Chancellor Alistair Darling has welcomed reports that the International Monetary Fund is calling for two new taxes on the banks to pay for future bail-outs.
The IMF watchdog is calling for a "financial stability contribution" (FSC) to pay for the "fiscal cost of any future government support to the sector", according to a report leaked to the BBC.
The levy, which would be imposed on all financial institutions, not just banks, would initially be charged at a flat rate although it would eventually be modified so riskier institutions are charged more.
A second "financial activities tax" - FAT - would be levied on the sum total of the financial institutions' profits and the remuneration they pay their staff, including bonuses.
The report, which will form the basis of a submission to the G20 summit in June, states international cooperation in the introduction of the new levies would be "beneficial".
"Countries' experiences in the recent crisis differ widely and so do their priorities as they emerge from it. But none is immune from the risk of a future - and inevitably global - financial crisis," it said.
"Unilateral actions by governments risk being undermined by tax and regulatory arbitrage."
Mr Darling said they were "important proposals" and backed Labour's position that any tax on the banks should be levied internationally.
"The recognition that banks should make a contribution to the society in which they operate is right," he said.
( Source: Press Associatrion)
www.pressassociation.com
Inter Milan produced a fine first-leg display as they came from behind to beat holders Barcelona and take control of their Champions League semi-final.
Barca, who dumped Arsenal out in the last round, went ahead when Maxwell's left-wing cross found Pedro to slot in.
Inter levelled as Wesley Sneijder fired in right-footed from a Diego Milito pass and Milito then teed up Maicon to control and slam home to make it 2-1.
Milito nodded in after Sneijder miscued a header to put Inter firmly in charge.
The result gives Barca a mountain to climb in the second leg in Catalonia next Wednesday as they seek to become the first team since AC Milan in 1990 to defend their European title.
They quickly secured the advantage of an away goal, but will be concerned by how badly things went wrong thereafter as Inter coach Jose Mourinho won the tactical battle with counterpart Pep Guardiola.
After an indifferent start, Inter produced a performance of which Barcelona would be proud; pressing high up the pitch and hitting Barca on the break with pace and incisiveness when they won the ball back.
With Lionel Messi subdued, Inter cashed in on their supremacy in devastating style and the Italian champions now stand on the brink of a first appearance in the final since 1972.
Yet it all started in typical fashion for a Barcelona side used to having their own way, as Guardiola's men dominated the early stages at the San Siro.
They capitalised on a Milito miss after Victor Valdes had saved from Samuel Eto'o, the visitors surging up the other end as Maxwell was allowed to get to the byeline down the left and pull the ball back for Pedro to coolly roll home his 20th goal of the season.
Inter were seeing less of the ball than their opponents, but they were dogged in defence and threatening in the final third and after Milito bent a hugely presentable chance wide, they equalised on the half-hour mark.
As Eto'o crossed from the Inter right, the Barca defenders all got sucked into the middle, including right-back Daniel Alves - and when Milito turned and teed up Sneijder, the Dutchman had the freedom of the park to lash in an equaliser.
Barca, denied space with which to operate, were struggling to find anything like their usual fluency as Inter doubled up on Messi and denied the influential Xavi the time to spray passes around.
Just after the break Goran Pandev failed by inches to latch on to Milito's ball from the right, but the Italians did not take too much longer to get themselves ahead.
Messi lost the ball in his own half and Inter broke with pace, the ball finding its way to Milito on the right-hand side of the area. The Argentine took his time and picked out the marauding Maicon as the Brazilian took a touch and rammed past Valdes.
Barca, perhaps weary after their 14-hour coach trip to get to Milan, tried to respond, but Messi's shot and Sergio Busquets' header were both well saved by Julio Cesar in the Inter goal.
On the hour mark, Mourinho's men took firm control of the tie. They broke quickly again and after Sneijder had completely misdirected his header from an Eto'o cross from the right, Milito was on hand to nod in from point-blank range.
Having looked comfortable early on, now Barcelona were flustered and even Xavi was misplacing passes, much to the delight of the Nerazzurri faithful.
But Barca recovered their composure to lay siege to the Inter goal in the closing stages and they will wonder how they did not at least narrow the deficit going into next week's tie.
Messi's 30-yard free-kick forced Julio Cesar to parry, before Alves was denied what appeared to be a good penalty appeal when he fell under Sneijder's challenge in the area. To rub salt into the wounds, the Brazilian found himself cautioned for simulation.
As the clock ticked down Gerard Pique - switched from centre-back to a target man role as Barca pressed for a goal - and Pedro were both denied by Julio Cesar as Inter clung on to their formidable advantage ahead of a daunting trip to the Camp Nou.
(Source:Story from BBC SPORT:By Jonathan Stevenson)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/sport1/hi/football/europe/8630297.stm
Sky high petrol prices sent annual inflation soaring to 3.4% last month after a faster than expected rise in the cost in living, official figures have revealed.
Consumer Prices Index (CPI) inflation leapt up from 3% in February after petrol prices rose by 2.7% in the month, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The CPI rise - bigger than economists had forecast - presents a headache for the Government at the start of a crucial week for economic data in the General Election battle.
The ONS said energy prices also contributed to the rise in inflation, with the majority of the recent gas reductions not having yet taken place, compared with falls last March.
But the significant upward pressure from petrol threatens to draw attention to Labour's 1p hike on duty imposed on April 1.
Motorists have been facing record costs at the petrol pump, with oil prices hitting recent 18-month highs.
The AA said the average cost of a litre of petrol is now 120.9p, against 95.2p a year earlier.
Retail Prices Index (RPI) inflation - which includes the cost of mortgages and housing - also rocketed last month, reaching 4.4% in March, which is the highest since September 2008.
CPI inflation had eased back sharply in February to 3% from 3.5% in January and economists had only expected the benchmark measure to rise to around 3.1% last month.
The ONS figures show a record uplift from transport costs, including petrol prices and air fares, with the annual rate of inflation 11.3% - the highest since at least January 1997. Food costs also pushed CPI higher, with vegetables affected from the adverse weather at the start of the year.
( source: Press Association)
Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg will launch a fierce attack on "reckless and greedy" bankers later as he seeks to capitalise on his party's remarkable surge in the polls.
Mr Clegg will use his morning press conference to highlight Lib Dem plans to break up the big banks to ensure that they cannot again "hold a gun to the head" of the rest of the economy.
He will point to the allegations about investment bank Goldman Sachs, which is being sued by the Securities and Exchange Commission in the United States over claims that it defrauded investors of a billion dollars, as evidence of the failure to clean up the system. The bank denies the charges.
Mr Clegg will say: "The allegations about Goldman Sachs are yet another reminder of how reckless and greedy the global banking industry had become.
"The great tragedy is that none of that recklessness or greed has yet been stamped out of the City of London, and it is costing jobs and businesses day by day."
He will also argue that only the Lib Dems have the plans to create a "different kind of economy" which is no longer dependent on the City, while ensuring households and businesses can get access to the credit they need.
( source: yahoo news uk/ ITN)
Airlines and holiday firms were in the spotlight as volcanic ash continued to disrupt European travel - but hopes that restrictions will be lifted eased investor fears.
British Airways, TUI Travel and Thomas Cook all lost around 4% at one point, but narrowed their falls amid news that flights in Scotland and northern England will resume on Tuesday.
The FTSE 100 Index shed 16.1 points to 5727.9 by the close in the latest falls after its 1.4% plummet on Friday following shock fraud charges against investment bank Goldman Sachs from the US regulator.
Wall Street's Dow Jones Industrial Average was almost flat in early trading as better-than-expected profits from Citigroup helped to soothe nerves from the Goldman scandal.
In currency news, the pound was largely flat against the dollar at 1.52 and against the euro at 1.13 amid ongoing uncertainty surrounding the General Election and the possibility of a hung Parliament.
Meanwhile, the continuing travel disruption caused by the Icelandic volcano eruption caused worries over lower demand for jet fuel, helping to send oil prices down to 81 US dollars a barrel.
In London, British Airways ended the day having pared earlier losses, with shares falling 3.3p at 231.7p - or 1.4% - after it said that lost passenger and freight revenue, as well as costs incurred in supporting passengers, amounted to between £15 million and £20 million a day.
TUI Travel saw a similar effect, ending 3.5p down at 288.2p, 1.2%, after it said the disruption cost it around £20 million so far and a further £5 million a day while the problems persist, and Thomas Cook said lost income and additional costs meant it was losing around £7 million a day. Shares declined 1.6%, or 4.2p to 256.9p.
The biggest Footsie risers were Royal Bank of Scotland up 2.1p at 50.4p, Autonomy Corporation up 37p at 1777p, Lloyds Banking Group, which gained 0.7p to 65.4p and British American Tobacco up 20.5p at 2170.5p.
The biggest Footsie fallers were Aviva down 8.9p at 378.1p, Land Securities off 14p at 659.5p, Old Mutual down 2.5p at 118.1p and Vedanta Resources, which fell 55p to 2741p.
( source: Press Association)
A letter from a first-class passenger on board the Titanic has fetched £55,000 at auction - a record price for a piece of written correspondence from the ship.
The piece was penned by Adolphe Saalfeld, on three sides of stationery from the doomed vessel, to his "wifey", Gertrude, still home in Britain.
His words give a rare glimpse into day-to-day life on the maiden voyage of the Titanic, which sank on April 15, 1912 with the loss of 1,517 lives after hitting an iceberg.
The letter was one of 350 lots of White Star Line memorabilia sold yesterday by auctioneer Henry Aldridge and Son, in Devizes, Wiltshire.
The letter, composed five days before the disaster, was sold to an unidentified museum in Britain, which has yet to formally announce its purchase.
Explaining the appeal of the artefact, Andrew Aldridge said: "The content is superb. It gives a real first person perspective of what life was like onboard, through the eyes of a first-class passenger, right down to the food, the size of the cabin and the decoration."
While other letters exist, this is the best example of its kind due to the depth of its detail, he explained.
The letter tells of Mr Saalfeld's approval of a "luncheon" featuring soup, fillet of plaice, a loin chop with cauliflower and fried potatoes, Apple Manhattan and Rocquefort cheese, "washed down with a large Spaten beer iced".
A partial transcript of the letter, released by the auctioneer reads: "After leaving [Southampton] at noon we had quite a little excitement, as the tremendous suction of our steamer made all the hawsers of the SS New York snap as we passed her and she drifted on to our boat, a collision being averted by our stopping & our tugs coming to the rescue of the 'New York'.
"The weather is calm and fine, the sky overcast. There are only 370 First Class passengers. So far the boat does not move and goes very steadily. It is not nice to travel alone and leave you behind. I think you will have to come next time.
"I had a long promenade and a doze for an hour up to 5 o'clock. The band played in the afternoon for tea, but I savour a cafe in the Verandah cafe with bread and butter and quite thought I should have to pay but anything and everything in the eating line is gratis.
"At 6 o'clock we anchor outside Cherbourg and two tugs with passengers came alongside. Owing to our little mishap at Southampton we were all one hour late and had dinner only at 7.30 instead of 7 o'clock as usual."
Mr Saalfeld, a German-born businessman who was en route to New York hoping to sell perfume concentrates, apparently name-dropped to good effect when it came to procuring a larger table at dinner.
"The name of my friend, the White Star manager in London, works wonders and I have a small table for two to myself. I made a very good dinner and had two cigars in the smoke room and shall now go to bed as I am tired. But for a slight vibration, you would not know that you are at sea."
Mr Saalfeld was apparently in the smoking parlour at the time of the collision and survived the sinking, having clambered into Lifeboat No. 3.
He later said there was sufficient time to save all on board - if enough lifeboats had been carried.
Mr Saalfeld died in 1926 at Kew Gardens and is buried in London's Golders Green cemetery.
Another star of the sale was a set of keys belonging to an officer transferred from the Titanic at the last minute, which fetched £54,000.
The keys - bearing a brass tag engraved with the words "binocular box" - were kept by officer David Blair and would have been stored in a teak box on the bulwark of the bridge.
Mr Blair sailed with the ship from Belfast to Southampton, but was moved onto another ship at short notice, taking the bunch of keys with him - a move which may well have saved him.
Mr Aldridge said: "Mr Blair was without doubt one of the luckiest men alive because this decision almost certainly saved his life."
A set of photographs relating to the Titanic, her passengers and crew were sold to various collectors for over £100,000. One picture, of Rosa Abbott, who was pulled from the water, fetched £35,000 and went to a private collector.
( source: Yahoo news Uk / Sky news 2010)
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/5/20100418/twl-intimate-titanic-letter-fetches-new-3fd0ae9.html
Liverpool striker Fernando Torres will miss the rest of the season following knee surgery.
The 26-year-old, who saw a specialist in Spain on Sunday, has been troubled by the problem for a number of weeks.
A Liverpool spokesman said: "It was decided that he would need surgery on a torn cartilage in his right knee.
"This will be carried out later on Sunday and, as a guide, the usual rehabilitation period for this type of procedure is around six weeks."
His fitness will be closely monitored by Spain manager Vicente del Bosque, whose side's opening World
Cup game in South Africa is against Switzerland on 16 June.
Del Bosque must submit his final 23-man squad to Fifa by 1 June.
Torres, who joined Liverpool from Atletico Madrid in 2007, will also miss out on meeting his former club in the Europa League semi-finals.
The Spaniard has scored 22 goals in all competitions this season, despite being beset by various injuries.
He was sidelined for a month after a knee operation in January and before Christmas struggled with a groin injury.
Torres's absence for the closing stages of the season is the latest blow for Liverpool.
The debt-ridden club is up for sale and all but out of the running for one of the valuable Champions League places, with the Europa League their only chance of silverware.
It also gives Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez a major headache in attack, with potentially another seven games left to play in a season where goals have been hard to come by when Torres has not played.
Dirk Kuyt, who normally plays on the right of midfield, can play as a forward and has scored nine league goals this season.
Young French striker David Ngog has scored just four times in the Premier League during the current campaign, with his last league goal coming on 16 December in the 2-1 home win over Wigan.
Benitez also has 19-year-old Spanish striker Daniel Pacheco, who has made the occasional substitute appearance this season.
Story from BBC SPORT:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/sport1/hi/football/teams/l/liverpool/8628770.stm
The UK economy will remain stuck in the doldrums this year with an export-led recovery unlikely to emerge until 2011, a leading forecaster has said.
The Ernst & Young ITEM Club, which uses the Treasury's own economic model for its forecasts, said the immediate prospects for the UK were "dismal" with growth of 1% or less predicted in 2010.
The ITEM Club's chief economic adviser, Peter Spencer, said there were "good reasons to be optimistic" about overseas demand - such as the weak pound - but warned global trade was unlikely to regain its 2008 peak until the end of next year.
UK consumers are likely to remain under pressure, forcing companies to look abroad, ITEM said.
The forecaster said consumer spending was too weak to sustain a recovery as households labour under high debts, subdued wage growth and lingering risks of unemployment.
Mr Spencer said: "The lack of domestic growth opportunities will force exporters and other organisations to seek overseas income streams, particularly in Asia, while the weak pound makes UK output extremely competitive.
"The longer this situation continues the more obvious it will become that this is the way forward, both for businesses and the macroeconomy."
( source: Press Association)
http://www.pressassociation.com/
German transport operator Deutsche Bahn is close to agreeing a £1.6 billion takeover of UK bus and trains firm Arriva, it has been reported.
Deutsche Bahn's board is meeting this week to approve the bid with an announcement expected in the next two weeks, the Sunday Times reported.
The state-owned German company - which already operates UK services such as the Chiltern Railways route between London and Birmingham Snow Hill - first confirmed interest in Arriva last month.
The company has been working on detailed due diligence for the past month and could make an offer of between 750p and 775p a share, according to the report.
The acquisition of Arriva, which is the UK's third biggest transport firm, would create a European travel giant.
Arriva also attracted takeover interest from France's SNCF earlier this year as European operators look to consolidate to take advantage of deregulated transport markets.
Arriva runs two rail franchises in the UK including CrossCountry, which covers 1,400 miles and calls at more than 100 stations between Aberdeen and Penzance, Bournemouth and Manchester and Cardiff and Stansted.
It also runs bus services in major cities such as Liverpool, Leeds, Leicester, Glasgow and Newcastle as well as operating services in 12 European countries.
Alongside Chiltern Railways, Deutsche Bahn is involved in the running of the open access operator Wrexham, Shropshire and Marylebone Railway and is joint operator of the London Overground service.
It also bought the EWS freight company - which runs the Royal Train - in 2007, rebranding it DB Schenker.
( source: Press Association)
Tottenham stunned Chelsea to blow the Premier League title race wide open with a second derby win in four days.
Manchester United's earlier victory at rivals City had pulled them to within a point of leaders Chelsea - but the Blues succumbed to an inspired Spurs.
Jermain Defoe opened the scoring from the spot after John Terry's handball and Gareth Bale slammed in a second.
Terry saw red for two bookings before Frank Lampard's late reply, but Spurs held on to move above City into fourth.
It means with three games to go, including a tricky trip to Liverpool on 2 May, Chelsea remain top of the table but with United breathing closely down their neck and with Arsenal six points behind but with a game in hand.
Blues boss Carlo Ancelotti will also be without captain Terry for one of those games through suspension following a red card few can argue with after two poor tackles.
As for Tottenham, they now have a two-point cushion over fifth-place Manchester City following a couple of wins that not only give their push for a Champions League spot a huge fillip but also delighted a buzzing White Hart Lane crowd.
Manchester United, chasing an historic fourth successive Premier League crown, got the favour from Spurs they had hoped for, having beaten City in the lunchtime kick-off before Harry Redknapp's men took three points from Chelsea.
But even the most optimistic of United fans will have failed to have foreseen a Spurs performance that confounded those who thought the north Londoners would run out of steam on the back of a jam-packed week.
This was an impressive display with Bale superb on the left, Luka Modric controlling in the middle, and Michael Dawson a rock at the back.
And, just as he did in the derby win over Arsenal on Wednesday, goalkeeper Heurelho Gomes once again came up with the goods on the odd occasion he was called upon.
Not that that was very often as the home side came up against an out-of-sorts Chelsea side.
Florent Malouda forced a smart save from Gomes just seven minutes in with a 25-yard stinger, but otherwise it was the hosts who enjoyed the better of the chances.
Roman Pavlyuchenko and Bale had already had snap-shots either saved or cleared when the latter went down in the box under a forceful challenge from Jon Obi Mikel.
Referee Phil Dowd ruled the Chelsea man had got the ball, but the decision went in Tottenham's favour just a minute later when Terry handled Bentley's cross.
Defoe, who had missed six of his last 10 penalties, made no such error this time, drilling an unstoppable spot-kick into the corner with Petr Cech diving the wrong way.
The visitors responded briefly when Didier Drogba's half-chance was easily saved, but at the other end Pavlyuchenko forced Cech to tip over the bar from range before David Bentley was denied a second from six yards out by Terry's outstretched leg.
The west Londoners thought they had levelled when Malouda slid home from Yuri Zhikov's pass, but the Frenchman was correctly ruled offside.
And then, six minutes later, Tottenham doubled their lead, Bale cutting inside full-back Paulo Ferreira and slamming in at the near post with his weaker right foot.
Redknapp's men then had their keeper to thank for the fact they went in at the break two goals to the good, after Gomes spectacularly beat away Lampard's fierce volley from 16 yards out.
Ancelotti responded by making a double half-time substitution - Nicolas Anelka and Branislav Ivanovic coming on for Joe Cole and the tormented Ferreira - to add to his earlier replacement of the injured Mikel with Michael Ballack.
However, at the restart Drogba appeared to double up with pain in his groin, prompting the Blues to appeal to change their substitution. Dowd refused, though, and the game continued with the Ivorian looking far from fully fit.
Immediately, it could - and arguably should - have been three, Defoe sent through on goal by Pavlyuchenko's pass but Cech, standing tall, producing a fine stop to tip the England man's shot wide.
Still, Chelsea's frustrations were only heightened when Terry saw red for two bookings in three minutes, the second a clear trip on Bale that the visiting captain can have few complaints about.
From then on in, Tottenham could have scored a hatful. Cech tipped a brilliant Bentley lob over, saved at his near post from Bale, before watching the hosts waste a succession of chances on the break as Chelsea pressed late on - Pavlyuchenko and Bale, again, guilty of firing wide when well placed.
In reply, Chelsea enjoyed some possession but few chances - only really looking a threat after Lampard had slid Ballack's cross home in injury time.
It was far too little, too late, though, and Tottenham deservedly held on for a precious win that will be as gratefully received in Manchester as on both sides of north London.
Story from BBC SPORT:By Sam Lyon
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/sport1/hi/football/eng_prem/8617737.stm
The US government's financial watchdog has accused Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs of defrauding investors by failing to disclose conflicts of interest in mortgage investments it sold as the housing market was faltering.
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced civil fraud charges against the company and one of its vice presidents. It alleges Goldman failed to disclose that one of its clients helped create -- and then bet against -- sub-prime mortgage securities that Goldman sold to investors.
Investors in the mortgage securities are alleged to have lost more than a billion dollars, the SEC said. The agency is seeking to recoup profits reaped on the deal.
The Goldman client implicated in the fraud is one of the world's largest hedge funds, Paulson, which paid Goldman roughly 15 million dollars for structuring the deals in 2007.
Goldman Sachs shares fell more than 12% after the SEC announcement, which also caused shares of other financial companies to sink.
The civil lawsuit filed by the SEC in federal court in Manhattan was the government's most significant legal action related to the mortgage meltdown that ignited the financial crisis and helped plunge the country into recession.
The agency also charged a Goldman vice president, Fabrice Tourre, 31, who it said was principally responsible for devising the deal and marketing the securities.
The SEC is seeking unspecified fines and restitution from Goldman Sachs and Tourre.
Goldman told investors that a third party, ACA Management LLC, had selected the underlying mortgages in the investment. But the SEC alleges Goldman misled investors by failing to disclose that Paulson also played a role in selecting the mortgages and stood to profit from their decline in value.
"Goldman wrongly permitted a client that was betting against the mortgage market to heavily influence which mortgage securities to include in an investment portfolio, while telling other investors that the securities were selected by an independent, objective third party," SEC Enforcement Director Robert Khuzami said.
(source: Press Association)
www.pressassociation.com
The London market hit a new 22-month high amid decent economic news despite the growing prospect of an International Monetary Fund bail-out for Greece.
The IMF is sending a team to Athens at the request of the Greek Government, although investors instead focused on Chinese growth hitting a three-year high and strong US manufacturing figures.
The FTSE 100 Index closed 28.8 points ahead at 5825, although Wall Street's Dow Jones Industrial Average was sluggish in early trading after yesterday's 100-point surge.
The pound was flat against the dollar at just below 1.55, although it rose above 1.14 euros. The single currency dropped a cent against the dollar on more wobbles over Greece's precarious fiscal position.
There was little in the way of corporate news in London to drive equity markets, although banks enjoyed a strong session after an upgrade for European players from brokers at Exane BNP Paribas.
HSBC topped the Footsie leaderboard with a 20.5p rise to 712.5p or 3% while Barclays cheered 9.65p to 383.15p. Royal Bank of Scotland was 1p dearer at 46p and Lloyds Banking Group added 0.9p to 65.4p.
BP was also a gainer, cheering 9.9p to 653p as it rode out a protest resolution at its annual meeting calling for greater scrutiny of the assumptions behind its controversial Canadian oil sands project.
The leading Footsie faller was credit checking firm Experian, whose trading update flagged up a return to growth for its main North American market. Organic growth of 2% for the overall group disappointed the market however and left the shares down 18.5p or 3% at 616.5p.
Elsewhere, annual figures from food producer Uniq said the current financial year had started well, but this was overshadowed after it posted a wider full-year loss due to continued pension woes. The company, which makes sandwiches and desserts for retailers including Marks & Spencer, saw its share price fall 5p to 21.25p, or 19%.
The biggest Footsie risers were HSBC up 20.5p at 712.5p, Petrofac ahead 36p at 1261p, Barclays up 9.65p at 383.15p and Shire up 33p at 1463p. The biggest Footsie fallers were Experian down 18.5p at 616.5p, Home Retail Group off 6.4p at 287.6p, British American Tobacco down 38.5p at 2185.5p and Associated British Foods down 12p at 958p.
( source: Press Association)
http://www.pressassociation.com
Dragons' Den entrepreneurs James Caan and Duncan Bannatyne have entered a war of words over Caan's UK tax status.
Last month Bannatyne said he thought it was "unfair" that, as a non-dom, Caan did not pay tax in the UK on money he earned overseas.
In Wednesday's Evening Standard Caan responded: "I do not apologise for my country of origin, Pakistan."
Bannatyne retaliated, telling the paper Caan was "playing the race card" and "personalising the whole thing".
The spat comes a week before the new series of Dragons' Den is due to be filmed.
'Hypocritical'
Bannatyne's original comments came in an article for The Daily Telegraph - which has now been removed from their website.
The businessman noted that Caan had recently acquired five health clubs, which he claimed would compete unfairly with his own fitness empire.
"As I pay UK tax on all of the earnings that fund my lifestyle, and corporation tax on all of the profits made by my businesses, I am clearly at an unfair disadvantage," he wrote.
"It's just as well James and I get on so well, and there couldn't be a nicer man to be in competition with, but you see my point."
Caan is a non-dom, and as such pays taxes on his UK earnings but not on any made abroad that are not brought into the UK.
He has strongly refuted any suggestion that his chain of health clubs, Nuyuu, is managed by a board of directors outside of the UK.
In a statement published in The Evening Standard, the entrepreneur insisted he had no problem with any of his Dragons' Den colleagues, but said there were restrictions on who he would co-operate with.
"I'm happy to invest with anyone in the Den. I've got no beef with any Dragon, so long as they have the means to invest on the show with me, and as long as they don't have a criminal record."
Some newspapers have interpreted this as a reference to Bannatyne's court martial and dishonourable discharge from the Navy as a teenager.
Bannatyne told BBC News he thought Caan's comments were "hypocritical" as he was involved with The Prince's Trust and The Big Issue publication, both of which work with former criminals.
He added that at a meeting at the BBC on Monday, Caan had "refused" to shake his hand.
Caan did not immediately return a call placed by the BBC News website regarding Bannatyne's comments.
In a statement, a BBC spokesperson said: "Dragons' Den is not a team effort. It is all about entrepreneurs pitching to individual Dragons in the hope of winning backing for their ideas, and five hard-headed investors looking for the best deal."
Bannatyne, a Labour party donor who has publicly backed Gordon Brown, says his comments have not been made for political ends - but admitted on his Twitter account that he was lobbying for a change to the tax laws regarding non-doms.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/entertainment/8621733.stm
The election campaign goes into a brief lull today as the three men who would be prime minister prepare for tonight's historic leaders' debate.
Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg have been busy testing themselves against colleagues and officials in advance of the broadcast, which looks set to be watched by tens of millions of people.
Polls indicate half the electorate will watch the debate – around the same number that turn out to vote.
Mr Brown did manage to fit in a trip to the marginal Bolton West constituency today, in which he admitted slight nerves and insisted he was "looking forward to it".
Mr Clegg stands to gain the most from the occasion as Britain's third party basks in the fact its leader will stand side-by-side with his two opponents.
"The nerves are there," he told reporters earlier while campaigning in Manchester city centre today.
Mr Cameron has arguably the most to lose as the front runner, but Tory officials are hoping his personable character will shine through on screen compared to that of Mr Brown. He spent the day in Halifax, West Yorkshire, with his wife.
Various social media tools are gearing up to calculate the results of the debate.
A Twitter tool created by political aggregator Tweetminster will track posts by 5,000 designated Twitter users and judge their sentiment on a scale of one to five, thereby providing a real-time assessment of each leader's performance.
Meanwhile, a Facebook tool will invite the sites millions of users to provide instant snapshots of the country's reaction to the debate.
An audience reaction tool branded 'the worm' will track the impressions of a panel picked by ITV News, which is hosting the first debate, on the subject of domestic affairs.
A second debate, on foreign affairs, will take place on Sky next week, while a third and final debate on the economy will take place the week after that on the BBC.
The live debate is the first of its kind on British television, despite being a key part of election campaigns in most other developed countries.
Analysts and pundits will be watching events closely to see its affect on the 2010 general election.
politics.co.uk will be tracking the build up throughout the day and providing minute-by-minute commentary of the debate itself.
( source:By politics.co.uk staff)
http://www.politics.co.uk/
Airline passengers are facing massive disruption across the UK after an ash cloud from a volcanic eruption in Iceland grounded planes.
Airports operator BAA said all flights in and out of Heathrow and Stansted would be suspended from midday.
In Scotland all airports are shut and most others around the UK have cancelled or suspended flights.
The Air Traffic Control Service (Nats) imposed restrictions after the Met Office warned ash could damage engines.
Passengers were advised to contact their carriers prior to travel.
Experts have warned that the tiny particles of rock, glass and sand contained in the ash cloud would be sufficient to jam aircraft engines.
'Significant disruption'
Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow airports were shut as Nats said it was restricting flights "in accordance with international civil aviation policy".
The ash cloud disrupted all flights to and from Manchester with a similar picture at Newcastle airport where all arrivals were cancelled and all outbound flights either cancelled or subject to indefinite delay.
Liverpool's John Lennon airport suspended all flights until at least 1300BST.
British Airways said it had cancelled all domestic flights for the whole of Thursday, which affected flights at London's Gatwick, Heathrow and City airports.
Birmingham airport warned of severe disruption with about 90% of flights cancelled, and there were problems reported at East Midlands, Leeds Bradford, Cardiff and Bristol.
Most flights were suspended at Belfast International Airport and George Best Belfast City Airport, with some in and out of Dublin airport also hit.
A Nats spokesman said: "The Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre has issued a forecast that the ash cloud from the volcanic eruption in Iceland will track over Europe tonight.
"Nats is working with Eurocontrol and our colleagues in Europe's other air navigation service providers to take the appropriate action to ensure safety in accordance with international aviation policy."
Engines shut
The European air safety body, Eurocontrol, said the cloud of ash had reached 55,000ft and was expected to move through northern UK and Scotland by 1300BST.
Brian Flynn, assistant head of operations of its central flow management unit, told the BBC: "As it moves toward the Netherlands and Belgium it will dissipate and lose intensity, like any weather phenomenon. But we don't know what the extent of it will be."
VOLCANIC ASH CLOUD
The eruption in the Eyjafjallajoekull area is the second to occur in a month
This eruption has released ash to significantly greater heights
Volcanic ash contains tiny particles of rock and even glass, which can wreak havoc with machinery
A 1982 BA flight unknowingly flew into an ash cloud, shutting down all four engines
Further south, five easyJet flights due to depart from Stansted airport in Essex were cancelled, along with all northbound flights from Southampton and Newquay airports.
Bournemouth airport grounded a flight to Dublin but said all other departures were on schedule.
Met Office forecaster Philip Avery said the ash could take several days to clear.
He said: "It is showing up on imagery at the moment, extending down as far as the Faroes but it looks as though the wind will drag it a good deal further south.
"Nats has good cause to be very cautious about this because in about 1982 a British Airways jumbo had the unnerving experience of having all four engines shut down as it flew through a plume of volcanic ash."
There was a nearly identical incident on 15 December 1989 when KLM Flight 867, a B747-400 from Amsterdam to Anchorage, Alaska, flew into the plume of the erupting Mount Redoubt, causing all four engines to fail.
Once the flight cleared the ash cloud, the crew was able to restart each engine and then make a safe landing at Anchorage, but the aircraft was substantially damaged.
A BAA spokesman said: "Passengers intending to fly today are asked to contact their airline for further information and should expect disruption in the coming hours.
The Royal Air Force has confirmed it will maintain its search and rescue operations.
A spokesman said: "We will continue to provide full search and rescue cover, however we will consider all requests we get on a case by case basis.
"The ash is mainly affecting the air traffic control radar but we can fly in cloud and reduced visibility.
The eruption under a glacier in the Eyjafjallajoekull area of Iceland is the second in the country in less than a month.
A Nats spokesperson said the volcano was still erupting.
Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/uk/8621407.stm
Lord Sugar is a firm Labour supporter
Alan Sugar has donated £400,000 to the Labour party, raising inevitable accusations he has become its 'sugardaddy'.
The money, donated to help with campaign running costs, provides Labour with at least one prominent wealthy backer.
It follows business leaders turning out in their droves to support the Tories after the opposition pledged to cancel the national insurance tax hike.
Lord Sugar, whose peerage was given to him by Gordon Brown, has made total payments to Labour of £750,000 since 1997.
Douglas Carswell, the Conservative incumbent in Harwich, said: "Now we can see why Gordon Brown told Lord Sugar 'you're hired'."
But Labour is keen for the cash injection, with Gordon Brown having to travel around the country in buses and trains while David Cameron flies using his own private jet
( By politics.co.uk staff)
http://www.politics.co.uk/
A man wrote a letter to a small hotel in a midwest town he planned to visit on his vacation. He wrote:
I would very much like to bring my dog with me. He is well- groomed and very well- behaved.
Would you be willling to permit me to keep him in my room with me at night?
An immediate reply came from the hotel owner, who said,
I've been operating this hotel for many years. In all that time, I've never had a dog steal towels, bed clothes or silverware or pictures off the walls.
I've never had to evict a dog in the middle of the night for being drunk and disorderly. And I've never had a dog run out on a hotel bill.
Yes, indeed, your dog is welcome at my hotel.
And, if your dog vouch for you, you're welcome to stay here, too.
( source: Karl Albrecht and Ron Zenke Service America from chicken soup for the soul)
info@theshoppingforest.com
One of Arsenal's biggest shareholders has decided to sell her stake in the Premier League club raising the possibility of a takeover bid for the north London side.
A person familiar with the situation told the Reuters news agency that US private equity firm Blackstone has been retained in the last few days by Nina Bracewell-Smith to find a buyer for her stake of almost 16 per cent in the club.
Bracewell-Smith's decision to sell her holding could be of huge interest to the club's two big investors - Kroenke Sports Enterprises and Red and White Holdings - and possibly lead to a bid for control of the club.
American sports and real estate entrepreneur Kroenke currently owns 29.98 per cent of the club, just short of the 30 per cent threshold that would require him to make a mandatory takeover offer. Uzbek-born metals oilgarch Alisher Usmanov holds a 26.29 per cent stake through his investment vehicle Red and White.
In January, Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis said he did not expect any takeover bid despite Kroenke's growing interest in the club. Blackstone Group declined to comment.
Arsenal's website said as of April 12 Bracewell-Smith owned 15.9 per cent of Arsenal Holding
(Source:Reuters - Mon, 12 Apr / Yahoo news Uk)
