MINISTERS TO CONSIDER WEAKENING PROTECTION FOR PENSION SCHEMES

Rosie Winterton, pensions minister, will announce on Wednesday that she is to cede to calls from employers for a four-week "informal consultation" on changes to Section 75 - the rule that forces companies to cover their liabilities when they wind up pension schemes as part of a restructuring or demerger. At a meeting of CBI employers, Winterton will explain that the moves are aimed at lessening the burden on scheme sponsors that are struggling in the economic downturn. The "debt on the employer" rule has been a bugbear to companies that claim it hinders corporate activity.

Gordon Brown has vowed to hold meetings with credit card issuers at the Department for Business in an effort to formulate a new "responsible" approach to lending. The decision came as Business Minister Peter Mandelson announced plans to monitor banks' lending to small business. The prime minister indicated that voluntary codes would be the primary means of dealing with both credit card companies and cash-strapped small businesses. The Department for Business said it would be calling on the credit card industry to "bring forward a statement of best practice about how it will apply fair principles to existing debt".

The government's bid to revive the housing market by introducing a one-year holiday on stamp duty, raising the minimum threshold from 125,000 pounds to 175,000 pounds, has failed. Figures from the Council of Mortgage Lenders found that the number of mortgages for new house purchases fell 15 percent in September. It has also emerged that banks are becoming more cautious about their lending terms, with first-time buyers now having to come up with 16 percent of the purchase price. Banks are also taking steps to improve profit margins on mortgages, with the average fixed-rate mortgage rising to 6.23 percent in September.
BARCLAYS' MIDEAST DEAL HIT BY DISSENTERS
Some of Barclays' biggest shareholders, including Legal & General Investment Management, have threatened to vote against the bank's planned seven billion pound capital raising unless they are offered better terms on the deal that would leave nearly a third of Barclays in the hands of Middle Eastern investors. The dispute will reach its climax on Friday, when members of the Association of British Insurers meet Barclays chairman Marcus Agius and other senior executives. The bank has indicated it is willing to consider changing the terms of the deal.

Shop Direct Group has announced earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation of 60.9 million pounds in the year to April 30, up from last year's 26.5 million pounds. The rise in profits was attributed to a reduction in costs, increased online sales and investment in marketing that has seen campaigns fronted by TV presenters Trinny and Susannah. The retailer, which is three years into its five-year turnaround plan, declined to say how much debt it has, but confirmed it was continuing to make a pre-tax loss. Chief executive Mark Newton-Jones said the group would not cut its advertising budget amid the economic downturn.
YELL SAYS CLIENTS 'FROZEN' BY FEAR OF FUTURE
John Condron, chief executive of Yell, has claimed that small businesses in the UK and the US are "frozen" with fear due to the economic gloom as the directories business said it would cut costs by axing nine percent of its global workforce. The group's pretax profits fell 2.7 percent to 118.3 million pounds in the six months to September 30, but the company said cost cuts would allow it to maintain its guidance of flat earnings for the full year. Condron said the business would save 150 million pounds this year and 100 million pounds the next as it shed 1,300 jobs in each period.

Electrocomponents, the global distributor of electrical and industrial supplies, has claimed it can survive the economic slowdown as it announced a downturn in sales for October that hinted at tougher trading conditions across all its main markets. The company improved interim profits by 63 percent to 59 million pounds, but chief executive Ian Mason pointed out that profit and sales growth had been achieved "against a backdrop of worsening economic conditions" with trading conditions deteriorating further in October. Finance director Simon Boddie said that cost cutting would allow Electrocomponents to maintain last year's full-year profits of 95 million pounds.

Playtech reported strong trading in October and even better performance so far this month. The group, which provides software for the online gambling industry and recently became the main supplier to William Hill, said trading in October was 10.6 percent higher than the third quarter's daily average. In the period, Playtech signed four new licence agreements, three memorandums of understanding, and also launched Asian peer-to-peer games. Group revenues totalled 23.2 million pounds, representing a 67 percent increase on the same period last year.

VT Group announced that its long term future lay in support services as it said that pretax profits for the six months to September 30 had almost quadrupled to 131.4 million pounds. Chief executive Paul Lester pointed out that under the group's joint venture with BAE Systems, VT would have the right from next July to exercise a put option that would see BAE buy out its 45 percent stake. Any proceeds from the option would be used to expand VT's services business in the UK and the US, which ranges from military support contracts through to the management of specialist emergency fleets. Lester added that VT was in talks with nuclear operators British Energy and France's EDF Energy to provide technical services for decommissioning contracts.

Shares in Cookson, the supplier of moulds and ceramic liners to steel makers, plummeted by a quarter on Tuesday as the group warned on profits and said it was battling with "unprecedented" market conditions. Shares in the business lost 42 pence to close at 130 pence on adjusted profit guidance in reaction to cuts in planned steel production by operators including Corus and Arcelor Mittal. The group said its trading performance next year would be dependent on the "depth and duration of the global economic downturn". Shares in the company have also been hit by fears over its debt levels, which are expected to rise 'slightly'.
Prepared for Reuters by Durrants

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