First-Time Buyers To Get 20% Off Under Tories

Young first-time buyers will get a 20% discount on their new homes, under plans announced by the Conservatives.

David Cameron has set out plans to build tens of thousands of new homes on commercial "brownfield" land, reserved for first-time buyers, under 40.

As Tories begin gathering in Birmingham for their annual conference, the PM said a Conservative government would implement the plan if they were re-elected in 2015.

Homes built under the proposed Help to Buy: Starter Homes scheme would be exempt from a range of taxes, lowering their price by 20%, say Tories.

First-time buyers have been priced out of many areas, especially in London

In an interview with The Sun, Mr Cameron said the programme would deliver 100,000 starter homes over the lifetime of the next parliament.

"We want to help more young people achieve the dream of home ownership so today as part of our long-term economic plan I can pledge we will build 100,000 homes for young, first-time buyers," he said.

"We will make these starter homes 20% cheaper by exempting them from a raft of taxes and by using brownfield land.

"I don't want to see young people locked out of home ownership.

David Cameron says the new homes would be exempt from some taxes

"We've already started to tackle the problem with Help to Buy mortgages - and these new plans will help tens of thousands more people to buy their first home."

The Conservatives said the homes would be built on brownfield land already zoned for development but no longer needed for industrial or commercial use.

Such land is not normally made available for housebuilding and can be bought more cheaply than other land, and the savings will be passed on to the buyer.

Public sector land which is surplus to requirements will also be brought into the scheme.

At the same time, the Conservatives said that the properties would be exempt from most of the taxes imposed on new homes.

These taxes include the social housing requirement and the community infrastructure levy.

Some future regulations such as the zero carbon homes standard will also not apply to properties built under the scheme.

The announcement is intended to set the tone for the party's final annual conference before the country goes to the polls next May.

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Ofgem Warns Energy Firms Over Complaints

The energy regulator has written to providers demanding action on how they handle customer complaints over bills and service.

Ofgem said more than half of consumers told a survey they were not satisfied with the so-called big six energy providers' complaints processes.

According to Ofgem, despite claims that the firms were improving service, complaints were continuing to rise.

It said a survey showed 57% of domestic and 52% of small business consumers were not satisfied with the way their complaint had been handled by their energy supplier.

Furthermore, in nearly half of cases where the supplier considered the case resolved, the customer did not.

It said satisfaction with npower and Scottish Power had fallen markedly, with only SSE managing to maintain levels of satisfaction found two years ago.

The energy regulator said it would investigate firms over rising complaints

Ofgem chief executive Dermot Nolan said: "These satisfaction scores are frankly awful. Almost all energy suppliers need to improve their complaints handling as a matter of urgency.

"There are real business benefits to good complaints handling schemes, and it shouldn't need a regulator to tell companies about the importance of this.

"Suppliers must now tell their customers what steps they will be taking to put things right."

Mr Nolan said Ofgem was investigating npower over its spiralling complaints and warned it would "take action" against others if need be.

The big providers have been under fire for almost a year following a succession of above-inflation price hike announcements.

Earlier this month the six firms launched a campaign to reunite former customers with £153m of unclaimed credit on accounts, following a demand from Ofgem.

Although the big six firms - British Gas, npower, EDF, Scottish Power, SSE and E.On - are still the dominant providers in Britain, their market share is leaching to smaller independents.

A study by Cornwall Energy found that while they still control 92.4% of the market, it is down from 99.8% five years ago.

The Competition and Markets Authority has since launched an investigation into the structural nature of the energy sector, where companies can generate power and then sell it on at a profit to their residential arms.

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Investment Fees Slammed By Top Fund Manager

The investment industry has been slammed by one of Britain's most respected fund managers, over fees charged to customers.

Neil Woodford said many banking and investment sector funds have charged fees for actively managing deposits that basically track equity markets, often with mediocre performance.

As a result of constraints placed on the funds, added value is not accrued - despite investors paying a premium.

He told Sky News: "The fund management industry has too often been guilty of charging active fees on funds for index performance or worse."

Mr Woodford is head of investment at Woodford Investment Management, and was appointed CBE last year for services to the economy.

He is responsible for investments of more than £2.6bn, and previously played a crucial role in equities at Invesco Perpetual for nearly 27 years.

He said canny investors are now becoming more aware of fees and the Financial Conduct Authority's (FCA) push to make companies more transparent in fee structures.

Mr Woodford added: "The pressure on fund fees is increasing - investors are waking up to higher charges and with the help of the regulator this will see fund fees come down."

In response, the FCA told Sky News: "Firms must present their fund charges clearly and fairly. We will follow up on our 2014 review to ensure firms put right poor practice."

Direct investment in equities is seen as an alternative to lacklustre funds

In May, the FCA released a report after examining marketing information given by 11 companies to retail investors.

The FCA wants firms to be "clear and consistent" in showing fees so that potential customers can compare charges before deciding on where to invest.

According to the Investment Management Association (IMA), as of July, £806.5bn was under fund control in Britain.

It said £1.9bn was invested in the month by retail customers - compared with £690m by institutional entities.

Of this July figure, the IMA said £1bn was put into UK equity income and £532m into tracker funds.

IMA chief executive Daniel Godfrey told Sky News: "The IMA recognises that improvements in simple disclosure of costs and accountability are needed and is committed to a number of measures that will deliver that.

"We have developed a new disclosure that requires all costs to be reported in a comprehensive and simple pounds and pence per unit figure every year. This will be effective next spring.

"We have further work in progress to deliver similar simple transparency covering the impact of the indirect transaction costs incurred by funds.

"This all goes beyond any regulatory requirement and is designed to give consumers what they need to make better decisions and informed choices."

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Wonga Profit Slumps After Disastrous Year

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

Wonga saw its profits slump last year amid trading difficulties in its overseas and small business operations, underlining the task facing its new boss to improve the payday lender's performance.

Sky News has learnt that Wonga is expected to publish annual results for 2013 showing a slump in pre-tax profits from £84.5m last year to roughly £50m in 2013, a source close to the company said.

The period covered by Wonga's results is understood to pre-date the scandal triggered earlier this summer when it emerged that the company had invented a number of law firms in order to pursue customers for unpaid debts.

The episode prompted Wonga to agree with financial regulators to pay at least £2.6m to compensate 45,000 customers for sending them letters from non-existent firms such as Barker and Lowe and Chainey, D'Amato and Shannon.

Wonga's disclosures next week are expected to include a big one-off exceptional charge - possibly running to tens of millions of pounds - to cover legal and regulatory costs related to the fake legal letters scandal, although it is unclear which year the charge will be applied to its accounts.

The controversy marked a nadir for Wonga's reputation, and prompted the company to recruit Andy Haste, a respected City figure, as its executive chairman with a brief to clean up the company's affairs.

Mr Haste will be paid £500,000 a year during an initial period while Wonga seeks a permanent chief executive, after which his annual salary will be reduced to £300,000.

A new chief financial officer is expected to be appointed in the coming days, while Mr Haste has also hired a former RSA colleague, Tara Kneafsey, to run its UK business.

Wonga's small and medium-sized business-lending arm, Everline, is thought to be losing money, as are some of the company's international operations.

Its accounts are also expected to show that Wonga bought back around 2.5m shares from Errol Damelin, the founder who stepped down as chairman earlier this year.

"I want to ensure that the business operates responsibly while providing an effective and reliable service for our customers. I have a clear mandate from the shareholders in Wonga to lead that process, both in the UK and across our international operations," Mr Haste told Sky News in July.

"I have asked all the questions I can think of asking, and I believe I've been made aware of everything," he said.

"Time will tell whether that's the case."

The fall in profits in 2013 may be repeated this year, according to company insiders, because of continued underperformance in parts of Wonga's business.

The City regulator is also bearing down on providers of short-term credit, proposing in July a cap on payday lending meaning that from next January, interest and fees must not exceed 0.8% per day of the amount borrowed.

The Financial Conduct Authority is also imposing a cap on the overall cost of a payday loan so that it cannot exceed 100% of the original sum borrowed.

Asked about Wonga's 2013 results, Damian Peachey, a Wonga spokesman, said the company did not comment on "rumour and speculation" and would not confirm that next week's announcement would cover 2013's audited numbers alone.

He added that Wonga wanted to release its results "in a democratic way".

Last year, the company launched an initiative called OpenWonga, aimed at increasing transparency with stakeholders.

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Apple's Value Drops $23bn Over Software Glitch

Almost $23bn (£14bn) has been wiped from the value of tech giant Apple, as it releases a second software patch for its troubled iPhone 6.

The drop in market capitalisation on Wall Street came just hours before the tech giant released iOS 8.0.2 on Thursday night.

The company said the patch promised to "fix an issue that affected iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus users who downloaded 8.0.1" on Wednesday.

Apple also repeated an earlier apology to owners of its newest iPhones who were affected by bugs. Some iPad users had also reported complaints.

Apple's one week share price to the end of trading on 25th September

Social media was awash with disgruntled users, who complained about a loss of wireless coverage and being locked out by the Touch ID system.

The problems came amid warning from Apple's OS X operating system had a security flaw which could be more serious than the notorious Heartbleed bug.

The have also been complaints from iPhone 6 Plus owners, who said their smartphone had bent substantially after being placed in a tight pocket.

Some users said the new iPhone 6 Plus was too flexible

But Apple spokeswoman Trudy Muller said: "With normal use, a bend in iPhone is extremely rare and through our first six days of sale, a total of nine customers have contacted Apple with a bent iPhone 6 Plus."

It said its iPhones feature stainless steel and titanium inserts to reinforce high-stress locations and use the strongest glass in the smartphone industry.

Last Friday Apple fans queued to get the new iPhone

More than 10 million of the new devices were sold in the weekend after its launch last Friday and Apple said the bug-ridden release affected less than 40,000 users.

Apple shares closed at $100.75 on Friday after being down 3.81% at $97.87 on Thursday. Over the last week it has lost more than 4% of its value and earlier this month it hit an all-time high of $103.74.

Some analysts believe the decline was more to do with a wider negative tech sector sentiment from investors than Apple dissatisfaction.

Nestle's Kit-Kat had a dig at Apple's woes over the bendy phone issue

Meanwhile, rival smartphone makers have taken digs at Apple's troubled product and software launch.

A Samsung advertisement compared a bending phone against one of its own rigid products, and BlackBerry boss John Chen said "I would challenge you guys to bend our [new] Passport".

And confectionery maker Nestle tweeted on its Kit-Kat account: "We don't bend, we break."

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FCA Closes In On £2bn Currency-Rigging Deal

Questions Of Trust As Bank Quizzed Over Forex

Updated: 6:32pm UK, Tuesday 11 March 2014

By Ed Conway, Economics Editor

For the Bank of England, today was at least partly about showing that it is transparent and straightforward.

After all, it has taken on new far-reaching powers which make it the most important public sector body outside Westminster.

It has come under fire for introducing not one but two new monetary policy systems in six months. And it has, lately, come under scrutiny for its oversight of the foreign exchange market, amid allegations of rigging.

All of which is why today was all about presenting a new, more open face. How did it go? Not very well.

It started inauspiciously. Not long after Mark Carney arrived, it emerged that despite minutes suggesting there was little discord on economic policy, there were significant gulfs of opinion between the governor and other members of the Monetary Policy Committee.

The obvious conclusion: that the minutes do not tell the full story.

A few moments later, Paul Fisher, the executive director for markets, revealed that the Bank routinely destroys its recordings of MPC meetings – a stark contrast with US counterpart the Federal Reserve, which publishes full transcripts of meetings after five years.

Which means that those less-than-comprehensive minutes are the only historical record for perhaps the most momentous monetary policy decisions (think 315-year low interest rates, £375bn of quantitative easing) in history.

There were audible gasps in the room.

One of the MPs muttered "shades of Nixon", referring to the former US President's alleged attempts to destroy secret recordings of his meetings during the Watergate scandal.

So there was an air of scepticism in the room even before the Treasury Committee got to the real talking-point of the day: the Bank's knowledge, or otherwise, of alleged dubious deals in the foreign exchange markets, and its failure to act.

Fisher and Carney insisted, time and time again, that although questions had been raised over irregularities in the forex markets all the way back in 2006, they had not been told about actual abuse allegations until October.

Their explanation may well have been reasonable, but it was so long-winded and abstruse few of the MPs seemed able to grasp it (and this latest vintage of TSC members is unusually intelligent).

The Bank's solution, such as it is, is to introduce yet another layer of management at Threadneedle Street.

There will be a new markets/banking tsar, who will have deputy-governor style powers although not, it would appear, the title, as that would involve another Act of Parliament.

There will be a range of inquiries, not to mention a strategic plan over the Bank's structure, which will be unveiled next week.

And to some extent that is entirely understandable.

The new governor has hardly had much time to get his feet under the table. His own personal reforms of the Bank (as opposed to those instituted by George Osborne and Mervyn King in previous years) will take time.

And there's nothing all that new about the Bank being secretive and tricky with MPs. Back in the days when Montagu Norman was governor, it was tricky to get any words out of him at all at parliamentary hearings.

The problem is that this is an entirely different world to the 1930s.

The Bank officials may not like it, but wilful opaqueness is not compatible with the democratic system which appoints and employs them.

The fact that the Bank routinely destroys MPC recordings is surely unacceptable – particularly since the minutes often wilfully overlook any disagreements between the committee members.

And the less people trust the Bank, the less likely they are to believe their explanations when it is in the vicinity of wrongdoing.

Secrecy and intentional complexity can occasionally be construed as guilty behaviour – even when it may have done nothing wrong.

It is something worth dwelling on, given many expect the foreign exchange scandal to become even bigger and even more scandalous than the Libor one that preceded it.

:: Watch Sky News live on television, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 82 and Freesat channel 202.

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Virgin Money Fires Starting Gun On £2bn Float

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

Sir Richard Branson's banking arm is to announce plans for a £2bn stock market flotation next week which will trigger a fresh windfall for British taxpayers.

Sky News has learned that directors of Virgin Money aim to unveil its intention to float within days, although a final decision will not be taken until the weekend.

The move would make Virgin Money the fourth bank to float this year, following the demerger of TSB from Lloyds Banking Group and the listings of OneSavings and Aldermore, which announced its own plans earlier this week.

Scotland's rejection of independence in last week's referendum and Virgin Money's strong recent trading has persuaded the bank's board to press ahead with a flotation now, rather than waiting until the new year.

Virgin Group and WL Ross, a US-based investment vehicle, collectively own just over 90% of the bank, and will reduce their stakes in order to comply with listing authorities' requirements relating to the number of shares which must be freely floated.

However, both investors will retain very substantial stakes, with Virgin Money keen to offer hundreds of millions of pounds of new shares to outside investors.

The Government will receive a £50m payment as a consequence of the deal struck between Virgin Money and the Treasury when the bank took control of Northern Rock in 2011.

Virgin Money, which employs more than 2,500 people, reported this month that first-half pre-tax profit nearly quadrupled from £13.1m last year to £59.7m in 2014.

It also announced the appointment of Glen Moreno, who chairs Pearson, parent company of the Financial Times, as its next chairman.

Mr Moreno, who has previously been in the frame for chairmanships at Barclays and Prudential, will replace Sir David Clementi in the middle of next year.

Virgin Money is run by Jayne-Anne Gadhia, a widely respected executive who would become the first woman at the helm of a publicly-listed UK bank if it completes its flotation.

"We are not burdened by the historical conduct and legacy challenges that face many incumbent banks," she said this month.

"We have a powerful brand, a strong balance sheet, a strong core business franchise and...a clear set of values that live throughout our business."

Based in Newcastle, where Northern Rock's head office was located, Virgin Money has more than 4m customers, and has just launched into the current account market.

It is being advised on the prospective flotation by Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Goldman Sachs.

Virgin Money declined to comment.

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Airlines Given All-Clear For Mobile Phones

Airlines across Europe have been cleared to allow passengers' use of mobile phones and portable electronic devices (PEDs) throughout flights.

The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) said there would be no restrictions in place from a safety perspective - a long-held reason for devices to be turned off or placed in "airplane mode".

EASA says mobiles, smartphones and PEDs can be used after airlines follow a safety assessment process.

PEDs are defined as including any kind of electronic device brought on board the aircraft by a passenger such as a tablet, laptop, smartphone, an e-reader or a MP3 player.

"As a result, passengers will be able to use their PEDs just like in any other mode of transport - throughout the trip," EASA said.

But travellers must still wait for airlines to decide their policy, as specialist communications packages must be installed to allow phone connections at cruising altitude.

"It is up to each airline to decide to allow the use of PEDs. In order to do this, the airline will have to go through an assessment process, ensuring aircraft systems are not affected in any way by the transmission signals from the PEDs," EASA said.

"For this reason, there may be differences among airlines whether and when PEDs can be used."

This is the latest regulatory step towards enabling the ability to offer so-called gate-to-gate telecommunication or wifi services for air travellers.

However, it remains unclear if all airlines will embrace the new freedom as they need to juggle business travellers' desire for non-stop communications or the existing blackout once aircraft are out of cell tower range.

Some airlines may even segregate seating similar to that in train carriages with 'quiet zones'.

The new freedom does not yet give travellers unfettered use of devices.

EASA said: "Passengers must at all times follow the airline crew instructions. Safety always comes first onboard of an aircraft."

A British Airways spokeswoman told Sky News: "We have led the way in the adoption of the use of personal electronic devices during flight. We have allowed their use on-board, with certain restrictions since December last year.

"We will be reviewing our current policies in the light of this change in advice.

"We already allow the use of voice calls after landing. We have no plans to permit the use of mobile phones for voice calls on our flights as our feedback from customers has shown the majority of them find them an intrusion and disruptive."

She added that some services offered internet connection during flights.

"Safety is always our top priority and our cabin crew will offer clear instructions to our customers regarding the use of personal electronic devices and mobile phones," she said.

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Vast Food: Restaurants Urged To Cut Portions

By Poppy Trowbridge, Consumer Affairs Correspondent

Restaurants should cut portion sizes or charge more for large servings to help reduce food waste and fight obesity, experts have said.

The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health said the measures would also mean significant savings for food outlets and catering firms.

Jenny Morris, policy officer at the professional body for environmental and public health, told Sky News: "Many of us eat too much.

"The portions we expect to see are too big.

"It seems obvious to me, that an easy solution is to only produce the amount of food that is going to be consumed or that is needed."

She also added that there was some rationale for restaurants to charge a premium for large servings, in a bid to combat rising obesity rates.

Campaigns have sought to encourage consumers to cut back on food waste for years, but the CIEH says the industry itself must drive the changes.

Anthony Worrall Thompson says 97p per customer is lost in food waste

"I think that it is business that needs to lead on it because it is business that is in control," Ms Morris said.

"It hasn't always been the focus up until now."

While big business has begun to measure appropriate portion sizes and reduce food waste, the majority of Britain's food businesses are missing out.

Ms Morris said small and medium-sized restaurants could save hundreds of pounds a week by simply reducing how much meat and produce is wasted.

Celebrity chef Anthony Worrall Thompson estimates that 97p per customer is lost in food waste.

"When you add that amongst the thousands of customers we have every year, it's a huge amount of money," he said.

Recycling body WRAP estimates the cost of food being wasted in the UK from the hospitality and food service sector will reach £3bn per year by 2016.

Ms Morris said: "We are in a very privileged situation at the moment where food is relatively cheap. It won't be in the future.

"It doesn't matter whether a business is small or large, it can save a lot of money." 

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Vauxhall Recall: Warning Over Corsa Steering

Recalls By Carmakers On The Rise

Updated: 11:25am UK, Saturday 27 September 2014

The recall by Vauxhall of around 3,000 vehicles because of a steering problem is just the latest in a series of headaches for motor manufacturers.

Last year, manufacturers recalled 868,605 vehicles to dealerships to fix potentially life-threatening defects - up from 665,000 in 2009.

However, the increase does not necessarily mean cars are more prone to faults, but that firms are acting more quickly to deal with problems - anxious to avoid damage to their brands.

Here are just some of the major recalls seen in the past year or so.

:: Only this week US car giant Ford put out a recall on around 850,000 cars in the US over a "potential issue" with airbags.

:: Ferrari has recalled more than 3,000 of its £200,000 luxury sports cars because a fault with a latch means anyone trapped in the boot would not be able to get out.

:: General Motors recalled more than 220,000 cars to correct a brake defect that could increase the risk of fire.

:: Earlier this year, Toyota issued a recall affecting 6.4 million vehicles worldwide and 35,124 in the UK. The carmaker has learned the lessons from the past when it suffered a backlash, after being seen to have responded too slowly to a fault that caused models to accelerate without warning in 2010.

:: Aston Martin recalled 17,590 sports cars in February due to a problem with the accelerator pedal.

:: In 2013, Mercedes recalled 2,540 M-class SUV models in the UK when it discovered a particular floor mat could impede the accelerator pedal.

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