Wednesday newspaper round-up: Retail sales, Libya, Williams...

23rd Feb 2011 06:36

High-street retailers have warned ministers that consumers have drastically cut back their spending in the face of Government austerity measures.A number of Britain's largest store chains told The Times that trading had deteriorated since the new year, when the VAT rate rose from 17.5% to 20% and the reality of public spending cuts dawned. The findings augur badly for the Government since the retail sector is considered an early indicator of the direction of the economy, because of its reliance on consumer sentiment.Oil analysts are paying very close attention to fast-moving events in Bahrain, fearing that clashes between the island's Sunni elite and an aggrieved Shi'ite majority could embroil the two Gulf giants of Iran and Saudi Arabia. Marchers from Bahrain's Shi'ite community, 70% of the Island's 800,000 population, poured into Manama's Lulu square on Tuesday in another day of civic protest after the royal family promised to call off the bloody crackdown, the Telegraph reports. Meanwhile, Muammer Gaddafi, the Libyan leader, vowed to fight until the last drop of his blood had been spilt rather than step down, describing anti-regime protesters as "rats" and "mercenaries" working to foreign agendas.In a threatening 75-minute TV address on Tuesday, delivered from the ruins of a former Gaddafi family home bombed by US military aircraft in 1986, he called on supporters to "cleanse Libya house by house" unless the protesters surrendered, the FT reports.The chief executive of Asda has refused to withdraw its controversial price guarantee, sending out a defiant message to its big rivals, which have been incensed by the scheme. Andy Clarke said the Asda Price Guarantee - which promises that on a basket of comparable groceries the Walmart-owned grocer will be 10% cheaper than four of its big rivals - had helped it to "outperform" the market and deliver like-for-like sales up 1.6%, excluding fuel, in its fourth quarter, the Independent reports. The devastating earthquake that hit New Zealand could cost insurers more than $6bn (£3.7bn), it is believed. At least 65 people died in the 6.3-magnitude quake, which toppled buildings across Christchurch, the nation's second largest city. The disaster looks set to exceed the losses faced by insurers after the quake that hit the country in September, said Mark Williamson, an analyst at brokers Peel Hunt, the Telegraph reports.Formula One team Williams has reduced the price range for its €265m German flotation next week, just as the sport scrambles to fix its racing schedule in the midst of the Middle East crisis. The range was reduced and tightened from €24 (£20) to €29 a share, to between €25 to €27 a share, creating an expectation that up to €72m will be raised after Formula One's season opening race in Bahrain was called off because of anti-government protesters, the Telegraph reports.Capital & Counties, the UK property group, is in talks with one of the wealthiest families in Asia to provide funding for the multibillion pound redevelopment of the Earls Court site in west London. Earls Court is one of the largest development schemes in London and potentially the most valuable given its position in a prime area for residential and commercial property, the FT reports.A clutch of Britain's most respected companies are among the biggest businesses that have no women directors. A day ahead of a government report that could recommend that a significant proportion of the directors of large listed companies should be women, The Times has found that 18 leading businesses ? almost a fifth of those listed on the FTSE 100 ? could be forced to co-opt women on to their board. Oil major BP has unveiled plans to sell its stakes in gas fields in the southern North Sea to focus on its operations in the central and northern parts of the oil-rich region. The company will also sell its Wytch Farm onshore oilfield in Dorset, the largest in western Europe, the Telegraph reports.A sub-prime lender that approved mortgages irresponsibly and then treated borrowers unfairly when they got into trouble has been handed a £2.3m penalty. The Financial Services Authority has fined Deutsche Bank arm DB Mortgages £840,000 ? its first fine for irresponsible lending ? and demanded an additional £1.5m in redress for the lender's customers. It is the fourth mortgage lender to have been fined over arrears-handling, the Times reports.