LONDON – New laws to regulate gambling in the UK are all set to make it easier for gamblers to indulge in thier favorite activity even as charities and consumers’ organizations are voicing concerns that the new laws will give rise to a generation of ‘problem’ gamblers.

The government appears to have taken this point into consideration since a new regulator called the Gambling Commission will oversee all gambling activity to make sure that it is fair, safe and above all socially responsible. Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell assured consumers that the UK gambling industry will be heavily regulated and it would be near impossible to hoodwink people. The new commission will regulate online betting, a gray area in the UK scenario. It would also make sure that organized crime does not gain a backdoor entry into the society via gambling.

Meanwhile, a five-member Casino Advisory Panel is due to deliberate from Monday on the possible location of a Las Vegas style ‘super casino.’ The government had initially proposed to have 40 such casinos across the country, but under pressure from the Conservatives decided to scale down this number. Tessa Jowell will take advise from this panel to identify locations in England, Wales and Scotland for one “super casino” and 16 other smaller ones. Blackpool and Glasgow are being thought of as front-runners for the super casino, but nothing has been finalized yet.

However, concern has been running rife that the opening up of gambling in the country would not be a healthy sign, “Responsible providers of gambling want the cachet and the respectability that a license from the Gambling Commission will provide. And that will provide some assurance to those who go on those sites that the sites are properly run,” said Peter Dean, chairman of the Gambling Commission, defending the reforms.

Major Bill Cochrane, of the Salvation Army, said that the government should not hasten to introduce the super casinos all over the country, “The potential consequences do not offer an attractive proposition to any local community and that is why no more super casinos should even be considered until the impact of the first one has been measured,” he commented.

LONDON: Consumer confidence is at its lowest in a year, after a fall in September abetted by a bleak prospect for the economy, says a report by consultancy firm GfK Martin Humblin.

The firm, which maintains a confidence barometer, said the reading for September fell to -5 from -4 in August, the lowest reading since October 2004, when it was -6.

However, economists are not worried. In broad terms, they say, this is an indication of stability for the consumer’s sentiments. Even a decision by Bank of England to keep the interest rates at 4.5 per cent will not alter this situation, they feel.

The survey, however, indicated that when it came to major spending, people were not unduly worried. The index measuring whether it was a good time to make major buys rose to +9 from +8.

According to the firm, the decline in the main index was essentially on account of a fall in the sub-index measuring optimism over the future course of the economy — it fell to -16 from -13. The respondents to the survey were also concerned about their personal financial situation as the concerned sub-index fell to +10 from +12.

The findings are almost in line with those earlier this week of Confederation of British Industry, which said retail sales in September reached the lowest in 22 years.

The Office of National Statistics too had revised down annual GDP growth to just 1.5 per cent in the second quarter, the lowest level in 12 years.

LONDON: The UK-based stores chain Tesco today agreed with French international rival Carrefour to swap stores in countries where they have low market share.

Under the deal, Britain’s leading retailer will hand over six stores and two sites in Taiwan to Carrefour. It will also pay £39 million to the French group. The value of the exchange, including debt and equity, would total approximately £130 million.

For Tesco, parting with the Taiwan assets means effectively exiting from Taiwan where it lacked “critical size” and had been struggling to get a foothold, a spokesman said. The British retailer had similarly exited from France in 1997.

In exchange for the Tesco assets and the sum, Carrefour will part with its 11 outlets in the Czech Republic and four in Slovakia.

Both the retailers have an overseas presence with Carrefour ranked as the world’s second largest stores chain after US-based Wal-Mart. Lagging far behind, Tesco still makes 20 percent of its revenues from its stores in China, Malaysia, South Korea and Thailand.

With Carrefour’s Czech and Slovak stores, Tesco will be able to further strengthen its position in Eastern Europe. The store believes these regions to be highly competitive and offering good scope for growth.

Tesco is believed to have made “significant investment” in price cuts in its stores in these two countries during the last 12 months. It runs 25 stores in the Czech Republic and 30 in Slovakia and now plans a multi-format approach to widen the revenue scope. It will open hypermarkets, compact supermarkets and stores offering both food and non-food merchandise as part of the plan.

LONDON – House prices continued their slide in September even though the number of people interested in the property market as well as the mortgage lending increased in the same month, according to the latest report from the Nationwide building society.

UK’s biggest building society’s monthly house price survey found that house prices in September fell by 0.2 percent as compared with those in August. These figures forced the annual rate of growth to its lowest level in more than nine years. The annual increase hit its lowest level since May 1986 and slid to just 1.8 percent. However there was good news for first time buyers since the house price rise is well below the concurrent increase in wage growth making houses more affordable to this segment.

Nationwide’s group economist, Fionnuala Earley commented that their monthly data since the start of this year has been pretty mixed, “with several months of small falls and rises, but looking at changes over three months shows the underlying trend more clearly. House price growth stalled in the three months to September, with no increase on the previous three months. Yet house prices are still higher than at this time last year.”

The average price of a house in the country was £156,517, a marginal increase as compared to £153,727 at the same time last year. Ms Earley pointed out that the relatively low level of inflation had served as a buffer and had kept the borrowing costs under control, “This may help to explain why we have seen a surprisingly swift return of buyers to the market,” she said.

These comments were substantiated by the data from the Bank of England, which showed that the number of mortgages approved in August for purchasing property was 107,000. This was almost 8,000 more than the previous month and easily beat the average of 94,000 in the last six months. “Estate agents have consistently reported increased buyer interest over the last few months, which should help to support the market going forward,” Ms Earley concluded.

LONDON: British business information group Datamonitor Plc is set to acquire Richard Hyman’s retailing research group Verdict for 4.7 million pounds in cash. Verdict offers research and data on several retailing sectors from do-it-yourself stores to groceries and clothing. Founded by Hyman in 1984, it is today a leading commentator on the retail business in the U.K.

Datamonitor, which provides research into industry segments such as automotive, food, beverage and tobacco, consumer products, pharmaceuticals and health care, energy and utilities, technology, financial services and transport and logistics, has an international reach. It said the acquisition will increase its coverage of consumer goods.

Verdict, with expert commentaries by Hyman, is an authentic source of information on the U.K. retail scene. The venture began as a one-man show by Hyman and now has a staff strength of 35 and offers researched data on retail sub-sectors like clothing and footwear, DIY, home wares, grocery, furniture, health and beauty, and electrical goods. The company has no borrowings.

Hyman said his company was too small as an independent business and, as part of a largest group, it could expand internationally. He hoped the deal will offer his company an exciting opportunity for growth not only in the U.K. but at an international level.

The deal provides for Hyman to receive 70 per cent of the agreed amount upfront and the balance in a three-year earn-out. Before starting Verdict he was editorial director of market research business Mintel.

LONDON: The mortgage approvals curve has at last started rising as a sign that the sluggish housing market was being nudged into action by the rate cut, according to the British Bankers’ Association.

Data provided by the BBA confirm that the number of mortgage approvals – loans agreed but not yet made – went up in August: it was 8.5 percent higher (and 26 percent higher by value) compared to same month last year. On a monthly tracking, it rose from 65,611 in July ’05 to 69,499 in August, making the market reasonably optimistic of a turnaround. The BBA numbers mark the first annual increase for more than a year.

Many economists echoed the view that Britain could now easily avert a house price crash, although it may be hard to imagine the same levels as were seen during the boom last year. Conversely, it’s also difficult to expect a sharp correction in house prices, in the near future.

Most were certain that stability had at last returned to the housing market.

A parallel study by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors also confirmed the belief that the 0.25 percent reduction in borrowing rate had slightly lifted the gloom over the market.

A few economists felt they could not share the sentiment and were worried whether the upturn could be sustained. They felt it was just a temporary reaction to the cut in interest rate and could not be sure it was the sign of a market recovery.

Meanwhile, the slowdown on high street continued with spending on credit cards remaining subdued throughout the last quarter.

BRIGHTON: Work and pensions secretary David Blunkett yesterday took decisive steps to start a root-and-branch reform of the beleaguered Child Support Agency. He proposed a mediation phase that would reduce the number of claimants from its current burdensome 290,000 a year.

It is believed that he may involve the private sector in the mediation, though how he plans to do that was not immediately known.

The CSA receives a barrage of claims demanding enforced maintenance payments. Blunkett’s proposal included a scheme that will offer “a non-legislative and simple route to finding agreement” he announced at a Labour conference here yesterday. He explained that errant fathers would be given a warning and asked to provide maintenance for their child else they would end up paying much more than is due.

The plan promises to prove effective as errant parents would be encouraged to sit down and talk for an agreement on levels of support before going through the CSA procedure. Fearing the nightmarish process and eventually having to pay more than is fairly due, would persuade the irresponsible parent.

A trial run of the scheme would be launched to see its effectiveness. The system would include a gateway that would allow the agency to monitor how they can conciliate with parents before they get into the CSA.

Since its inception in 1993, the CSA has been facing problems and little else. A study by MPs earlier this year found the CSA almost on the verge of collapse. Its most controversial problem has been a faulty computer system that caused severe payment delays and subsequently led to a deluge of complaints.

At the conference here Mr Blunkett apologised for CSA’s many problems and even promised one mother who has been waiting four years for child support payments that he would personally ensure that her complaint is resolved within days and money starts getting to her.

The details of the reform plans will be published before the end of the year. Besides overhauling the CSA, the most urgent task for the agency was to boost the morale of its 10,000-plus staff, the minister said.

LONDON: Supermarket giant Asda has worked around its logistics problems in the north east by signing up a deal with PD Teesport for a deep sea container facility which will be used to distribute non-food products. As part of the deal, it will also build a £20m import centre at Teesport near Middlesbrough that will help create 300 jobs.

It is being hailed as a landmark deal for the ports industry and expected to change the economy of the region, as other retailers may be inspired to follow the Asda example.

Asda will begin by building a 360,000 sq ft warehouse building on the 18-acre site at the port. Construction is expected to be completed by February 2006. Once the logistics operations are in place, another 150,000 sq. ft. facility will be established on an additional 5.6 acres plot.

With the north east port facilities Asda will be able to save two million road miles a year by shipping over two-thirds of its distribution direct to Teesport. The supermarket chain receives its stock from various international destinations at southern ports from where it is then transported by road to distribution centres in the north. This roundabout distribution route will end once the deep sea container facility and the warehouse are operational.

Besides enabling Asda to distribute its non-food stock to its stores throughout the UK, the rerouting will also help ease the congestion in southern ports like Southampton and Felixstowe.

The supermarket giant is owned by US-based retail chain Wal-Mart.