Miliband Sets Out Plan For £8 Minimum Wage

Labour leader Ed Miliband has pledged to raise the national minimum wage to at least £8 an hour if he becomes Prime Minister.

The minimum wage is due to rise from £6.31 an hour to £6.50 on October 1, but Mr Miliband plans to add £1.50 an hour on to that by 2020.

His increase would add around £60 a week, or £3,000 a year, to the pay packets of workers currently on the minimum wage.

And he said the rise would save the taxpayer "hundreds of millions of pounds" in welfare payments.

One in five UK workers - more than five million people - are categorised as being on low pay, defined as wages of less than £7.71 an hour.

Speaking to the Sunday Mirror, Mr Miliband said: "Too many working people have made big sacrifices but in this recovery they're not seeing the rewards for their hard work because, under the Tories' failing plan, the recovery is benefiting a privileged few far more than most families.

"One in five of the men and women employed in Britain today do the hours, make their contribution, but find themselves on low pay.

"But if you work hard, you should be able to bring up your family with dignity."

A Burger King worker was the inspiration for Labour's latest policy

Mr Miliband added: "This week Labour's Plan for Britain's Future will show how we can change and how we can become a country that rewards hard work once again. Because Labour is the party of hard work, fairly paid."

The announcement came on the eve of Labour's annual conference in Manchester - the last before next year's general election.

Mr Miliband said he was inspired to bring in the hike after meeting a woman who worked in Burger King.

He said: "She had worked there for six years and I think she was number two there, but was paid just above the minimum wage.

"She said, 'It's incredibly hard for me. I live three miles away. I can't afford a car and there aren't many buses. I often have to take a taxi. That's where my wages go.'"

Mr Miliband added: "It's just so ­grindingly hard, and it's time we stood up for people doing these hours."

The planned increase, which would affect around 1.4 million jobs, would be introduced in annual stages by the Low Pay Commission before October 2019.

The promised rate is said to be similar to that in force in Australia and EU countries such as Belgium and Germany, but still lower than in France and New Zealand.

Mr Miliband told the BBC's Andrew Marr show: "I can assure you, it doesn't cost money, it saves money. It saves hundreds of millions of pounds in getting the welfare bill down."

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EE Buys 58 Phones 4U Stores: '360 Jobs Saved'

Mobile phone operator EE said it would buy 58 Phones 4U outlets, saving almost 360 jobs from the collapsed retailer.

The £2.5m deal, made through administrator PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), comes after Vodafone said on Friday it would buy 140 stores.

PwC joint administrator Rob Hunt said: "We are absolutely delighted to have completed this further disposal of 58 Phones 4u stores, which will both recover value for secured creditors and save 359 jobs."

On Friday, Vodafone said it would buy 140 stores, saving 900 staff jobs.

Mr Hunt added: "As with the Vodafone transaction, we consider that this represents the best potential outcome for creditors in the circumstances, although it remains subject to the approval of the UK courts."

The units will be rebranded with the EE logo

Phones 4U went into administration last week after EE, Britain's biggest mobile operator, said it would not renew its contract next year with the independent phone chain.

That announcement put at risk 5,600 jobs, along with 560 stores and 160 Phones 4U concessions across the country.

The decision left the chain without a network partner following Vodafone's earlier withdrawal, sparking a public dispute between Phones 4U's owner - the private equity group BC Partners - and the network operators.

Recently merged group Dixons Carphone said it would employ 800 staff from the 160 concessions located within Currys and PC World outlets.

EE did not reveal the location of the 58 stores it would buy, but said the 359 employees would be transferred with immediate effect.

The company said the stores would be rebranded as soon as possible and that most are expected to re-open under the EE name next week.

The networks have denied attempting to profit from the retailer's collapse, despite accusations from John Caudwell, Phones 4U's founder, that they had behaved "ruthlessly".

Documents seen by Sky News City Editor Mark Kleinman showed that on July 8, while discussions were taking place about extending Vodafone's distribution contract with Phones 4U, the mobile network's UK executives made a presentation to group colleagues entitled "Phones 4U - Partner of Choice".

Several weeks later, Vodafone notified Phones 4U that it would not be renewing their agreement, while no further talks about a takeover of the company were held.

Mr Hunt added:  "As with the Vodafone transaction, we consider that this represents the best potential outcome for creditors in the circumstances, although it remains subject to the approval of the UK courts."

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Tesco Suspends Bosses Over £250m Profit Error

Tesco has suspended four senior executives after it revealed an accounting error overstated its first-half profit by £250m.

CEO Dave Lewis said that "a number of people" have been suspended while an internal investigation is under way, including the four senior executives.

Sky News understands that Carl Rogberg, Tesco UK finance director, is one of the four executives suspended.

One of the other executives suspended is UK managing director Chris Bush.

Tesco shares have fallen more than 40% in the last year

Shares were down more than 11% in early trading, before easing slightly to around 8% down in early afternoon. Its stock price is down more than 43% in the last year.

Britain's biggest supermarket chain said it has commissioned an independent review to uncover the cause of the profit miscalculation.

Tesco said in a statement: "On the basis of preliminary investigations in to the UK food business, the board believes that the guidance issued on 29 August 2014 for the group profits for the six months to 23 August 2014 was overstated by an estimated £250m.

"Some of this impact includes in-year timing differences. Work is ongoing to establish the extent of these issues and what impact they will have on the full year.

Tesco CEO Dave Lewis (l) and UK managing director Chris Bush (r)

"The board has asked Deloitte to undertake an independent and comprehensive review of these issues, working closely with Freshfields, the group's external legal advisers.

"We will provide a further update at our interim results, which will now be announced on the 23 October 2014."

Tesco has issued a series of income warnings in the last year, with the latest at the end of August when it said trading profit was forecast to be around £1.1bn.

That profit figure is now likely to be reduced to £850m.

Tesco shares are now worth less than they were 10 years ago

Sky News City Editor Mark Kleinman described the accounting error as a "humiliation" for the embattled group.

Regulators are now expected to launch their own inquiries into the profit over-estimation.

Last November, an analyst at stockbroker Cantor Fitzgerald accused Tesco of squeezing suppliers ahead of release of lacklustre trading figures.

The company denied the claim and said the assertions of demanding money from suppliers' trading accounts were "based on speculation".

Tesco has come under increasing pressure in the ongoing supermarket price war, with the rise of discounters Aldi and Lidl, and margin-squeezing of the big four chains.

Chief executive Dave Lewis, who started in the role on September 1, said: "We have uncovered a serious issue and have responded accordingly."

Mr Lewis took control of Tesco after former boss Philip Clarke failed to halt a slide in profit and sales.

Mr Clarke was ousted by the Tesco board in late July as he was preparing to celebrate 40 years with the retailer.

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GlaxoSmithKline Fined £297m For China Bribes

A Chinese court has fined GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) £297m - a record in the country - for bribing doctors and hospital officials to use its products.

The pharmaceutical firm confirmed the penalty imposed by the Changsha Intermediate People's Court in Hunan Province, saying it accepted that illegal activities took place and the fine would be paid through existing cash resources.

The Chinese state news agency, Xinhua, reported that Briton Mark Reilly, the former head of GSK in China, and other executives faced jail terms.

However, a GSK source told Sky News that Reilly was to be deported after being handed a three-year suspended sentence.

Mark Reilly used to run GSKCI

The London-listed firm's statement said the court found that "GSK China Investment (GSKCI)... offered money or property to non-government personnel in order to obtain improper commercial gains.

"The illegal activities of GSKCI are a clear breach of GSK's governance and compliance procedures; and are wholly contrary to the values and standards expected from GSK employees.

"GSK has published a statement of apology to the Chinese government and its people on its website.

"GSK has co-operated fully with the authorities and has taken steps to comprehensively rectify the issues identified at the operations of GSKCI.

"This includes fundamentally changing the incentive programme for its salesforces (decoupling sales targets from compensation); significantly reducing and changing engagement activities with healthcare professionals; and expanding processes for review and monitoring of invoicing and payments."

GSK chief executive Sir Andrew Witty added: "Reaching a conclusion in the investigation of our Chinese business is important, but this has been a deeply disappointing matter for GSK.

"We have and will continue to learn from this. GSK has been in China for close to a hundred years and we remain fully committed to the country and its people."

The investigation took a number of twists with a British man, who was hired as an investigator by GSK, being jailed for two-and-a-half years in August.

Peter Humphrey's health is said to be poor

Chinese authorities claimed Peter Humphrey illegally obtained Chinese citizens' personal information and sold it to companies including GSK.

GSK hired him after an anonymous email containing a sex tape of Reilly and his Chinese girlfriend was sent to senior management in January last year.

The email alleged corrupt practices in GSK's China operation.

GSK's ethical standards have also been called into question in Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan, Syria and Poland.

Its share price was almost 0.6% higher in the wake of the announcement.

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Wellcome Trust Toasts £100m Alibaba Profit

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

Britain's biggest medical research charity is toasting a £100m-plus profit from the flotation of Alibaba Group, the Chinese internet giant that on Friday became the biggest technology company listing ever.

Sky News has learned that at the $68-a-share (£42) pricing settled upon by bankers advising Alibaba, the Wellcome Trust is sitting on a substantial paper windfall from two separate investments it made in the company's shares in recent years.

The news represents a significant boost for medical research funding in the UK and underpins the Wellcome Trust's highly-regarded investment strategy, led by its chief investment officer, Danny Truell.

Jack Ma, Alibaba's founder and now a multibillionaire as a consequence of the company's flotation, was present for the opening bell at the New York Stock exchange on Friday.

The share sale is eventually expected to raise $25bn (£15.3bn), making it the biggest initial public offering in history, once an over-allotment option is exercised.

The Wellcome Trust owns significantly less than 1% of Alibaba stock

It has overtaken Agricultural Bank of China's $22.1bn (£13.5bn) fundraising in 2010 and Facebook, which sold more than $16bn (£9.8bn)  of shares in 2012 to become the biggest-ever technology company listing.

Sky News disclosed the Wellcome Trust's investment in Alibaba in March.

Insiders said the Wellcome Trust, which is one of the world's most renowned medical research organisations, owns significantly less than 1% of Alibaba's shares, although the exact size of its holding is unclear.

A Wellcome Trust spokesman declined to comment.

Alibaba, which is headquartered in Hangzhou, one of China's so-called second-tier cities, has become a major player in the country's e-commerce industry.

It acts as an eBay-style intermediary in the supply and sale of goods online, having established marketplaces targeted at small business traders and consumers.

Using the brand-name Taobao, an e-shopping platform that in China has more than 500 million customers, Jack Ma, Alibaba's founder and chairman, has become one of the world's most successful technology entrepreneurs.

Talks between Alibaba and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange ended without success because of the company's desire to create an alternative shareholding structure that would have given executives additional control over the company.

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Alibaba Bigger Than Facebook On Market Debut

Alibaba Boss Like A Rock Star At 'Epic' IPO

Updated: 7:22pm UK, Friday 19 September 2014

By Hannah Thomas-Peter, New York Correspondent

As Jack Ma swept past me on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, I asked him how he was feeling.

He smiled at me, waved and mouthed "ok" before turning to a bank of cameras trained on the founder and spiritual leader of Alibaba.

"Ok," felt like a bit of an understatement.

Such was the demand and volume associated with the Alibaba IPO it took nearly two-and-a-half hours for the New York Stock Exchange's designated market maker (DMM) to decide on the right opening price.

The DMM is a person, not a computer. In this case it was Barclays' Glenn Carell.

He was also the DMM for the Twitter IPO, and is responsible for gauging appetite and supply, honing in on the right opening price for a stock.

It's a big job.

If there are technical problems he can override the system and trade on paper.

If there's uncontrollable volatility he can use his company's own cash to step in and stabilise things.

He told Sky News: "This is a very exciting day for me.

"It's the biggest IPO ever, and we really want to get the best price for opening.

"We have to go slow and get it right."

As traders crowded in on Glenn communicating orders from clients, electronic requests also poured in from across the world, flashing up on screens in front of his team.

Over two hours the price indicator range, which helps investors know how much the shares will cost once trading begins, crept from around $80 to over $90.

"Investors really want this stock," said Meridian Partners trader Jonathan Corpina.

"They see a very well-diversified company with huge international exposure.

"Even if US investors don't know the brand name, the product is easy to understand, and it's a good one."

As Glenn yelled "we're getting close!" the traders bunched together like rugby players in a scrum, whoops rang out, tension rose.

"Come on Glenn what's the price? Close it, close it," muttered one trader, his electronic trading tablet buzzing and beeping with impatient clients.

"$92.70!" came the shout, and trading began, starting with a short-lived 'pop' up to $99, before settling back down in Glenn's predicted range.

"Phew" said one NYSE executive to another.

"I tell you, that was pretty epic."

Glenn looked relieved as trading continued smoothly, confessing he would be having a glass of champagne later that evening.

Jack Ma may well do the same.

As he left the exchange to get in to his car, it was as if a rock star had left his concert.

Fans yelled and screamed and cheered and photographed for all they were worth.

Ma waved, smiled and slipped in to a waiting SUV.

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Hundreds Of Phones 4U Jobs Saved

Almost 900 jobs at collapsed retail chain Phones 4u have been saved after network operator Vodafone struck a deal to buy 140 stores.

However, administrator PwC said it had failed to prevent 628 redundancies among head office and telesales staff at Phones 4u's Staffordshire offices.

PwC is continuing talks with other parties regarding the purchase of assets and said it planned to retain a further 400 head office staff to assist with its work.

It will release details of the 140 stores in the Vodafone deal on Monday.

Phones 4u went into administration last Monday following EE's decision not to renew its contract.

The firm employed 5,600 workers at 560 Phones 4u stores and a further 160 concession outlets.

Dixons Carphone said on Wednesday it will take on the 800 staff who worked at 160 Phones 4u sites within Currys/PC World stores.

Now Vodafone UK has made an offer to buy 140 stores following an approach from PwC.

Phones 4u has been in difficulty for some time

It said: "Our offer was accepted by the administrator and we are pleased to report that approximately 900 (887) former Phones 4u employees will keep their jobs and join our dynamic retail business.

"Subject to court approval, we will start engaging with these employees and begin the rebranding of the stores to Vodafone as soon as possible."

Store staff have been asked to remain at home while talks take place with parties interested in buying parts of the estate.

PwC partner Rob Hunt said: "It is with great sadness and regret that we have today made the difficult decision to make 628 head office and telesales staff redundant.

"Our thoughts are with those employees at this difficult time. We will make every effort to help the affected staff, working with the Phones 4u HR team over the coming days to support employees."

Various deals to rescue Phones 4u have been considered but all have stalled.

They included a debt-for-equity swap in which bondholders would have wiped out an estimated £760m of debt to reopen contract talks with EE and Vodafone.

EE and other network operators have been accused of a "co-ordinated attempt to kill off" Phones 4u - a claim they have all denied.

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Richard Branson Tops 'Most Admired' Boss Poll

Branson's Virgin To Pilot New Cruises Venture

Updated: 1:16pm UK, Friday 28 February 2014

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

Sir Richard Branson is drawing up plans for a secret assault on the international cruises sector which will involve raising hundreds of millions of pounds in funding from external investors.

Sky News can reveal that Virgin Group has appointed the US-based corporate advisory firm Allen & Co to oversee the development of a cruise operation that would eventually aim to compete with industry giants including Carnival Corporation.

Virgin has been working with Allen & Co on a range of potential opportunities across the wider leisure sector, including an investment in a four-star city centre concept called Virgin Hotels.

The development of Virgin Cruises, which is expected to be the name of the new venture, is at an early stage, people close to the project cautioned on Friday.

However, Virgin executives and their advisers have already held detailed talks with banks about raising an estimated $1bn (£598m) of debt to finance the acquisition of the company's first vessels.

They also want to raise in the region of $700m (£418m) of equity by selling stakes in Virgin Cruises to outside investors.

Sir Richard and Josh Bayliss, chief executive of Virgin Management, are understood to believe the global cruises sector possesses many of the same characteristics which have led Virgin to build a significant presence in sectors such as aviation, rail and mobile telecoms.

The cruise market is dominated by fewer than a handful of companies, such as the FTSE-100 group Carnival, Royal Caribbean and Norwegian. Between them, the three companies have a global market share of approximately 80%.

"Cruises is a classic Virgin market, dominated by two or three players and where the product needs to be refreshed," an insider said.

The industry is forecast by Cruise Market Watch, an industry research group, to grow from 21.5 million passengers this year to 22.2 million passengers carried worldwide in 2015.

Virgin Cruises is expected to be headquartered in the US, reflecting North America's status as the world's biggest cruise market, the source said.

Globally, the industry is likely to generate revenue of $37.1bn (£22.2bn) this year, a 2.3% increase on 2013.

The plans for the launch of Virgin Cruises emerge as Sir Richard targets a flotation of his domestic US airline, Virgin America.

The carrier, which recently undertook a debt restructuring covering roughly $300m (£179.8bn) of borrowing obligations, has hired investment banks to prepare the listing.

A successful flotation of Virgin America would echo the model used several times by Sir Richard to take some of his business ventures, such as Virgin Mobile, to the public markets.

He has also frequently sold stakes in his companies to outside investors, including the sale of shares in Virgin Money, his banking operation, to an entity in Abu Dhabi and Wilbur Ross, a prominent US investor.

Other plans involving Virgin companies this year include the opening of the first City Centre hotel in Chicago in the autumn, with other venues expected in US cities served by the group's airlines.

The plan to break into the cruises market comes weeks after the publication of a new biography of Sir Richard by the author Tom Bower.

Mr Bower claimed the company's maiden flight of its space tourism venture was facing further delays, while Virgin insists it is on track to take off this year.

A Virgin spokesman declined to comment.

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

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Balls: 'We Have Learnt From Our Mistakes'

Ed Balls insisted Labour had learned from its mistakes as he set out plans that would see politicians' pay cut, a bank levy to pay for free childcare and a child-benefit freeze.

In an attempt to show the party could be trusted with the economy, the shadow chancellor said he would not "duck" the tough decisions and hinted at fresh welfare cuts.

He said he believed in tax cuts for the "millions not the millionaires", pushing forward a 50p income tax rate for those earning more than £150,000.

And he said any extra money would be pumped into the NHS, which Labour would have to save from the Tories again when it returned to power after the 2015 election.

Mr Balls says a cap in child benefit rises will save £400m

In a speech to the Labour Party Conference in Manchester, Mr Balls hit out at the "unfair, out-of-touch and failing Tory Government", pledging to raise the minimum wage and scrap the so-called bedroom tax.

However, he earned groans from delegates when he said the benefits cap would remain as he laid out precisely how a Labour government would "balance the books".

New free schools would be blocked in areas where there was an excess of pupil places, police and crime commissioners would be scrapped and the controversial "shares for rights" scheme, which allows workers to give up some rights such as unfair dismissal in return for shares, ditched.

He also took the opportunity to thank Alistair Darling, Jim Murphy and a host of other Labour names for their efforts on the Scottish Referendum campaign trail - but, crucially, failed to namecheck Gordon Brown.

Mr Brown gave what commentators called the "speech of his political life" in the dying days of the campaign, which has been credited with providing a significant boost to the Better Together campaign.

The shadow chancellor presented a 1% cap on rises for the first two years of a Labour government, which would raise £400m, as one of the "tough decisions" needed to deal with the deficit if the party takes power next year.

But he attempted to show that politicians were expected to shoulder their share of the £75bn deficit burden by announcing a 5% cut in ministerial salaries - taking £7,125 off the Prime Minister's annual wage and £6,728 from Cabinet ministers.

A 5% cut in ministerial salaries is also on the cards

Mr Balls insisted: "We are tough enough to make the difficult decisions. We won't spend money we can't afford."

He apologised for the party's past mistakes, including over immigration. He indicated they would put it right with tougher rules on immigrants claiming benefits and on bank regulation.

However, he said: "It's the oldest truth in the book - you can never, ever trust the Tories with the NHS.

"We don't just need to learn from our mistakes, we also need to put right mistakes this Government is making."

He pledged Labour would not "walk away from Europe" and said the party had learned from its past and mistakes.

Sky's Deputy Political Editor Joey Jones said Mr Balls was "wheeling out a whole sheaf of policies that have been announced over past months/years."

The speech earned Mr Balls a pat on the back from Ed Miliband. During the speech, Mr Balls praised him as a fine leader and "the next prime minister of the UK".

The leader of the Unite union, Len McCluskey, said freezing child benefit was not the "cleverest tactic" as he disclosed the union had yet to decide what it would contribute to the party's election war chest.

He told BBC Radio 4: "We want our party to go into the election not with one arm tied behind its back because the Tories' coffers are spilling over with money from the super rich and the corporate elite.

"We want it to be an even fight but we haven't spoken about the specific numbers."

The party also has plans to raise the minimum wage to £8 an hour, and introduce a jobs guarantee for young people and the long-term unemployed funded by a tax on bank bonuses and limiting pensions tax relief for the highest earners.

Treasury Exchequer Secretary Priti Patel poured scorn on Mr Balls' plan for the economy, claiming Labour would put the deficit up, not down.

The Children's Society said Labour's plans to freeze child benefit would leave the average family more than £400 a year worse off by 2017 and urged the shadow chancellor to reconsider.

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Tesco: Eight Chinks In Supermarket Chain

Tesco Admits £250m Profit Overstatement

Updated: 3:00pm UK, Monday 22 September 2014

Tesco has suspended four senior executives after it revealed an accounting error overstated its first-half profit by £250m.

CEO Dave Lewis said that "a number of people" have been suspended while an internal investigation is under way, including the four senior executives.

Sky News understands that Carl Rogberg, Tesco UK finance director, is one of the four executives suspended.

One of the other executives suspended is UK managing director Chris Bush.

Shares were down more than 11% in early trading, before easing slightly to around 8% down in early afternoon. Its stock price is down more than 43% in the last year.

Britain's biggest supermarket chain said it has commissioned an independent review to uncover the cause of the profit miscalculation.

Tesco said in a statement: "On the basis of preliminary investigations in to the UK food business, the board believes that the guidance issued on 29 August 2014 for the group profits for the six months to 23 August 2014 was overstated by an estimated £250m.

"Some of this impact includes in-year timing differences. Work is ongoing to establish the extent of these issues and what impact they will have on the full year.

"The board has asked Deloitte to undertake an independent and comprehensive review of these issues, working closely with Freshfields, the group's external legal advisers.

"We will provide a further update at our interim results, which will now be announced on the 23 October 2014."

Tesco has issued a series of income warnings in the last year, with the latest at the end of August when it said trading profit was forecast to be around £1.1bn.

That profit figure is now likely to be reduced to £850m.

Sky News City Editor Mark Kleinman described the accounting error as a "humiliation" for the embattled group.

Regulators are now expected to launch their own inquiries into the profit over-estimation.

Last November, an analyst at stockbroker Cantor Fitzgerald accused Tesco of squeezing suppliers ahead of release of lacklustre trading figures.

The company denied the claim and said the assertions of demanding money from suppliers' trading accounts were "based on speculation".

Tesco has come under increasing pressure in the ongoing supermarket price war, with the rise of discounters Aldi and Lidl, and margin-squeezing of the big four chains.

Chief executive Dave Lewis, who started in the role on September 1, said: "We have uncovered a serious issue and have responded accordingly."

Mr Lewis took control of Tesco after former boss Philip Clarke failed to halt a slide in profit and sales.

Mr Clarke was ousted by the Tesco board in late July as he was preparing to celebrate 40 years with the retailer.

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