Glastonbury Tickets Sell Out In Record Time

Glastonbury ticket sales have sold out in a record time of one hour and 27 minutes.

Organisers Emily and Michael Eavis said they were "blown away" by the response.

In a statement, they said: "We're sorry that many of you missed out on a ticket.

"We genuinely try to make the ticket system as fair as it can be, but when demand outstrips supply, it is an unfortunate inevitability that some people will be left disappointed."

Sales got off to a shaky start on Sunday morning with technical issues affecting the first half an hour of sales.

The remaining 120,000 tickets for next year's event went on sale at 9am, with more than a million people pre-registered to buy the biggest festival ticket of the summer.

Weight of demand appeared to have slowed things down temporarily and official ticket agent See Tickets tweeted its apologies for a "difficult half hour".

The system stabilised at around 9.30am, with Emily Eavis thanking fans for their patience.

The Rolling Stones debuted at the festival in 2013

The £210 tickets were selling at a rate of 3,000 a minute, according to See Tickets, and by 10am 80,000 had already been sold.

Some fans were able to get their hands on a limited number of tickets before Sunday's main sale when 15,000 coach and ticket packages went on sale on October 3. They were snapped up within half an hour.

People who missed out will get another chance when a resale of returned tickets takes place in the spring.

Many fans took to Twitter after the big ticket dash to celebrate their luck - or express their frustration at missing out.

Harry Gartside tweeted: "An hour and 40 minutes of internet queues only to be told they've sold out, absolutely gutted #Glastonbury."

Michael Eavis says next year's headliners will be Glasto first-timers

"After all that excitement, I'm going back to bed to rest my refresh finger. #glastonbury," posted Alice Marshall.

Glastonbury's founder, Michael Eavis, said last month that he already had the headline acts lined up for 2014.

Speaking to the NME, he said they were "more in less in place" and would be three bands that had never played at the festival before.

The Rolling Stones were the big draw at this year's event, playing the Somerset festival to mostly positive reviews.

The 2014 event takes place between Wednesday June 25 and Sunday June 29.

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Crunch Time In £350m Wagon Wheels Auction

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

More than half a dozen bidders have tabled offers for the owner of Wagon Wheels, the UK's second-biggest biscuits manufacturer.

Sky News understands that a field of predominantly financial investors submitted initial bids last week in the first stage of an auction that could raise £350m for the current owners of Burton's Biscuits.

Among the private equity groups which lodged their interest in a takeover of Burton's, according to sources close to the process, were Apax Partners, Capvest, Charterhouse and Pamplona Capital.

The giant Ontario Teachers Pension Plan, which owns Camelot, the Lotto operator, also made an offer, while Two Sisters, the owner of Fox's Biscuits, is understood to have been planning to bid.

A sale of Burton's will entail a change of ownership for another portfolio of prominent UK food brands following the sale several months ago of the snacks division of United Biscuits (UB), which included Hula Hoops and KP Skips among its products.

Burton's is Britain's second-largest biscuits manufacturer by sales, behind UB, which is also owned by two private equity groups, Blackstone and PAI Partners.

As well as Wagon Wheels, Burton's produces Jammie Dodgers, Cadbury Biscuits, Lyon's and Maryland cookies.

Based in St Albans, Hertfordshire, Burton's traces its roots back to the mid-1800s when it was founded by George Burton.

It employs more than 2,200 people around the UK in three manufacturing facilities in Llantarnam, Edinburgh and Blackpool, a chocolate refinery in Moreton and a central distribution hub in Liverpool.

Burton's is one of a sizeable number of mid-sized British companies which has been through several phases of private equity ownership.

In 2009, Apollo and CIBC, the Canadian bank, seized control of the company after Duke Street Capital, its previous owner, was forced to surrender control to the biscuit-maker's lenders.

Another private equity group, HM Capital, had bought the company in 2000 from Associated British Foods, owner of the Primark retail chain.

The auction of Burton's will pre-empt that of UB, which is expected to be put up for sale in the next couple of years.

UB, which now consists solely of a biscuits business, owns the McVitie's brand, which includes products such as Jaffa Cakes and Penguin.

Burton's declined to comment.

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Cigarette Pack Warnings 'Have Little Impact'

A charity is calling on the Government to introduce standardised cigarette packs in the UK after a new survey suggested they are more likely to put teenagers off smoking than current front-of-pack health warnings.

Teenagers from Australia  - where plain packs were introduced almost a year ago - are more likely to be deterred from taking up the habit by cigarette packaging than British youngsters, according to the British Heart Foundation (BHF).

In December last year, Australia became the first country in the world to introduce such a measure. Cigarette packs and other tobacco products are all sold in packets with a standardised brown colour, with only the brand name and graphic warnings visible.

Plans to mimic the measure in England were put on hold in July when the Government announced the proposal would be postponed until ministers had a chance to assess its impact Down Under.

New BHF research found that only a third (36%) of UK teenagers are deterred from smoking by current cigarette packs compared to almost half (48%) of their Australian counterparts.

The survey, of 2,000 people aged 13 to 18 from the UK and 500 from Australia, found that three-quarters of British teenagers would support such a measure.

Australian cigarette packs are without logos and brand names

The charity found that one in 10 UK teens made the incorrect assumption that certain cigarette brands are healthier than others, compared to just one in 20 Australian youngsters.

BHF chief executive Simon Gillespie said: "The message from our young people is loud and clear: current health warnings aren't up to the job and the UK Government must step up to the mark and introduce standardised packs.

"Smoking kills 100,000 people in the UK every year and we simply can't wait any longer for legislation.

"Australia has led the way on standardised packs, the Scottish Government has committed, and now the rest of the UK must act to protect future generations from a deadly habit."

The charity also called on politicians to rally behind new legislation which could see standardised packs introduced in the UK and other laws which could see larger graphic health warnings placed on cigarette packs across the European Union.

A Department of Health spokesperson said: "The UK Government supports the proposed Europe-wide controls that would introduce a ban on flavoured cigarettes and strict rules on front-of-pack health warnings.

"We take very seriously the potential for standardised packaging to reduce smoking rates, but in light of the differing views, we have decided to wait until the emerging impact of the decision in Australia can be measured, and then we will make a decision in England."

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JAL Picks Airbus A350 Over Boeing Dreamliner

Japan Airlines has signed its first-ever purchase from Airbus, in a blow to Boeing as the Dreamliner saga continues to affect the American firm.

JAL announced a decision to buy 31 A350 planes, with a catalogue value of £5.9bn.

The deal signed in Tokyo on Monday also includes an option for JAL to buy 25 more Airbus jets.

JAL's fleet has historically been dominated by Boeing, partly because of the defence and security ties between the two countries and reconstruction arrangements after the Second World War.

In July an Ethiopian Airlines plane suffered fire damage at Heathrow

The deal was announced after markets closed in Tokyo but investors cheered reports of the purchase earlier on Monday as JAL's shares closed up 3%.

The push by the European plane maker comes as JAL and domestic rival All Nippon Airways (ANA) - whose fleet is also dominated by Boeing - have been sideswiped by problems with the next generation Dreamliner.

The lightweight plane, hailed for its fuel-efficiency but marred by years of production delays, was grounded globally in January after lithium-ion batteries overheated on two different planes, with one of them catching fire while parked.

The Japanese carriers - the single biggest operators of the Dreamliner -- have put their fleets back into service but they are seeking compensation from Boeing of more than $200m (£120m) amid a global grounding of the model.

Airbus says its A350 improves fuel efficiency by around 25%

"Considering the recent troubles with the Dreamliner, JAL may have reached the conclusion that it wants to avoid the risks," SMBC Friend Research Center senior analyst Mitsuru Miyazaki said.

"The aviation sector is a global industry so it's natural that Japanese airlines want to secure multiple sourcing options for their planes."

But JAL president Yoshiharu Ueki denied the decision to turn to the European manufacturer for replacements for Boeing jets was related to the problems that have plagued the rival 787 Dreamliner.

Months of problems with Dreamliner fleets have eased recently, however Poland's LOT grounded its fleet in September over missing fuel filters.

A battery fire in Boston prompted concerns about the 787 design, in January

The Scandinavian carrier Norwegian Long Haul also reportedly replaced one of its two 787s with a leased Airbus after the Boeing aircraft broke down six times last month.

Airbus said its next-generation A350 is 25% more fuel-efficient than its existing  wide-bodied aircraft and has an order book approaching 800 planes.

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Help To Buy: Doubts Over Success Of Scheme

By Poppy Trowbridge, Business and Economics Correspondent

The second phase of the government mortgage guarantee scheme Help to Buy launches today, three months earlier than expected - but experts are sceptical the initiative will help buyers.

Lack of capacity in the housing market, and a statement from one bank saying it cannot confirm whether it will take part in the scheme, means some would-be buyers could be left empty-handed.

Exclusive research by Sky News shows interest from potential buyers has skyrocketed since the Government surprised the market.

Property website Rightmove says clicks on its Help to Buy pages numbered 14,807 on Saturday, the day before last Sunday's surprise announcement.

When David Cameron revealed, on the eve of the Conservative Party conference, that the launch date had been brought forward from January - clicks, measuring potential buyer interest, spiked to 59,571.

Now, almost a week later, they remain far above average at 23,660.

There is concern that pent-up demand cannot be met by existing market services, while Barclays has issued a statement saying it is not able to guarantee a launch date.

The policy offers homebuyers loans of up to 20% towards a property

"Whilst we cannot take a decision over participation in the new scheme before the terms are set, we are encouraged by the tone of the discussions so far," the bank said.

RBS and Natwest however, have said they are ready to take part in the scheme when it goes live and are planning to extend opening hours in many branches to deal with demand.

"From launch date customers will be able to visit any of our 2000 branches or call us to see how we can help them to get ahead on the property ladder through the scheme," said a statement.

Lloyds Banking Group will also be participating in the second stage of Help to Buy - but exact timings are currently unclear.

"We will be introducing a range of products shortly through our Halifax (and Bank of Scotland) brand, enabling customers to benefit from 95% borrowing this year," said a spokesperson.

However, some estate agents are still worried about a lack of capacity to deal with interest in the scheme.

Robert Ellice, of Clarke Hillyer, told Sky News: "At the moment we've got big delays in the whole process anyway, mortgages are still taking a long time to be offered and taking a long time to be verified on values."

Despite the concerns, the government insists that the scheme is still on track to be a success.

A Treasury statement said: "Two major lenders - Lloyds and RBS representing around 30% of total mortgage lending - have already announced that they will be launching new mortgage products because of Help to Buy.

"This is great news for those who can't get on - or move up the property ladder because of the huge cost of deposits."

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Royal Mail Sale: Fears For Small Investors

Fears have been raised over small-time investors buying shares in Royal Mail, as big City firms are set to buy the majority of those on offer.

Hedge funds and City fund managers are allowed 70% of the shares being offered in the majority sell-off of the postal delivery firm.

City investors have also been tipped to make up to 40% instant profit amid claims that the business has been undervalued by more than a third.

The Government has valued the Royal Mail at £3.3bn and is selling up to 62% of the business - including a 10% stake being handed for free to Royal Mail employees.

But analysts at Panmure Gordon told The Daily Telegraph the company could be worth as much as £4.5bn.

The shares have been priced at the high end of the £2.60p to £3.30p estimate, but are expected to rise in value when the company floats on the stock market next week.

The deadline for applications to buy stock closes at midnight on Tuesday, and veteran City expert David Buik said big investors had already applied for hundreds of millions of shares.

The minimum investment allowed is £750, which is forecast to return a profit of £300 if sold after flotation.

Former home secretary Alan Johnson, who worked as a postman as a teenager, told the newspaper: "There is a vast difference between pricing Royal Mail shares conservatively and undervaluing them by £1bn.

"This is ripping off the taxpayer on an epic scale."

On Sunday, Labour slammed the privatisation and said the process should be halted.

Shadow business secretary Chuka Umunna, speaking on Sky's Murnaghan programme, said scrapping the move would prevent a "massive bonanza" for City speculators.

He said to proceed with the sell-off would not only have "huge consequences for consumers and businesses" - but the taxpayer would also be left "short-changed".

The prospectus also highlights sites in London at Mount Pleasant and Nine Elms as being "surplus", with reports saying they are worth between £500m and £1bn each, according to Labour.

Meanwhile, Royal Mail chief executive Moya Greene has written to employees offering them £300 not to take part in impending industrial action.

Workers have been offered a pay increase of 8.6% over three years, including a £300 lump sum in year one if there is no strike.

The Communication Workers Union is asking members to vote on industrial action and the ballot closes later this month.

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China Urges The US To Act Over Shutdown

China has urged the United States to take decisive steps to avoid a debt crisis and ensure the safety of Asia's investments.

The demand comes as a deadlocked US Congress approached a looming deadline to increase the nation's borrowing power or risk default.

China, the American government's largest creditor, is "naturally concerned about developments in the US fiscal cliff", vice finance minister Zhu Guangyao said.

It was the Chinese government's first public response to the October 17 deadline in the US for raising the debt ceiling.

"The United States is totally clear about China's concerns about the fiscal cliff," Mr Zhu told reporters in Beijing, adding that Washington and Beijing had been in touch over the issue.

US government workers have protested against the shutdown

"We ask that the United States earnestly takes steps to resolve in a timely way before October 17 the political (issues) around the debt ceiling," Mr Zhu said.

"And prevent a US debt default to ensure safety of Chinese investments in the United States and the global economic recovery."

He added: "This is the United States' responsibility."

The US government has moved into the second week of a shutdown with no end in sight, as Congress also confronted the mid-month deadline on raising the debt ceiling above $16.7trn (£10.39trn).

"We hope the United States fully understands the lessons of history," Mr Zhu said, referring to a 2011 deadlock that led to a downgrade of the US credit rating to "AA+" from "AAA" by agency Standard & Poor's.

The August 2011 debt ceiling confrontation ended with an eleventh-hour agreement under pressure from shaken markets and warnings of an economic catastrophe if a default were allowed to happen.

President Obama has been criticised for not resolving the political impasse

Republican House Speaker John Boehner vowed on Sunday that there was "no way" Republican politicians would agree to a measure to raise the debt ceiling unless it included conditions to rein in deficit spending.

The comment raised fears that the US Congress and President Barack Obama could fail to reach a deal on raising the ceiling by October 17, when the Treasury has estimated it will have run out of cash.

Meanwhile, US secretary of state John Kerry has tried to assure Asia-Pacific business leaders that nothing will shake America's commitment to the region and that the current government shutdown in Washington will soon be over and forgotten.

Mr Kerry told executives at an Asian economic summit in Bali that the shutdown is simply a "moment in politics."

He guarantees that America will move beyond it and will come back more resilient than ever. Mr Kerry is filling in for President Barack Obama, who was forced to cancel his participation in Bali to deal with the shutdown.

However Asia's stock markets were not so sure of Mr Kerry's prediction on Monday.

Tokyo lost 1.22%, Sydney fell 0.9%, Seoul shed 0.13%, and Hong Kong was down 0.71%. Shanghai was closed for a public holiday.

:: European and British shares have followed suit, with drops recorded in mid-morning trading.

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Tesco Hunts Sales In Premium Brand Relaunch

Supermarket giant Tesco has relaunched its premium food brand for the first time in 15 years, as it tries to stem a slump in profit.

The new lines have been released just days after it revealed a 23.5% pre-tax profit plunge in its half-year result.

Britain's biggest retailer said the update to its 'Tesco finest' food lines will include 400 new products, with 75% of the 1,500 product range being either new or improved.

But more than 200 products in the food brand, which was launched 15 years ago, will remain unchanged.

Sales of the brand bring Tesco revenue of £1.4bn a year.

The company said: "And with today's relaunch, Tesco is committing to lead the premium food market on quality and taste, reflecting how customers' tastes have changed in the past 15 years."

The range was first launched in 1998 at select stores, with a focus on ready-made meals.

Tesco is expected to launch an advertising blitz to promote the range in mid-October.

Tesco decided to cut its losses and sell its Fresh & Easy US chain

The supermarket group has also changed strategy for its international businesses in recent months.

It sought a buyer for its Fresh & Easy chain in the United States and last week confirmed a £300m joint venture deal in China.

Tesco suffered a 71% tumble in European H1 trading profits to £55m and admitted the hit was worse than expected after conditions suffered in countries such as Ireland, Turkey and Poland.

Profits also fell sharply across Asia, down 12.4% to £314m, excluding China.

Tesco said the overseas woes would offset some of the benefit of its UK profits' improvement over the full year.

Chief executive Philip Clarke has spent £1bn overhauling the firm's stores to halt the decline in UK sales.

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Government Presses Mail Board To Waive Shares

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

The directors of Royal Mail have declined the offer of free shares to employees after coming under pressure from Government officials, Sky News understands.

Non-executive board members of the company, which will be formally privatised in the next week, were asked by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (Bis) not to participate in the employee scheme, according to sources close to Royal Mail.

The free shares windfall, which is expected to be worth more than £2,000 each to approximately 150,000 Royal Mail staff, will be accepted by Moya Greene, its chief executive,

The prospectus accompanying the privatisation, published late last month, disclosed that the eight non-executives, led by the chairman Donald Brydon, had declined the offer, saying:

"The Non-Executive Directors, while eligible to receive Employee Free Shares as part of the Employee Free Shares Offer, have each decided it would be inappropriate, as independent non-executive directors, to receive Employee Free Shares and so have opted-out of receiving Employee Free Shares," it said.

One Whitehall source said the participation of the non-executives in the scheme could have prompted accusations that their independence was being compromised. They added that the directors' part-time status meant that it would also have been difficult to determine a fair allocation of shares.

A person close to the company said that the request from BIS officials had been "accepted without fuss" and denied that there had been any suggestion from the Government that Ms Greene or her executive colleagues should also waive their entitlement to free shares.

The news comes amid buoyant demand for shares in the biggest UK privatisation for decades, with allocations of stock set to take place later this week.

Full trading in Royal Mail shares will begin next week amid accusations from Labour spokesmen that the postal operator is being sold off "on the cheap".

Some members of the public reported today that they were experiencing difficulties registering orders on the website set up to allow retail investors to buy shares in Royal Mail.

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Power Blackout Risk 'At Its Highest Since 2008'

The electricity and gas network operator for England and Wales is keeping a "close watching brief" on supplies as the risk of blackouts was predicted to be at its highest since 2008.

Traditional North Sea gas sources are replaced by "uncertain" imports making it more likely that at any other time in six years that supplies will fall short in the coming colder months.

However, the National Grid has said it is confident that the market has the capability to keep the lights on.

Chris Train, director of market operations, said electricity margins - the difference between peak demand and available supply - were "tighter than we have seen historically".

The reserve margins are forecast to drop from 9% last winter to 4.5% this winter.

National Grid made the gloomy forecast in its Winter Outlook 2013/14, and highlighted reducing gas output from UK territorial waters, primarily in the North Sea.

"Source supplies continue to evolve as UK Continental Shelf (UKCS) gas supplies decline and the UK's reliance on imports increases," it said.

"The decline in UKCS supplies and subsequent increase in import capability has materially changed the UK's gas supply landscape and fundamentally changed the dynamics of supply from that of near predictability to considerable uncertainty."

Last winter's repeated and prolonged periods of freezing weather saw a dramatic spike in imports through pipelines to Bacton in Norfolk, from the Netherlands and Belgium.

Daily winter imports from mainland Europe last winter reached 57%, tilting away from traditional UK North Sea and sources.

Traditionally, gas imports flowed from north to south through a North Sea pipeline network based at St Fergus, near Aberdeen.

Last winter coal-fired power generation was increased because of the widening cost differential between coal and gas.

However, the availability of coal-fired plants has fallen almost 20% since last winter.

Mr Train said: "While there have been power station closures since last winter, the information suggests that the market can meet demand in cold weather.

"But as the system operator, we're never complacent and it's up to us to be ready to balance the system in real time. We believe we are ready and have the tools we need to play our part."

Wind power helped meet the increased demand last winter, with the amount of power generated from that resource higher than  gas-fired electricity levels for the first time.

However, supply needed to be boosted during periods of low wind speed by greater reliance on gas.

Lengthy periods of cold, still weather will further exacerbate gas usage this coming winter.

The National Grid has estimated wind turbine output at 25%, factoring in breakdowns and insufficient wind speed periods, but add that extended periods of no wind could drop the system reserve safety margin even lower.

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