BP profits ahead of forcasts

Oil giant BP has reported third-quarter profits well ahead of expectations, sending its share price up nearly 4%.

Its replacement cost profit between July and September was $4.98bn (£3bn). Experts said the figure had "obliterated" market forecasts. BP's results were boosted after it made bigger-than-expected cost cuts.

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source: BBC News

Barclays buys Standard Life

Barclays has announced that it is buying Standard Life Bank, the offshoot of Edinburgh-based life insurance company Standard Life, for £226m.

Barclays is one of the biggest banks in the world, with millions of customers, whereas Standard Life Bank is a relative minnow. It has just 287,000 savings accounts and 78,000 mortgage accounts.

Standard Life Bank has been operating only since 1998, and the insurer said the sale was in its best interests.

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source: BBC

Crunch strike talks 'useful'

Talks between Royal Mail and union leaders aimed at ending the row over pay, conditions and modernisation have ended for the day without agreement.

The sides will reconvene on Tuesday but if no deal is reached, postal workers are planning three more walkouts on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

For the full story from the BBC click here...

source: BBC

Scrappage scheme embraces vans

The extension to the government's car and van scrappage scheme came into effect on 22 October.

It now applies to all cars registered in the UK no later than 29 February 2000 and vans registered no later than 28 February 2002.

For the BVRLA website clike here...

source: BVRLA

Calls for block exemption extension

Members of the European Parliament have criticised the European Commission's proposals for ending the automotive sector's block exemption from aspects of competition law.

The Commission wants the current rules, which are due to expire on 1 May 2010, to be renewed for the servicing and repair of motor vehicles, but for those governing vehicle sales and distribution to be removed by 2013. In their response to the plans, discussed last week, several committees of MEPs charged with scrutinising the proposals argued that the Commission had failed to provide a robust case for change.

There was also a consensus that it was vital for independent operators in the vehicle-servicing aftermarket to have access to manufacturers' technical information. The MEPs have written to the Commission requesting more time to review its proposed changes and asking for the current regulations to be extended until 2011.

For the full details of the BVRLA's work on this issue click here...

source: BVRLA

40% of mail delayed

The nationwide postal workers' strikes have delayed about 30 million letters, some 40% of a typical day's post, Royal Mail has said.

A second day of strikes is under way, with delivery and collection workers walking out, following Thursday's 24-hour strike by mail centre staff.

Members of the Communication Workers Union (CWU) are protesting about pay, conditions and modernisation.

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source: BBC

Todt is FIA successor

Jean Todt will succeed Max Mosley as the new head of motorsport's world governing body, the FIA, after winning the presidential election in Paris.

The former Ferrari team boss claimed 135 votes compared to 49 cast for his rival Ari Vatanen with 12 abstentions. Todt, 63, was the favourite to win the vote after being backed by Mosley, F1 supremo Bernie Ecclestone and seven-time world champion Michael Schumacher.

The vote brings an end to Mosley's controversial 16-year reign. "Jean Todt has been elected president of the FIA for a four-year term by the FIA General Assembly at its annual meeting in Paris," an FIA statement said.

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source: BBC

Brown urges end to postal strike

The prime minister has called on Royal Mail and the Communication Workers Union (CWU) to "get round the table" to bring an end to industrial action. "This strike will be self-defeating if all it means is that less people use the Royal Mail," Gordon Brown said.

He was speaking after the start of the first nationwide postal strike in two years, which began at 0400 BST. Meanwhile, the BBC has learned that three strike days will be announced for next week. The CWU declined to comment. The CWU has said it may make an announcement on further developments later, but had previously said that it would be announcing plans for further strike action.

The news came as about 42,000 mail centre staff and drivers staged a 24-hour strike. On Friday, about 78,000 delivery and collection workers are expected to walk out.

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source: BBC

Microsoft bets on Windows success

Microsoft is hoping that its newly-launched operating system will be one that "doesn't let you down".

Early sales figures indicate that consumers do not feel let down at all. More than 500 people queued outside PC World in central London to be the first to get a copy when the store opened at midnight on October 21. A spokesperson for the store said Windows 7 packages were selling at a rate of three per minute between midnight and 0100BST.

"Across the group, within the first hour of trading this morning we were up 180% on sales," said Anina Castle from DSGi group - an electrical retailer which includes Dixons, Currys and PC World. The figure was set against a standard day of Vista sales.

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source: BBC

'Crash for cash' scam man jailed

A 24-year-old man has been jailed for four-and-a-half years after admitting his part in a £1.6m "crash for cash" conspiracy in Greater Manchester.

Mohammed Patel deliberately caused at least 93 car crashes in three years, each costing insurers about £17,000. Patel, of Nottingham Drive, Bolton, admitted a number of charges at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court.

He charged £500 a time to stage accidents, which enabled car owners to claim for bogus damages from insurers.

Patel forced a number of low speed crashes by braking suddenly, often at roundabouts, so the driver behind would crash into the back of him. Claimants - who owned the cars Patel was driving - demanded compensation for personal injury, courtesy cars and legal fees at the expense of the other party's insurers.

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source: BBC

Brazillian Grand Prix 2009

Jenson Button sealed the drivers' championship with a sublime recovery drive at a dramatic Brazilian Grand Prix won by Red Bull's Mark Webber.

Brawn's English driver started from 14th but executed a series of spectacular early overtaking moves before finishing the race fifth. He was already set to clinch the crown when a late puncture dropped main title threat Rubens Barrichello to eighth. Brawn still took the constructors' championship in their debut season.

Barrichello, who badly wanted to win on a circuit he was born in the shadow of, was running third before his unlucky puncture smoothed team-mate Button's path to the title he seemed destined for since his explosive start to the season. BMW Sauber's Robert Kubica was second ahead of McLaren's Lewis Hamilton while six drivers retired at Interlagos. Red Bull's German Sebastian Vettel, who started just behind Button, finished fourth while Toro Rosso's Sebastien Buemi was a season-best seventh.

Button's maiden world title overshadowed the grand prix, but the race certainly delivered a fitting scene for a deserved success.

For the full story from the BBC click here...

source: BBC

Will Google Wave change how we work?

SiliconRepublic.com today asked itself: 'Will Google Wave topple the email status quo and change the way we work?' This is what they wrote...

'Two weeks ago, Google began rolling out a preview version of a new web tool known as Wave to a limited 100,000 users. With mixed reviews, it has been labelled everything from “game-changing” to “unremarkable”.

Google Wave is a combination of email, instant messaging and collaborative work tool all within your web browser. It is early days yet, but Wave may have the potential to transform how you work with both colleagues and clients. While many businesses already use collaborative tools such as Microsoft OneNote, what Google Wave will do when it is released publicly later this year is bring this kind of functionality to the masses as it has previously done with document collaboration through Google Docs.

Essentially, Google will have brought out a free, platform-agnostic unified communications tool.'

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source: SiliconRepublic.com

Insurers fail to impress online

The economic climate is promoting spending online, with 63% of adult Britons who conducted an insurance transaction online last year saying they have increased their online spending habits due to ease of comparison and prices.

The 2009 Survey of Online Consumer Behaviour, conducted by Harris Interactive®, commissioned by Tealeaf®, also finds that insurers are not taking the chance to seize this opportunity.

A high proportion (79%) of those who conducted an insurance transaction online reported problems doing so. Error messages, navigational issues and getting stuck in a loop were all common problems revealed by the research, which also discovered that consumers were more affected by positive remarks on blogs and social networks rather than negative ones, which could provide additional business for insurers with good websites.

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source: Insurance Daily

Postal strike expected

The union representing Royal Mail workers says national postal strikes could begin on Thursday 22 October.

The Communication Workers Union (CWU) urged Royal Mail to agree to a "peace plan", but said if this failed, they would have "no option" but to strike.

Royal Mail said it was "very disappointed" with the move and argued the union was tabling "fresh demands" rather than proposing an agreement.

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source: BBC

Young drivers submit to peer pressure

People aged 17-21 are being killed in car accidents due to peer pressure, inadequate training and not wearing seatbelts, according to research commissioned by Aviva.

The research reveals that one in three young drivers alter the way they drive when there is more than one friend in the car, with one in five paying less attention to the road and one in four taking their hands off the wheel.

Surprisingly, 9% of those surveyed said they would not have awarded themselves a licence when they successfully passed their driving test.

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source: Insurance Daily

AIG raises $2.2bn

American International Group agreed to sell its Taiwan insurance unit to a consortium led by Hong Kong's Primus Financial for $2.15bn, the companies announced on Tuesday.

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source: FT.com

BVRLA backs OLEV incentives

The BVRLA has responded to the newly formed Office for Low-Emission Vehicles (OLEV) on its suggestions for distributing £250m allocated to help stimulate demand for ultra-low-carbon cars.

Following detailed discussions with members, the BVRLA has welcomed OLEV's recognition that rental and leasing businesses can play a key role in the take-up of this new technology.

For the full BVRLA response click here...

source: BVRLA

NI car sales increase 20%

The number of new cars registered in Northern Ireland in September rose by almost 20% compared to the same month last year.

However, the overall number of cars registered so far this year is still down on the number sold in the first nine months of last year.

The most popular model registered in NI last month was the Ford Fiesta. Three hundred and ninety two vehicles were registered, 30% more than the next most popular model, the Nissan Qashqai.

For the full story from the BBC click here... source: BBC

Growing small businesses

One of the big issues for ambitious small firms looking to grow is how to attract new customers. You know you have a great product, or offer a good service, but how do you best make yourself known to would-be buyers?

On the BBC website Ganesh Selvarajah, an advisor at Business Link, the government-funded business support service, looks at how to best target your advertising or marketing spend.

For the full story on the BBC website click here...

source: BBC

Jaguar gets £175m loan

Jaguar Land Rover has secured further funding worth £175m in the form of a loan from the State Bank of India, the carmaker has said.

The firm is struggling against falling sales during the downturn and has been looking at a number of refinancing packages in recent months. The UK government had offered support but the Indian owner of Jaguar, Tata, said the terms were too "onerous".

The carmaker has now secured £500m of new funding this year.

For the full story from BBC News click here...

source: BBC

Sales of new cars up 11.4%

Sales of new cars rose 11.4% in September compared with the same month last year, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT).

The new "59" registration plates were available from 1 September and 367,929 of them were sold in the month. The SMMT said that conditions remained "challenging" but the market was being supported by the scrappage scheme.

Last week, the government announced it was extending the trade-in scheme from £300m to £400m. "The extension of the scheme will help to sustain demand through the latter part of this year and into 2010," said Paul Everitt, chief executive of the SMMT.

For the full story from BBC News click here...

source: BBC

Japanese Grand Prix 2009

Sebastian Vettel (Red Bull Racing) convincingly won the Japanese Grand Prix to keep his slim title hopes alive but championship leader Jenson Button (Brawn GP) stayed in control.

Button pounced on an early tangle up ahead to finish in eighth, although a late safety car denied his Brawn team being crowned constructors' champions.

Jenson Button now leads the title race from team-mate Rubens Barrichello, who came seventh in Japan, by 14 points.

For the full story from the BBC click here...

source: BBC