CBI: recovery on way for the high street October 27, 2009 SALES on Britain’s high streets grew in October at their fastest annual rate in almost two years, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) said yesterday, raising hopes that the retail sector will see a recovery sooner rather than later. In its monthly distributive trades survey, the business lobby said that a net balance of eight [...]
CBI boss Richard Lambert can see early signs of economic recovery November 19, 2009 THE worst is over for the British economy. At least, that was the message from Richard Lambert, the Confederation of Business Industry’s (CBI) thoughtful director-general, when we meet. “We have finally hit the deck,” he tells me, leaning forward. “Things are a lot better now than in the first quarter of this year. Where we [...]
CITY MOVES | WHO’S SWITCHING JOBS April 29, 2010 Aviva The insurance giant has appointed Tim Harris as its new deputy chief financial officer and chief capital officer. Harris is currently chief financial officer of Aviva’s European business. He has also been the group’s chief accountant and, before that, a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers. Aviva has also appointed Richard Dewar, the chief financial officer at [...]
GROWTH NUMBERS SET TO BE SLASHED June 13, 2010 THERE will be a quiet revolution in British economic policy today when the first official but independent forecasts for growth and public borrowing are published. A new Office for Budget Responsibility, headed by Sir Alan Budd, will unveil its initial forecasts at 10am this morning. It is expected to sharply revise down former chancellor Alistair [...]
Businesses give a cautious welcome to Lib-Con plans May 25, 2010 BUSINESS leaders gave a cautious thumbs up to the Liberal-Conservative government’s first Queen’s Speech yesterday, but warned that tax rises and a crackdown on airport expansion would hurt the private sector. George Osborne’s decision to reverse most of the rise in employers’ National Insurance contributions won him plaudits across the business community. John Cridland, deputy [...]
Businesses give a cautious welcome to Lib-Con plans May 25, 2010 BUSINESS leaders gave a cautious thumbs up to the Liberal-Conservative government’s first Queen’s Speech yesterday, but warned that tax rises and a crackdown on airport expansion would hurt the private sector. George Osborne’s decision to reverse most of the rise in employers’ National Insurance contributions won him plaudits across the business community. John Cridland, deputy [...]
Boost for UK as growth is revised higher May 25, 2010 BRITISH policymakers breathed a deep sigh of relief yesterday when the Office for National Statistics (ONS) confirmed that first quarter UK GDP growth had been revised upwards to 0.3 per cent thanks to strong industrial production and business activity. The boost to the growth figure had been expected since the ONS released extremely strong industrial [...]
Blow for Labour as unemployment rises April 21, 2010 UNEMPLOYMENT has surged to its highest level in 16 years, in a major blow for Labour ahead of the general election. The Labour Party says it has protected jobs in the wake of the deepest recession in a generation, but unemployment in the UK increased by 43,000 to 2.5m in the three months to February. [...]
UK factory orders disappoint March 18, 2010 British factory orders fell faster than expected in March and firms were less optimistic about raising output in the coming months, the CBI’s monthly industrial trends survey showed yesterday. The Confederation of British Industry survey’s total order book balance edged lower to -37 from -36, below expectations for a reading of -32.
City: cuts are a good first step May 24, 2010 BUSINESSES applauded George Osborne’s decision to wield the axe on Whitehall spending yesterday, but warned the £6.2bn of savings were a drop in the ocean compared to deeper cuts on the horizon. The chancellor won praise for his decision to begin belt-tightening early, as he announced he was scrapping the Child Trust Fund, pulling the [...]