Lobby calls for more state aid to businesses November 13, 2012 A PROMINENT business group this morning called for a radical Autumn Statement from chancellor George Osborne, asking for more money and support from the government. The government should re-allocate £3.8bn spending from welfare measures towards supporting house-builders, growing firms, and business investment the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said yesterday. “The chancellor’s Autumn Statement must [...]
What brands can learn from Obama’s data-based win November 13, 2012 WHAT can the corporate world learn from Obama’s victory? I see two big lessons: first is the data-driven campaign that Obama ran, which can be replicated by brand owners. The second is that attitudes and behaviours are much more important than demographics when targeting potential voters/consumers. These two lessons are intertwined. It is the use [...]
Policymaker calls for tax on banks for being too big to fail November 13, 2012 BANKS should have to pay taxes or fees until they are no longer too big to fail, a top policymaker said yesterday, despite complaints that new regulations on banks are already hitting lending and growth. Michael Cohrs, an external member of the Bank of England’s Financial Policy Committee (FPC) wants to use this money both [...]
Official data shows house prices slid into decline in September November 13, 2012 HOUSE PRICES started to slide going into September, ending a six-month run of unbroken expansion, official data revealed yesterday. The UK’s average house price slipped 0.2 per cent between August and September, the data from the Office for National Statistics showed, as even London’s housing market came under pressure. London house prices dived some 1.2 [...]
New property lenders move to fill void left by reluctant banks November 13, 2012 NEW lenders rushing to provide funding to the commercial property market has helped fill the void left by the collapse of traditional bank finance, new research claimed today. Property specialists DTZ said the global net debt funding gap has shrunk by 17 per cent to $117bn (£74bn) over the past six months as new debt [...]
Vacancies bounce back in October November 13, 2012 The UK labour market could continue to recover from recession in October, due to rebounding vacancies, according to data from ICAP out yesterday. Vacancies grew 7.6 per cent between September and October, the broker said, compared to a 5.2 per cent drop into September – but vacancies are still 1.1 per cent lower than at [...]
Brazilians keep up retail growth November 13, 2012 Retail sales in Brazil rose for the fourth consecutive month in September, official data revealed yesterday, giving hopeful signs of modest recovery in South America’s biggest economy. Volumes of sales were up 0.3 per cent between August and September, the data from state statistics agency IBGE showed, following a 0.2 per cent rise into August [...]
Producer price rises slow down November 13, 2012 The output prices faced by UK manufacturers rose more slowly in October, data revealed yesterday, while input prices rose marginally after last month’s fall. Output prices increased just 0.1 per cent between September and October, down from the 0.5 per cent growth between August and September. Input prices increased by the same percentage, but this [...]
Lonmin urges support for its rights issue November 13, 2012 PLATINUM miner Lonmin has warned that it will be in a “highly vulnerable position” if its shareholders do not agree to the $817m (£514m) rights issue to shore up its balance sheet in the wake of industrial action at Marikana. Last week, Lonmin rejected several proposals from its largest shareholder Xstrata, which holds 25 per [...]
Persimmon positive on future growth despite tough market November 13, 2012 HOUSEBUILDER Persimmon yesterday warned that the housing market continues to be challenging with mortgage availability the key constraint, but it was optimistic of future growth. In a third quarter update, the group said weekly sales rates were around four per cent higher on the previous year, down slightly from the five per cent reported in [...]