Spurs urged to drop 2012 battle

12 July 2011 Last updated at 19:34 GMT The decision to award the stadium to West Ham after the Games is being challenged in court Sports Minister Hugh Robertson has appealed to Tottenham Hotspur not to put London's bid for the 2017 World Athletics Championship at risk.

The football team is seeking a judicial review of the decision to award the stadium to West Ham after the Olympics.

On 1 September, the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) will announce candidate cities.

If the legal action is continuing after then, the bid for the championships may have to be withdrawn.

Mr Robertson said: "We need to confirm a bid by 1 September.

"The key thing is if we can get Tottenham's and Leyton Orient's appeal through the High Court and, I would say, dismissed.

"If the High Court is not settled we don't have a secure venue. That would make it very difficult to bid."

West Ham United is due to move into the stadium, in Stratford, east London, in the summer of 2013.

But Tottenham were unhappy with the processes which led to this decision and are seeking a judicial review into the roles of several other key parties involved.

Tottenham's defeated bid for the stadium included removing the athletics track.

He added: "I would hope Tottenham would see the greater good to London, maybe it's a fond hope.

Tottenham Hotspur has not yet responded to Mr Robertson's comments.

The Qatar capital of Doha is favourite to win the 2017 event with Budapest and an as yet unnamed Spanish city also competing.

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Brazil supermarket battle heats up

30 June 2011 Last updated at 09:31 GMT Pao de Acucar is Latin America's second biggest retailer The battle between France's Carrefour and Casino for Brazilian retailer Pao de Acucar is heating up.

Casino has raised its total stake in the company to 43.1%.

It followed an approach by Pao de Acucar's chairman Abilio Diniz to merge the company with the Brazilian assets of Carrefour, Casino's big rival.

Casino has started arbitration proceedings against Mr Diniz, saying that the secret merger talks violated the terms of their partnership.

The proposed Pao de Acucar-Carrefour deal would create a firm with a 27% market share and sales of more than $40bn (?25bn) a year.

Pao de Acucar is already Latin America's second-biggest retailer.

As well as its Pao de Acucar and Extra supermarket chains, it also has a majority stake in the Ponto Frio and Casas Bahia chains that sell electrical goods and furniture.

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Big battle for the skies

20 June 2011 Last updated at 23:14 GMT By Jorn Madslien Business reporter, BBC News, Paris air show The new 747-8 is one of the star attractions at the Paris Air Show

Upstairs in the latest jumbo jet from Boeing, the view to the cockpit and the slim, elongated cabin creates an airy and spacious environment similar to that in executive private planes.

Only here, some 400 passengers will be tagging along in the cavernous economy class sections on the floor below.

The Boeing 747-8 is the largest plane ever built by the US aerospace giant, which makes it an ideal people-mover on a grand scale.

But at least there are windows, observes a Boeing test engineer, who has been banned by the company from revealing her name.

"We've been doing a lot of flights where we do 'roller coasters'," she says, referring to manoeuvres such as deliberate mid-air stalling of the giant aircraft.

"Windows on a flight tester is a wonderful thing," she adds, following a nine-hour flight from Boeing's headquarters in Seattle. "Moving sickness can be bad on a freighter."

Big plane market

Boeing initially launched its stretched 747 as a freighter aircraft about a year ago, with its Intercontinental passenger version taking to the wings for the first time as recently as March this year.

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This is a relatively small market in terms of units, but it is big in terms of investment.”

End Quote Randy Tinseth Boeing Commercial Airplanes' marketing chief The "dash-eight", as they call the plane, flew straight into an order flurry that saw it clock up some $5.4bn (?3.3bn) worth of deals at list price during the first day of the Paris air show.

With 17 fresh orders for the 747-8 Intercontinental, Boeing has pulled in 50 firm and five conditional orders for the passenger version, in addition to some 70 orders for the 747-8 windowless freighter.

According to Boeing Commercial Airplanes chief executive Jim Albaugh, the orders "demonstrate the market's need for an airplane of its size and range" - a statement that in itself demonstrates a sharp change in the sentiment of the Seattle-based planemaker.

During recent years, when the Airbus A380 has been milking its status as the world's largest passenger plane for all its worth, Boeing has been pooh-poohing its European rival's insistence that giant hub-to-hub planes are what airlines want.

Big investment

Though almost just as enormous, the latest jumbo jet from Boeing has failed to whip up the sort of frenzy that the A380 has been generating.

Randy Tinseth, Boeing marketing chief:" Already we have 109 orders for the airplane...both the passenger and the freighter"

Sure, the Boeing is actually a longer aircraft, but it is also just a reversion of an ageing model.

Airbus is eager to stress how its A380 is a showcase of modern technologies and insists the 747-8 is, to all intents and purposes, just an old plane that has been stretched.

On the ground, sheltered from the rain by the 747-8's vast wings, Boeing Commercial Airplanes' marketing chief Randy Tinseth hits back.

"This is a relatively small market in terms of units," he says, predicting a market for some 820 "large airplanes" over the next 20 years. "But it is big in terms of investment."

'All-new airplane'

Boeing has invested some $27bn in the "dash-eight", hence Mr Tinseth insists it has "essentially created an all-new airplane that can compete with another all-new airplane, the A380".

The 747-8 shares its engine technology with the 787 Dreamliner, making it quieter, cleaner and less thirsty than rival aircraft, Boeing insists.

"The 747-8 Intercontinental is more than 10% lighter per seat than the Airbus A380 and consumes 11% less fuel per passenger," Boeing says in a statement.

Boeing insists that the 747-8 is much more than just a stretched version of the existing jumbo jet

"That translates into a trip-cost reduction of 21%, and a seat-mile cost reduction of more than 6% compared to the A380."

A380 grounded

Airbus would dismiss such claims, of course, and counters that the "dash-eight" is already late to the market.

In addition, given the string of delays Boeing has had with its high-profile 787 Dreamliner project, there are good reasons to doubt the US firm's promise to deliver "dash-eights" to customers by year-end.

But if the A380 could have dominated the skies above Le Bourget during this week's show, with the rival 747-8 merely landing or taking off, it has failed to do so.

After an accidental clipping of a wing during parking on Sunday, the A380 has been grounded, leaving the two rivals competing on an even keel here at the Paris show.

This year's Paris Air Show takes place at Le Bourget exhibition centre on the outskirts of Paris from 20-26 June.

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Battle lines drawn on unpaid tax

10 June 2011 Last updated at 11:45 GMT By Kevin Peachey Personal finance reporter, BBC News Dentists were targeted as part of a campaign to recoup tax from medical professionals Experts are warning that the UK tax authority is more inclined to prosecute evaders as figures show millions of pounds of unpaid tax has been recouped.

Follow-up enquiries have added millions to the collections made following high-profile disclosure campaigns.

Criminal investigations have been launched into 10 people with offshore accounts and six in medical trades.

Maximum fines for tax evaders have recently increased, but can be reduced for those who come forward voluntarily.

"Criminal investigations have not been the weapons of choice for HM Revenue and Customs, but now they are part of the armoury," said Gary Ashford, representative for the Chartered Institute of Taxation.

Campaigns

Tax evaders include "chip shop owners, taxi drivers and landladies", HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) has said. It has been set targets by the government to harvest unpaid tax.

The original campaign aimed at evaders with offshore accounts was launched in 2007 and gathered ?400m after 45,000 came forward.

Subsequent inquiries have brought in another ?91m and 1,000 enquiries are continuing, the BBC has been told.

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This is proof of HMRC's determination to increase the number of prosecutions we take forward in all areas”

End Quote Chris Harrison HMRC A second campaign was launched in September 2009. This garnered ?85m from 5,500 disclosures. Follow-up inquiries yielded another ?6m.

Ten criminal investigations are ongoing, although these will not necessarily lead to prosecutions.

New penalties were introduced in April which raised the maximum fine level for those with offshore accounts to 200% of unpaid tax, in addition to the repaying the tax owed.

Mr Ashford said HMRC was taking a "very tough line" against these evaders.

Medics

The tax authority has also threatened to publish the names of people who deliberately evaded tax.

This could have serious implications for those in medical professions who were uncovered as part of a campaign by HMRC targeting that sector, according to Mr Ashford.

Some ?10m has been gathered from 1,500 disclosures during the campaign. Six criminal investigations have been launched.

Medical professionals who admitted unpaid tax before 30 June could pay past tax, plus interest, and a penalty of 10% of the unpaid tax.

Mr Ashford advised evaders to make a disclosure, as they could still reduce the penalties they faced by coming forward voluntarily.

More recently, HMRC has launched tax payment campaigns against plumbers and restaurant owners.

"We are confident that these and more cases will be taken forward in the future," said Chris Harrison, HMRC criminal investigations deputy director.

"This is proof of HMRC's determination to increase the number of prosecutions we take forward in all areas. We are committed to ensuring everyone pays what they owe so that the maximum is available to spend on public services used by everyone."

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UK investors in bonds battle

11 June 2011 Last updated at 14:40 GMT By Ben Carter Reporter, Money Box UK investors face losing 80% of their investments Bank of Ireland (BOI) could face a legal challenge from British investors who face losing 80% of their money.

Irish banks are under pressure from the state to raise capital, and bond holders are expected to "burden share".

One of the bond holders affected, Liberal Democrat MP, John Hemming, told BBC Radio 4's Money Box, it was unfair that smaller investors were worst hit.

BOI said that its offer to the holders of the permanent interest bearing shares complies with all requirements.

High returns

Money Box has been contacted by a number of concerned investors, who hold the bonds in question, first issued by Bristol and West in 1991.

The permanent interest bearing shares, or PIBS, were sold by a number of building societies at the time to boost capital.

The bonds pay 13.375% a year, which is a very high return now, but when the bonds were issued, interest rates were running in double figures.

In 1997, BOI took over Bristol and West, and in 2007 the bonds were officially transferred to the BOI UK branch.

Financial woes

Ireland's recent economic problems have resulted in the government insisting that banks shore up their capital positions.

BOI has been told it must raise 4.2bn euros in capital by a 31 July deadline, imposed by the state.

In order to raise the money, BOI announced an exchange offer, which would see most of the PIBS investors receiving 20p in the pound for their holding.

However, people with more than ?100,000 invested in the PIBS, are being offered 40% of the value of their bonds, if they accept new shares instead.

Ordinary investors suffer

In effect, this means the Irish government is getting preferential treatment, according to Mr Hemming, and small investors are being asked to sacrifice the most.

"A lot of small investors are losing out to protect the Irish tax payer," he told Money Box.

"The whole thing is likely to get tied up in a legal complication. There's a firm of solicitors, who are working on coming on board at the moment."

The offer to bond holders will worsen after 22 June.

Under a European Union directive, companies offering exchanges can either aim them at all investors, or deem them only suitable for larger investors.

Investors wanting to accept the deal face a tight deadline of 22 June, 2011.

Acceptance after this date will see the offer reduced to 16p cash, or 32% in shares, for every pound held.

If investors refuse to accept the offer, the Bank of Ireland will seek to redeem the bonds at 1p for every ?1,000 held.

The interests of the bond holders are not protected by the Financial Services Authority, and as a result people cannot claim for compensation through the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

The BOI UK branch - which bought Bristol & West - falls under the Irish regulator. BOI UK, which was created last year and which operates Post Office accounts, is regulated by the FSA. This means that UK deposits up to ?85,000 in the Post Office are protected by the UK's financial compensation scheme.

BBC Radio 4's Money Box is broadcast on Saturdays at 1204 BST, and repeated on Sundays at 2100 BST.

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