Looking for work? Debt collectors are in demand in the UK

An opportunity may have arisen for the estate agents and luxury car salemen put out of work by the recession.

Provident Financial, which lends to low-income households in Britain, plans to hire more debt collectors this year as an increasing number of consumers turn to the company as banks shun riskier customers.

The business may not be widely known in more affluent parts of the country, but Provident's agents already visit one in twenty British households. Customers of the doorstep lender borrow smaller amounts, on average around £400, which is paid back in weekly installments, with a sizeable "fixed charge" attached.

For every £100 borrowed, Provident's customers on average pay back £3 a week for 57 weeks. That amounts to £171 paid back on a £100 loan.

Provident aims to hire between 200 and 250 people this year, around 80 of whom will go door-to-door to retrieve outstanding debts. Collection accounts for "99pc of the man hours," according to chief executive Peter Crook.

Unlike its rival Cattles, Provident has been able to keep its level of loan arrears and impairments steady over the course of 2008, despite the worsening economy, by tightening up its lending criteria and turning away more applicants. The business has continued to grow despite this because of the increase in people approaching Provident for loans.

Banks, credit card companies and non-secured lenders have retreated from serving lower-income households since the summer of 2007, leaving an "increasingly under-served" market for Provident.

Unemployment to exceed 2m for first time under New Labour

Unemployment is expected to exceed two million for the first time since Labour came to power in 1997.

Official figures to be released on Wednesday morning will show that tens of thousands of people lost their jobs in the three months to December.

They come amid evidence that Britain's jobless total is rising twice as fast as the European average.

The unemployment total hit 1.92 million in the three months to the end of November. Since then thousands of staff have been sacked by major employers, including 27,000 at Woolworths.

A further 2,300 were made redundant by the Royal Bank of Scotland on Tuesday.

The number of people who claimed Jobseekers' Allowance in January will also be released, offering a more up-to-date insight into the damage being done to the jobs market by the recession. The total reached 1.16 million in December.

An analysis by the TUC showed that while Britain's unemployment rate - 6.1 per cent - is lower than the European average of 7.7 per cent, it is now rising twice as fast as the European average.

Between December 2007 and October 2008, Britain had the third sharpest increase in unemployment, behind Spain and Ireland, said the unions.

Over the same period, unemployment in France went up by just 0.1 per cent and fell 0.8 per cent in Germany.

In advance of the figures' release, James Purnell, the Work and Pensions Secretary, said: "We know times are tough and we will do all we can to help people who lose their jobs find another as quickly as possible to prevent the long-term unemployment which has so scarred communities in the past from taking root."

Gordon Brown is to meet business leaders shortly before the figures are announced, to discuss ways of giving more assistance to people losing their jobs.

Baftas 2009: Slumdog Millionaire loved everywhere but India

Slumdog Millionaire has failed to win over moviegoers in the country it celebrates - India - despite sweeping the board at the Baftas and being odds-on for victory at the Oscars. While film fans the world over have fallen for the charms of Danny Boyle's rags-to-riches tale, Indian audiences are less enamoured.

The film opened there on January 23 amid much hype and took $2.2 million its opening weekend - a decent enough figure, but barely a third of the takings of the top-grossing film, a mediocre horror movie called Raaz: The Mystery Continues.

By last week, takings were down by 70 per cent, according to industry magazine Variety, which called it "a respectable accomplishment but well below the performances of Bollywood hits."

Distributor Fox Searchlight professed itself happy with figures for the film, which was initially released on just 350 screens.

Industry watchers blame its lacklustre performance on confusion over its title - the term 'slumdog' is not widely used - the mix of Hindi and English dialogue, and the easy availability of pirated copies.

Asian shares rise on optimism for banks

Asian stocks rose, led by banks and technology companies, on optimism government measures worldwide will ease the financial crisis and stem the deterioration in the global economy.

Westpac, Australia’s largest bank by market value, gained 3pc after the central bank slashed its inflation forecast, raising speculation it may cut interest rates.

Mizuho Financial, Japan’s second-largest bank, gained 2.3pc as a US Treasury official said details of a financial-recovery plan will be announced in three days. Lenovo, the world’s fourth-largest personal-computer maker, surged 10pc in Hong Kong after a management reshuffle.

“Fiscal and monetary stimulus policies have helped improve sentiment,” said Binay Chandgothia, who oversees about $1.5bn as chief investment officer at Principal Asset Management Co. in Hong Kong. “These measures will benefit the economy although there will be more earnings downgrades.”

The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.8 percent to 83.18 at 2:32 p.m. in Tokyo, with three stocks rising for each that fell.

The gauge has fallen 7.1pc in 2009, extending last year’s record 43pc tumble, as the credit crisis dragged the world’s biggest economies into recession.

Osama bin Laden applies for 'Best Job in the World'

It has been billed as a dream job in paradise, so it is not surprising that the well-paid role of caretaker of Hamilton island on Australia's Great Barrier Reef has attracted interest form far and wide.

However, one application video stands out from the rest. The grainy film shows al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden explaining why he is the man for the job.

Clearly a spoof, the 30-second video has proved a hit on YouTube.

In the cleverly-subtitled clip, bin Laden describes the qualities that make him the best choice. He boasts of a "love of the outdoors and sandy areas", being "good at delegating" and having experience "organising large-scale events".

Bin Laden is believed to be in hiding somewhere along the mountainous border between Afghanistan and Pakistan and occasionally releases video and audio messages.