UK News

from Reuters Soccer Blog:

Why Chelsea should keep Andre Villas-Boas

Three Premier League defeats in four games and Champions League last 16 qualification compromised. The last few weeks have been very tough for Chelsea coach Andre Villas-Boas.

Previous managers Jose Mourinho, Luiz Felipe Scolari, Avram Grant and Carlo Ancelotti were dismissed seemingly for less by ruthless owner Roman Abramovich.

Ancelotti won a league and cup double but was axed after the following season while Grant moved on despite being a John Terry penalty slip away from winning the Champions League.

However, there are several reasons to believe Villas-Boas may stay in his post long-term despite Wednesday's 2-1 loss at Bayer Leverkusen.

The first is the 13 million pounds Abramovich shelled out to Porto so the Portuguese could move back to Stamford Bridge in the close season. It may seem like peanuts to the Russian billionaire but he also has business sense. Then again, Villas-Boas mentioning this as a reason to be kept on probably isn't so wise.

Another factor is the merry-go-round of managers at Chelsea has to stop at some point. Alex Ferguson's success at Manchester United and Arsene Wenger's achievements at Arsenal, including pulling them out of their recent rut, demonstrate the pluses of longevity.

Chelsea invested in AVB for a reason and that reason can not have been completely destroyed by a bad patch of form less than halfway through the season.

from Breakingviews:

Technical measures won’t curb pay extravaganza

By Edward Hadas The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.

One of the more puzzling British and American trends in the last three decades is the vast increase in the share of national income allocated to the very rich. The High Pay Commission, a non-governmental UK body which published a report on Tuesday, points out that share of British national income garnered by the top 0.1 percent of earners has moved from 1.3 to 6.5 percent since 1979. The Commission has a 12-point plan to change things.

The puzzle is two-fold. First, what caused the shift? Companies may be bigger. But corporate bosses do pretty much what they always did. They are just getting paid much more to do it. At BP, one of the few big British companies with clear records going back to 1979, the top boss received 16 times as much as the average worker in 1979. Last year BP’s “boss-peon” multiple was 63.

Second, why has there been so little public indignation about the pay extravaganza? The report’s forward says “the public is rapidly running out of patience”, but in fact this trend has been in place for decades, was not halted by the recession and has not fired up a mass protest movement. There are rhetorical expressions of outrage from politicians and at the pub, but the British, like the Americans, seem remarkably complacent about the triumph of the elite.

While the why of high executive pay is a mystery, there is no real puzzle about the how. Year after year, boards of directors approve above-inflation pay rises. The High Pay Commission’s proposals are all aimed at throwing grit in the fast-moving remuneration wheels. They are mostly worthy and reasonable – more disclosure, more shareholder and employee say, fewer conflicts of interest.

But the rich, a group which includes most board members and shareholder representatives, knows how to take care of its own. New rules can easily be twisted or neutered. A trend as well established as this can be halted only by a new social attitude. When pay-bashing becomes a serious vote-winning issue, things will change. Until then, reformers are unlikely to make much progress.

from James Saft:

Britain eats (leverages) its young

James Saft is a Reuters columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.

Four years, several failed banks and at least one global recession later, Britain has finally discovered what its young people need: 19-1 leverage.

Britain has announced a new housing initiative, the centerpiece of which is a plan to entice first-time buyers into buying newly-built properties with as little as 5 percent down.

Under the plan both builders and the government would contribute funds to partially indemnify lenders against what I am betting are the inevitable losses. Borrowers, who are almost by definition younger and less well off, will still bear all losses, but will be rewarded with the chance to take out the kind of loan which has proven time and again to be a bad idea.

This is utterly wrongheaded -- the best possible thing that can happen for first-time buyers, and arguably for most Britons, is for housing prices to fall to a level commensurate with earnings.

Why are houses in Britain so difficult to afford? Partly because of problems with supply, issues that the housing plan takes some steps, almost certainly insufficient ones, to address. And also because Britons, first out of necessity and then in the fever of greed, borrowed so much money in order to wedge themselves into what little housing was available that they drove prices up to unaffordable levels.

Again, as in Europe and the U.S., we have governments which, when confronted with problems that are fundamentally about debt, decide that piling yet more debt on top is the answer. Like the European Financial Stability Facility, which has proved utterly ineffective in supporting Italian debt, this plan too will fail, but not before many people will be tempted into taking on houses and debts they ought not to risk.

from Photographers Blog:

NFL touchdown in London

By Suzanne Plunkett

British sports fans are a serious bunch. When it comes to football (they never call it soccer), many would rather lose their home than miss their team score a winning goal. Club allegiance is often demonstrated with tribal passion - influencing tattoos, clothing and even choice of marital partners.

When American football makes a rare appearance in London, it's somewhat of a surprise to see the seriousness of the sport replaced with a more frivolous obsession: cheerleaders.

That's not to say British fans have no interest in the sport. When the Chicago Bears took on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in a showcase game at Wembley Stadium in October, I spoke to plenty of Brits among the American expats paying homage to their national sport. Many professed as much fanaticism as the American supporters who had traveled from the States specifically to see their team.

But as a photographer who had covered both kinds of football matches on either side of the Atlantic and grown to love both sports, it's hard to ignore a few major differences in the fan experience.

from FaithWorld:

Faith overtones heard in Occupy protests but many religious leaders wary

(A banner outside St. Paul's Cathedral in London October 31, 2011. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett)

Religions condemn greed. The "Occupy Wall Street" protests around the world condemn greed. So theoretically, religious leaders should find common ground with the rallies denouncing the inequalities of capitalism.

Some activist clergy have turned up at protest camps. Not long after Occupy Wall Street began in New York, some Christians arrived in Zuccotti Park with papier-mache statues of a golden calf, a Biblical symbol of idol worship.

But the hierarchies have kept their distance - or tried to - even though the protests have religious overtones with appeals to equality, charity and justice. When protesters camped at St Paul's Cathedral in London, its Church of England staff found itself torn between God and Mammon.

In the United States, Roman Catholic bishops are meeting this week without economic inequality on their agenda. The Jewish Week newspaper called the Occupy movement a "new third rail for the Jewish mainstream". Some imams have joined the protests to speak about the advantages of Islamic finance, which bans interest and focuses on investing in the real economy. But the movement has not been a central issue for most large Muslim organizations.

The diffuse nature of the protests, which have no central leadership or agreed list of demands, make them a difficult partner for established religion even if they seem to share some basic values.

from Left field:

Federer at his sublime best in Paris

By Greg Rusedski

The Paris Masters was going to determine who was going to be the last players to qualify for the ATP world finals in London. The last few places were up for grabs and all the players that were in pole position ended up qualifying. The top eight for the field ended up being Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray, Roger Federer, David Ferrer, Tomas Berdych, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Mardy Fish.

The other story of the week concerned Djokovic and whether he would play after shoulder problems in Basel. If he didn't play he would have missed his commitments for the master series events and it would have cost him over 1 million pounds in bonus pool money. He did play!

Could Murray continue his unbeaten run since the U.S. Open and win his fourth event in a row?

Also worth noting that Nadal pulled out the week before the event to concentrate on the ATP world finals and the Davis Cup final. With all the other big names playing it wasn't a big loss. This was a smart thing for Nadal to do because he needs the rest.

In the quarter finals against Tsonga, Djokovic pulled out the night before with shoulder problems. This is starting to become an issue but hopefully he can have his shoulder fully fit for the ATP world finals in a weeks time.

After 18 straight wins following the U.S. Open Murray lost in the quarter-finals to Berdych, who played a really great game.

from FaithWorld:

Church of England regions for women bishops to break “stained glass ceiling”

(An English village church in Ault Hucknall, Derbyshire, 11 September 2009/Trevor Rickard)

The Church of England's dioceses, or regions, have voted in favour of consecrating female bishops, campaigners said on Sunday, clearing one hurdle in a long legislative battle to let women break through the "stained glass ceiling."

Only two of the Church's 44 dioceses voted against the draft legislation, easily securing the 50 percent required for it to go back to the General Synod, or parliament, for another vote, said WATCH, a group campaigning for women bishops.

Dioceses have been balloting their members since March this year and Sunday's result confirmed what had largely been a foregone conclusion following the Synod's earlier backing of the motion.

But traditionalist Anglo Catholics and conservative evangelicals have threatened to continue to oppose the draft legislation, calling for more concessions.

Even if the draft is backed by a final synod vote next year, the first woman bishop is unlikely to be consecrated before 2014.

from Breakingviews:

Music gods again divert EMI’s destiny

By Jeffrey Goldfarb The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.

The music gods have meddled again with EMI’s destiny. In the minds of financiers and industry wags, the union of the British music group - home to the Beatles and the Beastie Boys - with U.S. rival Warner Music was just a matter of time. But the star-crossed match has been knocked off course again by the sale of EMI’s two divisions to Sony and Vivendi’s Universal Music.

EMI’s path to this point has been torturous. An overleveraged buyout in 2007 led to seizure of the music company by lender Citigroup earlier this year. The bank, a reluctant owner, appeared to have a quick way out when billionaire Len Blavatnik acquired Warner soon after. The logic for a deal is nearly as compelling as it was when the two companies first tried to merge in 2000. EMI and Warner remain the runts among the four majors, complement each other geographically and present cost-cutting opportunities.

Yet Universal, the world’s largest music company, and number-two Sony have bold plans of their own. With twice as much revenue as Warner but about the same operating margin, Universal needs cost reductions to capitalize on its scale. Though it’s paying a rich seven times EBITDA through March for EMI’s recorded music business, it expects about $160 million of annual savings. Taxed and capitalized, those should cover over half the $1.9 billion purchase price.

For Sony’s part, taking control of EMI’s music publishing business for $2.2 billion would vault it to the top spot in the sector. It would also leave the rival BMG partnership established by private equity firm KKR and German media group Bertelsmann still lacking the anchor asset it had been seeking to give it serious clout.

Still, EMI’s fate is not quite sealed. Citi made sure Universal assumed all the regulatory risk on the deal. Though Universal plans to sell 500 million euros of assets, U.S. and European trustbusters will still have plenty of questions. In some countries, the enlarged Universal would control over 40 percent of the market; in the United States, it would have about a 38 percent share. The competition review may take a year or more. This isn’t necessarily the day the music died for Warner and EMI.

Previous version incorrectly stated revenue comparison in third paragraph

from FaithWorld:

London City workers criticize pay gaps, declining ethics – St Paul’s poll

(A placard is balanced on a statue outside St Paul's Cathedral in central London November 6, 2011. REUTERS/Paul Hackett)

Most London City workers believe there is too great a gap between rich and poor in Britain and that traders, company bosses and stockbrokers are paid too much, a survey by a think-tank linked to St Paul's cathedral said on Monday.

Released to mark the 25th anniversary of financial deregulation in Britain, the survey found most of those polled believed the so-called "Big Bang" -- which created the City in its current form -- had resulted in less ethical behaviour.

Publication of the report, originally due last month, was delayed as controversy engulfed the church over its handing of an "Occupy" protest encamped in front of the cathedral demanding greater wealth equality and financial reform.

"Action is a crucial goal of the protest camp ..," said Reverend Michael Hampel, Canon Precentor of the cathedral.

"We hope that the telling findings of this report can provide a solid foundation for future engagement and highlight issues where action might be of mutual concern for all sides of the debate."

from FaithWorld:

Former top London banker sees moral disaster in market economy

(Former Lazard International Chairman Ken Costa listens during a Future of Finance Initiative conference in Horsham, southern England, December 8, 2009. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth)

A former top London banker, weighing into a protest movement in Britain against abuses and excesses of modern capitalism, said on Sunday the market economy had lost "its moral foundations with disastrous consequences."

Ken Costa, a former chairman of UBS Europe and Lazard International, spoke out after being appointed by Bishop of London Richard Chartres to lead an initiative aimed at "reconnecting the financial with the ethical."

Britain has become preoccupied with the ethics of elite financiers since a group of protesters, unhappy at the excesses of modern capitalism and its huge inequalities in wealth, pitched tents outside St Paul's Cathedral in London last month.

The controversy brought to a head by the St Paul's protest has elicited comments from Prime Minister David Cameron and the head of the Church of England, the Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, raising questions about regulation, including a financial transaction tax.

Writing in the Sunday Telegraph, Costa said he would look at "how the market has managed to slip its moral moorings.