- CBO warns of US recession
- Chinese growth to be hampered if Greece leaves euro
London blue-chip index was registering steep losses on Wednesday as gains from the last two days were almost completely erased ahead of the EU summit this evening, with Greece likely to be at the top of the agenda.
Weighing on sentiment were comments from former Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos who said that an exit from the euro would have "catastrophic" consequences for Greece. "Although such a scenario is unlikely to materialise and it is not desirable either for Greece or for other countries, it cannot be excluded that preparations are being made to contain the potential consequences of a Greek euro exit," he said in an interview with Dow Jones.
International pressure has been mounting on Eurozone leaders to take quick action to stave off the recession that threatens the region. The European Council, which includes the heads of state or government of the 27 European Union member states, is holding an informal dinner Wednesday evening at 18:00 London time, where the members are expected to discuss both the situation in Greece and measures to increase growth.
French President Franois Hollande is expected to press German Chancellor Angela Merkel for the implementation of the so-called 'eurobonds' (debt issued and backed by the entire Eurozone together).
Gloomy comments from the US Congressional Budget Office (CBO) were also dampening the mood today. The CBO warned of a risk of recession for the world's largest economy in 2013 if the Bush-era tax reductions were allowed to expire at the same time as spending cuts come into effect. It said that the US economy could contract by 1.3% in the first half of next year as the government falls off a "fiscal cliff".
UK economy
In domestic news, the Bank of England's top decision makers indicated that more of them were on the verge of voting to increase stimulus measures at their lasting meeting. While the Monetary Policy Committee voted 8-to-1 to keep the Bank's quantitative easing programme steady at 325bn, the minutes of the meeting showed that "for several members, the decision not to expand the asset purchase programme at this meeting was finely balanced".
UK retail sales registered their biggest monthly fall in April, with fuel sales tailing off dramatically after the panic buying in March, when motorists were encouraged by the government to stock up on petrol.
FTSE 100: Miners tank on risk aversion
The blue-chip miners were dominating the fallers list on the Footsie by midday as metals prices dropped on concerns that the Chinese economy may be affected greatly by Greece leaving the euro: investment bank China International Capital Corp said today that the world's second-largest economy could see its lowest levels of growth in more than two decades in this scenario. Mining peers Vedanta Resources, Xstrata, Glencore, Kazakhmys, Fresnillo, Rio Tinto, Polymetal and Antogasta were suffering heavy losses.
UK banking titan Barclays was out of favour after it announced the pricing details of the open offer part of its recently announced sale of its stake in US wealth management giant Blackrock. Barclays has agreed to sell 26.2m shares of Blackrock in an underwritten public offering at a price of $160 a share.
Iconic British luxury brand Burberry dropped despite reporting solid profit growth in the year ended March 31st. Adjusted profit before tax increased by 26% from 298m to 376m, broadly in line with estimates. Analysts at Investec said this morning that bears make "take issue" today given the lack of upgrades following the results.
There were just a handful of risers on the FTSE 100; British Sky Broadcasting (BSkyB) was one of them after the Competition Commission announced that it was no longer concerned that 'Sky Movies' has an unfair advantage over its competitors.
FTSE 250: LSE falls after Italian banks sell up
Italian banks UniCredit and Intesa Sanpaolo have announced that they have sold their combined 11.5% stake of market operator London Stock Exchange (LSE), causing shares to take a tumble today. The banks made the transaction via an "accelerated bookbuild" at 960p per share, a discount to Tuesday's closing price.
Heading the other way was online grocer Ocado after saying it expects year on year gross sales growth of around 13% for the 12 weeks ending 13 May as demand for online food shopping grows and it overcomes constraints at its warehouse in Hatfield.
FTSE 100 - Risers
Smith & Nephew (SN.) 601.50p +1.60%
Morrison (Wm) Supermarkets (MRW) 268.70p +0.26%
British Sky Broadcasting Group (BSY) 692.00p +0.22%
FTSE 100 - Fallers
Vedanta Resources (VED) 986.50p -5.78%
Xstrata (XTA) 920.60p -5.38%
Man Group (EMG) 73.50p -5.34%
Glencore International (GLEN) 342.90p -5.17%
Kazakhmys (KAZ) 699.50p -5.15%
Fresnillo (FRES) 1,320.00p -4.83%
Rio Tinto (RIO) 2,802.50p -4.56%
Polymetal International (POLY) 803.50p -4.29%
Antofagasta (ANTO) 1,031.00p -4.18%
Barclays (BARC) 181.50p -3.92%
FTSE 250 - Risers
Ocado Group (OCDO) 106.90p +5.01%
Paragon Group Of Companies (PAG) 162.50p +3.50%
FirstGroup (FGP) 211.20p +3.07%
Spirent Communications (SPT) 158.20p +2.86%
Great Portland Estates (GPOR) 392.20p +2.62%
Ophir Energy (OPHR) 586.50p +2.62%
Daejan Holdings (DJAN) 2,735.00p +2.51%
Greggs (GRG) 468.10p +2.43%
JD Sports Fashion (JD.) 718.00p +2.06%
Brewin Dolphin Holdings (BRW) 142.10p +1.72%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
London Stock Exchange Group (LSE) 953.00p -6.66%
Ferrexpo (FXPO) 214.00p -6.63%
Aquarius Platinum Ltd. (AQP) 77.80p -6.49%
Petropavlovsk (POG) 391.70p -6.43%
Premier Farnell (PFL) 170.00p -5.97%
Logica (LOG) 64.90p -5.19%
Lonmin (LMI) 744.00p -5.16%
TUI Travel (TT.) 164.80p -5.07%
Fenner (FENR) 385.40p -4.82%
New World Resources A Shares (NWR) 323.00p -4.44%
BC
Source: www.lse.co.uk
London 2012: Heathrow Airport in numbers - BBC News
Heathrow in numbers - how the UK's biggest airport is getting ready for the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Some 500,000 people will be flying into London for the Olympics and Paralympics this summer.
That includes 100,000 athletes, 20,000 members of the media and 150 heads of state. Most of them will arrive via Heathrow.
It will be the start and finish line for the bulk of visitors, giving the country's biggest airport its busiest day ever.
That day will be Monday 13 August, the day after the closing ceremony and the day 65% of visitors are planning to leave.
Some 203,000 bags will be squeezed on to the baggage system - that's 35% more than on a normal day and about 13,000 more than it is designed to handle.
Of those bags, 15,000 will be oversized - full of canoes, javelins, bikes and poles for the pole vault. There will also be more than 980 firearms to check, plus ammunition.
'Heavily-congested skies'A special temporary terminal is being built just for the "Games family" - athletes and coaches to you and me.
It will be open for three days, snuggled between terminals four and five, and will boast 31 check-in desks and seven security lanes.
Meanwhile, hundreds of extra border staff - they will not give an exact figure - will be on hand to try to keep passport queues down.
Sixteen mobile teams of 10 guards each will be available to target trouble spots if, or should that be when, the queues build up.
It is not just Heathrow of course.
Air traffic control is facing its biggest ever challenge, coping with heavily-congested skies, the threat of a terror attack and possible bad weather. Twenty-five controllers are practising in the simulator every day.
In all, 400 have been specially trained over the past four years to deal with the extra workload.
Any rogue planes should be spotted within two to three minutes, after which military controllers take over that zone and a decision is made whether or not to scramble fast jets.
Extra plane?The Paralympics is a third of the size of the main event but it is still a huge challenge.
“Start Quote
End QuoteThe Chinese team are arriving on 27 different planes and they'll probably need an extra plane at the end to carry all their medals”
Heathrow will have to deal with a month's worth of wheelchair users in just a week - about 1,800 in total.
Thirteen new scissor lifts and 100 new ramps have been deployed to load and unload wheelchairs while there are six new powered stair climbers to move large electric wheelchairs.
Two-hundred extra staff will welcome the Paralympians and help with the biggest challenge of all - making sure every athlete is reunited quickly with their chair.
As one Paralympian put it, you wouldn't expect able-bodied athletes to leave the plane in someone else's trainers would you?
The Chinese team are arriving on 27 different planes and they'll probably need an extra plane at the end to carry all their medals. I made that last bit up.
Finally, 1,000 local volunteers will greet athletes off the plane, help with their luggage and welcome them to London.
Then a few weeks later, as the Olympic flame dies, those volunteers will wave them off again as they head for home.
One thousand people will be standing there waving goodbye at planes, so if you happen to be going on holiday that day, you might want to wave back.
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Manchester Police/Fire: Essex man charged after Route 128 rollover - Gloucester Daily Times
MANCHESTER — A 19-year-old Essex man is facing charges of drugged driving and driving to endanger after the car he was driving rolled over and crashed on Route 128 on Monday night, sending both he and a passenger to Beverly Hospital.
Stuart King, 19, of Essex, was charged after Massachusetts State Police, Manchester and Essex police all responded to the accident, which occurred in Manchester between Exits 16 and 17 on Tuesday at 6:59 p.m.
State Police sought the criminal complaints.
Steven Fletcher may be contacted at 1-978-283-7000 x3455, or sfletcher@gloucestertimes.com. Follow him on Twitter at @stevengdt.
Source: www.gloucestertimes.com
Carn-Arg! TOWIE's Arg and Diags enjoy a night out in Funky Buddha to celebrate newbie Tom Pearce's 22nd birthday - Daily Mail
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It's no secret that the cast of The Only Way Is Essex like a good night out on the town.
Showing that they have no plans to stop their partying ways, James 'Arg' Argent and Diags headed to Funky Buddha in celebration of cast member Tom Pearce's 22nd birthday.
And the boys displayed their pulling power as they were all popular with the ladies at the end of the night as both Arg, 24, and Diags, 21, headed home with a girl each.
Boys night out: TOWIE's Arg and Diags celebrated co-star's Tom Pearce's birthday last night in Funky Buddha
Having recently showed off a new look, Arg was obviously trying to keep up with his appearance as he wore a black shirt with a pair or burgundy trousers and black loafers.
Dressed down Diags, real name James Bennewith, kept it simple in a plain white T-shirt, blue jeans and a pair of white Converse.
Whilst Tom wore a pair of jeans with a printed vest complete with a khaki shirt which looked to be the same outfit he wore in a recent episode of TOWIE when he took Lauren Pope wine tasting.
Once inside the nightclub Arg posted a picture of Tom who looked slightly worse for wear as he sat at their table dancing.
The caption read, 'Happy Bday @tompearce1 wat a night in Funky Buddah!!! @JamesBennewith stop pulling birds! The Fish x'.
Birthday boy: Arg tweeted a picture of slightly worse for wear looking Tom as he danced at their table
Not thinking about Lydia: James Argent and Diags were pictured talking to various girls outside the club
Proving to be a hit with the ladies, Diags found himself surrounded as the boys left the club.
At one point the 21-year-old was pictured a group consisting of three girls as they all battled to get his attention, but it was the blonde in the group who really took Diags fancy, as the pair were seen sharing a kiss before getting into a cab.
Happy to heading home with the Essex lad in the cab she was all over him as she sat on his lap and stroked his face but showing what seemed to be early signs of regret Diags soon looked like he wanted out.
The new king of Essex? James 'Diags' Bennewith proved popular with the ladies outside the London nightclub
Ladies love me: Diags shows off his pulling talent as he is surrounded by girls
And the winner is... The 21-year-old TOWIE star shared a kiss with the blonde girl from the group of three
Before hitting up the London hotspot, Diags took to his Twitter account to tell his followers the plan for their night on the town.
He tweeted, 'On the way up to Funky Buddha for @tompearce1 birthday... Wooop!! Getting laggo as usuall #funkyfresh'.
Seemingly over Lydia, Arg was spotted heading home from the nightclub as she shared a cab with a mystery brunette who hid her face away from the cameras.
Fed up: Diags appeared to be bored of his the blonde's company as they headed home in a cab together
Not up for making headlines: The mystery brunette attempted to hide her face as she sat in the cab with Arg
Earlier in the day Arg went for a spot of retail therapy to in central London in preparation for his trip to Las Vegas with his best friend former TOWIE star Mark Wright and he also got his eyebrows groomed.
He tweeted, 'Happy Birthday to my boy @tompearce1 Love you man! The new eyebrows are the bollox, Bring on Marbs!!! X'.
Happy with his purchases another one of his posts read, 'Good buys today in Regent Street and Selfridges for Vegas and Marbella! Now getting ready for Dinner and Funky Buddah for @tompearce1 Bday!!'
Tom's roommate Mr. Reem, Joey Essex missed out on a night on the with his boys as he was heading back to Essex following a trip to Newcastle.
Upset that he was missing out on the fun he tweeted, 'Just spoke to the boys @JamesBennewith @Mitch_Brown2 sounds like u lot r having a good night ! Ding my line 2mora. Num'.
He only has eyes for Lauren Pope: The birthday boy, Tom Pearce sat on the curb and shared a conversation with a group of girls outside the night club
Funnily enough, it was the birthday boy, Tom Pearce who was on his best behaviour as he did his best to stay true to the lady who he currently has his eye on, Lauren Pope.
Despite managing to secure female attention Tom didn't seem all that bothered with pulling any ladies and instead he was pictured sitting on the curb engulfed in what looked to be a very serious talk with three ladies.
Still resting his head this morning, the dashing TV star tweeted, '#quickhoursleepbeforefilming'.
Also enjoying a night out, Arg's ex-girlfriend and co-star Lydia Bright headed to the Sanderson Hotel for the exclusive after party following the UK premiere of Cameron Diaz's latest flick What To Expect When You're Expecting.
The blonde beauty looked demure in a short white sequined dress which she teamed with a pair of nude coloured peep toe heels.
Fashionista: Lydia Bright looked demure as she attended a party at the Sanderson Hotel in London
Not having a heavy one: Lydia looked composed as she headed home from the party in a cab with her friend
Source: www.dailymail.co.uk
Essex fire crews to vote on strike action - thurrockgazette.co.uk
Essex fire crews to vote on strike action
12:42pm Wednesday 23rd May 2012 in News By Matt Abbott
THE Chief Fire Officer in Essex has urged firefighters to think carefully before they cast their vote in a ballot over strike action.
Firefighters across Essex are to vote on potential strike action from today as ballot papers are sent out.
By law, crews cannot strike before June 20, seven days after the ballot closes but industrial action could be taken on or soon after this date.
The Essex Fire Brigade Union says the ballot is necessary because the fire authority is imposing changes whilst also planning further cuts.
If proposed cuts to crews are implemented, it would mean that since 2008, one in five frontline fire crews have been cut.
Firefighter response times in Essex are already down one minute on the national average since 2008 and Essex FBU is warning that response times might increase again with the next wave of budget cuts.
In Thurrock, a wholetime specialist rescue crew has already been removed from Grays since 2008 and Del Godfrey-Shaw is concerned that there could be more cuts in the future.
Mr Godfrey Shaw, a firefighter at the Grays station and regional official for the FBU said: “We can’t specifically say where job cuts will be. It could be any where where managment may reduce watch.
“That could be here in Thurrock, it could be in Tendring it could be anywhere. We don’t know.
“There is lots of uncertainty and lots of frustration amongst firefighters here.”
The FBU say that whilst there have been cuts to front line fire crews, millions of pounds of tax payers money is being spent on expansion of the headquarters.
In a short video to firefighters, David Johnson, the Essex Fire Brigade chief officer called potential strike action “unfair on communities we serve”. He said: “We are a very good fire rescue service with some of the best firefighters and best equipment in the world.
“I need you to work with me to keep that going. We are ready to sit down and talk to to the FBU to resolve this dispute.
“I would urge you to support us in that.”
Mike Rogers, FBU brigade secretary said: “Essex fire crews are furious at what is going on and will be giving their verdict on cuts and imposed changes.
“Managers need to get their heads out of the sand and realise the strength of feeling.
“There is still time enough to resolve the issues between us and we are now asking the Chair to the Fire Authority to use his good offices to remove the barriers to serious talks getting underway.”
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Source: www.thurrockgazette.co.uk
The Olympic and Paralympic Games will be the biggest sporting event in the UK this year. Will you be travelling to the UK to see the Games? Please send us your comments and experiences.