Without supermarkets, that wouldn't happen."The publication of the findings will remove a shroud of uncertainty from the sector, and may spark a wave of consolidation. Safeway is seen as the most likely to be swallowed by a competitor, with Asda and Morrison potential buyers.. The online bank egg last night embarked on an unexpected change of image with a new advertising campaign that features two men in the shower and lying on a bed together. The online bank egg last night embarked on an unexpected change of image with a new advertising campaign that features two men in the shower and lying on a bed together. The Broadcast Advertisement Clearance Centre, which screens all adverts before they are launched, has ruled that two of the series of four adverts, which keeps viewers guessing about the sexuality of the male characters, were not appropriate to be shown during or between children's programmes.The adverts, which started screening yesterday evening, feature one character, known as Rob, scrubbing the other, called Stuart, in the shower.

In a different advert Rob lies with his arms around Stuart on a bed and tells him "We love you".In the other two of the sequence, which were directed by Spike Jonze, creator of the film Being John Malkovich, Stuart appears to be heterosexual and has a girlfriend called Louise. All of the adverts end with children chanting: "Egg and me, up in a tree, k, i, s, s, i, n, g."Egg said yesterday the decision to portray the characters with ambiguous sexuality was part of its plan to create an "edgy" image.Tony Williams, head of branding for egg, said: "We considered having two women who could be gay and thought that was too edgy and a man and a woman would have been just normal. We think this is edgy but getting it right."However, in the last few days the bank, which has 1.1 million customers, decided to change the order in which the adverts are shown. The instalment called Bed will now be shown last in the series, rather than first, due to concerns that it will "polarise viewers".Mr Williams admitted that the board of egg, whose parent company is the insurance giant Prudential, was "very nervous" about the campaign, which cost £3m.But he said the move was part of egg's drive to represent a new set of values and so attract new customers.Egg's plan comes as competition mounts among the internet banks to grab younger and less traditional customers.However, the gay community has expressed concerns about egg's portrayal of sexuality. David Hudson, editor of the gay magazine Fluid, said: "Anything that makes people sit up and think about issues is welcome.

But I think portraying a real gay couple would have been more novel and more challenging.". Britain will today press for a delay in the launch of a £1.8bn project to develop a global satellite navigation system funded jointly by the European Union and private industry. Britain will today press for a delay in the launch of a £1.8bn project to develop a global satellite navigation system funded jointly by the European Union and private industry. Lord MacDonald of Tradeston, Minister for Transport, is expected to tell a council meeting of EU transport ministers in Luxembourg that there are still too many uncertainties over the funding and management of the Galileo project to risk giving it the go-ahead.The EU hopes to give the green light to Galileo at the end of December, enabling Europe to have a satellite navigation system in place from 2005 to rival the US-controlled GPS system. But Britain wants a delay of at least six months in order to establish the degree of private sector financial commitment.More than 100 potential uses for Galileo have been identified ranging from military applications and air transport navigation to train control systems, fleet management and the tracking of stolen vehicles or those transporting dangerous materials.Supporters of Galileo claim that the project could create up to 146,000 jobs across Europe and generate exports worth up to 20 billion euros a year (£12bn) by 2010, of which Britain could account for between 10 and 30 per cent.The EU and the European Space Agency have earmarked a contribution of 1.5bn euros towards the 3bn euros cost of developing and deploying Galileo.

In addition there will be running costs of around 250m euros a year. However, there are doubts about the willingness of the private sector to provide the rest.The existing GPS system is 100 per cent funded by the US government and is free to commercial users. However, Galileo will have to charge in order to recoup investment in the system. One option is to charge a levy on every piece of equipment containing a receiver. Other options are shadow tolls, paid by governments to reflect social and economic benefits of the system, or special access payments from critical users such as air traffic control.The EU has provided 100m euros in development funding, the bulk of which has gone to Galileo Industries, a four-nation partnership in which Britain has a 25 per cent stake The UK partner is BAe Systems.

The other nations involved are France, Germany and Italy.Dr Michael Healey, development director at Galileo Industries, said that private industry would be prepared to demonstrate its commitment by contributing around £10m towards a £20m fund to continue development work on the project.The chief executives of Galileo Industries and Siderius, another industrial grouping formed by Thomson CSF of France and Telespazio of Italy, are due to meet the EC Transport Commissioner, Loyola de Palacio, in ten days time to report on progress. Whitehall sources insisted that the UK was not deliberately seeking to delay Galileo. But one source said: "Unless we get the results of all the studies into the cost benefits, funding and management of the project it is difficult to see how we will be in a position to make a decision in December.". Car giant Ford is to cut prices of new models by up to 13 per cent, reducing the price of some vehicles by almost £2,000, the company announced today. Car giant Ford is to cut prices of new models by up to 13 per cent, reducing the price of some vehicles by almost £2,000, the company announced today. The cuts are part of a series of measures by Ford which it says are aimed at bringing "clarity and stability" to the marketplace.Cuts in recommended retail prices will range from 5 per cent to 13.1 per cent, and a new three-year warranty backdated to September 1 will be given on all new Ford cars.The cuts take effect immediately. Under them, the 1.7 Ford Puma is reduced by £1,960 to £12,995, while the Ford Focus is £1,505 cheaper at £11,995.Delivery charges on all new Ford cars will now be included as part of the basic price instead of being listed as a separate item.Ford plans to reimburse the difference to anyone who bought a Ford car last month which was more expensive than the new prices announced today, taking into account any cashback.Ford Managing Director Ian McAllister said the new measures would build on previous offers such as cashback.Pressure has been building on carmakers to cut prices following a Competition Commission report in the summer that said cars were overpriced by 10 per cent in this country.. The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee is this week expected to keep interest rates on hold despite fresh evidence that rising pay levels will put the Government's inflation target under renewed pressure.