Gender pay gap in the U.S. is reversed by young women

By Daily Mail ReporterLast updated at 10:38 PM on 2nd September 2010

Successful: Young single women are earning more than men their same age, according to new research

Single women under 30 are earning more than men of the same age in almost all of America’s big cities, a study claimed yesterday.
The average full-time salaries of unmarried young women in 147 out of 150 U.S. cities are 8 per cent higher than men in their peer group, said researchers.
In Atlanta and Memphis, the women are making 20 per cent more. Men’s pay has fallen behind by 17 per cent in New York, by 12 per cent in Los Angeles and by 15 per cent in San Diego. 
It is not just the big cities where young women are ahead. In Charlotte, North Carolina, women’s wages are 14 per cent higher than men’s and in Jacksonville, Florida, they are 6 per cent higher.
The reversal in the gender pay gap was hailed last night as a milestone in women’s rights.
But the breakthrough only applies to childless single women under 30 who live in cities. Overall in the U.S., women still take home about 80 per cent of what an average man earns.
James Chung, of market research company Reach Advisors, produced his report after analysing U.S. Census Bureau statistics from 2,000 communities.
He put the pay reversal down to the trend in women getting a better education. For every two American men that graduated from university or get a higher degree, there are three women with the same qualifications.

 

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MARKET REPORT: Google in with a shout for Yell

By Geoff FosterLast updated at 10:32 PM on 2nd September 2010

Yellow pages publisher Yell screamed 13 per cent, or 2.2p, higher to 17.84p on gossip that corporate activity is just around the corner.
Almost 56million shares changed hands as dealers heard that Google could be lining up a £708million, or 30p a share cash offer.
The shares reacted from the high 19.92p after analysts said they would be flabbergasted if any bidder made a move for an accident prone group that is sitting on a mammoth debt mountain of £3billion.

Market report

Yell said in late-July when reporting lower quarterly profits of £16.6million, down from £18.5million, that it was feeling the effects of a ‘challenging’ trading environment and the anticipated economic recovery was ‘proving slower than expected’.
Analysts at Prime Markets then advised clients to sell, saying that the recent history of Yell was a series of trading statements punctuated with the odd bright spot, but with an overall impression of a company in terminal decline.
 

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COMMENT by ALEX BRUMMER: Why cutting is good for you

By Alex BrummerLast updated at 10:31 PM on 2nd September 2010

The ‘deficit deniers’ - the politicians and economists who think that George Osborne and the coalition have embarked on the wrong path with their ferocious cuts in public spending - could do worse than listen to the International Monetary Fund.
Sure, it is possible that the robust second quarter recovery in the UK could fizzle under the strain of consumer angst about public sector cuts. But the alternative of doing nothing about the bloated size of government could lead to even worse outcomes, similar to the so-called lost decade of growth in Japan.
An IMF paper on trends in public finance nails claims made by Labour that the budget deficit is not structural and will vanish like mist in the autumn sun once growth returns.

Surge: Britain’s post-crisis deficit stands at 90 per cent of GDP, according to IMF estimations

The data shows that across the G7 rich nations, new ‘primary spending’ - largely on health care and pensions - accounts for a large part of the surge in deficits and debt.
Britain, it argues, was able to hold its debt lower when we were expelled from the exchange rate mechanism because debt service payments fell dramatically.
 

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DSG hopeful as double dip fears recede for retailers

By Etain LavelleLast updated at 10:30 PM on 2nd September 2010

DSG yesterday sounded a note of cautious optimism over the fragile state of the economy, dismissing fears of a double-dip recession.
The electricals and computers group benefited from strong sales of televisions ahead of the World Cup, and from Apple’s new iPad.
‘We don’t see any evidence for a double dip but we’re also not seeing demand you would see in a normal economy,’ said chief executive John Browett.

Currying favour: The electricals and computers group was boosted from sales of Apple’s new iPad

‘People are very savvy - they want good advice and they look around a lot before they buy.’
The football jamboree provided a fillip to DSG as customers took advantage of a World Cup promotion on televisions, and sales climbed by a hefty 40 per cent compared with the 2006 World Cup.
 

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BBC strike threat after workers vote for action over pensions row

By Daily Mail ReporterLast updated at 10:34 AM on 2nd September 2010

The BBC is facing the threat of strikes after thousands of journalists, technicians and other staff voted massively in favour of industrial action in a row over pensions, it was announced today.
Members of the National Union of Journalists and the technicians’ union Bectu backed walkouts by more than 9-1 in protest at ‘punitive’ changes to the staff pension scheme.
Unions held back from naming strike dates so that talks can be held over the next two weeks to resolve the dispute and avert strikes.

Action: BBC staff picket during a one-day strike in 2005. Unions said workers backed walkouts by more than 9-1 in protest at ‘punitive’ changes pensions

Gerry Morrissey, general secretary of Bectu, said: ‘This is a significant mandate for strikes, which demonstrates how out of touch BBC executives are with their staff. We hope they will now come up with more realistic proposals, otherwise we will have no alternative but to call industrial action.’
Jeremy Dear, general secretary of the NUJ, said: ‘This is an unprecedented result in favour of strike action and a clear rejection of the BBC’s proposals.
‘We have agreed to give the BBC two weeks to come back with an improved offer or face a concerted campaign of industrial action.’
The threat of strikes follows a BBC announcement of plans to cap pensionable pay at 1 per cent from next April and revalue pensions at a lower level, which unions said effectively devalued pensions already earned.
BBC management said the changes were needed to try to tackle a huge pension deficit of more than £1.5 billion.
The NUJ circulated a leaflet to members headed ‘pensions robbery’ and said staff were angry, warning the changes would signal the end of the ’special relationship’ they had with the corporation.
The leaflet said: ‘A massive yes vote in the ballot will leave the BBC with no choice - they are going to have to revise their plans or face co-ordinated and determined industrial action by all the BBC unions.’
Unions said they wanted the BBC to come back to the negotiating table with a better offer that protected the value of pensions already earned.

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Funeral director ‘too sick to walk’ fined after being filmed leading corteges

By Daily Mail ReporterLast updated at 12:40 PM on 2nd September 2010

A funeral director who claimed he could barely climb up stairs had been fined after being caught striding through the streets leading corteges.
Wayne Brindley, 40, began claiming disability benefits after breaking a leg in an accident 10 years ago.
However a court has heard how he failed to inform benefit bosses his condition had improved in 2007 and was overpaid some £6,700 in benefits.

Leading the way: Wayne Bridley even led the procession at the funeral of David Askew despite claiming benefits since 2000 for a leg injury

Huw Edwards, prosecuting on behalf the Department for Work and Pensions, said:  ‘We received information he [Brindley] was running a funeral parlour.
‘The defendant was seen in the reception of the property, walking and standing, and part of his job in running the parlour involves walking in front of the hearse.’
The 40-year-old even led the procession at the high-profile funeral of David Askew.
Mr Askew, who had learning difficulties, died in March after confronting youths outside his home in Hattersley.
Brindley, from Mottram, in Greater Manchester, laid on the service free of charge after learning of the circumstances of his death and walked in front of the hearse.
He set up his funeral service last year after being made redundant by the Co-op four years earlier.
Mr Edwards told the court Brindley had been overpaid £6,701 between September 2007 and September last year but added that the amount would be recovered.
Defending, Chelsea Thomas said after fracturing his right leg in an accident in 2000 Brindley needed numerous operations - the last in 2003.
‘This was not a fraudulent claim at the outset,’ she said.
Brindley though admitted dishonestly failing to give prompt notification of a change in his circumstances at a hearing at Tameside Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday.
Magistrates fined Brindley £360, plus a £15 victims surcharge, and ordered him to pay £250 costs.

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Hungry US predator set to swallow up home of the Whopper Burger King

By Daily Mail ReporterLast updated at 11:51 AM on 2nd September 2010

Home of the Whopper Burger King looks set to be swallowed up by a hungry US predator, according to reports.
A small US buyout firm 3G Capital is said to be circling the fast-food chain, which has been struggling in the shadow of rival McDonald’s.
The familiar presence on the UK high street is currently owned by a Miami-based parent company, whose shares in New York soared 15% yesterday on the speculation.

Hard to swallow: Burger King has faced difficulties in the wake of the economic slowdown

Other reports have said British private equity firm 3i Burger King wanted to take Burger King from the spiritual home of the oversized hamburger, but 3i has denied it is interested.
The world’s second-largest burger chain has struggled in the wake of the credit crunch and has been consistently outperformed by McDonald’s. Burger King has seen its share price fall 13% over the last year, whereas McDonald’s shares have gained 17%. 
 

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House prices fall: August sees slump for second consecutive month

By Daily Mail ReporterLast updated at 11:11 AM on 2nd September 2010

There are fresh fears for housing market today after property prices fell for the second consecutive month for the first time since February 2009.
Prices dropped by 0.9 per cent during August following July’s slide of 0.5 per cent, according to Nationwide Building Society.
The annual rate of change also weakened for the fourth consecutive month to stand at 3.9 per cent, the lowest year-on-year rise since November last year.
Trapped; Those who bought a home at the peak of the market in 2007 will remain in negative equity until 2014, according to a new report

The gloomy figures come just days after economists warned that the housing market could be heading for a double dip.
Figures from the Bank of England released earlier this week showed that only 48,722 mortgages were approved for house purchase during July, a level that economists consider to be consistent with house price falls.
Nationwide said the quarter-on-quarter growth rate, generally seen as a smoother indicator of market trends, had fallen to 0per cent during the three months to the end of August, suggesting that house prices had stagnated during the summer.
 

It warned that unless house prices bounced back strongly in September, the quarterly growth rate was likely to turn negative next month.

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¿Miracle¿ drugs push up health insurance bills to record levels

By Liz PhillipsLast updated at 2:03 PM on 1st September 2010

The cost of private healthcare is rising at a record-breaking rate as insurers are forced to foot the bill for expensive ‘miracle drugs’ not available on the NHS.
The cost of private medical insurance has shot up by 14% this year as insurers face spiralling costs for cancer drugs such as Avastin, which patients cannot get through the NHS.
Insurers have been forced to step in because many of these drugs have been turned down by the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) - whose job it is to decide whether the NHS can afford to pay for certain types of treatment.

Avastin have allowed former Army captain Johnny Mann to walk his daughter down the aisle

For the best policies, the price hike means premiums have leapt by between £100 to £330 a year.
Bupa spends £12 million a year on Avastin. On top of this, insurers are also paying for a range of other expensive cancer drugs which have been developed in the past few years.
Typically, insurers pay only for ‘acute’ conditions which are considered curable, rather than ‘chronic’ illnesses which are long-term and never cured. For instance, a heart attack is treated as acute while asthma or diabetes are chronic.
But these ‘miracle’ cancer drugs muddy the waters between these definitions and all the major insurers have told Money Mail they will pay for Avastin even if Nice finally bans it. Unlike the NHS, which is guided by decisions made by NICE, private healthcare will pay for new drugs provided they are licensed and recommended by your doctor for the condition being treated.
 

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BBC worker who queried boss’s £250k payout given £30k to drop tribunal case

By Daily Mail ReporterLast updated at 12:06 PM on 1st September 2010

A BBC whistleblower who claimed she was bullied after questioning a £250,000 redundancy payoff for a senior manager just eight months from retirement, was given £30,000 after she dropped her claim yesterday.Indira Histon, 34, a human resources and development manager, claimed she was asked to lie to BBC lawyers so the manager,  who had taken voluntary redundancy, would receive the £257,000 pay-off.She told the Watford Employment Tribunal she questioned the payout as it amounted to a misuse of licence fee-payers’ money‘ since  BBC guidelines stated that management interest terminations were subject to a cap of one year’s pay.

Indira Histon arriving at the Watford Employment Tribunal

Ms Histon claimed she subsequently suffered ‘detrimental treatment and bullying’  after objecting to the two-year pay off  for Sue Lynas, the corporation’s director of marketing communication and audiences.Ms Histon said that in August last year she had been asked by senior staff members to come up- with a ‘creative’ payoff for Ms Lynas, who was due to retire in June this year, that they could push through the finance approval process. ‘This was a very large pay-off and was likely to be scrutinised by BBC management,’ she added.’The team and I were shocked by the suggestion that we would pay this amount of money to an individual particularly as we believed the pay off was excessive for a management interest termination and amounted to a misuse of licence payers money.’The BBC argued that its senior executives ‘considered that there was a business case for not imposing the limit of 12 months’ pay, which was usually applied by the BBC to compromise agreements in cases of consensual termination’.A BBC spokesman said after the agreement: ‘We are pleased that this matter has been resolved. The allegations, which have been withdrawn by the claimant, were without merit and strongly denied by the BBC throughout.’LS= Lesley Swarbrick CM=Christine Mofardin  Both were her senior managers in the HR department who asked her to lie.Ms Histon, of  Crown Street, Acton, earned £60,000 a year workingat the Television Centre in Wood Lane. She ithdrew her tribunal claim after reaching a settlement.The BBC said she would be leaving her position soon.

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