Kim Dotcom Dodges Jail Before Extradition Bid

Written By Unknown on Senin, 01 Desember 2014 | 23.33

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Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom has avoided being sent back to jail in New Zealand, ahead of an attempt to extradite him to the United States.

Auckland district court Judge Nevin Dawson ruled there was no evidence Dotcom had secret assets or posed a flight risk.

Lawyers for the US government argued Dotcom had been in contact with a co-defendant, and tried to sell a £250,000 Rolls-Royce Phantom car that may have been part of a restraining order.

The founder of the file-sharing web service, who now claims he is broke, also avoided being forced to wear an electronic tag ahead of the extradition hearing set for June.

However, the judge altered Dotcom's bail conditions by ruling he can no longer travel by private helicopter or sea-going vessel and must report to police twice a week.

Outside court Dotcom said: "I think this is another case of harassment and bullying by the United States government in concert with the New Zealand government.

"I think this whole application was only made because my lawyers decided to resign because of a lack of funds on my part because Hollywood has seized the new family assets that have been made after the raid."

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Gallery: Tycoon Kim Dotcom's Turbulent Past

Born Kim Schmitz in Kiel, Germany, to a Finnish mother on January 21, 1974

In 1994, Kim was arrested for trafficking stolen phone calling card numbers and was held in custody for a month

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In 2000, Schmitz sold an 80% stake in Data Protect to German conglomerate TÜV Rheinland, keeping the remainder through his holding company, Kimvestor

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Kim invested in struggling LetsBuyIt.com in 2001. After announcing he would make a further investment of €50m (£41.8m), its stocks jumped and he sold his shares at a profit

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As a result, he was found guilty of insider trading and received a suspended prison sentence and was fined in 2002

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Dotcom, a German national who tried to launch a political party this year, was arrested in early 2012 at his luxury rented mansion and has continually fought extradition to the US over internet piracy allegations.

He has long claimed that US authorities illegally targeted him on behalf of Hollywood studios, stemming from accusations users of his site shared movies and music.

Last June, Dotcom offered a £3m reward to any whistleblower who could prove "wrongdoing and corruption" in the piracy case against him.

"We are asking for information that proves unlawful or corrupt conduct by the US government, the New Zealand government, spy agencies, law enforcement and Hollywood," Dotcom said at the time.

Authorities shut down Megaupload in 2012 but he has since launched another service, and has argued he is not responsible for file-sharing between users of his site.

At the time of his arrest, authorities froze Dotcom's worldwide assets, which were worth over £25m, and jailed him for a month.

But since then, Dotcom says he has earned another £20m from new ventures, including the file-sharing site Mega and music venture Baboom.

Shortly after leaving court in Auckland on Monday, Dotcom tweeted his feelings and warned officials who were trying to jail him.

He said: "The next big court event is in Hong Kong. If we win my legal team will seek $2bn in damages for the unlawful destruction of #Megaupload."

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Moody's Downgrades Japan Ahead Of Election

Japan's credit standing has been downgraded by a leading ratings agency, just two weeks before a national election.

Moody's reassessment of Japan's economy - seen by different measures as either the third or fourth biggest globally - is based on fears of "rising uncertainty" over the country's debt situation.

The agency also raised concerns about Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's faltering efforts to kick-start growth, with the election just two weeks away.

The US-based firm cut Japan's rating by one notch, to A1 from Aa3.

This comes after recent data revealed the economy sank into recession during the July-September quarter.

Consumer spending has slowed in Japan after a sales tax rise of 3% to 8% earlier in the year - the first rise in 17 years.

And last month Mr Abe announced that a second planned sales tax rise, set for late next year, would be delayed.

He called a snap election described as a referendum on his "Abenomics" growth plan.

However, observers said it was more likely aimed at consolidating his power ahead of a party leadership vote next year.

"The first driver for the downgrade ... is the rising uncertainty over whether the government's medium-term deficit reduction goal is achievable," Moody's said in a statement.

"And whether policymakers can overcome the tensions inherent in promoting growth while simultaneously stabilising and reversing the rising debt trajectory."

The yen fell to a seven-year low against the dollar after the downgrade was announced, before recovering slightly.

Preliminary GDP data last month showed Japan's economy shrank 0.4% in the third quarter, following a 1.9% contraction between April and June.

"Japan's deficits and debt remain very high, and fiscal consolidation will become increasingly difficult to achieve as time passes given rising government spending, particularly for social programmes associated with a rapidly ageing population," Moody's added.

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Weak Growth Will Force More Cuts From Osborne

Britain is slowly getting back on its feet, but the recovery is still doing little to heal the public finances.

In the space of a year, the jobless rate in the UK has reduced rapidly, from 7.6% a year ago, to just 6% now.

Unemployment is back to pre-crisis levels and more people in work should mean more taxes and national insurance flowing to the Exchequer.

The Chancellor had certainly been counting on that cash to reduce shortfall between its resources, and its spending commitments.

Even the Government's accountants had predicted a 7% rise in income tax receipts for this year.

Yet the current tally shows they are only up about 0.4%.

Still, the tax year isn't over yet and the Office For Budget Responsibility expects tax receipts to be what they call "end-loaded" in 2014-15.

That is partly due to the shifting tax band brackets and a glut of self-assessment payments they expect to pour in after the deadline in January.

However, over the past year alone, factors such as weaker-than-expected wage growth, lower-than-expected residential property transactions and lower oil and gas revenues make it unlikely that either the Chancellor's or his accountants' expectations will be met.

Especially if you then factor in the lasting effects of the past six years.

Over the course of the financial crisis many highly paid jobs, like banking, have been lost and not yet replaced.

Meanwhile, the newly created jobs have been low paid and more workers are classed as "self-employed" - with both these groups paying less tax.

You will have noticed your tax free allowance has risen - to £10,500.

And with wage growth virtually stagnant, fewer workers are moving into higher tax brackets.

That all eats into the Chancellor's take.

This leaves the Treasury with far less revenue than predicted - and forced to make cuts and borrow more.

That's just what we expect George Osborne to do in the Autumn Statement on 3 December.

:: Watch Sky News for the Chancellor's Autumn Statement live on Wednesday, 3 December, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 132 and Freesat channel 202.

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Bank Fines To Help Pay For Â£3bn NHS Boost

Chancellor George Osborne says he plans to use bank fines to improve family doctors' services.

In his Autumn Statement on Wednesday, Mr Osborne is expected to announce that the move will provide an extra £1.1bn to be spent over four years and would come from bank fines levied on financial institutions for foreign exchange manipulation.

It is in addition to a further £2bn he will use to help make the NHS more efficient for taxpayers and more effective for patients.

He says that cash injection is possible because the economy is growing and that under his stewardship the Government has brought the public finances under control. "If you have a strong economy you can have a strong NHS," the Chancellor said on Sunday.

In November, five banks were fined a total of £1.1bn by the Financial Conduct Authority for Forex fiddling.

The idea of using bank fines to pay for NHS improvements was first suggested by shadow chancellor Ed Balls in a speech earlier this month.

Shadow health secretary Andy Burnham welcomed the plans but said it would not help GPs and A&E departments already struggling this winter.

He said: "Of course, more money will help but it won't solve the problems that I've been describing - the crisis in the NHS is very real indeed. This money will help but will be nowhere near enough."

Mr Burnham told Sky News that Labour would provide an additional £2.5bn a year for the NHS over and above what Mr Osborne had pledged.

Mr Osborne's announcement follows the publication of the five-year 'Forward View' plan drawn up by the NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens which warned of a looming £8bn funding shortfall by the end of the next parliament.

Mr Stevens welcomed Mr Osborne's plans and said: "Today represents an extremely welcome vote-of-confidence in the NHS' own five-year plan."

Mr Osborne is expected to endorse the Stevens proposals as the best way to deliver "a world class and universal NHS that is sustainable for the long term".

:: Watch Sky News for the Chancellor's Autumn Statement live on Wednesday, 3 December, on Sky channel 501, Virgin Media channel 602, Freeview channel 132 and Freesat channel 202.

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BG Group CEO Sees Share Package Cut By 53%

Oil and gas exploration giant BG Group has cut its incoming chief executive's pay package, originally worth up to £25m.

Helge Lund's share award has been revised downwards by some 53%, from around £10m to about £4.7m.

He will continue to receive a salary, pension and benefits package of £15m.

Last week the Institute of Directors warned that the pay deal for the new CEO was "excessive" and "inflammatory" and urged shareholders to vote against the deal.

The share award reduction now means the proposal does not have to be approved by shareholders, and is within policy guidelines formulated last May.

Mr Lund takes over BG Group in early 2015, after previously turning Norway's Statoil into a publicly traded company.

The share award turnaround comes as the price of oil continues to fall.

Brent crude is down 40% since mid-June and approaching five-year lows.

However forecourt prices have only dropped 6% during 2014, according to the AA motoring group.

Despite the downward pressure on prices, potentially increasing the use of motor vehicles, fuel sales have dropped in the last year.

The AA said October sales were down 20% on the same month last year, even though pump prices were 8p a litre cheaper.

The declining sales strike another chord of concern for the Government, as it sees reducing tax and duty receipts as a result.

Chancellor George Osborne has seen income tax revenue remain static, confounding a forecast 7% rise as the jobless count drops.

On Thursday, oil ministers from the OPEC cartel met in Vienna and were unable to agree a deal to cut production to help raise prices.

Geopolitical analysts believe key countries want to keep prices low to help force out newer supplies, such as fracking in the United States.

The US is now virtually self-reliant in oil - a status it has not had for decades.

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Singaporean Fund Backs Branson Cruise Venture

By Mark Kleinman, City Editor

A Singaporean sovereign wealth fund is to back Sir Richard Branson's attempt to break into the global cruise market.

Sky News has learnt that the Government Investment Corporation of Singapore (GIC) will join the buyout firm Bain Capital as a founding shareholder in Virgin Cruises.

GIC, which has amassed a portfolio of interests in large British companies, including the RAC roadside recovery service, is expected to inject a substantial sum into the venture.

At least one Middle East sovereign wealth fund and a number of family offices and high net worth individuals are also believed to be investing, according to private equity sources.

A statement about Bain Capital's involvement, revealed by Sky News last month, is expected to be made this week.

GIC is understood to have become interested through its relationship with Bain, in whose funds it is a major investor.

News of the progress of Virgin Cruises' fundraising comes just weeks after Sir Richard's plans for his space tourism venture, Virgin Galactic, were hit by the crash of a test-flight in California..

The accident did not, however, prevent the launch of two other deals involving Virgin-backed companies during the last few weeks: the listing in London of Virgin Money; and the New York flotation of Virgin America, the domestic US airline.

Sources said that Virgin Group would itself invest more than $100m (£63m) in shares in Virgin Cruises, using funds recycled from the proceeds of the two recent flotations.

Details of the launch plans for Virgin Cruises remain sketchy, although it is thought likely to be targeting a maiden voyage in 2019 and be based in Miami.

Bankers said it would raise approximately £500m in equity and a debt package worth substantially more - possibly as much as £1bn.

In a recent interview with the Financial Times, Sir Richard said the ambition of the cruises operation was "to see whether we can attract people like myself who've never been on a cruise ship".

Two vessels are in the process of being commissioned and constructed.

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 told Sky News earlier this year.

The industry is forecast by Cruise Market Watch 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 forecast to generate revenue of $37.1bn (£22.2bn) this year, a 2.3% increase on 2013.

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.

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UK's New Warships Will Be Built In Scotland

The UK's new warships will be built on the Clyde, it has been confirmed, after fears were raised over the possibility of the contract going abroad.

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said there should be "no confusion" over where the new generation of Type 26 frigates will be constructed.

Mr Fallon was speaking on his first visit to Scotland after the head of the Royal Navy, First Sea Lord Admiral Sir George Zambellas, suggested the £4bn contract could go abroad.

The issue of defence contracts was high on the agenda in the run-up to September's independence referendum.

Pro-Union politicians claimed Scotland's shipbuilding industry would be automatically precluded from future deals if it voted for independence.

The Scottish National Party said the First Sea Lord's comments showed voters had been betrayed.

Mr Fallon denied this on a visit to see how the building of the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers at Rosyth Dockyard in Fife was progressing.

He said: "British warships are built in British yards. This aircraft carrier has been built across six British yards in England and in Scotland.

"So far as the T-26 ships are concerned, it has always been envisaged that they will be built on the Clyde and I can confirm that today.

"It's a very complex new warship that's under design at the moment. We're obviously working towards announcing some of the long-lead items I hope early next year.

"We're not quite ready yet to announce it, but they are going to be built on the Clyde."

The visit came a day after a large protest against the Trident nuclear deterrent at Faslane naval base.

Mr Fallon denied it was time for a change of policy on the nuclear weapons system.

He said: "The nuclear deterrent keeps all of us safe in England, in Scotland, in Wales and Northern Ireland.

"We have the main decision to take in 2016 to renew Trident so that is a decision for the next Parliament, but successive governments have always reaffirmed their commitment to the nuclear deterrent and I'm in no doubt the next Parliament and the next government will do that too."

Mr Fallon said both HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales are on schedule.

He added: "This has been a huge investment in jobs in Scotland, not just at Rosyth but on the Clyde, where some of the bigger blocks were built, and that investment will continue."

It was revealed last month that two of the Royal Navy's Trafalgar-class submarines will be moved from Plymouth to the Clyde naval base.

HMS Talent and HMS Triumph will be at the Faslane base by 2020 - another step towards Clyde becoming the Royal Navy's Submarine Centre of Specialisation.

The move means the Scottish base will be home to all of the UK's submarines.

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Cyber Monday: Retailers Enjoy Online Surge

Retailers are expecting a half-a-billion-pound boost as millions of shoppers hit online stores looking for Cyber Monday deals today.

The event is the online-only follow-up to Black Friday, which saw bargain hunters spend £1.6bn across the high street and internet.

Card payment firm Visa said £600m of the £1.6bn raked in was spent on the internet.

Amazon, Currys and Tesco are among the big players that lined up new Cyber Monday deals - hoping their websites hold up to the virtual stampede.

Electronics retailer ao.com predicted today would be its best ever day of sales, with televisions and small kitchen appliances expected to be the best performing categories.

Amazon.co.uk has been releasing hundreds of limited "lightning deals" which offer discounts for a specific period, with new offers coming online every 10 minutes.

Some sites, such as Currys, Argos and Game, crashed under the demand on Friday - the biggest ever online shopping day in the UK, according to Visa.

Visa Europe chief Kevin Jenkins said: "Compared to Black Friday last year online spend on Visa cards increased more than 30% and high street spend by about 20%.

"Heading into Cyber Monday we're likely to see a further £500m spent online, peaking in the early evening as workers return home and log on."

But security experts have warned consumers to be wary of cyber crime and take basic precautions as they shop.

Giovanni Ruberto, online security expert at Intel Security, said: "Cyber Monday is set to be the biggest online shopping day this year, and of course the bad guys know this.

"Whilst consumers are logging on from their laptop or smartphone to grab a bargain, you can bet cybercriminals will be doing all they can to trick unwitting consumers to hand over credit card information and personal details."

Recent years have seen online shopping peak on the first Monday in December.

It is thought to be down to many people's last payday before Christmas falling on the previous Friday and a weekend spent browsing the shops before buying online.

However, some retailers have been criticised for whipping people into a shopping frenzy and not having proper security at Black Friday events.

Shoppers were filmed arguing and fighting each other for cut price televisions, with witnesses saying some bargain hunters behaved "like animals".

Former Archbishop of Canterbury Dr George Carey on Sunday called the supermarkets "irresponsible" and said the event "serves no useful purpose".

Black Friday was introduced in America on the day after Thanksgiving and is thought to have been given its name because brisk business was said to have helped retailers back into profit - into the black.

The event was introduced to this country by Amazon in 2010.

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Oil Price Slide Not Matched At Petrol Pump

Motoring groups have complained falling crude oil prices have not been mirrored on the petrol station forecourt.

This comes as Brent crude nears a five-year low.

Although a barrel of oil currently costs just $68 - down around 40% since mid-June - petrol is down just 6% on the same time last year, according to Government figures.

Duty and excise charges make up the majority of the price motorists pay, but the forecourt price fall is still only about half expected when currency fluctuations are taken into account.

The RAC motoring group said that figure should fall by well over 4p a litre in the next few weeks.

If that occurs, taking fuel below the 120p-a-litre mark, it will be the first time the barrier has been breached since December 2010.

Meanwhile, rival group the AA has pointed out that petrol sales have fallen 20% compared with the same period five years ago.

As such, Treasury receipts from fuel are also under pressure.

This comes as fears are raised of falling Government revenue, despite lower unemployment numbers, increase pressure on the Chancellor to toughen austerity cuts.

The AA cites high fuel prices as the reason behind falling sales volumes.

"Price spikes and high fuel duty levels have forced drivers to cut back on car use for so long that the habit has stuck," group president Edmund King said.

More energy efficient vehicles are also seen as a driving force behind reduced fuel sales.

Petrol sales were up slightly in October compared with September 2014.

However October 2014 sales, when petrol averaged 124.55p a litre, were almost 1.48 billion litres.

That figure was down from the nearly 1.49 billion litres bought in October 2013 when average prices were more than 133p a litre.

Meanwhile diesel consumption has risen - going up 2.2% in October 2014 - and up 11% in the first 10 months of this year compared with the same in 2009.

Crude is now predicted to continue sliding in price as the oil cartel refused to cut production last week.

Amid Western sanctions and falling prices the Russian rouble fell 4% on Monday, following a decline of 15% last week.

Both Russian producers and American shale oil producers are seen as key targets of some OPEC members, who are trying to increase market share.

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Shutterstock Boss Worries About Tech's Future

By Gemma Morris, Sky News Reporter

The entrepreneur who became New York's first tech billionaire says he is concerned about his industry's future - because of a lack of talent.

"There aren't enough people out there that are becoming experts in technology as technology moves," Jon Oringer, the founder and CEO of stock photo and video site Shutterstock, told Sky News.

"There are more problems than we have people solving today. People just need to learn how to code."

Mr Oringer, 40, started Shutterstock in 2003 after spotting a gap in the market for inexpensive stock photos that businesses could use on their websites and in marketing material.

Entirely self-funded, he bought a camera, spent a year taking 30,000 pictures of anything and everything in his day-to-day life, and sold them at a lower cost than stock photography companies.

While in the UK to visit Shutterstock's offices in London, Mr Oringer urged budding entrepreneurs to remain financially independent and avoid looking for investment to get their ideas off the ground.

"I think that initial independence is very important, that's what being an entrepreneur is all about," he said.

"If you rely on that (investment) from the beginning, that crutch will change the direction of the business."

In 2013, 10 years after setting up Shutterstock by himself from his one-bedroom flat in New York, he became a billionaire.

The site now has more than 30 million photos, 40,000 contributors and 2012 revenues of $170m (£108m).

In the UK, Chancellor George Osborne recently vowed to crackdown on multinational technology firms that do not pay their fair share of tax in Britain.

When asked about tax loopholes used by some other companies, Mr Oringer said: "I think what governments should do is make it as easy as possible for companies to interpret these laws.

"It's a complicated issue no matter what."

Shutterstock was Mr Oringer's 11th start-up company.

Continuing his call for more people to learn the language of computers, Mr Oringer said: "There's so many opportunities for people to use what's going on on the internet to create businesses and there aren't enough people today to take advantage of all of those.

"If people want to code and they want to be entrepreneurs there's opportunities for them to do that."

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