New infrastructure cannot dig us from our economic hole August 23, 2012 BAD borrowing figures have increased the pressure on the government to change its course, abandon austerity and crank up new public infrastructure projects. Indeed, with a cabinet reshuffle expected in the next few weeks, a number of people have been saying that David Cameron should shuffle his chancellor, George Osborne, off to the backbenches. Neither [...]
UK construction slumps July 3, 2012 British construction activity fell at its fastest pace in two-and-a-half years in June as underlying business conditions worsened and an extra public holiday hit output, a survey showed. The gloomy data will make grim reading for the government and Bank of England who are facing increasing calls to act and boost growth in an economy [...]
CITY VIEWS | DO YOU THINK THE OLYMPICS WILL BE A BOOST TO THE ECONOMY? July 19, 2012 ALEX TROTT ABERDEEN ASSET MANAGEMENT I think it mainly will affect the retail sector, because of the amount of people coming into the area. I agree that London will attract more attention than usual. It’s a big player in the world. JOE CHICK SEB KEY ASSET MANAGEMENT I doubt there will be a profit overall, [...]
Don’t blame developers: Britain’s planning system pushes up prices September 6, 2012 DURING recent planning rows, opponents of reform have argued that our lack of new homes was nothing to do with our 1940s planning system, but a case of greedy developers sitting on land with planning permission. Yesterday, the Local Government Association argued that the problem is big developers sitting on “land banks”. But big developers [...]
Balfour Beatty wins £175m deal for science park in Hong Kong June 27, 2012 CONSTRUCTION giant Balfour Beatty yesterday said that its Hong Kong-based business, Gammon Construction, has been awarded a contract to build a major science park. The HK$2.18bn (£175m) contract, will see the development of an area of 105,000 square metres in which the latest green construction technologies and sustainable building design will be on show. Work [...]
Bill for HS2 likely to fall mainly on UK taxpayers January 10, 2012 TAXPAYERS are set to foot a mammoth bill for the new HS2 rail line, with the combined cost of construction and operation estimated to be in excess of £60bn. Yet the government says the £33bn construction costs will be affordable, spread out over around 15 years. “Actual infrastructure costs would only start once we have [...]
Steel and cement firms hit by slowdown in home-building July 1, 2012 HEAVY industry is suffering in the recession, as light industry goes from strength to strength, according to survey data released by the Construction Products Association (CPA) today. On balance 45 per cent of heavy side firms, which produce products like cement and steel, reported that sales slid in the second quarter of 2012 compared to [...]
US markets await action in Eurozone September 4, 2012 THE S&P 500 and the Dow Jones industrial average closed slightly lower yesterday as investors continued to await clarity on European Central Bank plans to shore up heavily indebted countries, but the market ended off its lows on a rally in Apple shares. The Dow Jones was down 54.90 points, or 0.42 per cent, at [...]
Crisis escalates at Lonmin mine August 16, 2012 LONDON-listed miner Lonmin was battling to keep control of its South African mining operations last night as violent clashes between police and armed mineworkers left several dead. Violence erupted between 3,000 protesting Lonmin employees, some carrying machetes and knives, and police at the platinum mines in Marikana following a tense standoff that has been threatening [...]
Forever young: The scientists trying to cheat death December 11, 2012 Since our species became self aware, it has dreamed of cheating death and ensnaring eternal youth. Life extension experts think it's possible