Retail sales last year showed their lowest annual growth since the Second World War unemployment is rising again UK productivity is slipping further behind

Retail sales last year showed their lowest annual growth since the Second World War, unemployment is rising again, UK productivity is slipping further behind our major competitors, and the public finances seem to be sinking further into the mire. With earnings and price inflation apparently slowing fast, there could scarcely be a more potent cocktail of negatives for those that believe the Bank of England should be taking urgent action to cut short-term interest rates. All three traded in stocks immediately before and after they were tipped in the Slickers column, often making a tidy profit.Passing sentence on Bhoyrul, Mr Justice Beatson rejected calls from Bhoyrul’s representative, Stephen Solley QC, to hand down only a fine to his client, saying he felt it was right that Bhoyrul was punished in a “constructive” manner. Hipwell made a profit of £40,763 from his share dealing around the column, while Bhoyrul made £14,832.

Terry Shepherd is alleged to have made £18,593 – a sum he is contesting. I now intend to put these proceedings behind me and move on.”The trio willbe subject to confiscation orders, to redeem the benefit they derived from their crime. The atmosphere, lack of leadership and moral responsibility while I was employed by the Mirror contributed significantly to these events. However, he made it clear Bhoyrul had only narrowly avoided a prison term, but told Hipwell: “But for your plea, only a custodial sentence could be justified.”At the end of the hearing, a relieved Bhoyrul hugged his solicitor, remarking: “That was a close one.” In a statement, he added: “In July, I indicated a willingness to enter a plea of guilty on the basis that I fully accepted that by making a number of purchases and sales of shares and then tipping them in the Slickers column, I failed to disclose the conflict of interest with my role as a journalist For that I apologise. “That report puts the matter in the balance.”Hipwell and Bhoyrul, along with Shepherd, were convicted of conspiring to use the City Slickers column to ramp the prices of shares between August 1999 and 2000.

He was ordered to complete 180 hours of community service, while Terry Shepherd, a day trader found guilty of conspiring with the pair, was sentenced to three months in jail.
Delivering his verdict to Hipwell at St Albans Crown Court, Mr Justice Beatson, who oversaw the seven-week Slickers trial last year, said the crime of which he had been convicted was so serious “only a custodial sentence could be justified”.He said having received a last-minute e-mail from Hipwell’s specialist – which warned his patient required urgent medical attention after suffering a sudden and serious deterioration in the state of his kidney – he would agree to hold back from sending Hipwell to jail immediately.”In view of the latest report from your consultant, I’m going to adjourn consideration of this sentence, and will make a [final decision] in light of the [medical test] results,” he said. James Hipwell, the former Daily Mirror business journalist convicted of market abuse last year, narrowly avoided an immediate stint in prison yesterday, after a deterioration in his health – communicated to the judge at midnight on Thursday – persuaded a judge to defer his sentencing. Anil Bhoyrul, the co-author of the Mirror’s City Slickers column, avoided a prison sentence by pleading guilty to the charges in July last year. He forecast 2.6 per cent growth this year.Paul Clarke, the national business banking director for retail and wholesale at Barclays, said the market was still “tough” on the high street. “It will be the retailers who continue to deliver great stock management discipline and excellent product that will come out on top in 2006.”Christmas saw a slew of casualties in the retail sector with high street names such as Unwins, Tiles R Us, MVC and Kookai going to the wall.. “We predict GDP growth of 0.6 per cent when the figures are published next Wednesday,” he said.But Neil Blake, the senior economist at Experian, the credit-checking agency, warned the factors that slowed spending in 2005 – rises in borrowing costs, the tax burden, unemployment and fuel and energy bills – would continue to bite this year.

He said that given retail sales made up one-fifth of economy growth, the 1.6 per cent quarterly growth should alone contribute 0.3 per cent to the economy in the final quarter of the year. It was also seen as lowering the chances of a cut in interest rates next month, pushing the pound up against the dollar and euro.The message was reinforced by separate figures showing bank mortgage lending posted its highest monthly rise since June 2004. Loans rose £5.4bn in December compared with £5.2bn in November, according to the British Bankers’ Association. Philip Shaw, the chief UK economist at Investec, said: “Strong retail sales and firm mortgage data have reduced the chances of a near-term easing by the Monetary Policy Committee.”The Office for National Statistics said sales volumes grew 0.4 per cent in November and December to deliver annual growth of 4 per cent. The growth was driven by a 5.1 per cent monthly surge in sales from household goods stores such as furniture and electrical retailers. Small stores and mail order and internet retailers also enjoyed healthy growth.Overall, the non-food sector enjoyed growth of 1 per cent on the month and 5.6 per cent on the year, the highest since January 2000.