House prices begin to stabilise after 22 months of falls March 12, 2012 REAL estate professionals have delivered the most upbeat forecast on house prices since May 2010, with predictions of a stable market in the next three months. The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) found those questioned were evenly split between expecting prices to go up and down, leaving a net balance of zero. The neutral [...]
OECD sees fresh signs of growth in UK and Eurozone as the States boom March 12, 2012 THE UK should start seeing growth in the next six months, according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). After 10 months of decline, the OECD’s index stabilised in December and grew 0.1 per cent in January. The world’s leading economies are showing signs of expansion this year, with the Eurozone, US, and [...]
FISHER PLAYS DOWN FPC HOPES March 12, 2012 THE BANK of England’s new financial policy committee (FPC) should not be expected to maintain stability continuously, FPC member Paul Fisher said last night. “Just as monetary policy makers will never be able to abolish the business cycle, financial policy makers will never be able to abolish the credit cycle,” he said.
TUC: Spend more on the young March 12, 2012 Scrapping austerity plans and supporting investment and young people are the best way to boost economic growth, the Trades Union Congress (TUC) said yesterday. In its Budget submission, the TUC called for the credit easing scheme to be accelerated and doubled to £40bn, a state investment bank to be established, and apprenticeships to be extended [...]
SMEs want higher trainee pay March 12, 2012 Most small firms would support a rise in the minimum wage for apprentices, according to a study from the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB). Eight in ten said they would be happy to see the weekly wage rise to £123. Cutting employers’ national insurance contributions would help boost employment, the group argued, suggesting the cuts [...]
Europe immigrants take low jobs March 12, 2012 The vast majority of European immigrants to the UK come to work in low-skilled jobs rather than sponge off the state, according to the influential think tank Open Europe. But Brits are losing out on those low-paid jobs due to poor domestic policies that leave the native population ill-equipped to work. Open Europe said that [...]
E.ON reviews plans to build biomass plant March 12, 2012 THE government yesterday approved a 150 megawatt (MW) biomass power plant to be developed by utility E.ON, but the company said it was reviewing the project in light of a proposed cut in state subsidies four years from now. E.ON’s climate and renewables arm can now build a plant in the western England port city [...]
Gulf Keystone shares plunge March 12, 2012 GULF Keystone Petroleum shares plunged nearly 17 per cent yesterday as investors remained unconvinced by the company’s update on oil drilling in the Kurdistan region of northern Iraq. Stocks in the Aim-listed company fell 47p to 240p despite its statement that its Shaikan-4 appraisal well, in particular, was giving “excellent” results. Analyst Dougie Youngson, of [...]
Centamin picks up after Sukari dispute resolution March 12, 2012 SHARES in gold miner Centamin rallied yesterday after it said normal operations had resumed at its Sukari gold mine in Egypt. The Egypt-focused miner said on 6 March it had temporarily halted operations at its flagship gold mine due to “illegal labour unrest”, sending its shares down over 12 per cent. The miner said the [...]
CARILLION WINS THAMESLINK CONTRACT March 12, 2012 SUPPORT services firm Carillion announced yesterday it has been chosen to deliver further construction work for the Network Rail Thameslink programme, securing a contract worth up to £120m. Carillion will be responsible for improvements to depots and sites to allow the introduction of the new 12-car fleet across the cross-London rail link.
