Retailers are set to be given some cheer when figures show sales volumes rebounded last month - despite the snow storms which blanketed many parts of Britain.

Economists are pencilling in a 0.5% month-on-month rise in sales in January, amid signs shoppers were tempted out by clearance sales and treated themselves to must-have technology.

The expected return to growth will boost hopes the UK economy can avoid a triple-dip recession and will be welcome news after a spate of high profile retail collapses and a dismal 0.1% fall in volumes over the crucial December trading period.

Fears that snow and ice in mid-January would deter shoppers were calmed by the British Retail Consortium's figures for the first two weeks of January, which showed a strong start to the year with like-for-like sales up 3%.

Philip Shaw, chief economist at Investec, said: "It is feasible that the survey is correct and retail sales are recovering. Employment has risen by over 500,000 over the past year while real net household incomes are estimated to have risen by 2.8% in the year to the third quarter."

He is expecting a 0.6% rise in monthly volumes, but said: "More importantly this would increase our confidence that the economy is about to recover gradually rather than fall into a triple dip."

The BRC said shoppers bought televisions, tablet computers and smartphones and demand for footwear was strong, with Wellington boot sales boosted by the snow.

Published: 14 February 2013

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A university graduate has won her Court of Appeal claim that requiring her to work for free at a Poundland discount store was unlawful.

Three judges in London ruled that the regulations under which most of the Government's back-to-work schemes were created are unlawful and quashed them.

Cait Reilly, 24, from Birmingham, and 40-year-old unemployed HGV driver Jamieson Wilson, from Nottingham, both succeeded in their claims that the unpaid schemes were legally flawed.

Their solicitors said later the ruling means "all those people who have been sanctioned by having their jobseeker's allowance withdrawn for non-compliance with the back-to-work schemes affected will be entitled to reclaim their benefits". The ruling was made by Lord Justice Pill, Lady Justice Black and Sir Stanley Burnton.

In November 2011, Miss Reilly had to leave her voluntary work at a local museum and work unpaid at the Poundland store in Kings Heath, Birmingham, under a scheme known as the "sector-based work academy". She was told that if she did not carry out the work placement she would lose her jobseeker's allowance. For two weeks she stacked shelves and cleaned floors.

Mr Wilson, a qualified mechanic, was told that he had to work unpaid, cleaning furniture for 30 hours a week for six months, under a scheme known as the Community Action Programme. He objected to doing unpaid work that was unrelated to his qualifications and would not help him re-enter the jobs market. He refused to participate and as a result was stripped of his jobseeker's allowance for six months.

After the ruling, Public Interest Lawyers, who represent Ms Reilly and Mr Wilson, said the Court of Appeal's unanimous decision was a "huge setback for the Department for Work and Pensions, whose flagship reforms have been beset with problems since their inception". They said that "until new regulations are enacted with proper parliamentary approval, nobody can be compelled to participate on the schemes".

Published: 12 February 2013

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Britain must make sure its borders are "as open as possible" to genuine foreign business visitors and investment, Business Secretary Vince Cable has said.

Writing in the Daily Telegraph, Mr Cable said the UK is not "inward looking" and welcomes talent from emerging economies such as Brazil, Russia, India and China.

Focusing on Chinese investment and tourism, the Business Secretary said Britain's share of Chinese visitors has been dropping with evidence of people labelling the visa system as "unfriendly and inflexible".

A recent crackdown on immigration has drawn criticism for deterring talented individuals and businesses from applying to work or study in the UK.

Mr Cable said: "Of course, it is necessary to prevent abuse of the immigration rules. But equally we cannot allow red tape to deter the very people that we want to come to the UK and help make the economy stronger. We want to create and promote an image of Britain which means and delivers what it says on the tin: open for global business."

The Government is clamping down on bogus foreign students through initiatives such as interviews with applicants from high-risk countries and barring more than 500 colleges from taking non-EU students.

Universities have condemned the crackdown, claiming it had driven large numbers of genuine overseas applicants to competitor countries.

Published: 11 February 2013

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BBC journalists are to stage a one-day strike unless the corporation agrees to end compulsory redundancies, it has been warned.

The National Union of Journalists said its members at the corporation will walk out on February 18 and launch a work to rule from Friday.

The action will go ahead unless talks between the two sides next week resolve a dispute over jobs.

Michelle Stanistreet, NUJ general secretary, said: "The BBC is prepared to waste public money on needless redundancies rather than secure redeployment opportunities for those at risk.

"This demonstrates the significant failures of some managers to uphold key aspects of the redeployment agreement, let alone the spirit of the deal.

"In the meantime we have meetings planned with the BBC and we want to engage in meaningful negotiations to resolve this dispute. I hope common sense prevails and a sensible solution is agreed which will mean that strike action is not necessary."

The NUJ said the BBC was planning around 30 compulsory redundancies, affecting areas including BBC Scotland, the Asian Network, the World Service and English regions.

Published: 11 February 2013

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Clothing retailer SuperGroup has reported soaring Christmas sales, helped by demand for its jackets and knitwear.

The SuperDry owner posted a better-than-expected 10.6% hike in like-for-like retail sales to £89.9 million in the 13 weeks to January 27, as its hats, gloves, scarves and headphones also flew off the shelves.

Shares in the group, which started life as a market stall in Cheltenham, leapt 8% as the solid festive performance kept it on track to meet City expectations that full year profits will jump 15% to £49.3 million.

Chief executive Julian Dunkerton said that while trading conditions remained volatile and unpredictable, the strong sales and response to its new season ranges provided the group with "ever increasing confidence for the future".

Margins also improved as the group sold more products through its own shops and website.

Jean Roche, analyst at Panmure Gordon, said the UK retail performance seemed all the more impressive given the pressure on high street footfall in January.

Published: 08 February 2013

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Tories have been warned not to expect a direct boost in support from Chris Huhne's fall from grace as they unveiled their candidate for the Eastleigh by-election.

Maria Hutchings, who failed to topple Huhne in 2010, will fight the seat again after a guilty plea to dodging a speeding penalty ended the ex-cabinet minister's political career.

Conservative Party chairman Grant Shapps and Mrs Hutchings both spoke about "trust" ahead of a weekend blitz in what promises to be a brutal battle with their Liberal coalition partners. Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg had earlier urged voters not to exact retribution for his former leadership rival's disgrace.

But former Tory Treasurer Lord Ashcroft warned his party that though it started the contest in the lead, his polling suggested few voters were likely to "switch out of disgust". The survey conducted for the peer in the immediate wake of Huhne's resignation put the Tories on 34%, with Lib Dems on 31%, Labour on 19% and Ukip fourth with 13%.

Sources said the Tories were preparing a "big push" in the Hampshire town as local Lib Dems meet to select the party's candidate. It is defending a 3,864 majority.

Mr Clegg said: "I think the choice for the people of Eastleigh in the by-election is what kind of an MP do they want to have now. I hope that it will be on that basis rather than in a mood or spirit of retribution that the debate will be conducted in Eastleigh."

Labour sources are hoping for a strong showing, but privately accept they have little chances of winning despite being nine points up on their 2010 showing in the Ashcroft-commissioned poll. The figures represent a fall of almost 16 points in Lib Dem support since the 2010 general election, when Huhne scooped 46.5% of the vote.

Published: 08 February 2013

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David Cameron has arrived in Brussels for marathon EU budget talks, insisting there would be no deal unless the cost of running Europe for the rest of the decade comes down.

On the table is a seven-year budget plan the Prime Minister has warned he will flatly reject unless he sees savings which show the EU is sharing the pain of the austerity measures being taken back home.

He walked into the summit building with a curt declaration amounting to a direct challenge to those warning that the EU must have a big enough budget to foster jobs and growth and meet the costs of policies requested by EU leaders themselves.

"The numbers are much too high. They need to come down - and if they don't come down there won't be a deal," said the Prime Minister. "The European Union should not be immune to the sorts of pressure we have to reduce spending, find efficiencies and spend wisely - what we are all doing."

As he arrived, the official summit start time was put back to give more time for behind-the scenes efforts to reach a compromise - although there was little sign that gaps have closed since a first round of budget talks collapsed last November.

On that occasion Mr Cameron and other major contributors to the EU kitty rejected a cut from a planned spending package of about one thousand billion euros (£860bn) for 2014-2020 to about £756bn.

German chancellor Angela Merkel arrived for the latest effort to reach a deal admitting that national positions remained "far apart", and French president Francois Hollande went in saying compromise was needed, but making plain cuts in EU agriculture spending - from which France benefits hugely - were not on his negotiating agenda.

Published: 07 February 2013

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Two men have been arrested by detectives investigating allegations of historic child abuse centring around a guesthouse and a care home.

A man aged 66 from Norfolk and another aged 70 from East Sussex were held on Wednesday morning on suspicion of sexual offences.

The allegations are linked to Elm Guest House and the Grafton Close care home in Barnes, south west London.

The arrests were made as part of Operation Fernbridge, which was launched after concerns were raised by MP Tom Watson.

Speaking in Parliament in October last year, he said that a file of evidence used to convict Peter Righton of importing child pornography in 1992 contained "clear intelligence" of a sex abuse gang.

Mr Watson alleged that a member of the group had bragged about links with a senior aide to a former prime minister.

Published: 06 February 2013

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Banking giant Barclays is facing more boardroom upheaval after announcing that its finance director since 2007 is to leave the group.

Chris Lucas will remain in the post until the lender finds a replacement, a process which could take a "considerable time" to complete.

News of his departure and that of Mark Harding, general counsel, comes just days before new chief executive Antony Jenkins bids to repair the bank's battered reputation with a presentation on the company's new strategy.

Barclays shares opened 1% lower.

Mr Lucas is one of several past and present Barclays staff being investigated over whether the bank broke the rules when it took big cash infusions from Qatar's sovereign wealth fund in 2008.

Barclays has also seen several top executives, including chief executive Bob Diamond, leave since a rate-fixing scandal erupted last year.

The bank was hit with a 453 million US dollars (£289 million) fine after it emerged that executives had been involved in a campaign to rig a key interest Libor rate.

Published: 04 February 2013

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The trial of former Cabinet minister Chris Huhne and his ex-wife over claims she took speeding points for him a decade ago is set to start.

Huhne and former wife Vicky Pryce are both charged with perverting the course of justice relating to a speeding offence in 2003.

It is alleged the former energy secretary, who stood down from the Cabinet after he was charged last year, persuaded her to take the points so he could avoid prosecution. Both Huhne, 58, and economist Pryce, 60, deny the charge.

The events which led to the charges date back to March 2003 when Huhne's car was allegedly caught by a speed camera on the motorway between Stansted Airport in Essex and London.

It is alleged that between March 12 2003 and May 21 2003, Pryce, of Crescent Grove, Clapham, south London, falsely informed police that she was the driver of the car so Huhne could avoid prosecution.

Published: 04 February 2013

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