Vodafone Shares Up In £6bn Spanish Ono Deal

Mobile phone giant Vodafone has seen its share price rise after agreeing to buy Spanish cable operator Ono for £6bn.

Vodafone's shares were up nearly 3% in mid-afternoon Monday trades in London.

The deal comes after it sold off its US joint-venture stake to Verizon for $108bn (£69bn).

"The combination of Vodafone and Ono creates a leading integrated communications provider in Spain and represents an attractive value creation opportunity for Vodafone," chief executive Vittorio Colao said.

"Demand for unified communications products and services has increased significantly over the last few years in Spain, and this transaction ... will accelerate our ability to offer best-in-class propositions in the Spanish market."

The deal is due to be completed in the third quarter of this year, subject to regulatory approval.

Ono has nearly two million customers but has struggled to compete in Spain with rivals such as Telefonica and Jazztel, which bundle in-home services.

British-based Vodafone already has about 14 million customers in Spain, but has faced fierce competition.

It has previously admitted southern Europe has been a problem region for growth in the wake of the eurozone crisis.

Sky News City Editor Mark Kleinman earlier revealed Vodafone initially approached Ono over the sale last February but was rebuffed at first.

Ono is owned by a large group of investors, including the private equity firms Providence Equity Partners, Thomas H Lee Partners, CCMP Capital Advisors, and Quadrangle Capital.

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Obama Threatens More Sanctions On Russia

The US has imposed sanctions against Russian officials after Crimea's referendum to secede from Ukraine and join Russia.

An executive order by Barack Obama names seven Russian government officials, including top aides to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Treasury Department is also imposing sanctions on four Ukrainians, including former President Viktor Yanukovych and two Crimea-based separatist leaders.

Mr Obama says the new sanctions aim to make it clear to the Russians "that there are consequences for their actions" in the Crimean peninsula.

Residents of Crimea voted overwhelmingly in favour of the split

He said the US is going to "stand firm" next to the people of Ukraine and vowed further action if Moscow kept "interfering" in the country's affairs. 

The measures announced on Monday marked one of the most comprehensive set of sanctions against Russia since the end of the Cold War.

However, the US president said there was still a path to resolve the crisis diplomatically.

The announcement in Washington came shortly after the European Union slapped travel bans and asset freezes on 21 people.

Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, who was named in the US list, suggested that the measures would not affect those without assets abroad.

"Comrade Obama, and what will you do with those who have neither accounts nor property abroad? Or didn't you think of that?" he wrote on Twitter.

Putin maintains the referendum was legal

The sanctions had been widely expected after Crimea voted overwhelmingly in favour of the split in the referendum held on Sunday. 

Crimea's parliament has declared the region an independent state. 

In a phone call after the vote, Mr Obama told Mr Putin that Crimea's vote to join Russia "would never be recognised" by Washington.

And US administration officials say there is some concrete evidence that some ballots for the referendum arrived pre-marked in many cities and "there are massive anomalies in the vote".

The US, European Union and others say it violates the Ukrainian constitution and international law and took place in the strategic peninsula under duress of Russian military intervention.

Mr Putin says the vote was legal and consistent with the right of self-determination.

The Crimea crisis triggered the worst stand-off between Russia and the US since the end of the Cold War.

At home, Mr Obama has faced accusations from Republicans that he has not shown enough resolve against Mr Putin.

Mr Obama is calling on Russia to pursue a diplomatic de-escalation of the crisis, support the Ukraine government's plans for political reform.

He called on Russian troops in Crimea to return to their bases and halt advances into Ukrainian territory and military build-ups along Ukraine's borders.

The US has warned that any Russia moves on east and south Ukraine would be a grave escalation requiring additional responses.

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China Growth Plan To Target Internal Migrants

China is to encourage 90 million more rural residents to move to cities before the end of the decade, in an attempt to boost domestic consumption growth.

China now plans to boost urban populations in a five-year plan

It said the plan is to boost urbanisation of its 1.4 billion population, from the current 53.7% to 60%, by 2020.

The nearly six-year long migration wave - more than 43,000 a day - is expected to help expand cities, improve public transport and bolster sustainable growth amid a shift from foreign trade and investment.

Rural dwellers moving to higher-paid jobs in cities are seen as a key driver of consumption, as they need to buy goods to furnish new homes.

High-pay urban jobs are now seen as a foundation stone of future growth

China has announced the plans to expand its cities and improve public services to support economic growth.

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) said that by the end of 2009 China had a total of 229.8 million rural migrant workers.

Many work away from home for more than six months at a stretch.

Internal migration in China has been a key element of its construction boom

Although coastal cities such as Shanghai have expanded rapidly, migrants are hampered by a household registration system that tethers them to home town locations.

Since 1979, China has seen an estimated 340 million citizens reclassified as urban dwellers.

According to University of Washington Professor Kam Wing Chan, if only half of those reclassified are migrants, this "epic scale" migration wave would be the quickest and largest in human history.

Many migrant workers live away from home for more than six months

The current system, known as hukou, only allows citizens to officially move within their existing rural or urban boundary.

The non-residents are thereby given limited access to schools, health care and pensions - even if they have lived in cities for years.

Prof Chan said: "However, formal or permanent moves - meaning those involving a hukou change - crossing city, town and township boundaries are strictly regulated and require approval by the public security authorities."

Millions of migrants return to their home town for the lunar new year

The ILO has pushed for improvements to migrants' rights, protection and employability, and legal assistance as part of the system's overhaul.

An estimated 660 million Chinese people now live in urban locations but a study by Beijing's Tsinghua University found only 27.6% with official urban status.

The Cabinet's announcement of the "National New Type Urbanisation Plan" for 2014-2020 did not reveal any financial or other details of how it would be enacted.

Foreign trade was long seen as the key driver of Chinese growth

But it comes after earlier calls for improved housing for 100 million people living in dilapidated shantytowns.

"Domestic demand is the fundamental impetus for China's development, and the greatest potential for expanding domestic demand lies in urbanisation," the official Xinhua News Agency said of the report.

The migration plan follows a vision to make the economy more productive through entrepreneurial freedom and market-led changes to banking and other sector.

Consumer consumption of high-end goods has boosted western luxury firms

Xinhau said the urbanisation plan will mean building railways to reach cities with more than 200,000 residents by 2020 and high-speed rail to cities above 500,000 people.

It promised to pursue a "human-centred and environmentally friendly path".

"A scientific and reasonable urban development model should be adopted, with green production and consumption becoming the mainstream in urban economic activities," it said.

Human rights groups have highlighted poor living conditions for migrants

"China should strive to push for harmonious and pleasant living conditions."

Authorities now expect 300 million rural residents to become city dwellers by 2030 - the equivalent of almost the entire US population moving.

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MPs Attack Sale Of Royal Mail Postcode Database

The Government has been slammed for selling a valuable database of every British postcode and address in last year's flotation of the Royal Mail.

Ministers were strongly criticised for including the register, which contains 1.8 million postcodes and all 28 million addresses, to help boost the share price in the initial public offering (IPO).

The cross-party Commons Public Administration Committee said the Postcode Address File (PAF) was a "national asset" which should have been retained and made publicly available to benefit businesses and the economy.

It said the PAF's sale achieved only "short-term gain" in last autumn's IPO and was an "unacceptable and unnecessary consequence of privatisation".

The committee said losing the database to the private sector has the potential to thwart economic innovation and growth.

Unions were highly critical of the Royal Mail privatisation

Committee chairman Bernard Jenkin said: "The sale of the PAF with the Royal Mail was a mistake. Public access to public sector data must never be sold or given away again."

The PAF holds all known Royal Mail delivery points in the UK and the committee said an immense amount of work went into collecting the database and said it was of "huge direct value" to the economy.

In a statement to Sky News, the Royal Mail defended its position and said it takes its "responsibilities and obligations" for the PAF "very seriously".

It said: "Last year, Ofcom held a review of the PAF's pricing and licensing framework and recognised the integral relationship between PAF and delivery of the Universal Service Obligation (USO).

"Without positive and progressive management of PAF, our operational ability to deliver the USO would be severely undermined.

"Following its consultation, Ofcom concluded in July 2013 that Royal Mail should continue to be able to recover both the internal and external costs of PAF from licensees.

"In addition, in 2011 Parliament decided that the PAF should be available to all on reasonable terms."

Business Secretary Vince Cable opposed a planned pay rise the firm's boss

The Royal Mail flotation was widely criticised for having an undervalued opening price.

The Government sold shares last October for 330p each, valuing the company's equity at £3.3bn.

Shares rose to more than 500p within a week of the sale, drawing more criticism of the float price.

Sky News City Editor Mark Kleinman later revealed investment bank JP Morgan had previously told the Government that the Royal Mail could be worth near to £10bn - 200% up on the float price.

The PAC added: "The Postcode Address File was included in the sale to boost the Royal Mail share price at flotation.

"This takes an immediate but narrow view of the value of such data sets."

"The PAF should have been retained as a public data set, as a national asset, available free to all, for the benefit of the public and for the widest benefit of the UK economy.

"Its disposal for a short-term gain will impede economic innovation and growth. This was an unacceptable and unnecessary consequence of privatisation."

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Media Boss Desmond Eyes £700m Channel 5 Float

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

The media tycoon Richard Desmond is considering a stock market flotation of Channel 5 even as bidders firm up offers of up to £700m for the terrestrial broadcaster.

Sky News has learnt that Mr Desmond is working with investment bankers from Goldman Sachs on the possible listing.

The exploration of a flotation raises the prospect of Mr Desmond, one of Britain's most colourful media owners, heading a public company for the first time in his long career.

City sources said Goldman had taken the idea of a listing of Channel 5 to Mr Desmond in recent weeks and that he had agreed to allow the Wall Street bank undertake work on it.

Goldman is understood to have begun sounding out institutional investors and received a broadly favourable response, although their ultimate appetite to buy shares in the TV business would depend on the valuation attached to Channel 5.

The analysis of a listing is at an earlier stage than a concurrent sale process being run by  Barclays' investment banks, which has drawn interest from more than 20 potential buyers.

Among those initially competing in the sale process were BSkyB, the owner of Sky News, and US media groups including Discovery Networks, Scripps, the owner of UKTV, and Viacom.

It is unclear whether any of the bidders are prepared to meet Mr Desmond's reputed £700m asking price, or whether a flotation of Channel 5 is being used as a 'stalking horse' option to maintain tension in the bidding process.

Banking sources said that seven parties remained in the auction last week, with that number expected to be narrowed further in the next few weeks.

Among the media and communications groups which are not currently in the process are BT and ITV, with the latter having publicly ruled out any interest in a takeover.

Mr Desmond has turned around the financial performance of Channel 5 since he paid just over £100m for the broadcaster of Big Brother and its celebrity offshoot in 2011.

The tycoon, who also owns the Daily Star and Daily Express and their Sunday sister newspapers, has cut costs and improved the performance of Channel 5's advertising sales operation.

He has also been assessing the sale of the Health Lottery, which he owns, believing that any buyer would have a ready-made platform for submitting a competitive bid for the National Lottery licence when it enters its next tendering process.

A spokeswoman for Mr Desmond's Northern & Shell holding company declined to comment while none of those understood to be interested in bidding for Channel 5 would comment.

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Osborne To Build For Britain In His Budget

By Anushka Asthana and Darren McCaffrey, Sky Political Team

George Osborne has announced that a "garden city" will be built in Britain for the first time in decades, based in Ebbsfleet, Kent, with 15,000 homes to start with.

Speaking ahead of Wednesday's Budget, the Chancellor also pledged to extend the first phase of the help-to-buy scheme for new build homes until 2020.

The Government has chosen Ebbsfleet in Kent as a new garden city

Policies to drive up housing supply will be one plank of the financial statement, which Mr Osborne will use to warn that the tough times are not over.

He is expected to announce measures aimed at small business, families, and investors, including:

:: An increase in the tax-free element of the personal allowance to £10,500

:: A freeze in the carbon tax

:: Action to support British companies that export their goods

:: Tax relief for business investments of up to £250,000

:: An additional crackdown on tax avoidance

:: Investment in road and rail, including speeding up the HS2 project

:: A tax cut on bingo halls

Mr Osborne will also take the opportunity to talk once again about policies coming into place in April. These include a transferable tax allowance for married couples of up to £200 a year, a drop in corporation tax to 21% and the chance for UK employers to cut their national insurance payments by £2,000 a year.

Details of a planned £1,200 childcare tax break will be unveiled

The decision to freeze fuel duty this September, which was made last year, will also be reconfirmed.

And there could be support for families with childcare as the details of an expected £1,200 per-child tax-break scheme are published following a Government consultation.

But the Chancellor is unlikely to give in to pressure from Conservative grandees on the 40p tax rate. Former chancellors Lord Lamont and Lord Lawson have argued that the 4.4 million people now falling into the band, which kicks in at £41,450, is too high.

Although the threshold will rise by 1% this year, it is less than inflation.

Tory backbenchers and some business groups are also pushing for the rate to be used to deliver a middle class tax cut.

But Mr Osborne has argued that the tax allowance changes will benefit the middle classes.

Moreover, it has been reported that he is happy for more people to face the higher tax rate.

According to the Mail On Sunday, he told MPs: "It means they feel they are a success and joining the aspirational classes. That means they are more likely to think like Conservatives and vote Conservatives."

He said the polling backed his arguments, but the newspaper quoted an MP saying the comment was met with a "stunned silence".

Ed Balls says Mr Osborne's housing measures 'fall short'

A Treasury source said the overall tone of the Budget would be cautious with warnings of further austerity ahead. Mr Osborne will argue that his macroeconomic policies are working, but there must be no wavering from the plan.

The next step is building a "resilient economy".

"Britain has to up its ambition, Britain has to up its game, Britain has to earn its way in the world," he told BBC1's Andrew Marr Show.

"Yes, the economy is recovering, but that is not enough. We have got to finish the job."

Shadow chancellor Ed Balls told Sky News the measures on housing fell short.

"We've asked him to invest in affordable housing, there's nothing on the table yet from him there," he said.

"At the moment we're calling on him to reduce the limit on help to buy from 600,000 - we've not had any action on that yet.

"And this is a promise to get a new town moving eventually, but it's not on the scale we need, or as fast as we need to deal with that cost of living crisis.

"I hope that when it comes to the budget on Wednesday, George Osborne's going to be giving a lot more than he's promised so far."

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Man Held Over Morrisons Payroll Data Breach

An employee of supermarket chain Morrisons has been arrested by police investigating the theft of payroll data of up to 100,000 employees.

West Yorkshire Police said a man was arrested on Monday on suspicion of making or supplying an article for use in fraud.

Detective Chief Inspector Gary Hooks said: "An employee of Morrisons has been arrested in Leeds this morning in connection with an investigation into the theft of data from the company.

"He is currently in custody."

The information was published online and a disk of data was sent to a regional newspaper, the Bradford-based group said last week.

The company said the information was later taken offline and no customers were affected.

It said the data breach was discovered on Thursday and was believed to include bank accounts, names and addresses.

In an email to managers the company warned that the breach potentially affected "colleagues from all levels of the organisation".

On Friday, Morrisons released a statement and said: "Initial investigations suggest that this theft was not the result of an external penetration of our systems.

"We can confirm there has been no loss of customer data and no colleague will be left financially disadvantaged."

It came as the chain, which has struggled amid strong challenges from discounters and because of its slow response to the online grocery and convenience markets, confirmed a pre-tax loss of £176m for 2013/14.

It made a profit of £879m in the previous 12 months.

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Dyson Fan Heater Global Recall Over Fire Risk

Up to one million fan heaters are to be recalled by British firm Dyson over fire risks, the company has announced.

The company, which is known for its technically innovative products, said the recall affected its 'Air Multiplier' AM04 and AM05 machines.

The model, which does not have visible blades, was released in 2011 and the recall does not affect the earlier non-heat version.

Dyson chief executive Max Conze said: "We have sold a million heaters around the world; we have seen a small number short-circuit, which in four cases resulted in contained burning.

"Although there have been no instances of personal injury or damage to property, it's four too many.

"So we are working with the relevant regulatory bodies and preparing for a voluntary recall."

People with the heaters have been advised to unplug the devices from power sockets.

The Wiltshire-based company has listed recall instructions for 36 countries on its recall website.

Owners in Britain and Ireland must register with the company prior to the heaters being collected, fixed and redelivered free of charge.

The service will also include a new two-year warranty.

Owners in New Zealand and Hong Kong are being offered completely new machines in the first instance, while the procedures for those in Australia and the United States are to be finalised.

Those in Greece have been told to return heaters to the place of purchase.

The hi-tech company first gained fame for vacuum cleaners that did not need filter bags.

The company, based in Malmesbury, holds more than 3,000 patents for over 500 inventions.

Its products are sold in more than 65 countries and a third of all staff are engineers and scientist, according  to the company.

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Osborne Backs HS2 Fast-Track Plan

The chairman of HS2 has called on politicians to accelerate the construction of the high-speed line to reduce the £50bn cost of the project.

In a new report, Sir David Higgins has proposed a fast-tracked building timetable for the northern, phase two, section of the highly controversial project.

His plans have been given the backing of George Osborne, who said Sir David's plans to build a new hub at Crewe would help to create more growth and rebalance the economy.

Currently the scheme's first phase, which will see a new line connect London to Birmingham, is set for completion in 2026.

The second phase, which will take the line in a Y-shape to the North West and North East, is due to be completed around 2032/33.

But now Sir David said building work on both phases should be started at the same time and the second phase completed six years earlier than planned - by 2027.

In addition, he said the line should stretch 43 miles further north than planned, to a new transport hub at Crewe in Cheshire.

He also proposed a brand new station at London Euston, but added that plans to link HS2 with HS1, the London to Kent Channel Tunnel high-speed rail link, should be reconsidered.

Sir David believes speeding up the project would help keep costs under control because it would reduce uncertainty and limit the impact of inflation.

Mr Cable supports Sir David's proposals because of 'economic benefits'

The current whole-line cost, including contingencies, is £42.6bn, with £7.5bn for the trains.

Mr Osborne said: "Sir David's proposals would see huge benefits delivered to the North six years sooner than planned through a new hub at Crewe, creating more growth and rebalancing the economy in line with our long-term economic plan."

He added: " ... HS2 is essential to the future of this country and will help fulfil the Government's long-term plans to create a balanced and more competitive economy across the UK. But we must be conscious of the price, and there will be no increases to the overall spending envelope set for HS2 at the last spending review."

Business Secretary Vince Cable has also expressed support for Sir David's proposals, saying there was clearly a "compelling argument" for speeding up the project.

But shadow chancellor Ed Balls is concerned about the costs warning that under a Labour government there would be "no black cheque" for the project. Other former Labour grandees have also spoken of their reservations about the scheme.

Sir David cautioned that "this project is too big to become a political football".

Anti-HS2 groups have also cast doubt on the possibility of bringing forward the phase 2 work while the revamped Euston plan was seen as merely bringing "more wealth and work into London".

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Alibaba: Chinese Web Giant's Massive US IPO

A Chinese e-commerce business is bidding to list itself on one of the US stock exchanges in what could be the biggest IPO of 2014.

Alibaba Group is a privately-owned firm which incorporates a search engine, business-to-business web portals, online retail sites, payment service platforms and cloud computing services.

It was estimated to have generated more than £170bn in sales in 2012 and is believed to serve more than half of all online transactions in China.

The firm had looked at listing on stock exchanges in Hong Kong and London but has now ruled them out.

It is thought the group will use the New York Stock Exchange, rather than the technology-focused NASDAQ exchange.

Speculation about a New York listing for Alibaba began last September.

The news comes two days after another Chinese tech giant, Twitter-like service Weibo, announced plans for a $500m (£300m) US listing.

A statement from the company said: "Alibaba Group has decided to commence the process of an initial public offering in the United States.

"This will make us a more global company and enhance the company's transparency, as well as allow the company to continue to pursue our long-term vision and ideals."

Analysts say the listing is expected to raise up to $15bn (£9bn), which would make it the technology industry's largest IPO since Facebook in 2012.

Talks between the world's largest online retailer and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange broke down last year.

Alibaba wanted an alternative class share structure to give selected minority shareholders extra control over the board, but the Hong Kong bourse declined to change its rules.

The firm did not rule out returning to the Chinese sub continent for a listing in the future.

It is not known why London was ruled out.

The Wall Street Journal reported Alibaba could launch its IPO as soon as April, which could allow trading to begin by the third quarter.

The report said up to five banks may be given lead underwriting roles.

Alibaba operates China's most popular e-shopping platform, Taobao, which has more than 500 million users.

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