VIDEO: Youth unemployment rise in Eurozone

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4 October 2011 Last updated at 21:07 GMT Help

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Brazil growth 'to slow sharply'

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29 September 2011 Last updated at 14:25 GMT President Dilma Rousseff has vowed to get Brazil's spending boom under control Brazil's central bank has lowered its forecast for economic growth to less than half of last year's, partly blaming the slowing global economy.

The central bank lowered its prediction for growth in 2011 to 3.5%, from 4% that it expected in June.

Brazil has boomed as other countries have stalled, growing 7.5% last year.

The bank pointed to "the deterioration in the international outlook" for the downgrade, and also to spending cuts enacted by President Dilma Rousseff.

The central bank said there could be further "moderate" cuts to the basic interest rate, which was lowered in August to 12%, from 12.5%.

In February, the Brazilian government will implement 50bn reais ($30bn; ￡19bn) of spending cuts in order to curb inflation and help prevent the economy from overheating.

This was partly to remove all stimulus packages introduced since the onset of the global financial crisis in 2008.

Social spending and infrastructure projects will not be affected, the government has said.

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Drivers 'cut petrol use by 15%'

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4 October 2011 Last updated at 23:18 GMT By Simon Gompertz Personal finance correspondent, BBC News The fall in petrol sales cost the Treasury nearly ￡1bn over the six months to June, the AA reckoned Drivers have cut their petrol consumption by more than 15% since the credit crunch and the recession.

The AA has calculated that petrol sales in the first six months of 2011 were 1.7bn litres less than in the same period three years ago.

The AA says the drop in petrol sales is a direct result of record fuel prices.

Many drivers are struggling to make ends meet in any case, so the high cost of petrol leaves them with no option but to try to use less.

And businesses have been cutting back as well.

The cut in fuel purchases, comparing the first six months of this year with pre-recession levels, is equivalent to 40,000 delivery rounds by fully-laden petrol tankers.

One result has been lower emissions of potentially damaging exhaust fumes.

Another, says the AA, is that the fall in sales has deprived the Treasury of nearly ￡1bn in fuel duty between January and June this year.

And while supermarkets have attracted drivers looking for bargain fuel, hundreds of other petrol stations have gone out of business.

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Dexia shares in new Greece slump

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4 October 2011 Last updated at 09:16 GMT Continue reading the main story Shares in the Franco-Belgian bank Dexia have fallen for the second day running as fears over its exposure to Greece debt continue.

They fell 37% at the open of Tuesday trading after losing 10% on Monday following an alert from the Moody's ratings agency.

Dexia is holding an emergency board meeting amid serious concerns.

The governments of France and Belgium, which are joint shareholders in Dexia, moved to guarantee its debts.

A joint statement from the countries' finance ministers said: "In the framework of Dexia's restructuring, the governments of France and Belgium, in coordination with our central banks, will take all necessary steps to ensure the protection of depositors and creditors."

The two ministers, who are at the wider European finance ministers' meeting in Luxembourg, have been discussing ways to support the bank.

Dexia's shares are worth only just over one euro, so almost any movement will result in a large percentage change.

Market concerns

Greece-linked concerns are also hitting financial markets again after eurozone finance ministers delayed a decision on giving Greece its next instalment of bailout cash.

It came after Greece said it would not meet this year's deficit cutting target.

A meeting set for 13 October, when finance ministers had been expected to sign off the next Greek loan, has now been cancelled, says BBC Europe correspondent Chris Morris.

The UK's FTSE 100 index was down 1.5% at the start of trading. France's Cac was 3.3% lower, while Germany's Dax had lost 3.2%.

Greece announced on Sunday that its 2011 deficit was projected to be 8.5% of gross domestic product, down from 10.5% in 2010, but short of the 7.6% target set by the EU and IMF.

Eurozone banks have been hit by cash outflows since the summer amid fears that Greece, and possibly other governments, may ultimately default on their debts, and even leave the eurozone, leaving their lenders sitting on big losses.

Dexia's exposure to Greek government debt totals 3.4bn euros ($4.5bn; ￡2.9bn). Its total exposure to Greece - including to private-sector Greek borrowers - is 4.8bn euros.

It has already written off 21% of its Greek debts, but market prices now suggest the eventually loss to lenders could be in excess of 50% of the amount owed by Greece.

The bank is already partly-owned by the two governments, after it received a 6bn euros joint bailout at the height of the financial crisis in 2008.

There were reports last week that the bank could be split up, and speculation of a possible nationalisation of the bank.

Another option under consideration is the sale of Credit Local, a unit of the bank responsible for lending to French local governments.

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Ericsson up on handset exit news

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6 October 2011 Last updated at 18:13 GMT Sony may merge its phone joint venture with its other mobile gaming business Shares in the Swedish telecoms firm Ericsson have risen on a report that Sony may soon buy it out of their mobile phone handsets joint venture.

The Wall Street Journal says Sony wants to integrate the division with its tablet computer and hand-held games machine businesses.

The report said the Japanese firm may pay its partner up to 1.25bn euros ($1.7bn, ￡1.1bn) for its 50% stake.

Ericsson's shares climbed close to 8% in US trading after the news broke.

'Struggling'

Despite Sony's reputation as a technology innovator, the joint venture has struggled to maintain market share.

Sony Ericsson accounted for 1.7% of all global mobile phone sales between April and June, according to a recent report by technology research firm Gartner.

That compared to a 3% share the previous year.

"The business has been struggling," said Mark McKechnie, a technology analyst at ThinkEquity.

"Sony's decision to use its brand with Ericsson's technology was a good idea, but it didn't work out. Now it wants more control to better compete against Apple and other [Google] Android devices."

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'Bad bank' plan for Dexia assets

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4 October 2011 Last updated at 22:46 GMT Dexia shares have fallen sharply in the past two days The Belgian government has approved the creation of a "bad bank" for risky assets held by the troubled Franco-Belgian bank Dexia.

Shares have fallen sharply in the past two days amid fears about its large exposure to Greek government debt.

Belgian Prime Minister Yves Leterme said his cabinet had agreed to isolate at-risk assets and to guarantee debts.

There are fears that Greece may end up defaulting on more than 50% of its debt, mostly held by European banks.

Shares fell by as much as 37% at the start of European trading on Tuesday - adding to a 10% Monday drop prompted by an alert by ratings agency Moody's - but rallied back to a mere 22% down at the end of the day.

Reorganisation

The commitment to guarantee debts raised questions over the heavily indebted Belgian government's own solvency.

Belgium's 10-year cost of borrowing jumped from 3.7% to 3.8% in bond markets on Tuesday.

Separately, the French and Belgian central banks also stated that they "fully support" Dexia, indicating that they will provide whatever borrowing is needed by the bank to ensure it does not run out of cash.

Continue reading the main story

The European Banking Authority... portrayed Dexia as one of the strongest banks in Europe”

End Quote Robert Peston Business editor, BBC News The bank is to be restructured. As well as the creation of a "bad bank" supervised by the French and Belgian governments, a unit of the bank responsible for lending to French local authorities, Credit Local, will be sold off.

A joint statement from the countries' finance ministers said: "In the framework of Dexia's restructuring, the governments of France and Belgium, in co-ordination with our central banks, will take all necessary steps to ensure the protection of depositors and creditors."

The two ministers, who were meeting at a wider EU finance ministers' meeting in Luxembourg, have been discussing ways to support the bank.

Many investors anticipate that the bank will ultimately have to be recapitalised by the two governments - in other words, nationalised.

The crisis at Dexia comes just weeks after the bank passed stress tests by regulators of all the major European banks, further undermining the credibility of the entire exercise.

Exposure

Market concerns over Greece's ability to repay its debts were further heightened on Monday, as eurozone finance ministers again delayed a decision on giving Greece its next instalment of bailout cash.

It came after Greece said it would not meet this year's deficit cutting target.

Eurozone banks have been hit by cash outflows since the summer amid fears that Greece, and possibly other governments, may ultimately default on their debts, and even exit the eurozone, leaving their lenders sitting on big losses.

Dexia's exposure to Greek government debt totals 3.4bn euros ($4.5bn; ￡2.9bn). Its total exposure to Greece - including to private-sector Greek borrowers - is 4.8bn euros.

It has already written off 21% of its Greek debts, but market prices now suggest the eventual loss to lenders could be in excess of 50% of the amount owed by Greece.

The bank is partly-owned by the French and Belgian governments, after it received a 6bn-euro joint bailout at the height of the financial crisis in 2008.

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Stiglitz: Austerity not the way

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3 October 2011 Last updated at 23:01 GMT Viewpoint by Joseph Stiglitz Professor at Columbia University Joseph Stiglitz won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 2001 and is a former World Bank chief economist Most economists thought that when the euro was put together, it was an incomplete task. They'd taken out too many adjustment mechanisms and had not put anything in its place.

One of the things that makes the American common currency work across the country is we have a common fiscal authority and high migration - we're willing to allow North Dakota to become empty.

In Europe, there's no fiscal authority, migration is more difficult and most of the countries are not willing to let themselves become empty. So the framework for allowing for an effective common currency is not there.

Now you might be able to make up for the deficiencies in one part by strengthening another part, for instance by having a stronger fiscal authority. But they don't have that.

What they did fiscally was tie themselves to the stability and growth pact, which was a pact for recession rather than for growth because limiting deficits when you have a shock is a recipe for recession, which is what is happening in Greece.

So the question was always: when a crisis occurred would they be able to finish the task? And I think the jury is still out.

Misguided

The agreement that they made in July was a reasonably good agreement. It recognised that Greece needed help to grow but they haven't put in any money and the process of ratification has been very slow.

So I think it's really a question that has not yet been resolved.

There are a number of institutional ways of going about helping to resolve it. The European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) needs to be larger or to have more ability to leverage itself. That's a minimum.

Over the longer term they're going to need European bonds and a number of other actions, and they have to recognise the framework of austerity is not the way to go.

Issuing bonds should be one part of the fiscal framework.

The problem with the eurozone was the one part of the framework that they thought they needed was limiting fiscal deficits and that was just a misguided analysis.

Ireland and Spain had surpluses before the crisis. But they thought that having limited fiscal deficits was necessary and sufficient for protecting the economic framework and that was just wrong.

Politics

The July agreement was a good start if they implement it quickly. But that's not been happening.

Austerity measures in Greece have brought widespread protests

Let me say, for democracy it's not been that slow. Two months to get landmark legislation through is not a long time. But markets move quickly. So I don't criticise the fact that there's been a deliberate pace - that's the nature of democracy.

My criticism is they didn't do anything in the 10 years before there was a crisis.

I suspect that we're going to see a lot of volatility. Whether at the end the eurozone will emerge intact or not, it's hard at this point to say.

It all depends on the politics. Even though I think the commitment of the leaders to do something is there, the political process in some ways is not in tune with the economics. The problems are deep.

I think there is a reasonably good chance that a year from now you would find the eurozone smaller than what it is today.

There's a broad consensus among economists that the best way of doing it would be for the northern European countries to leave. That would be the easiest adjustment.

But the general view is that is not what's going to happen. The view is that some of the weaker countries will leave and that will lead to very large trauma in the global financial markets such as freezing the credit markets, a repeat of 15 September 2008 (when Lehman Brothers collapsed).

Growth potential

If Europe insists on going forward with the kind of austerity packages in Germany and without the kind of assistance they need to help those countries with severe economic problems, such as Greece, then almost surely the eurozone will break up.

But if they come forward with that money, then it can survive, at least for a while.

Continue reading the main story Use the dropdown for easy-to-understand explanations of key financial terms:AAA-rating GO The best credit rating that can be given to a borrower's debts, indicating that the risk of borrowing defaulting is miniscule.The European Central Bank (ECB) is the one institution that has the kind of flexibility that is necessary to deal with the crisis. It will be absolutely essential, because they will be able to step into the breach and be willing to do that.

Now the problem is that some people in Germany and elsewhere have said the ECB should not be buying Italian and Spanish bonds and that it should not be stepping into the breach. But if the ECB doesn't do that, then the eurozone's prospects are very, very bleak.

It's not inevitable that Greece will default if they come forward with enough assistance for it to grow. It has enormous growth potential, so if Europe comes up with enough money, it will grow and that will enable it to manage its debts.

But so far I've seen nothing in the form of growth assistance as opposed to austerity assistance just to meet its budget shortfall, and I'm not very optimistic that it will avoid a default.

Joseph Stiglitz is a recipient of a Nobel Prize in Economics and a former chief economist at the World Bank.

The opinions expressed are those of the author and are not held by the BBC unless specifically stated. The material is for general information only and does not constitute investment, tax, legal or other form of advice. You should not rely on this information to make (or refrain from making) any decisions. Links to external sites are for information only and do not constitute endorsement. Always obtain independent, professional advice for your own particular situation.

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VIDEO: Larry Summers on bank run fears

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29 September 2011 Last updated at 15:52 GMT Help

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Arsenal financial future 'secure'

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Arsenal moved from Highbury to Emirates Stadium in 2006 Chief executive Ivan Gazidis has said Arsenal's financial future is bright despite a fall in turnover and profit.

The Gunners reported group turnover for the year ending 31 May as ￡255.7m, down from ￡379.9m in 2010, while profit was also reduced from ￡56m to ￡14.8m.

Gazidis told the club website: "We are very secure - it's a good set of results again.

"This is a very solid, very healthy set of results and it gives us a good platform to move forward from."

Continue reading the main story

Arsenal's accounts do not include the ￡30m gained from the sale of Cesc Fabregas, the ￡24m received for Samir Nasri or the ￡7m paid by Manchester City for Gael Clichy

A reduced income from property sales at the Highbury redevelopment and increase in player wages have played their part in the drops, but the figures do not include the sales of midfielders Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri to Barcelona and Manchester City respectively.

"We didn't have the same kind of profit from player sales that we had in the previous season and that explains the slight reduction in profit," added Gazidis.

"We haven't seen the same kind of profits from the property side that we have seen in the past but that was entirely to be expected. Our property business is debt-free so any new sales of property do accumulate cash, which is very positive for the future."

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Trade watchdog link to loan firm

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1 October 2011 Last updated at 23:40 GMT By Adrian Goldberg Presenter, 5 live Investigates Trading Standards is taking consultancy payments from a firm which is also the subject of customer complaints.

West Yorkshire Trading Standards (WYTS) received payments from online loans broker SGE Loans in exchange for regulatory advice.

But some customers claim that SGE Loans has debited their bank accounts without consent - a claim SGE Loans denies.

WYTS says such partnerships are necessary because of budget cuts but its integrity remains unaffected.

WYTS says it has received over ￡88,000 ($137,500) since April 2011 from a total of 47 companies with which it has similar partnerships.

It confirmed that it only started charging SGE Loans for its detailed advice in that month, but would not reveal the precise sum it had received from SGE Loans, citing commercial confidentiality.

However, it did reveal that it had investigated a number of complaints made against the company.

Unauthorised payments

One customer who contacted the 5 live Investigates programme, Lianne Gray, says she rang SGE Loans in August of this year.

Customers say SGE took unauthorised payments from their bank accounts. SGE Loans denies this.

She says she was reassured that no money would be taken out of her account if she decided not to take out a loan.

"I then discovered two days later that the company had taken ￡79.99 out of my bank, which I could not afford to lose because I'm on benefits," she said.

"I am absolutely disgusted with how I have been treated."

5 live Investigates contacted SGE Loans on Ms Gray's behalf and her money was subsequently refunded five weeks after it had been debited.

Continue reading the main story

SGE Loans does not debit money from customers' accounts without authorisation”

End Quote Sally Hill Chief executive, SGE Loans David Dutfield had a similar experience when he called SGE Loans in June.

"I was told on the phone that no money would leave my account if my loan was below ￡200, which is what I was after.

"Yet when I came off the phone I found that ￡69.99 was taken from my account."

Following inquires made by the BBC, Mr Dutfield has also been refunded following more than three months of dispute.

West Yorkshire Trading Standards confirmed, in several instances, recordings of customer calls revealed that some SGE Loans staff had not fully explained the terms of its business and did not warn customers they were liable to pay an upfront fee, which could be refunded after a 14 day cooling-off period.

WYTS says SGE Loans subsequently took disciplinary action and retrained staff who made such mistakes.

SGE Loans chief executive Sally Hill told the BBC that SGE Loans did not debit money from customers' accounts without authorisation.

In a written response, she said that SGE Loans had never refused to refund money to a customer who had cancelled within the 14 day cooling-off period, if the company's service had not been used.

'Error of judgement'

Leeds-based SGE Loans has what is called a Primary Authority Partnership with West Yorkshire Trading Standards, which means that the branch deals with complaints made against the company from across the UK.

The company also has a commercial contract with WYTS, paying for advice about legal and regulatory issues.

During the course of its investigation, 5 live Investigates discovered SGE Loans featured a West Yorkshire Trading Standards logo on its website.

When asked why the logo was being used by the company, WYTS said: "Initially, and possibly naively, this service [WYTS] assumed that this would be taken for what it was - a statement of fact that we and the business had a Primary Authority partnership.

Continue reading the main story

Trading Standards should distance themselves from all companies and it would be better for all of us if all businesses regarded Trading Standards as a threat and something to be worried about”

End Quote Mark Gander Consumer Action Group "However, we now recognise that people are assuming that this is an endorsement of the business."

As a result, WYTS has asked SGE Loans to remove the logo from its company website.

When asked if it felt compromised by taking payment from firms it was also receiving complaints about, WYTS told the BBC:

"We refute any allegation that being in a Primary Authority Partnership with any business means this service does not undertake its duties, including to deal with complaints impartially, in anything but a professional manner."

WYTS also says that its relationship with SGE and other businesses helps them to understand the legal framework within which they operate, and "get it right", thus saving taxpayers money in the long run.

Marc Gander, from Consumer Action Group, told 5 live Investigates that it was inappropriate for a regulatory body to be funded in this way and said it was "a grave error of judgement".

"Trading Standards should distance themselves from all companies and it would be better for all of us if all businesses regarded Trading Standards as a threat and something to be worried about," he said.

WYTS, in common with Trading Standards offices around the UK, is under severe financial pressures as it faces budget cuts.

Planned local government spending on Trading Standards across England has been reduced overall by 11.4% in 2011/12, and in Wales by 7.4%.

WYTS says it faces budget cuts of 22% and this has has made it a necessity to charge companies such as SGE Loans for its regulatory advice.

Some 443 of 538 Trading Standards departments responded to a survey by 5 live Investigates - 18 said they received income from private companies in exchange for regulation and compliance advice.

You can hear the full report on 5 live Investigates on Sunday, 2 October at 21:00 BST on BBC Radio 5 live.

You can listen again on the BBC iPlayer or by downloading the 5 live Investigates podcast.

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Fears over debt Chinese surface

October 6, 2011, last updated 04: 28 GMT China market with deep pockets could see slow growth and buoyant, China touted as a White Knight in the world.

But fears are growing that the country can meet its debt crisis as its economy and signs of a slowdown.

Prime weekend urged stronger financial support for small businesses that are missing.

Its a conversation between reports many factories of the private sector are facing bankruptcy due to tightening credit, informal lending operations.

In the eastern city of Wenzhou, a fifth of small businesses to midsize, 360,000 city stops due to lack of cash, reported by China's official Xinhua News Agency on Thursday.

"Efficient means must be taken to contain the trend of usury, crack on illegal fund-raising and handle correctly the problem of collateral, lack of capital to prevent risks from spread and develop regional scale," said Mr. van when visiting the city.

According to media reports, more than 80 businessmen fled town bakpa loans taken from underground banks, owner of a shoe one jumped off a building and killed himself.

' Time bomb '

Continue reading the main story

we take informal lending market most likely short-term time bomb of China's economy, "

end quote Dong Tao, Credit Suisse economists believe it could be the start of a wave of Corporate bankruptcies.

A central concern of China loan informal or shadow banking market-rich individuals and businesses that offer loans at interest rates spanning from 14% to 70%.

Companies and entrepreneurs have turned in this underground, with Chinese banks tightening lending as part of the Government's fight against inflation.

Credit Suisse says it sector statistics was rare, but as total 4 trillion yuan ($ ￡ 627bn; 406bn) is equal to 8% of the formal banking sector-and loans may increase by 50% per year.

He estimates that 60% of informal loans to property developers have with the rest going to other small businesses that need loans bridge.

"We consider formal lending market most likely short-term time bomb of China's economy," Tao Dong, Asia Economist at Credit Suisse, said the report.

"Beijing take decisive measures to deal with active, problem, or the credit crisis is species emerge in our opinion," he says.

Default swaps

Fears of economic slowing down in China has also fuelled a rise in trade of credit default swaps are financial instruments which insure against-risk of debt defaults.

The net value of credit default swaps outstanding bahov Chinese Government rose to US $ 3bn, compared to $ 6bn. two years ago, the Financial Times reported on Thursday.

Investors are worried that China's economy could have a "hard landing" slowed suddenly after years of blistering growth.

The property market is considered to be particularly vulnerable, with home prices soaring over the past two years.

The State raised interest rates three times so far this year and ordered banks to increase their reserves and six times during the same period.

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How to make sense of big data

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5 October 2011 Last updated at 23:08 GMT Each week we ask high-profile technology decision-makers three questions.

This week it is Keith Collins, chief technology officer (CTO) of SAS Institute.

The company describes itself as the world's leading business analytics software company. With about 12,000 staff and customers in 126 countries, the company has a turnover of $2.43bn (￡1.5bn). Founded in 1976 by Jim Goodnight, the firm prides itself for investing 24% of its revenue in research and development.

What's your biggest technology problem right now?

The biggest challenge is that the problems we are trying to solve have increased in complexity. Companies have more and more data, and more and more issues that they want to answer.

They have a flood of information from mobile devices, and all these data bring issues of large scale process optimisation and how to improve large scale forecasting.

Operational analytics allows people to fine tune their business. For example there is a big shift to trying to understand customers - in every industry. The products they buy, at which price. It's about customer satisfaction, whether it's for a mobile phone firm, an insurance company or ATM [cash] machines.

The analytics shows that consumers are more in charge than ever before.

We recently worked with a bank were customer satisfaction with ATMs was a huge issue, so we had to understand how to minimise the times when a machine runs out of cash, and project when the device fails.

Understanding the data made a huge impact on the customer satisfaction score and brought a $2m reduction in maintenance cost.

It's about bringing analytics to specific business problems. We had very good success with this in the retail space, and also help banks fighting credit card fraud.

Call centre optimisation is another example: How can you make sure you pay attention to your most important customers? When you are talking to a customer, do you know how they would prefer to get their information? And is there an opportunity to give them offers, to upsell?

There is an explosion in the understanding in the value of analytics. One problem is actually acquiring enough talent fast enough to deal with the demand.

So we are helping multiple colleges around the world to launch or improve and expand their analytics programmes.

What's the next big tech thing in your industry?

We are investing very heavily in top performance analytics and high performance computing.

Today there's just a small set of customers that demand that scale, but that's accelerating quickly. What we now call high performance computing, in three to five years it will be standard.

This will not always be a big company thing. There is a whole shift to being more consumer centric, and making customers mobile.

Almost any new company that is starting out today has a completely digital view of the market. New startups understand that they need analytics as part of their company's DNA.

And lots of small and medium-sized companies are looking for ready business analytics solutions that they can just plug in - whether it is in the cloud or a targeted application. We will see a shift where this software is directly plugged into a company's process and consumed through the cloud.

Even small companies can act big, because everything that works on Amazon's cloud service rivals anything that our largest customers have.

Adoption of these new models depends a bit on the age of a company's leadership. There is a new generation of entrepreneurs who gets it from the beginning. We also see mid-sized retailers changing their game.

Larger companies usually adapt when a new board comes in.

What's the biggest technology mistake you've ever made - either at work or in your own life?

I have a big problem here, picking the toughest one.

I once developed a whole set of brilliant technologies to near readiness, but had failed to tell the rest of the company about how it works.

So it's not just about having a vision, you need to plan the execution as well.

So I had this design technology for a data partition process to have the fastest data warehouse, but I didn't do a good job to educate our sales channel to take advantage of the opportunity.

Another one: I did not realise how fast the market for tablet computers would develop.

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'More help' on childcare costs

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7 October 2011 Last updated at 00:13 GMT Parents eligible for tax credits can get help with up to 70% of their childcare costs Parents on low incomes who are working less than 16 hours a week will be eligible for childcare support from 2013, under new government plans.

Some ￡300m has been allocated for the move, worth up to ￡175 a week for one child and ￡300 for two or more.

Ministers say it will benefit 80,000 families receiving universal credit.

Charities had been calling on them to increase the amount they planned to spend on childcare support as part of sweeping welfare reforms.

Under the universal credit system, a single payment will replace child tax credit and working tax credit, as well as income-related jobseeker's allowance, housing benefit, income support and income-related employment support allowance.

The switchover will begin in 2013 and continue into the next parliament.

'First steps'

The universal credit budget had been set at ￡2bn, but ministers say an additional ￡300 million has been found to extend childcare tax credits.

At present, families can get credits to cover up to 70% of their weekly childcare costs, but only if they work more than 16 hours a week. The exact amount given depends on income level, but couples with an income up to ￡41,000 can qualify.

Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith said: "We are determined to help more parents take their first steps into work, but under the current minimum hours rule parents are trapped in state dependency without the childcare support they badly need - providing yet another barrier to work."

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said: "Childcare support is vitally important. It's a lifeline for families up and down the country, particularly for mums who want to get back into work, maybe for just a few hours a week after they've had children.

"This will help an extra 80,000 families who have previously had no help at all with childcare costs."

Childcare costs vary widely, but the government says the benefit would help low income families pay for an average of about 40 hours a week.

Labour said the government had already reduced support from 80% to 70% of weekly costs.

Liam Byrne, shadow work and pensions secretary, said: "Today's announcement is frankly smoke and mirrors. It won't mean a penny more help for parents already struggling on childcare tax credits.

"Universal credit is now set to lock in a 'parents' penalty' that cuts back childcare payments so hard that many parents will be forced to give up work.

"With parents struggling to make ends meet, it beggars belief that the Tories are stopping parents working the hours and shifts they need by taking away their childcare."

In a recent survey of 4,359 parents by the Daycare Trust and Save the Children, nearly a quarter said the cost of childcare had put them in debt.

A quarter of those on the lowest incomes said they had given up work and a third had turned down work because of childcare costs.

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Tributes flood in for Steve Jobs

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6 October 2011 Last updated at 18:28 GMT 1984-2011: Three decades of innovation at Apple

World and business leaders have paid tribute to Apple co-founder Steve Jobs, who has died at 56 after a long battle with pancreatic cancer.

US President Barack Obama and Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev said Mr Jobs had changed the world.

Microsoft's Bill Gates said it had been "an insanely great honour" to work with him. Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg remembered his "mentor and friend".

The Twitter microblog site struggled to cope with the traffic of tributes.

Apple itself said Mr Jobs had been "the source of countless innovations that enrich and improve all of our lives" and had made the world "immeasurably better".

Thousands of celebrities and ordinary people went on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to record their tributes and memories of the man behind products such as the iPod, the iPhone, the iPad.

The death of Mr Jobs could create a record for Twitter traffic.

Thousands of people all over the world have also been attending Apple stores to leave flowers, notes, and apples with a bite taken from them to mimic the company's logo.

Apple's leading rivals such as Microsoft, Google, Sony and Samsung all chipped in with glowing tributes.

GS Choi, chief executive of Samsung, which is embroiled in a major court battle with Apple on patents, said Mr Jobs was an "innovative spirit" who "introduced numerous revolutionary changes to the information technology industry".

In his statement, Bill Gates said: "The world rarely sees someone who has had the profound impact Steve has had, the effects of which will be felt for many generations to come. For those of us lucky enough to get to work with him, it's been an insanely great honour."

Continue reading the main story Peter Jackson BBC News, London

A single bunch of flowers - still in their plastic wrapper - were the only outward sign of the passing of Steve Jobs outside Apple's flagship London store in Covent Garden.

Ginnie Leatham, a brand director in the media industry, from West Sussex, hand delivered a single red Gerbera to staff inside the store.

She said: "I was really sad when I woke up this morning. I had a real lump in my throat and felt quite tearful.

"I was thinking about it on my commute into work. I always walk past the Apple store and I just thought 'I'm going to stop'.

Mr Zuckerberg wrote on Facebook: "Steve, thank you for being a mentor and a friend. Thanks for showing that what you build can change the world. I will miss you."

His comments were "liked" by more than 200,000 people within hours.

In his own tweet, Barack Obama wrote: "There may be no greater tribute to Steve's success than the fact that much of the world learned of his passing on a device he invented."

Web users in China have reportedly posted almost 35 million online tributes.

Tim Cook, who was made Apple's CEO after Mr Jobs stood down in August, said his predecessor had left behind "a company that only he could have built, and his spirit will forever be the foundation of Apple".

UK Prime Minister David Cameron said: "Steve Jobs transformed the way we work and play; a creative genius who will be sorely missed."

New York mayor Michael Bloomberg said that the US had "lost a genius who will be remembered with Edison and Einstein".

News Corp's Rupert Murdoch said: "Steve Jobs was simply the greatest CEO of his generation."

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak will remember Mr Jobs for "knowing what made sense in a product"

People also gathered outside Mr Jobs's home in California's Silicon Valley to lay floral wreaths, while flags were flown at half mast outside the Apple headquarters in Cupertino, California.

A statement from Mr Jobs's family said they were with him when he died peacefully on Wednesday.

"In his public life, Steve was known as a visionary; in his private life, he cherished his family," they said, requesting privacy and thanking those who had "shared their wishes and prayers" during his final year.

Face of Apple

Mr Jobs built a reputation as a forthright and demanding leader who could take niche technologies - such as the mouse and graphical user interface, using onscreen icons rather than text - and make them popular with the general public.

Continue reading the main story Born in San Francisco in Feb 1955 to students Joanne Schieble and Syrian-born Abdulfattah Jandali - adopted by a Californian working class coupleHad a summer job at Hewlett-Packard while at school - later worked at AtariDropped out of college after six months and went travelling in India, where he became a Buddhist Launched Apple with school friend Steve Wozniak in 1976 - first Apple computer sold the same yearLeft Apple amid disputes in 1985 but returned in 1996 and became CEO in 1997Bought Pixar animation company in 1986 for $10mMarried in a Buddhist ceremony in 1991 - has three children with his wife and a daughter from a previous relationshipHad a personal wealth estimated at $8.3bn (￡5.4bn) in 2010Diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2003, and after three periods of sickness leave, resigns as Apple CEO in August 2011He introduced the colourful iMac computer, the iPod, the iPhone and the iPad to the world. His death came just a day after Apple unveiled its latest iPhone 4S model.

With a market value estimated at $351bn (￡227bn), Apple became the world's most valuable technology company.

More than almost any other business leader, Mr Jobs was indistinguishable from his company, which he co-founded in the 1970s.

As the face of Apple, he represented its dedication to high-end technology and fashionable design.

And inside the company he exerted a level of influence unheard of in most businesses.

Mr Jobs also provided major funding to set up Pixar Animation Studios.

In 2004, Mr Jobs announced that he was suffering from pancreatic cancer. He had a liver transplant five years later.

In January, he took medical leave, before resigning as CEO in August and handing over his duties to Mr Cook.

In his resignation letter, Mr Jobs said: "I believe Apple's brightest and most innovative days are ahead of it. And I look forward to watching and contributing to its success in a new role."

However, Mr Jobs stayed on as Apple's chairman.

Despite his high profile, he remained fiercely protective of his private life.

He married his wife Laurene in 1991, and the couple had three children.

Mr Jobs also leaves a daughter from a previous relationship, and as an adult he discovered that he had a biological sister, US novelist Mona Simpson.

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