UK supermarket Asda to consult on up to 2,500 possible job losses

Business correspondent(wp/reuters):
British supermarket Asda (WMT.N), which is subject to a proposed takeover by rival Sainsbury’s (SBRY.L), said on Friday it would start consulting with staff over the potential loss of up to 2,500 jobs next year.

The move by Asda, which is owned by U.S. giant Walmart, was first reported by Press Association, and a spokeswoman for the supermarket group said no decisions had been taken yet.

“We need to consider changing the roles we need our colleagues to do or the hours needed in particular parts of our stores,” Asda said in a statement. “We believe the proposed changes we are consulting on would allow us to do a better job for our customers.”

It added: “We also recognize that discussions about potential change aren’t easy. If the decision is taken to implement the proposed changes, we would work with our colleagues to look at the potential impact of these proposals on them.”

Asda is Britain’s third-biggest grocer by market share behind Tesco (TSCO.L) and Sainsbury’s.

RBS sets £100 million aside to cover Brexit uncertainty

Banking&Finance reporter(wp/reuters):
Royal Bank of Scotland has set an extra 100 million pounds aside to account for possible bad loans as a result of Brexit uncertainty, in the first concrete sign this is clouding the outlook of a big British bank.

The provision means RBS is concerned that its customers might become less able to pay their debts when Britain leaves the European Union in five months’ time.

While HSBC put aside $245 million (191.2 million pounds) at its half-year results to account for greater economic uncertainty, RBS is the first big UK bank to link the move to Brexit.

CEO Ross McEwan said RBS was taking into account the possibility of more negative outcomes from the Brexit negotiations, under new accounting standards that require banks to be better prepared for possible future losses.

“There’s a lot more uncertainty in the marketplace until we get agreement, and that’s what this is reflecting,” McEwan told reporters on a call, referring to the provision.

McEwan said the move did not hint at any special problem with the RBS loan books, but reflected its low impairment levels following a decade-long clean-up after its 2008 state bailout.

RBS shares fell by 4 percent on Friday, the second worst performer in the STOXX European banks index after Ireland’s AIB Group.

The fortunes of major lenders like RBS are closely intertwined with the health of UK consumers and businesses.

The bank has been less upbeat about the consequences of Brexit than some of its peers, with McEwan warning recently that Britain could slip into recession if it crashes out of the EU with no deal.

Bank of England Deputy Governor Sam Woods said on Thursday banks in Britain must hold enough cash to withstand any disorderly Brexit hitting financial markets.

RBS’s rival Lloyds said on Thursday it was confident that negotiations between London and Brussels could still deliver a withdrawal agreement, which remains elusive even after years of tense talks.

Both banks said that they had seen no sign borrowers’ ability to service their loans had deteriorated so far.

PROFIT MISS

McEwan said he had a phone call with Prime Minister Theresa May and executives last week and received an optimistic signal that a Brexit deal could be reached.

But with the March 2019 deadline fast approaching, businesses remain in the dark about how they will interact with EU markets and the impact Brexit will have on the UK economy.

The provision, announced with RBS’s third quarter results, took the bank’s impairments for the period to 240 million pounds, up from 143 million pounds in 2017.

The bank reported a profit of 448 million pounds for the quarter, below analysts’ expectations of 507 million pounds.

RBS reported a common equity tier one capital ratio of 16.7 percent, well above its target of 13 percent, even after it paid its first dividend in a decade and a hefty fine to U.S. authorities earlier this year.

The bank took another 200 million pound provision for mis-sold payment protection insurance - Britain’s costliest such scandal that has seen RBS alone pay out over 5 billion pounds.

It gave no clue as to its future dividend policy - information shareholders are hungry for after being starved of payouts for 10 years.

Landmark pensions ruling may cost Lloyds Banking Group $192 million

Banking&finance reporter(wp/reuters):
Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.L) must amend its pension schemes to equalise benefits for men and women following a court ruling that could cost the bank up to 150 million pounds ($191.97 million) and affect thousands of other companies.

In a case closely watched by the government, Judge Paul Morgan ruled that Lloyds’ pension trustee had a duty to amend the schemes to equalise treatment after three female members claimed discrimination, with women’s pensions increasing at a slower rate than those of men in the schemes.

The case affects around 230,000 members of the bank’s pension schemes, but union BTU has said it could have implications for as many as 7.8 million people in thousands of other schemes across the country, with the cost of equalising all affected pensions put at up to 20 billion pounds.

“These issues have created uncertainties in the occupational pensions industry in this country for many years,” Morgan said in his written ruling, seen by Reuters on Friday.

The judge stipulated a number of methods Lloyds could use to achieve equal treatment for men and women, which could require the bank to pay between 100 million pounds and 150 million pounds.

Union BTU had previously said the case could cost the bank up to 500 million pounds.

Britain’s Treasury and Department for Work and Pensions were listed as “interested parties” in the case because of its consequences for the wider public sector.

“It is time now for trustees to roll up their sleeves and start to assess the implications and possible remedial actions,” said Chantal Thompson, pensions partner at law firm Baker McKenzie, adding the implications would be far reaching.

The case relates to employees that had their secondary state pension payments - supplementary to their basic state pension - paid by their employer rather than the government under an arrangement known as “contracting out”.

Both the employee and the employer benefited from lower tax contributions, while the employer would guarantee to pay a minimum amount broadly equivalent to what the employee would have received from the government.

But under the arrangements, the calculation employers were required to use to determine pension benefits created inequalities. While in some cases men received a smaller amount, in most instances it was women who were negatively affected.

A Lloyds spokeswoman said in a statement it was working through the details in order to implement the court’s decision.

“The hearing focused on what is a complex and longstanding industry-wide issue. The group welcomes the decision made by the court and the clarity it provides.”

'Wonder' drug that has changed our girl's life should be available on NHS for other children with life-limiting spinular muscular atrophy, say parents

Health Editor(wp/es):

A drug that is transforming the life of a young girl should be made available on the NHS to 2,000 other children with the same life-limiting condition, her parents said today.

Aged nine months, Annabelle Rose Thomas was diagnosed with type 1 spinular muscular atrophy (SMA), a rare genetic disorder that affects walking, eating, drinking and breathing. 

Her parents Chris and Michelle Thomas were given the news just two days before Christmas in 2016, and were told their daughter was unlikely to survive beyond 18 months.

Now two years eight months, Annabelle Rose has come off breathing support, can swallow food and has ridden a horse after becoming the first British girl to receive a “game-changer” drug called Spinraza.

Her parents describe her improvement as a “miracle”. Mr Thomas said: “We were told two Christmases ago that she wouldn’t live beyond 18 months and wouldn’t talk, walk or breathe unaided. 

"But, because of this drug, she is doing all of these things, which is just incredible.”

The NHS drug approval body NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) published guidance in August that did not recommend Spinraza, also known as nusinersen, due to “significant uncertainties” around its long-term benefits and “extremely high” cost. 

Made by US firm Biogen, it costs £75,000 per dose. It is administered by four initial injections into the cerebral spinal fluid, followed by a top-up injection every four months.

Annabelle Rose received it free under an “expanded access programme” set up by Biogen at Great Ormond Street hospital. She has received eight doses and will continue to receive the treatment. 

About 80 UK children have received the drug under the access programme. Parents of other children with SMA, which can also develop in adulthood, want NICE to grant approval. 

The call is backed by a cross-party group of MPs, including the Thomas’s MP, Wes Streeting. 

Mr Streeting, Labour MP for Ilford North, told the Evening Standard: “It is frankly cruel to withhold this treatment from parents, who know that the quality of life for their children could be dramatically improved.” 

SMA affects the “motor” functions in the spinal cord and lower brain stem, resulting in severe and progressive muscle wastage.

The drug is already available in Scotland, the US and Europe.

NICE said a committee met on Tuesday to discuss public feedback following its August recommendation. A final decision is expected in four to five weeks.

'Cruel’ girlfriend killer jailed for 38 years in US seeks dates online after being deported to UK

Pic:Convicted killer: Dempsey Hawkins (wp )
Crime reporter(wp/es):

A “cruel” killer who was deported to Britain after serving 38 years in jail for strangling his teenage girlfriend in the US has joined an online meeting site to date women in London, it can be revealed.

Dempsey Hawkins, 58, who was refused parole nine times before his release in 2017, used an alias to contact a woman on social networking site Meetup.com

In messages seen by the Standard, he tried to foster a relationship with her, suggesting they explore the capital together. He did not reveal his conviction for the murder of his 14-year-old ex-girlfriend Susan Jacobson in New York in 1976.

Hawkins strangled her with a shirt and hid her body in an oil drum. Three years later he was jailed for a minimum of 22 years for murder.

The London-born killer was refused parole for years because he was considered too dangerous to release, despite good behaviour in jail. He was finally allowed out on condition he was deported to the UK, the country he left with his mother at the age of six.

He was flown to Heathrow in January last year with letters of support from the British consulate in New York. He was helped in his return by Cambridge University criminology expert Dr Ruth Armstrong, who campaigned for his release. She found him a job in a Mexican restaurant run by her husband. 

The woman who was contacted by Hawkins only discovered his past when an online search threw up news articles about his murder conviction. She said: “He sent me a message from a profile called Dempsey Louis. I responded and he was terribly forward. He gave me his number immediately.

“I thought it was an unusual name and he said he lived in Cambridge, so I googled him and there was a reference to the murderer Dempsey Hawkins. I compared their photographs and it was obviously the same man. I was horrified.”

The woman, who asked to remain anonymous, added: “I could’ve gone on a date with him — that’s really scary. 

“I have contacted the police because I think they need to know he’s actively looking for women. I think other women ought to know this as well.

“You go to singles events and don’t expect to run into someone like that. 

“I hope he’s a contributing member of society but I think it’s important other females and males in his dating network know his face, know he killed his original girlfriend and he’s looking for another. I would not be able to live with myself if someone else got hurt and I didn’t say anything. As soon as I found out who he was I blocked him. It’s too frightening.”

Hawkins told the Standard that he wanted to focus on his future. 

He said: “If someone goes to the newspapers or whatever, then what can I do? I can understand it. You cannot control what anyone does, but I understand it. I look at it like this — I didn’t harass anybody. I did not say anything bad.

“I just asked would they like to go on a date. ‘No?’ OK then, bye. That’s it.”

Hawkins was 16 when he lured his girlfriend Susan Jacobson, 14, to a remote area of Staten Island in May 1976 and strangled her after their relationship ended.

He finally won parole in 2016 after repeated appeals. The parole board said: “Your actions exhibit a cruel deliberation and contempt that prompt us to find that your release in the United States would deprecate the seriousness of the crime as to undermine respect for the law.”

Hawkins, who had an “exemplary record” in jail, expressed regret for his actions at parole hearings and vowed to lead a crime-free life if released.

He told one hearing: “I am remorseful for the crime. I am deeply, I’m terribly sorry. … I will never harm another human being, and I mean that.”

No conditions are believed to have been attached to his release other than that he does not return to the US or contact the family of his victim.

The father of his victim, William Jacobson, said women should “stay away” from Hawkins if contacted. “All I can say is protect yourself. He’s a murderer, he should be in prison. Stay away,” he told the Standard today.

“I would hope that whoever is involved would contact the police once they know what he’s done in the past. I’m glad he’s out of the United States, but I’m also sorry for the people in England who have to put up with him now. He never should have been let out.

“I think anyone who has ever committed any sort of horrendous crime is always capable of doing it again. No matter who it is.”

how to buy one and who is eligible

Staff reporter,London(wp/es):

Four million 26-30 year olds will be able to get their hands on new railcard to save money on leisure train travel, the rail industry has announced.

The Rail Delivery Group (RDG) confirmed the new "millennial" railcard will go on sale at the end of the 2018, following its announcement last year.

Those taking part in a trial took an average of six leisure journeys a month, covering an average of 400 miles, and "if this trend continues then National Rail 26-30 Railcard holders will save themselves an average of £125 a year when they travel by train", said the RDG.

So what is the rail card, how much can you save and when can you buy one?

What is the new Millennial Railcard?

Plans to give more young adults a railcard up to the age of 30 were unveiled in the chancellor's Autumn 2017 budget.

It is a "digital only" card, meaning passengers need to use their smartphone to download it, and costs £30 for the year.

It will be applicable to all four million 26-30 year olds, after a successful trial in the Spring included 20,000 customers.

How much can you save?

For £30, people will be entitled to a third off most leisure fares for 12 months. Travelling before 10am on a weekday will mean a minimum fare of £12. Judging by the trial of 20,000 passengers, this will mean an average saving of £125 a year, the industry officials said - or £95 excluding the cost of the card.

The 16-25 railcard does not have the morning restriction throughout July and August because those using them will be more likely to be students and travelling for leisure. The morning restrictions will be in place throughout July and August for those with the new 26-30 card.

This is the same restrictions which apply to the 16-25 railcard, but the Millennial card will extend the restrictions throughout July and August, as those journeys are likely for commuting, when younger passengers would more likely be students and be travelling for leisure.

So, if you wanted to travel from London to Brighton this afternoon, a £41.80 ticket would cost £27. A £104 ticket to York would be £68.90, saving around £34.60. Or if you booked in advance, the original £58 single ticket would be reduced to £38.30.

Where does it work?

The railcard is being delivered nationwide - all rail companies are involved. But it doesn't apply on sleeper trains, first-class and season tickets, or on Eurostar services.

What if I don't have a smartphone?

If you don't have a phone, or if your phone has run out of battery, you will be allowed to download your card on someone else's phone, but there won't be any paper cards.

When can I get one?

The Rail Delivery Group hasn't given an exact date, but said it would be released "before the end of the year".

It's already an option when you search for tickets on national rail enquires, but a ticket purchased using the railcard won't be valid if you can't present your card.