costume party to celebrate Halloween in Wuhan, Hubei province, China.

18. A Dracula Old Boys player runs with the ball during a demonstration rugby match in Romania against Bucharest Harleqiins entitled "Halloween Horror".

19. A girl in costume crosses the street in Times Square.

20. Revelers participate in the annual New York City Halloween Parade.

21. Pamir, a six-year-old Tien Shan White Claw bear, sniffs a pumpkin during Halloween celebrations at the Royev Ruchey Zoo in Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk.

22. Project manager Yvonne Nagel and fellow actors perform at Movie Park Germany in Bottrop.

23. Leah Sadberry (L) and Chris Raznik, both of Nevada, attend the fourth annual Las Vegas Halloween Parade

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