Manufacturers to lead a mild UK recovery April 1, 2012 MANUFACTURING, media and telecoms will lead the UK’s economic recovery, while construction and business services will struggle to keep up, a study out today claims. The weak pound will support manufacturing by keeping the sector internationally competitive, which should see business failures keep falling into 2013, according to the study from accountancy and law firm [...]
Manufacturers to lead a mild UK recovery April 1, 2012 MANUFACTURING, media and telecoms will lead the UK’s economic recovery, while construction and business services will struggle to keep up, a study out today claims. The weak pound will support manufacturing by keeping the sector internationally competitive, which should see business failures keep falling into 2013, according to the study from accountancy and law firm [...]
Cable in plea to business after Hague attack May 14, 2012 VINCE Cable was forced to defend his cabinet colleague William Hague yesterday after a series of Conservative attacks on British business provoked outrage. Cable said “commercial diplomacy” is a major part of foreign policy as Hague came under fire from business leaders for telling them to stop “complaining” about the economy and “work harder”. “He [...]
Services help to lift Balfour Beatty profit March 8, 2012 BALFOUR Beatty, Britain’s largest contractor, yesterday posted a nine per cent rise in full-year profit as growth at its professional services and infrastructure units helped offset weakness at its British and US construction businesses. Balfour, which operates in some 80 countries and offers a range of infrastructure services, revealed an underlying pre-tax profit of £334m [...]
Champagne sunset Friday night at Tower Bridge June 17, 2012 THE CITY is magical at night,” says Stella Ioannou, Project Director of Celebrate the City. She’s right, of course. The London skyline is among the most recognisable anywhere in the world and its finest rooftops and spires – from the dome of St Paul’s to the tip of the Gherkin – are clustered in and [...]
Pressure on US banks to raise capital buffers April 11, 2012 TOP FED officials yesterday warned against the risks to financial stability posed by European debt and pushed for banks to hold more capital against future crises. Kansas City Federal Reserve president Esther George said the leverage ratio is one buffer in the financial system that is historically there to absorb losses, and that there must [...]
Here’s the real Plan B for Britain: We need a competition revolution May 14, 2012 NO ONE can dispute that the UK economy needs more growth. It seems that the coalition’s essential austerity measures are not enough. But despite its cheerleaders, the usual Plan B, based on debt-financed infrastructure spending, won’t make any difference to growth – while denting confidence. One such plan suggested £30bn in spending. Over three years, [...]
UK manufacturing sector growth slows March 1, 2012 Britain’s manufacturing sector grew in February, albeit at a slower pace than in the previous month, raising chances the sector will be a driver of growth for the overall economy in the first quarter. The Markit/CIPS Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) ticked down to 51.2 from a slightly downwardly revised 52.0 in January, which was [...]
China’s CCB posts rise in 2011 profit March 25, 2012 CHINA Construction Bank, the world’s second biggest lender by market value, reported a 25 per cent rise in 2011 net profit, missing expectations as lending curbs on the real estate sector hit earnings. Net profit in 2011 rose to 169.3bn yuan (£16.9bn) from 135bn yuan the year before, according to a filing to the Hong [...]
Silence of the doves as inflation concerns grow April 18, 2012 AFTER tolerating the UK’s high inflation for years, Bank of England officials have suddenly begun to worry that it is not coming down towards its two per cent target as they had hoped. The Bank had predicted inflation would fall to its target before the end of the year, but deputy governor Paul Tucker yesterday [...]