The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) has reported receiving five offers for their Williams & Glyn’s branch network. RBS were ordered to sell these branches as part of a European Commission state aid ruling in 2009, the business is valued at around £2 billion.

By Tuesday night’s deadline, speculations were that Santander, Virgin Money, National Australia Bank, BBVA and JC Flowers had all submitted bids, with Santander is widely believed to be the favourite bidder, with an offer potentially worth at least £2 billion. Santander recently completed the rebranding their UK operations under their own name

However, with Virgin now being backed by Wilbur Ross, the US billionaire, offering pledges on jobs their offer has to be taken seriously, with elections in a month’s time.

The UK government holds a 70 per cent equity stake in RBS, giving politicians and the public far greater influence over its fate.

The chief executive of U.S. telecommunications company Verizon Communications has said that there is "no compelling reason" for the U.S. Company to merge with British mobile network operator Vodafone. The two companies are continuing talks regarding their strategic options. Vodafone owns 45 percent of Verizon Wireless with Verizon holding the remaining 55 percent. However, there has been some conflict recently; with Vodafone pressuring Verizon to resume paying dividends since the U.S. Company blocked payments in order to reduce its debt burden. Shares in Vodafone dropped 2 pence to 149.6 pence on the statement.

Recent figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) show that the number of cars on the UK roads has decreased for the first time since records began in 1904. The country’s total car fleet has declined by 0.7 percent in 2009. According to the SMMT factors that had to be taken into account for decline are the recession, the government car scrappage scheme, and new Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) regulations which remove the details of unlicensed vehicles from the database.

Kraft Foods came under attack in a report from a committee of U.K. lawmakers in a report critical of moves the American company made after its hostile $17.5 billion (£12 billion) takeover of Cadbury, the beloved British chocolate maker. The report by the U.K.’s Business Select Committee accuses Kraft of acting "irresponsibly and unwisely" after reneging on a promise to keep a Cadbury factory in Somerdale open, instead planning to move the plant’s production to Poland, resulting in the loss of 400 jobs. Meanwhile, British union leaders have called for a "Cadbury law" to protect British businesses from aggressive foreign takeovers.

ESPN, the Disney-owned sports television channel, has acquired the rights to deliver Premier League football highlights on UK mobile phones until 2013, supplanting British Sky Broadcasting, which has held the rights since 2007-08. The move strengthens ESPN’s position as a competitor to BSkyB and underlines the US broadcaster’s determination to expand its share of the UK sports market. For the three football seasons from August onwards, ESPN will deliver in-match, post-match and highlights from all 380 Barclays Premier League matches, Purchase of the mobile rights is the latest in a series of additions to ESPN’s sports portfolio.

Research conducted on behalf of the Association of Convenience Stores (ACS), representing an association of 33,500 small shopkeepers, indicates that 85 percent of the public oppose a liberalisation of trading laws that, if passed would allow large retail chains to open for longer on Sundays. The ACS stated that the current regulations assisted small retailers by encouraging local shopping in small stores. Large retailers including Topshop and House of Fraser have recently been lobbying the Business Secretary Lord Mandelson with requests to relax the existing laws.

The pound fell continues to recover if ever so slightly closing on $1.5273, whilst also gaining against the Euro to close on 1.1441

The U.K.’s FTSE 100 Index retreated from a 21-month high after a sell-off in commodity production shares .The benchmark Index lost 67.65 points to 5,712.7.

Former Federal Reserve governor Alan Greenspan has defended his record at a congressional hearing into the financial crisis. In a statement, Mr Greenspan denied that his policy of maintaining low interest rates had been a major factor in the crisis. Consistently low interest rates have been blamed for the expansion in the sub-prime mortgage market which led to the credit crunch. However, Greenspan voiced his opinion that the way the banks repackaged their loans was a major contributing factor to the crisis.

Stocks rallied yesterday after U.S. jobs increased by the most in three years, boosting optimism about the strength of a recovery in the world’s largest economy. Since March last year, the gauge has rebound more than 60 percent.

The Dow Jones closed up 45.87 points to 10943.39, while the NASDAQ index rose 9.15 points to close on 2440.31

As part of a global tie-up of the brands German carmaker Daimler announced that they are to give Renault and Nissan a 3.1% stake in its business, with Daimler taking a 3.1% stakes in both Renault and Nissan, in exchange. Renault and Nissan have held a trading alliance for more than a decade.

The deal will allow the companies to share technology and development costs while remain separate trading entities. According to a spokesman for Nissan, one of the key areas of co-operation will be in the development of electric cars and light commercial vehicles.

European financial markets continue to feel the pressures over the state of Greece’s debt-ridden economy. Banking stocks in particular, not only in Greece but in most of the other leading European countries, have seen sharp falls. Meanwhile it has been reported that the Greek government’s cost of borrowing has risen to record levels, reflecting investors’ concerns that Greece might not be pay back the loans due to the poor state of the country’s public finances.

The Athens Composite share index fell by 3.1%, with banks down 6.4% on average.

All major European markets also suffered, and banks in France and Germany were especially hit due to their exposure to Greece’s borrowing.

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Tags: Alan Greenspan, Association of Convenience Stores, Bank, Banking, Barclays, BBVA, British Economy, British Sky Broadcasting, BskyB, Cadbury, Credit Crunch, Daimler, Dow Jones, Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency, Economics, Economy, Employment, ESPN, Financial News, FTSE, House of Fraser, JC Flowers, Kraft Foods, Money, Money Markets, NASDAQ, National Australia Bank, Nissan, Recession, Renault, Retail, Royal Bank of Scotland, Santander, Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders, Stocks and shares, Topshop, UK Banks, UK Economy, UK government, UK Recession, Verizon Communications, Virgin Money, Vodafone, Wilbur Ross, Williams and Glyn

Retailers won the closely watched holiday skirmish with shoppers, who opened their wallets a little bit despite a still struggling economy, fewer discounts than last year and limited variety on store shelves, according to recently released data. A late boost from last minute shoppers and an extra day of shopping increased total retail sales by 3.6% over the year. According to estimates Shoppers in Britain spent over £130 million pounds online on Christmas Day alone, a 29 percent increase from a year earlier. The number of U.K. customers on Boxing Day, the day after Christmas, also increased, by 19 percent. Retailers avoided last year’s pre-Christmas discounting by cutting inventory to “much healthier” levels, according to Morgan Stanley analysts. Prices, which were slashed by as much as 75 percent in 2008, were down by about 50 percent on London’s Oxford Street shopping district on Dec. 26 at retailers including the Zara clothing chain, House of Fraser Ltd, Bhs and Topshop clothing outlets.

Recent data has shown that demand from house buyers in the UK fell in December for the first time since January 2009, with the number of new buyers registering with agents down 2.2 per cent. The monthly survey showed a slight rise in prices for the month of 0.1 per cent and also noted that about half of all homeowners had no mortgage or owned less than 25 per cent of the value of their home. This is the sole sector of the community said to be behind the increased demand for new houses.

Britain’s recovery from recession has so far been sluggish compared with other developed nations but stronger growth in 2010 should help it narrow the gap. The UK economy is forecast to shrink 4.5 per cent this year and Consensus Economics says that the consensus forecast is for a rebound of 1.4 per cent in 2010. The UK looks set to lag behind the recovery in the US where the consensus forecast suggests growth of 2.7 per cent. The sharp fall in the value of the pound will help UK exporters and the manufacturing sector will see a projected growth of 2.1 per cent.

Recent research has revealed that only one-in-three British businesses believe that plans by Lord Mandelson to boost production industries will do any good. In the survey of 57 manufacturers, only 20 said that the business secretary’s programme of ‘industrial activism’ was likely to benefit UK manufacturers. The remaining 37 said the programme would not help the sector or were unconvinced about its outcomes. However, there was better news regarding manufacturers’ expectations of an industrial recovery, with almost two-thirds of those polled saying the sector was in line for an upturn in 2010.

A spokesman for the Anglo-Dutch steelmaker Corus has said that Britain should shrug off worries about the huge government deficit and prepare to spend ‘tens of billions of pounds’ on infrastructure investment to push the economy out of recession. The spokesman went on to add that that the UK needed to draw up a ‘real industrial policy’ that would make the country more attractive to manufacturers. Lord Mandelson’s efforts to encourage ‘advanced manufacturing’ as a way of rebalancing the economy were worthy of praise, while stating that these initiatives did not go far enough, and that investment programmes should also railways, schools, roads, hospitals and other public amenities.

Virgin Money is reported to be in advanced talks to buy a small UK bank, which will provide an opening for the company to be granted a banking license, completing the Virgin’s long-standing ambition to provide a full range of financial products, including mortgages and current accounts to the British consumer.

The FTSE was closed on Friday as the market awarded itself a long weekend for the Festive Season.

Sterling remained below the $1.60 level on Fridays trading, although rising a little, whilst falling slightly s against the Euro

• Dollar 1.5962
• Euro 1.1089

A resurgent dollar is likely to power through to 2010 with its up-trend intact, as a steadily improving economy leads investors to believe U.S. interest rates will increase sooner than had been expected. The demand for riskier currencies has broken down as the year has come to an end, with the dollar now gaining on positive U.S. data. Analysts predict that the U.S. economy continues to show strength, the dollar stands to strengthen even more.

Wall Street was closed on Friday for the Christmas holiday.

In Japan early Monday the Nikkei average hit its highest close in four months on Monday as stronger-than-forecast output data boosted the manufacturing sector. Adding to the upbeat mood in the market, data before the start of trade showed Japan’s industrial output rose a better-than-expected 2.6 per cent in November, the strongest gain in six months as rising exports to Asia bode well for a recovering economy. The benchmark Nikkei climbed 1.3 per cent, or 139.52 points, to 10,634.23, its highest close since August 26.

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Tags: Bank, Banking, Bhs, British Economy, British Pound, Christmas, Consensus Economics, Corus, Currency, Economics, Economy, Employment, Financial News, FTSE, House of Fraser Ltd, industrial activism, Lord Mandelson, Money, Money Markets, Morgan Stanley, Mortgage, Mortgages, Nikkei, Recession, Retail, Stock Markets, Stocks and shares, Topshop, U.S. economy, UK Banks, UK Economy, UK export, UK government, UK manufacturers, UK Recession, Virgin Money, Wall Street, Xmas, Zara clothing chain