Following a review by its general staff, the British army is considering reductions in the number of heavy artillery pieces and battle tanks, in favour of boosting soldier numbers.

The review looks forward 10 years, and is designed to shape army priorities as the Ministry of Defence examines its equipment procurement programme in the face of a defence funding crisis – one of the worst for decades. The results of the review will also lead to big changes in organisation that could see an end to specialised units such as tank brigades and the development of identical brigades across the army.

General Sir Richard Dannatt, the army chief signalled the changes this month in a speech, and Major General Simon Mayall, assistant chief of the general staff, elaborated on his comments in an interview with the Financial Times.

The proposals are part of the army’s efforts to adjust to the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan - the likes of which are expected to form a greater part of its role than in the past. This does mean however, that because of budget pressures, the army will have to take risks with its other main task of being able to launch combat operations involving 30,000 troops o more.

Gen Mayall said this approach would “probably mean an army with fewer Challenger tanks and less self-propelled heavy artillery such as the AS90 mobile 150mm gun. It might also cut the number of Warrior tracked armoured vehicles.”

Gen Dannatt said that the “budget constraints meant equipment purchases had to be orientated to today’s tasks: We must get away from blue-skies thinking and from programmes that take a generation to produce.”

According to new MOD figures, since 2001, all three services have made 1,500 urgent operational requests, costing a total of £3.5bn. Although these have been paid for by the Treasury, they have increased budget pressures on the forces because new equipment has to be maintained.

Gen Dannatt said last year that the army would be “operating sub-optimally until the deployment of the Future Rapid Effects System (FRES)” - a medium-weight armoured vehicle which is aimed at replacing a large range of fighting vehicles across the army.

“FRES is still the army’s biggest procurement objective, offering,” Gen Mayall said, “a once in a lifetime chance to create a common frame for land vehicles.” These new vehicles would sharply reduce the numbers of spare parts and soldiers needed to support vehicles on operations.

Other priorities included a helicopter and a replacement for the Land Rover that would give occupants better protection from roadside bombs, he said. The MoD placed an order in 2006 for 70 Future Lynx helicopters with AgustaWestland, a Finmeccanica subsidiary. Of these, 40 would be for use as a battlefield reconnaissance aircraft, but media reports are to be believed the order could be cancelled. The army is also seeking more unmanned aerial vehicles.

The shift could see, tank crews trained to use medium-weight vehicles, heavy-artillery operators trained to use tactical UAVs and light guns, and air defence groups trained to use small UAVs, for example.

Gen Dannatt suggested that “efforts to keep troop numbers down on operations in the past five years had prolonged engagements and had proved a false economy. He said the army could not get any smaller,” adding that “I would certainly argue that we need to be bigger”.

Gen Mayall said one reason army size was an issue was attrition rates on operations: more than 280 UK soldiers have been killed In Iraq and Afghanistan, and many more wounded.

“Current operations are showing us that the demand for boots on the ground on an enduring basis is only likely to grow,” he said. But he added that “we are not talking about large numbers” of extra troops.

Oil prices have continued their record breaking run today after increasing to over $140 a barrel. The high price has been driven by a mixture of supply concerns, dollar weakness, inflation fears and turmoil in equity markets.

ICE August Brent hit a record $141.98 a barrel before easing back to trade at $1.67 higher at $141.50. Before easing off to $141.40 a barrel, Nymex August West Texas Intermediate hit a peak of $141.71 a barrel.

Oil prices rose by more than $5 a barrel on Thursday after threats from Libya to cut its oil production and Opec’s president Chakib Khelil warned that prices could surge as high as $170 a barrel this summer.

Libya’s top oil official, Shokri Ghanem, said the country was considering reducing oil production in response to a bill before the US congress that would empower Washington to sue Opec members for cutting supplies.

“We are studying all the options,” Mr Ghanem said. “There are threats from the Congress and they are taking Opec to court, extending the jurisdiction of the US outside the US,” he said.

After Mr Khelil warned oil prices could rise as high as $170 a barrel, traders used it as a reason for buying, with further encouragement for buying interest provided by dollar weakness and weakness in equity markets.

In late April, Mr Khelil warned that oil prices could reach $200 a barrel this year, but since that time, Saudi Arabia has promised to increase supplies to 9.7m barrels a day, which is the highest level in 30 years. The kingdom said that it planned to raise crude oil production capacity to 12.5m barrels a day by 2012.

“It is unlikely that global markets will see this additional crude in a hurry,” said Kona Haque, commodity strategist at Macquarie. “This is either because Saudi won’t be able to, due to delays and soaring project [cost] inflation, or won’t be willing to, due to the need to maintain reserves for future generations.”

Macquarie said that oils prices were likely to test the $200 a barrel level over the next five years, and were unlikely to sink below $100.

Due to oil’s strength, Gold has increased in value to $920.10 a troy ounce from New York’s late quote of $912.60 on Thursday. Gold has seen renewed buying interest as the dollar retreats from the Euro following the Federal Reserve’s statement on monetary policy on Wednesday, which indicated that an imminent rise in US interest rates was unlikely.

With the volume of credit card offers you receive in the mail it is easy to see that the credit card industry is a very competitive one. The credit card companies are continually trying a new approach to gain customer interest. The needs of potential customers are changing all the time and the companies are trying to keep up with all these changes by offering new incentives programs.

Most of the credit card companies offer only a few different types of rewards.

A points system, which is based on the number of purchases you have made on your credit card in a certain time period, is the basis on which the incentives are tabulated. The more purchases you make, the more incentives you are rewarded. Sometimes you can gain points over time to have enough to collect on a certain reward. Be sure to find out which reward programs are available and decide whether or not if you will use them.

There are four types of credit card reward packages offered by most of the credit card providers.

Most companies who offer credit cards now offer at least one card which comes with a package that has frequent flier miles. You can obtain points with each purchase that can be redeemed for frequent flier miles with the participating airlines. In order to collect these points, there are specific requirements on each card which must be met. If you are a regular flier or a business executive, this incentive can help save on the cost of airfare every year. This has been a very popular incentive since it was first offered.

Since the first types of these were offered as cash back credit cards have continued to be the most used by the majority of the card providers. These rewards are provided by basing them on a certain percentage of the total credit purchases made in a particular timeframe. You may receive the money at specific times, such as when you make a $1,000 purchase you may be paid $20. Thus, the amount received is based upon a dollar-for-dollar percentage rate of 2% of each dollar.

At this time of soaring gasoline prices, the gasoline rewards may be the most sought after incentive program. This type of rewards program issues a rebate which is based upon a pre-set percentage rate provided by the card provider. This is also based on each purchase made by the cardholder

If you are an avid shopper you will appreciate the retailer rewards system. It is the incentive which employs a partnership between various retail providers and credit card companies. The retailer rewards were introduced to make discounts and cash savings on products available to the cardholders who make a certain amount of purchases or a number based upon established incentive policies. A percentage of each purchase made on the card is usually put toward store credit. This may include big ticket items automobiles or electronics or groceries and clothing.

Take time to consider what incentives appeal most to you and remember that you may have to pay more for the premium cards which offer the best incentives.

Hopefully, you have a better idea about what sort of credit card rewards are out there. This can be important information to have because you may have to pay a little more for premium cards that offer these kinds of incentives. You should take the time to consider whether certain rewards are worth the extra cost before making any decisions.

If your business is large scale or if it is small you still need money to operate it in a smooth and successful manner. Sometimes it is hard to come up with the money to take care of the day to day operations and have any excess funds to use for improvements or repairs. In order to pay for keeping their business running smoothly and other expenses, many business owners request commercial business loans.

Business owners find the commercial business loans useful in expanding their business to match the innovations and changing trends in their particular industry. These loans are a true life saving tool for the business in financial need. The money can be used to purchase needed business materials or to have additional services added to the business. There might be a need to hire more employees or add new facilities to house their business activities or updated technology.

Commercial business loans of two different types can be available to business owners. There are secured loans and unsecured business loans for the purposes mentioned in the previous paragraph. Depending on the type of loan you choose the amounts secured on the loan may be different, collateral may be needed, the payment amount may be at a different level and the interest rates could be different.

Secured loans require collateral to be offered as security for the loan. This collateral is used for the benefit of the lender, so it will be retained in place of the money lost by the lender if the borrower reneges on their promise of payment. Secured loans are the best way to obtain a loan if a substantial amount is needed. A new business or one which is being expanded is benefited by the longer payment periods of a secured loan and will give the opportunity to pay back the loan in a reasonable manner. When collateral is provided the lender will in all probability bring down the interest rate on the loan

Unsecured commercial business loans are better suited for use by a smaller business or large businesses with a smaller financial need. A newer business or a small existing business may not have the personal property to use as collateral to secure a larger loan. The business owner may not be willing to put their home up for security on the loan. With an unsecured loan there may be shorter payment periods and usually the interest rates will be higher.

You will have to give good reasons why the lender should grant a loan request for you, when you are considering obtaining a commercial business loan. If you present a direct plan for the use of the loan to the lender, it will be helpful to you as a prospective borrower. You should also have all of your business information available; including past business operation expenses, profit records, and past bank statements.

If commercial business loans sound like they would be a good solution for your business’s financial problems, explore the industry and try to find what would be the best plan of operation for you.

The web of Whitehall bodies created to close the UK’s skills gap with competitors is of “mind blowing” complexity, changes to frequently, and is becoming too difficulty to understand, senior executives charged with delivering the policy told MPs on Wednesday.

Chris Humphries, chief executive of the Commission for Employment and Skills suggested the latest shake-up had made the system impenetrable. “I don’t think there’s an employer in the land who understands what the new systems are,” he said

The maze of government skills bodies has changed with alarming frequency, with critics claiming organisations do not have enough time to establish credibility and competence.

The most recent change was announced in March, and includes the 2010 dismantling of the Learning and Skills Council, the £11bn ($22bn) quango responsible for vocational learning in England. Its functions are to be assumed by local authorities and three new national groups.

Tom Bewick, chief executive of Creative and Cultural Skills – one of 25 “sector skills councils” – commented on the constant appearance and disappearance of organisations and the consequent merry-go-round of job changes. He said, “The talk around town is: what job have you got, where are you going to be?”

Teresa Sayers, chief executive of the Financial Services Skills Council said international employers were “not just confused but extremely frustrated. Understanding the UK context is absolutely mind-blowing for them.”

Speaking before the Commons committee on innovation, universities, science and skills Mr Humpries told MPs that “we’re going backwards, not forwards” in the international skills league table compared with other rich countries.

Mr Bewick suggested other countries were better at concentrating on getting the right results out of their skills systems, because their attention was not diverted on tinkering with the apparatus of government. “When you look abroad, you see far more cross-party consensus that it isn’t the institutions that need to change, it’s the outcomes,” he said.

When quizzed about how many skills bodies there were in Britain, Mr Humphries said: “Honestly, I haven’t got the foggiest idea,” but estimated there were “many hundreds”.

The Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills said the latest shake-up created a “streamlined” system of more specialised agencies.

Expected for a while now, Barclays launched its cash call to raise £4.5bn and bring in new investors.  The issue is in two tranches, priced at 296p and 282p, with existing shareholders able to participate at the lower price in an effort to assuage concerns from investors over pre-emptive rights.

The move is designed to lift Barclay’s core equity Tier One capital ratio from about 5 percent, one of the lowest among European banks, to 6.3 percent, well above its 5.25 percent target.

The new investors are the Qatar Investment Authority, Challenger – a family company for Qatari prime minister Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Bin Jabr Al-Thani - and Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation.

Existing shareholders will also be buying extra shares, including China Development Bank and Temasek, the Singapore investment group – both bought shares in the bank last summer. These investors can buy on the basis of three shares for every 14 held, and at 282p the shares come at a discount of 9.3 percent to Tuesday’s closing price of 310¾p.

Representing 2.6 per cent of Barclays’ share capital, SMBC will take the whole firm placing of 169m shares at the higher 296p price, raising £500m for the bank.

The remaining £4bn will come from a placing and open offer of 1.407bn shares at 282p, which will be available to existing shareholders to purchase. Of this, QIA and Challenger have agreed to invest £1.764bn and £533m, respectively, as conditional placees.

China Development Bank has agreed to put up £136m, representing its full entitlement in the open offer to existing shareholders. Also as a conditional placee, Temasek is investing up to £200m, and could increase its stake as a result of the issue.

In a trading update last week, Barclays said its intention was to maintain its dividend at the 2007 level, and pay it in cash, until dividends are covered twice by earnings. The ll.5p interim paid last year is expected to be maintained.

Barclay’s shares opened 5.3 percent higher at 327p, with rival banks Lloyds TSB, HBOS and Royal Bank of Scotland also rising on the back of the news.

In a statement John Varley, Barclays’ chief executive, said: “Through our capital raising today we strengthen our capital base and give ourselves additional resources to pursue our strategy of growth through earnings diversification. We position ourselves to capture opportunities for new business at attractive margins in our retail and commercial banking businesses and in investment banking and investment management. Our ability to capture the opportunities is reinforced by the new and strengthened relationships we have announced today.”

Mr Varley said that as well as strengthening capital ratios, the fresh capital would enable the bank to take advantage of opportunities thrown up because “the ability of some participants [in the banking market] to compete has changed” as a result of the credit squeeze.

He said that Barclays had signed an agreement with SMBC and aimed to develop wealth management an private banking business together. There had already been “benefits from a similar agreement with China Development Bank, signed when it took its stake last year”, he added.

Mr Varley said the issue, which will increase the group’s share capital by 24 percent, was structured as a placing and open offer rather than a rights issue because it gave speed and certainty, allowed existing shareholders to participate, and ensured that shares not taken up by them would end in the hands of “anchor investors of very high quality”.

Shareholders who wish to subscribe must do so by July 17 and the new shares are due to start trading on July 22.

Head of Barclays’ investment banking and investment management business Bob Diamond, said that the market turmoil had presented “terrific opportunities” to increase market share and margins.

”In the US six or seven big players are pulling back, creating an opportunity for us. For instance, Barclays was now one of the top three foreign exchange traders in the world, overtaking Citibank,” he said

Mr Varley added that Barclays had opened 600 branches outside the UK so far this year, and aimed to open a further 300 this year. The bank opened a new business in Pakistan, acquired Expo Bank in Russia and bought the Goldfish credit card in the UK.

The bank had also achieved a “substantial increase” in its share of the UK mortgage market, but without accepting higher risks.

Energy chiefs will be asked to defend expected future rises in fuel bills when they appear before MPs today. Domestic suppliers are under pressure to justify pricing expectations after it was discovered household energy bills could rise by up to 40 percent this winter.

Industry experts have suggested that households could pay up to £400 more a year for gas and electricity. Suppliers are said to be reacting to the sharp jump in wholesale gas costs, triggered by rising oil prices.

Wholesale gas prices are closely linked to the price of oil, which itself has recently hit just under $140 a barrel.

Industry research has suggested wholesale gas prices have risen by more than 70 percent in 2008. Last month Centrica – who own the UK’s biggest energy provider, British Gas – signalled that gas prices for customers are likely to increase again later this year.

Centrica’s chief executive Same Laidlaw will appear before the Commons Business and Enterprise Select Committee today, along with other senior industry figures.

MPs want to find out what suppliers expect to happen to fuel bills over the winter. They will also press energy chiefs on the extra help being given to low-income and disadvantaged households to help with the impact of rising bills.

Watchdog, Ofgem, who are conducting their own probe in to the market, outlined plans last month to share data about people on low incomes with the energy companies to help people pay their fuel bills. The proposals, which would need to be approved by parliament, are designed to ensure that financial assistance toward fuel payments can be better targeted at the elderly and vulnerable.

The government has estimated that 2.5 million UK households are suffering from fuel poverty – defined as when more than 10 percent of household income is spent on fuel bills – but watchdog Energywatch says that the figure is over four million.

A 40 percent rise in fuel bills would be far higher than expected and would put even more pressure on homeowners already struggling with higher food and fuel costs. However, some analysts believe the increases will be nearer to 25 percent.

It is believed any price announcements will come in August, when energy bills are not at the forefront of people’s minds. It is thought, however, that there is reluctance in the industry to be the first company to reveal a big rise, so they could be unveiled in stages.

Involved in the meeting today are the chief executives of Scottish & Southern Energy, NPower, EDF Energy and E.ON UK. A representative of Scottish Power will also be present.

Thanks to rising inflation, many private sector companies are being forced to settle pay deals at levels that threaten the government’s inflation targets, because of clauses in long-term pay deals.

Only last week Shell tanker drivers agreed to a 14 percent two-year settlement with managers, which has prompted fears this would set a precedent for other workers and calls for restraint from ministers.

Research group IDS Pay Databank’s analysis shows many other companies which previously negotiated two or three-year pay deals – at a time when inflation was expected to stay low for years – are having to give their workers a wage “kicker”.

This is because a large portion of such deals are linked to the Retail Price Index, which has risen sharply in recent months to 4.3 percent.

Such agreements are set to undermine the Alistair Darling’s pleading. Speaking to the BBC on Sunday, the chancellor said that “Pay awards in both the public and private sectors have got to be consistent with our inflation target of 2 per cent.”

Mr Darling and John Hutton, the business secretary, argued last week that the tanker driver’s settlement was a one off. However, other recent deals include Drax Power, who agreed a 7 percent pay rise for 60 workers, forming the second of a two-year deal. Babcock Engineering recently agreed a 7.6 percent increase with 50 workers.

Barclays Bank has implemented a 5 percent pay increase for 55,000 workers, as the first stage of a three-year RPI-linked deal.

These deals are much higher than the 3.3 percent Consumer Price Index measure of inflation. The government has tried to keep public sector deals at about 2 percent.

David Frost, president of the British Chambers of Commerce, described the trend as a self-fulfilling scenario which would fuel inflation further.

IDS has indicated the highest pay awards in three months to April – the last month for which accurate figures exist – were made to companies in energy and water, chemicals and engineering. One in five deals over 4 percent were lined to RPI.

Lois Wiggins, a researcher at IDS said: “The main reason they are now settling so high is because many are part of long-term deals, which means that in the second or third stage of these deals RPI is being used to work out the settlement.”

The most recent report by the research group, which showed wage inflation of 3.8 percent, suggested employers had been “wrong-footed” by predictions inflation would remain subdued.

This will add further pressure on the government as it seeks to keep a hold on wage inflation. Several unions have openly defied this policy in recent days, with Unison threatening to re-open a key NHS agreement for 500,000 employees.

There are numerous credit card offers that you might want to take advantage of, but are they really that great for you? Sure there are a lot of articles on the web telling you to compare cards and chose the right one for you; however companies make that really difficult by offering very similar credit card rewards and deals. Store cards used to be extremely popular because of the discounts and savings you could earn. Now we are seeing articles warning consumers against the store card market.

In fact in a news release George Osborne states that the high street shops are pushing their store cards on shoppers, which have excessively high interest rates. The Office of Fair Trading may soon become a regulator for the cards to penalize any store with these rates. About 2.2 billion pounds is owed on store cards and the number of accounts in the last five years has double to 13.4 million. Compared to credit cards this is pretty low as there are more than 1 billion credit card holders in the UK at the moment with close to the same amount in outstanding debt.

The store cards are not the answer instead for consumers who need to take care of high debt and get a fair rate on a card they should be looking to the zero percent credit cards. A site www.credit-cards-0.co.uk compares every zero percent credit card offer on the market at the moment. The website is set up to help consumers find the best deal for them.

A zero percent credit card is based on an introductory deal. Most of the cards will have the same purchase rate as other cards on the market, but the balance transfer rate is zero percent for 3 to 17 months. There are also credit cards out there offering life of the balance transfers.

The life of the balance transfer will offer a reduced interest rate by half or even more than half to the consumer. This interest rate will stay on the card until the balance transfer has been paid off. Barclay is one card that offers the life of the balance. In fact their rate has been as low as 1.99 percent for this type of card.
When consumers consider the high interest rates on store cards that are usually five percent higher than a credit card and then you add in the special rates for the credit cards, it makes the store cards look even more unfavorable.

Shopping for a new credit card can be difficult and a long process even using a comparison site like www.credit-cards-0.co.uk. If you are one of the consumers with a store card you might consider checking to see if the new credit card will allow the balance transfer between the cards. It is rare, but some credit card issuers will allow store card balances to be transferred.

The only way to get out of debt is to take a proactive stand regarding credit cards to obtain a card that works for you not the company.

The mortgage industry has changed in the last year and there are still more changes to come. The credit crunch from the US reached our shores last year creating issues with many individuals who had fixed rate mortgages ending in 2008. Due to the fact that the banks were struggling with the subprime market many decided to close certain products for a time like the 100 percent mortgages. Furthermore many banks and building societies stopped taking new applications and started rejecting more of the applications they did receive.

The mortgage industry has placed heavier guidelines on who they will loan money to. The credit scores need to be up and anyone seeking a loan must make a deposit and pay for the arrangement fees out of pocket rather than rolling it into a loan. Today more news was released about changes in the British mortgage market.

Individuals who have fixed rate mortgages are going to find it tougher to get remortgages that offer a great rate. The new fixed rate mortgage products on the market have just hit a ten year high and the rates will continue to rise according to the analysts.

The average fixed rate mortgage for 2 year duration is at 6.75 percent. The reason for these high rates has to do with the swap rates. The Bank of England’s base rate is still low as they try to combat the credit crunch; however the swap rates are not lowering on the fixed rate loans. Therefore, the consumer is not seeing the savings of the lower base rate, and it looks like the cost will continue on this steady climb upwards.

The swap rate last Friday was 6.49 percent. Many lenders have to pay this price and then make a profit off of the loans they offer, which means they are going to make the fixed rate higher than what they had to pay for it. Any mortgage toolbox is no longer going to have a mortgage at 6 percent or below. These will be taken from the market perhaps forever or just long enough for the economy to improve.

Even rates on the secure cash for lenders have increased by .44 percent in the last month. Francis Ghiloni is a development director who believes the sub 6 percent fixes will survive, but the arrangement fees are going to be higher. In other words the lenders may keep the 6 percent mortgages after a time, but this is because the profit margin is higher on the arrangement fees to make up the losses they would sustain for offering those products.

Halifax, Nationwide, Abbey, Woolwich, Lloyds TSB, and Cheltenham & Gloucester have all changed the products they are offering on the mortgage market. They have stopped offering the SVR’s to new consumers, and only allow those remortgaging the products. The changes will directly affect the other mortgages by increasing the interest rates as well as the arrangement fees. For consumers needing a loan it is best to have savings put aside before attempting a mortgage at the moment.