A panel of experts also claimed Mbt shoes that examination boards were fuelling the problem by selling their own textbooks to schools – helping pupils boost their scores rather than properly grasp difficult subjects.

The conclusions are made in a report by Labour’s Science and Learning Expert Group, which was set up Mbt   last year to assess the state of science, technology, engineering and mathematics in schools and colleges.

The group – led by Sir Mark Walport, director of the medical research charity The Wellcome Trust – makes a series of sweeping recommendations designed to overhaul the subjects, which are seen as vital to the future of the economy, environment and industry.

In an 88-page document published today, they praised Mbt shoes the “high priority” given to science and maths by Labour and insisted courses remained popular among young people.

But experts launched a strongly-worded attack on reforms to the curriculum, qualifications and the structure of exams which they said were a “prime concern to many within the science and teaching communities”.

Ministers insisted they had   MBT Shoe  already acted by reforming both GCSEs and A-levels.

The report said: “There is a strong perception that assessment has become the ‘tail that wags the dog’ of the education system and that the assessment process has been inadequate in the testing of students’ depth of subject knowledge and understanding of key concepts.”

The study levelled serious concerns  mbt sale towards the adoption of “modular” exams at A-level in which courses are broken up into separately-tested chunks that students can re-sit to boost their grades.

It said the move, which was introduced by Labour a decade ago, restricted the amount students could learn as topics were studied for just a few months.

The report said schools should be able to shift back to old-style “linear” A-levels in which pupils take an exam at the end of a two-year course.

Experts also attacked the “over-reliance” on multiple choice and short-answer tests at both A-level and GCSE, saying the trend had “gone too far” and constrained students’ ability to demonstrate in-depth understanding.

The group called for national shoes mbt  experts in science and maths to sit on boards set-up to script the curriculum and exams.

It suggested that schools should be allowed to pay higher salaries to the best teachers in the subjects, more maths should be added to the science curriculum and all exams should contain more essay-based questions.

The report also called for a ban on exam boards endorsing their own textbooks, which often helped “candidates to pass exams, rather than to understand the subject”. It described the practice as a “conflict of interest”.

The Government insisted it was already addressing many of the concerns.

New-style A-levels being taken for the first time this summer will demand extended written answers and a new A* grade will be employed to pick out the best candidates. Revised GCSEs are also being introduced from 2011.

Iain Wright, the Schools Minister, said: “This gives us great encouragement we’re on the right track. But we are not complacent. There is more we need to do to build confidence in the system. We will now consider the recommendations shoes mbt carefully.”

Sylvia McNamara, director of policy at the Government’s Qualifications and Curriculum Development Agency, said: “Sir Mark Walport’s report makes a valuable contribution to the debate around the critical role of science and maths in developing thinking and problem-solving skills.

“We are introducing more stretch and challenge in these subjects and this is reflected in recent changes to the design of qualifications.

“This summer, A-level students will sit the new style exams which demand a more broad understanding and will better prepare young people for higher education and employment.

“The A* grade will recognise Mbt and reward exceptional performance and offer better discrimination between higher performing students.”

stranded astronaut, won Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer.

Jones, the film’s director, beat artist-turned-director Sam Taylor-Wood who was nominated for her Mbt shoes film about John Lennon, Nowhere Boy.

The director welled up with emotion when he received the award on stage, saying: ”It’s taken me an awful long time to know what I wanted to do with my life. Finally, I think I’ve found what I love doing.”

Backstage, he credited his singer father with getting him ”interested in the canon of sci-fi” at a young age.

He said: ”He is watching it live..in New York.. I turned my phone off, like I was told to, so I’m sure  mbt sale  when I turn it back on, he will be trying to get through.”

Jones, christened Zowie Bowie before he changed his name, said: ”As far as sci-fi goes, one of the things my dad did an awful lot of was show me quite a few films when I was growing up, just getting me interested in the literature and in the sort of canon of sci-fi.

”It’s an area I have always loved, so I probably saw most of Stanley Kubrick’s films when I was eight or nine years old, with my dad sitting there next to me, making sure that I didn’t get terrified”.

”I think my interest in sci-fi MBT Shoe  really comes from my dad being a dad, as opposed to the work that he did,” he said.

Asked whether he would give his father a role or ask him to make music in a future film, he said: ”It would be foolhardy to have such a good relationship with someone so talented and not ask him to work on a film.

He added: ”I would love to have the chance to establish my career, although this is a good start, do a couple of films on my own before I ever did that. But I love him very shoes mbt  much and I think he is very talented.”

He added: ”I have always steered away from music. That was my big rebellion, having no interest in music.

The loser will not be ghd hair straighteners

eliminated but will have to play an extra game to reach the quarterfinals. As this tournament has demonstrated, the more games a team plays, the more chances that something unexpected will happen.

Then there are the cultural implications of the Canada-United States game.

“This is going to be   MBT Shoes 

 unbelievable,” United States Coach Ron Wilson said. “It’s going to be on every TV in Canada and a good number in America. Anyone who is a hockey fan will be watching.

“It’s going to be a great day for hockey.”

That great day includes two other clashes between nations with a mutual history: Russia versus the Czech Republic to start the tripleheader at Canada Hockey Place, and Sweden versus Finland to end it.

The off-ice stories are  ghd straighteners obvious enough. But the United States shocked Canada in Montreal with four late goals to win the 1996 World Cup of Hockey; Wilson was the coach of that American team. The Czechs beat the Russians, 1-0, in the 1998 Olympic final. And the Swedes beat the Finns, 3-2, in the 2006 Olympic final.

Those games, and the results of this year’s Olympic tournament, have reaffirmed the ancient  Mbt    hockey truism that in a single game, with a hot goalie, any team can beat any other team.

The United States, with workmanlike but not overwhelming victories over Switzerland (3-1) and Norway (6-1), is still trying to figure out where it belongs in the pecking order. Are the Americans youthful overachievers, here to gain experience for the 2014 Games, or are they a genuine, if unappreciated, medal contender? They will know much more on Sunday. Whichever team wins the game will earn a bye to the quarterfinals.

The Canadians did not practice on Friday. But all the same, they must have been rattled a little by their lackluster effort against the Swiss on Thursday, a 3-2 shootout victory that left them a point behind the United States, 6-5, in the Group A standings.

Until Sidney Crosby finally  discount Mbt shoes  scored in the shootout against Switzerland goalie Jonas Hiller, the game was shaping up to be a repeat of their 2006 Olympic loss to the Swiss, still a national nightmare. If, on top of the shaky performance, Canada fails to get by the Americans on Sunday, it will be a blow not only to the team’s medal hopes but also to the psychic well-being of the nation.

But on paper, Canada is the favorite.

With an average age of 26.5, the United States has the youngest team in the tournament, but Canada’s average age is only 28. The Americans are much less experienced in big games. They have seven Stanley Cups on their collective résumé to the Canadians’ 13 Cups, 7 Olympic gold medals and 16 world championships and World Cups.

The Americans are less  discount Mbt shoes talented, or at least have fewer stars. The team probably has only two skaters — the Devils’ Zach Parise and the Chicago Blackhawks’ Patrick Kane — who could make the Canadian squad.

Yet, oddly, the absence of superstars may prove to be an edge. Like the Russians, who are similarly talent-heavy, the Canadians have been suffering from an embarrassment of riches: the stars have been overthinking, deking and feinting and passing too much, instead of playing straight-ahead hockey and firing the puck on net.

Mike Babcock, Canada’s coach, keeps calling his team “a work in progress.” In the space of two games, he has promoted Jarome Iginla to the top line alongside Crosby and Rick Nash, then demoted him. Beyond that, Babcock is still trying to figure out how to ration ice time among players who are all used to major shares.

“There aren’t enough minutes,” he said. Case in point: Crosby is averaging 17 minutes 40 seconds per game; his N.H.L. average is 21:49.

But Babcock has decided Ghd  on a top defenseman, Shea Weber of the Nashville Predators, whom he has used in all situations and has played 23:26 per game. Wilson has not chosen a top defenseman, but Nashville’s Ryan Suter leads the Americans in ice time at 20:18.

One place the Americans may have an advantage is in net. Ryan Miller, Buffalo’s goalie, is No. 2 in the N.H.L. in save percentage this season. He has faced only 26 shots in two games, but he is almost certain to face more against Canada.

Canada’s Martin Brodeur is the best goalie of his generation and a sure bet for the Hall of Fame. But he has been shaky in the Devils’ last couple of postseasons. This season, he is only 18th in save percentage after several recent poor games.

Babcock said Brodeur Mbt 

would start on Sunday, but if he were to let in a couple of easy goals, Babcock may replace him with Roberto Luongo, the local hero from the Vancouver Canucks.

In the other games, Finland, with the 39-year-old Teemu Selanne, now the leading career scorer in Olympic history, will try to avenge the 2006 loss to its Nordic neighbor. Sweden leads the series in Olympic and world championship competition, 41-15, with 15 ties. The winner will earn a bye to the quarterfinals.

The showdown between the Czechs and the Russians offers the tantalizing prospect of watching Jaromir Jagr match wits with Alex Ovechkin, a spectacle the world has been treated to on only eight occasions, all during regular-season N.H.L. play in 2005-6 and 2006-7, when Jagr was a veteran Ranger and Ovechkin a young Washington Capital.

Jagr had three goals and seven assists and went plus 1 in those eight games; Ovechkin had three ghd hair straighteners 

 goals and three assists and went minus 3. And the Rangers took 10 points from those games to the Capitals’ 7.

Any result other than a Russian victory in regulation will give the Czechs a bye into the quarterfinals.

Highland Council abandoned a trip to Mbt 

 Craggan in the Cairngorms for about 70 children at Crown Primary in Inverness in an effort to avoid legal action.

A pupil’s mother said her daughter, who mbt sale  uses a wheelchair, would be unable to take part in the activities.

A trip is now planned which is fully compliant with disability legislation.

Highland Council’s education chiefs had said the trip to Craggan was in danger of breaching the Disability Discrimination Act by MBT Shoes  failing to consider the needs of a severely disabled child.

In a letter to parents, the Inverness school has now confirmed that the trip will take place in May at the council-owned Badaguish Outdoor Centre near Aviemore.

Meanwhile, the mother of the child at the centre of the dispute said she was still to be informed of the decision by Education Director  Mbt shoes Hugh Fraser.

 to announce a multibillion-pound rescue of the Greek economy today to try to stop its debt crisis spreading to other countries and wrecking the euro.

Finance ministers from the main economies in the ghd hair straighteners  single currency area, led by Germany and France, worked through the night to let the EU’s new President, Herman Van Rompuy, save his first one-day summit from disaster by announcing a guarantee that Greece would not be allowed to fail.

There were sharp disagreements yesterday over how to restore market confidence in Greece, with the Netherlands continuing to argue for the Washington-based International Monetary Fund (IMF) to be called in despite strong opposition from Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor.

Mr Van Rompuy is among those insisting that the 16 Ghd   nations in the eurozone find a solution themselves. Instead of an EU state going cap in hand to Washington, he is proposing an IMF-style austerity programme for Greece. Athens would have to meet stringent reform targets.

 Germany will be expected to put up most of the money and after years of misleading Greek statistics, fiddles and broken promises of reform, the rescue plan is likely to infuriate conscientious German taxpayers. Nevertheless, it is increasingly seen as the least worst option. One possible outcome of the crisis would  ghd  be the break-up of the euro.

The rescue is also seen as more attractive than getting a German state-owned bank to buy Greek debt, as that would only increase Berlin’s exposure to the risk of a crash in Athens.

One longer-term plan under discussion is the creation of a “European monetary fund” to avoid the humiliation of having to call in the IMF to save the euro. France and Germany in particular have invested a great deal of prestige in the euro.

There is still a question mark over how markets will react even if the EU can agree on a bailout, because it may not satisfy demands for systemic change.

Both the European Central Bank, responsible for the euro, and the European Commission have expressed confidence in Greece’s plans to cut a 12.7 per cent budget deficit to 3 per cent by the end of 2012. But with the markets not seeming ghd hair straighteners to share that optimism, José Manuel Barroso, the European Commission President, will spell out how the Lisbon treaty allows the EU to punish Greece if it misses key targets. One clause means that the commission can withhold EU subsidies from Greece, such as the enormous funds handed over every year for the development of infrastructure.

President Sarkozy of France set out the outlines of a potential rescue led by his country and Germany after meeting George Papandreou, the Greek Prime Minister, for lunch yesterday. The package is likely to involve pledges to underwrite Greek national debt and loans from member states, French presidential sources said. In return, Athens would make commitments to austerity. Mr Sarkozy and Ms Merkel are to make a statement in Brussels today.

After the Paris meeting, his only one with an EU leader before the summit, Mr Papandreou sought to reassure the other EU states and markets which are betting against his resolve. “We are absolutely decided that the stability programme will be implemented in every measure,” he said. “We are ready to take any necessary measure to make sure we achieve our goal of cutting our deficit by 4 per cent in 2010 to 8.7 per cent of our GDP.”

Ruling out a role for the IMF, José Zapatero, the  MBT Shoes Prime Minister of Spain, said last night: “We have to support Greece, that’s clear, and it’s Europe and the Eurogroup which will do it.”

France, like Germany, is eager to avoid calling in the IMF. “We are not going to have Washington coming in to tackle our problems,” a French official said.

However, officials at the French Finance Ministry were reported by Le Monde yesterday to be favouring an IMF role in the bailout in order to take the weight off EU taxpayers.

In France, the crisis is being depicted by the Government and media as the product of immoral speculation by “Anglo-Saxon” banks and hedge funds. Mr Sarkozy, the first EU leader to sound the alarm over Greek finances, has seized on Athens’s predicament for his crusade to impose new regulation on the markets and the world economy.

Professor George Zanias, chairman of the committee  MBT Shoes  of experts of the Greek Finance Ministry, said his country did not need IMF intervention, “at least not yet”. He added that a bond issue a fortnight ago had been over-subscribed by five times. “I think a problem like this should be solved in the European framework,” he said.

The euro, which fell to an 8½-month low against the US dollar last week, traded a little higher at $1.3702 late yesterday as the markets awaited the details of the rescue for Greece.

The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) warned that the next 12 months would be the toughest yet as the pace of construction accelerated to meet venue completion deadlines in early 2011.

The authority, which is responsible for the infrastructure at the Games, disclosed that its costs had increased by £21 million in the past quarter.

ODA officials said that the increase, which is largely due to the financial downturn, could be absorbed into the overall budget for the Games, which they emphasised was on track.

The ODA also warned that Mbt 

extra funds might need to be released from the Government’s contingency fund to cover up to a further £160 million in unforeseen costs relating to the management of the Olympic Park in East London.

The authority said that it hoped that the extra requirement, which it expects will range between £110 million and £160 million, could be covered by savings in other areas. If not, however, contingency money will be needed.

The contingency fund, which was originally £2.7 billion, has already been raided several times to meet shortfalls in the budget for the athletes’ village and media centre. The two venues were intended to be predominantly funded by mbt sale the private sector but the deals collapsed because of the recession.

Hugh Robertson, the Shadow Sports Minister, said that the need to fund Olympic Park operations should have been identified in 2007 when the Government first outlined its base budget.

He said: “Whether it eventually results in a call on the contingency or is met from savings elsewhere, this is a potential £150 million mistake that should not have occurred.”

The Department of Culture, Media and Sport said that there was still more than £800 million in the contingency fund that had not been allocated to projects. Other estimates range as low as £500 million, leaving very little room for error.

The increased costs were revealed in the Government’s annual report on preparations for the 2012 Games. The report emphasised that they were on track and that delivery of all infrastructure would come within the  discount Mbt shoes  overall, £9.3 billion budget.

John Armitt, the chairman of the ODA, said: “We are continuing to make strong progress across the project. There are, however, still big challenges ahead as construction accelerates across the site and the workforce peaks. This will be our toughest year. We take nothing for granted but I am confident that the foundations for success are now in place.”

The Olympic programme is now halfway through the “Big Build” phase and the report said that the main projects — the Olympic Stadium, velodrome, aquatic centre, athletes’ village and media centre — were all proceding on schedule. Some of the venues will be completed by early next year.

Tessa Jowell, the Olympics Minister, said: “As we enter the busiest and most exciting phase of the Olympic project so far, this report shows we are still on time and still on budget.”

The new costs that may come from the contingency fund result from a decision, after a Government review, for the ODA to take on extra responsibility by operating the park and venues between 2011 and 2013.

A further £13 million from the contingency fund has already been released to the ODA so that it can get on with early work needed this year.

The report said: “This new scope for the ODA  discount Mbt shoes  is likely to require additional funding to be allocated to the ODA, from within the existing £9.325 billion budget.”

Any contingency funding can be released only after approval has been given by a committee of senior ministers, including the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Their report said that the figure Ghd was “far too high” and pointed out that underpayments due to officials’ mistakes had also risen.

Overpayments due to fraud and mistakes by claimants fell in the same period.

The government said the recession meant more money was being paid out in benefits and the error rate was actually at its lowest since 2002-2003.

The report by the work and discount Mbt shoes  pensions select committee notes that the vast majority of decisions the department makes “are accepted by claimants and lead to the right benefits being paid on time to those who are eligible”.

‘Error champions’

But it points out that while official figures out in November showed overpayments due to fraud were down, that “masked” the number which had risen, due to officials’ mistakes.

“Although the department has made great strides in reducing fraud, this increase in error should be a cause for concern,” the committee said.

It notes that in 2000-2001, £400m was overpaid due to official error. By 2008-2009 that had increased to £800m.

The amount of benefits being underpaid – due to mistakes by both staff and claimants – also increased from  ghd straighteners  £800m in 2004-2005 to £1.2bn last year.

The report says “error champions” have been appointed at Jobcentre Plus and two sets of accuracy checks brought in at the pension, disability and carers service.

But it adds that the “cost of official error due to overpayments of benefits is still far too high” and had “risen significantly since 2000-1″.

Committee chairman, the Labour Mbt shoes MP Terry Rooney, said: “Poor decision-making not only costs the department in wasted over-payments but also generates more costs further down the line in reconsiderations and appeals.

“An increased focus on the quality of decision making to match the department’s successful focus on fraud could have a very significant effect in reducing the cost to the Tribunals Service of hearings on benefit appeals.”

‘Absolutely determined’

But a spokesman for the DWP said more money was being paid out because of the recession and the rate of official errors – at 0.6% – was the lowest since 2002-3.

He said: “The vast majority of benefits are paid correctly to those who are entitled to them, but we are absolutely determined to fight both fraud and error in the benefits system.

“Official error overpayments are Mbt at their lowest level since 2002/2003 and this is in spite of a background of significantly increased workload during the economic downturn.”

The committee urged the government to look at simplifying the benefits system to make it more understandable for claimants and staff.

It called for a “welfare commission” to be established to examine the existing system and look at “possible alternative structures”.

He will say that Mr Brown is tolerating the “disgusting sight” of the Labour MPs attempting to use parliamentary privilege as a defence to serious charges.

The three have been   Mbt shoes charged, along with a Conservative peer, under theft laws after disclosures about their expenses.

But lawyers acting on their behalf have told the Crown Prosecution Service that they are looking at parliamentary privilege laws as a possible means of defence.

Mr Cameron believes Gordon Brown ghd hair straighteners is to blame for failing to act decisively over the issue.

In an angry and personal denunciation of the Prime Minister, Mr Cameron will us ea speech on political reform to say Mr Brown is a “shameless defender” of the old order. He will accuse Mr Brown of proving that he “is just not capable” of dealing with the post-expenses reform that is necessary.

He will announce that Sir George MBT Shoes Young, the shadow leader of the House, is to prepare a new Parliamentary Privilege Act. It was first recommended 10 years ago, but Mr Cameron will push for its introduction as soon as possible.

Mr Cameron says it will “clarify the rules of parliamentary privilege to make clear that they cannot be used by MPs to evade justice.”

He wants MPs to look at the measures this week when electoral reform is discussed in the Commons. Mr Cameron has said MPs  discount Mbt shoes should not go on their half-term holidays this week until the matter has been debated.

But if, as is likely, it is not then it would be part of a new Tory government’s plans.

Any change in the law could come too late for the current cases, although Mr Cameron believes courts would have to take notice of a change, even a retrospective one.

In the speech at East London University, Mr Cameron will round on Mr Brown’s “cynical “ ploy to suddenly talk about voting reform – the Prime Minister’s wants to end the old first-past-the-post system – as  ghd straighteners a diversion from what is really needed to clean up politics after the expenses scandal.

He will say: “Look how he tolerates the disgusting sight of Labour MPs taking parliamentary privilege, designed to help MPs fight for their constituents; for truth and justice; and abuse it in order to save their skins and avoid prosecution for fraud and wrongdoing.

“Even worse, it’s been reported that the Labour Party’s official solicitor is providing the three MPs with legal advice. At the very least, Gordon Brown should immediately clarify whether the Labour Party is paying for that and withdraw the whip from these shameless Labour MPs.

“And more importantly, he should make sure this cannot ever happen again.”

Mr Brown last week taunted Mr Mbt  Cameron for claiming to be in favour of reform while voting to keep the hereditary principle in the Lords. It is part of the battle to see who can convince voters that they grasp the anger over expenses.

Mr Cameron will add: “How Gordon Brown can claim to be a reformer with a straight face, I just don’t know. Just as he’s the roadblock to public service reform, he’s the roadblock to political reform.

“We cannot have five more years of his old politics. For the health of our democracy it is now essential that this shameless defender of the old elite goes as soon as possible.”

Three Labour MPs – Elliot Morley, Jim Devine and David Chaytor – were charged on Friday. But all three intend to defend the charges rigorously and are expected to try and use parliamentary privilege – which is normally used only to stop MPs speaking in the Commons being prosecuted and is included in the 1689 Bill of Rights.

Lord Hanningfield, a Conservative peer, also faces charges over expenses theft.

Yesterday, Alan Johnson, the Home Secretary, added his weight to the calls for the three not to be able to use parliamentary privilege as a defence.

He said: “The whole point about this, this dreadful, dreadful, damaging year that we have had here, is that people want to see MPs treated in the same way as they would be treated had they broken the law.

“A few, a very few, have been thought to have broken the law. That is the accusation. They are entitled to a fair trial. I think the public would be aghast if they thought there was some special get out of jail card for parliamentarians.”

He told the BBC’s Andrew Marr Show: “I do Mbt  not believe that the Bill of Rights was meant to deal with this kind of issue.”

Announcing that charges would be brought against the four, Kier Stamer, the Director of Public Prosecutions said the four parliamentarians had raised a defence of parliamentary privilege.

He said: “We have considered that question and concluded that the applicability and extent of any parliamentary privilege claimed should be tested in court.”

The four men face up to seven years in prison if convicted of theft of thousands of pounds in relation to second home expenses.

Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader, will also use a speech today to call for more political reform. He will attack both party leaders for failing to act in recent years to deal with the issue.

He will say: “Listening to the two of them anyone would think they were powerless backbenchers rather than the leaders of the two parties in Parliament which have proved to be the real roadblocks to reform. It’s like a couple of cowboy builders coming back to your house to tell you how bad their workmanship is.”

“In the light of the charges brought by the DPP against a number of MPs and peers, Gordon Brown and David Cameron are suddenly falling over themselves to talk about political reform. Nobody should be fooled.”

William Hague, the shadow foreign Mbt  secretary, added: “MPs did not have expenses at the time the Bill of Rights was assembled. It was never intended to protect the abuse of taxpayers’ money.

“So for it to be cited in the defence and to be used to try to block the trials of members of parliament now is a disgusting and appalling misuse of parliamentary privilege. It is a debasement of our constitutional principles.”

Mr Cameron wants MPs to consider proposals from Labour backbencher Dr Tony Wright. He chairs a committee which looked at strengthening Parliament.

Dr Wright’s group suggested a range of ideas, including electing the chairs of select committees and the setting up of a new committee which would organise when discussions are scheduled in the House of Commons.

Last night Downing Street insisted that no MP should be above the criminal law.

A spokesman said: “If necessary we will legislate to clarify this.”

There were concerns Mbt shoes that Greece may not meet its tough budget plans as workers started the first in a wave of strikes, prompting worries that Spain, Portugal and the Irish Republic may also struggle to cut their soaring debts. In a sign of the scale of the problems, a gauge of the perceived credit risk of Western European nations overtook that of the most stable US companies for the first time.

The SovX ghd straighteners credit default swap index, a measure of the credit risk of 15 Western European countries, rose to 94 basis points, compared with 92 basis points for the benchmark US index of investment-grade companies. Though many analysts discount comparisons between sovereign risk and corporations, the increase signals the mounting focus on sovereign credit quality. The VIX Index, a measure of volatility often referred to as the fear gauge, jumped by more than 17 per cent yesterday, its biggest one-day gain since January 22.

Portuguese bond prices fell amid the concerns over the country’s debts. The ten-year Portuguese yield spread over German bunds widened by 17 to 161 basis points, while the Greek yield spread was unchanged at 348.

This came as the Monetary Mbt Policy Committee (MPC) of the Bank of England voted to call a halt to quantitative easing, saying it was expecting “gradual growth” in the UK economy. However, it gave warning that repairing the UK’s public finances would weigh on consumer spending.

There were stinging losses on Spanish and Portuguese stock markets. In Madrid the IBEX 35 fell by almost 6 per cent and in Lisbon the PSI 20 shed more than 5 per cent. A surprise rise in US jobless figures compounded the sell-off as investors worried that the American economic recovery was proving sluggish.

The index of the UK’s top 100 companies lost 113.8 points,  ghd hair straighteners  or 2 per cent, to a three-month low of 5,139.31, wiping about £29 billion from the value of British shares. Stock markets in Paris and Frankfurt fell by similar amounts. The FTSE 100 has dropped 9 per cent since January.

On Wall Street the Dow Jones industrial average shed 268.37 points, or 2.61 per cent, to close at 10,002.18. Neil Mackinnon, a VTB Capital global macro strategist, said: “It’s a bloodbath out there and Greece is to blame. This theme of sovereign debt risk is rife and at the forefront of investors’ concerns.”

Worries for the financial health of these countries has serious financial implications for banks and insurance companies across Europe and beyond.

Sterling fell by 0.8 per cent against the dollar as investors fled to the safety of the dollar and the yen, although it ticked up slightly after the MPC announced that it would pause its programme of quantitative easing and keep rates on hold at 0.5 per cent. The pound fell to $1.5758, the lowest level since mid-October. Sterling remained largely flat against the euro, at 87.35p, but fell against a basket of key currencies. On a trade-weighted basis, it fell to 80.5, down from 80.8, its lowest level since mid-January.

The MPC discount Mbt shoes said that it expected “gradual growth” in the economy this year after the “sluggish” performance in the final quarter of 2009. It said that the tax rises and spending cuts needed as the Government sorted out the dire state of the public finances would weigh on consumer spending.

However, questions were raised last night about the adequacy of the fine as a deterrent after it emerged that the man, Simon Treacher, owned shares worth £21 million only months before his dishonesty was detected.

Mr Treacher, 46, who worked as a portfolio Mbt manager for BlueBay Asset Management, a London-listed fund manager, deceived investors by submitting seven altered documents used for valuing positions, the FSA said. Investors lost $650,000 (£408,000) as a result, although the money has since been repaid by BlueBay.

Mr Treacher compounded the problem by misleading investigators after the altered documents had been discovered and handed over to the regulator, the FSA said.

The FSA said that it regarded Mr Treacher’s conduct as a serious breach of its rules and banned him from working in the City. In addition, it imposed one of the biggest fines that it has handed out to an individual for mismarking. The regulator said that the fine imposed on Mr Treacher would have been £200,000 had he not settled at an early stage. Other mitigating factors included unspecified personal problems.

Margaret Cole, the FSA’s head of enforcement, said: “Our actions in banning Simon Treacher and imposing a significant fine will send a powerful message of discount Mbt shoes deterrence to others who might be tempted to behave in this way. His conduct, both in mis-marking the funds and his dealings with us as the regulator, lacked integrity.”

According to regulatory filings by BlueBay in April 2008, Mr Treacher then owned 6.004 million BlueBay shares, which were worth £21 million then and a similar amount today. Even if he had sold all the shares at the nadir of the market, he would have made £4 million.

As a star manager with BlueBay from 2001 until 2008, he is also thought to have received substantial bonuses over many years.

The FSA stood by its claim that the fine was a serious deterrent, although it added that it was now consulting on toughening up penalties. It said that it had taken account of Mr Treacher’s financial Mbt circumstances in setting the fine.

The FSA said that from August to October in 2008 Mr Treacher had distorted monthly valuations of his funds by printing out legitimate broker quotes and then “carefully cutting out and pasting different figures on to the relevant valuation line, copying the altering document, and then submitting the altered copied version as the original quote”.

Alteration of the quotes led to the valuation of funds under Mr Treacher’s management rising by $27 million (£17 million) over three months. BlueBay discovered the alteration of documents through internal checks in November 2008 and launched an investigation. Mr Treacher’s resignation was announced by the company within days.

He later gave misleading answers during two interviews, the FSA said.

BlueBay, a specialist fixed-income ghd straighteners manager that offers hedge funds and long-only products, declined to comment yesterday. It was not criticised by the FSA.

FSA gets tougher

The FSA has stepped up its efforts to punish MBT Shoes wrongdoing by individuals in recent years. In 2009, fines issued jumped by nearly 60 per cent, with the average penalty rising from £43,854 to £70,303.

Another sharp rise in fines is expected next year under new rules that will allow the FSA to issue penalties up to three times higher than at present.

The regulator has been criticised in the past for being too soft on financial wrongdoing. Among the biggest fines issued in recent months was one of £140,000 against a former ghd hair straighteners Morgan Stanley trader accused of “pre-hedging” trades without his clients’ consent.