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The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has said that government spending cuts could raise employment levels from 2.5 million to nearly 3 million. Cuts in the public service must be made to avoid sharp tax rises. Chief economic adviser John Philpott has estimated that half a million jobs are likely to be lost in the public sector in the next two years and the unemployment levels are likely to stay at the 3 million mark until at least 2015. Although these job cuts and other public spending cuts are needed for economic growth, the short term opportunities for people who are already at a disadvantage from being unemployed are not likely to improve, and these people especially are likely to face even tougher times over the coming years.

Following the recent oil spill in the gulf of Mexico, BP’s shares have fallen almost 40%. President Obama launched an attack on BP on Tuesday 8th of May stating he would sack the chief executive of BP if he could. President Obama has called for the chief executive of BP to step down as soon as the oil leak has been stopped. Mr Hayward, the chief executive, has said his company will clean up the oil spill and return the Gulf of Mexico to the position it was in before. BP have announced that the clean-up operation has so far cost $1.25 Billion. Oil has been spilling into the Gulf since the 20th of April. At least 20 Million Gallons of oil have now spilled into the Gulf of Mexico making this the worst environmental disaster in US history. BP have also said they will donate money to wildlife protection in the affected areas by selling off recovered oil from the spill.

Increasing player wages is threatening the stability of premier league football clubs. During the 2008 to 2009 season clubs spent sixty seven percent of their income on player wages. Chelsea had the highest wage bill at £167 Million while Manchester City’s wage bill went up from £54 Million to £83 Million. During the last 3 years total player wages have increased by £474 Million which is a fifty five percent growth. Only ten out of the twenty clubs in the premier league made an operating profit in the 2008 to 2009 season. The increase in wages will be difficult to reduce due to the length of player contracts which tend to be a minimum of 3 to 4 years. The tightening of credit over the last two years does not make it any easier for clubs. The total club net debt for the premier league premier at the end of the season was £3.3 Billion, two thirds of this debt being linked to Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool.

Many businesses are relying on young people working for them unpaid. One in five businesses will offer work placements and internships this summer but many are expected to offer these as unpaid. Sectors like fashion have unpaid internships available for newly graduates, but the employers have to be careful that they are not laying out set tasks and not requesting that work is done within set hours which a normal employee would be expected to do. If the employer is found requesting the unpaid worker to perform the same tasks as a normal employee then the employer could be found to be breaking the law. As the majority of internships and placements are filled by newly graduates or young people, the Institute for Public Policy Research wants these young people to be treated fairly and no longer have to work for free. However this could result in businesses no longer offering placements and internships to young people.

The 2010 Fifa World Cup in South Africa has been insured for an estimated £6.2 Billion. The world’s biggest insurance company, Lloyds of London, is holding policies for Fifa, the national teams, broadcasters and a number of other firms. Training facilities and stadiums are insured for £3.2 Billion. Broadcast rights, sponsorship, prizes, competitions, and any companies with a stake in the tournaments success make up the remaining £3 Billion. One factor that is not included within the estimated insurance amount is the value of the players insurance policies. As some players are considered to be of a higher value than others, insurance against sports disability for a top footballer at his best could reach £40 Million.

British Airways cabin crew are on strike for 5 days from today after talks with the union unite broke down. With the recent ash cloud grounding most flights in and out of the UK, this could spell disaster for the UK airline. However British Airways have announced that 60 percent of its long haul flights will still go ahead despite the reduction in cabin crew. So it looks as though for passengers it will be more disappointment and long waiting times placing even more stress on an already fragile business.

Christmas shoppers will spend as much this festive season as last year despite the UK remaining in recession, Deloitte has predicted. However, the accountancy firm said that the impact of job losses and higher taxes would mean spending is likely to be squeezed at Christmas next year. People were cutting back on daily indulgences such as snacks, and taking more care over their shopping, it said. A separate report suggested Christmas shoppers were turning to the internet. The research, carried out by the Centre for Retail Research for comparison site Kelkoo, found that 20p in every £1 would be spent online this Christmas – a rise of 24% on the previous year. The Deloitte report found that people were not reining in their spending too much this Christmas owing in part to the savings they have been making on their mortgages at times of low interest rates.

Arsenal director Stan Kroenke has moved to the brink of the threshold where he would have to make an offer for the entire stockholding of the club.
The US billionaire has bought another 200 shares in Arsenal’s holding company, at £8,500 each, taking his shareholding to 29.9%. Mr Kroenke bought 100 of the shares from Arsenal chairman Peter Hill-Wood. He is nearing the 29.99% threshold, beyond which he would be forced to make an offer for the remaining shares. The Denver-based businessman’s latest acquisition cost him £1.7m ($2.8m). Mr Kroenke, who owns the NBA’s Denver Nuggets and Colorado Rapids MLS football team, has been gradually increasing his stake in Arsenal this year through a number of share deals.

New car sales recorded their biggest increase so far this year in October, helped by the scrappage scheme. The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) said 168,942 new cars were registered last month, an increase of 31.6% compared with October 2008. The SMMT said the “cash for bangers” incentive scheme had accounted for more than 20% of the new car sales. Demand was also helped by customers wanting to avoid the VAT increase due in January, it said. ‘Encouragingly, there has also been an increase in demand in the fleet and business sectors, which will be critical in sustaining recovery next year,” said SMMT chief executive Paul Everitt.

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has fined Swiss banking giant UBS £8m for failing to stop its employees making unauthorised transactions.
The FSA said four UBS employees had carried out the transactions using customer money on at least 39 accounts. The unauthorised activities took place between January 2006 and December 2007. The FSA also said the trades involved foreign exchange and precious metals. Earlier this week, UBS reported a loss for the July to September quarter. According to the FSA, an internal UBS investigation found that as many as 50 unauthorised transactions a day were taking place at the operation’s peak. It criticised the bank not only for systems failures that led to the trades, but also for not responding to “several warning signs” that the systems were not working.