Powell set for Brit indoor debut December 13, 2011 ATHLETICS: Former 100m world record holder Asafa Powell will make his British indoor debut at the Birmingham Grand Prix on 18 February.
EU: New debt law in March December 13, 2011 A NEW EU treaty could be negotiated by March despite the UK’s veto at Friday’s summit, European Council president Herman Van Rompuy announced yesterday. Europe’s bailout mechanisms may also need boosting, he told MEPs. The 26 nations that did not veto new proposals to ban governments from running up large debts can still negotiate the [...]
Unemployment rises in Europe but US manages to add jobs December 13, 2011 JOBLESSNESS rose again across Europe in October but fell in the US, according to figures out yesterday from the 34-nation Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. The developing crisis pushed up Eurozone unemployment from 10.2 per cent to 10.3 per cent on the month, up 0.2 percentage points on the year. Spanish unemployment hit 22.8 [...]
BARROSO CONDEMNS UK’S VETO DEMAND December 13, 2011 EUROPEAN Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso hit out at the UK government yesterday, claiming that Prime Minister David Cameron’s demands would have harmed the bloc’s single market. “The UK …asked for a specific protocol on financial services which, as presented, was a risk to the integrity of the internal market. This made compromise impossible,” Barroso [...]
Supermarket price war hits food inflation December 13, 2011 THE PACE of price rises slowed slightly last month as the supermarket price war cut inflation and petrol prices fell, according to data from the Office for National Statistics, but the cost of living is still soaring relative to wages. Consumer prices (CPI) rose by 4.8 per cent in the 12 months to November, down [...]
UK standard of living was EU’s highest in 2010 December 13, 2011 HOUSEHOLDS in Britain consume more goods and services on average than any others in the EU besides Luxembourg, according to figures out yesterday from Eurostat. Actual individual consumption (AIC) — a measure of the standard of living — was 21 per cent higher in the UK than the EU average in 2010. The measure takes [...]
CITY VIEWS: HAVE YOU NOTICED PRICE RISES EASING IN CONSUMER GOODS? December 13, 2011 TONY KIERNAN ACME PACKET “Not so much with food – but to be honest I don’t do the shopping, my wife does. I’m more aware of the price of petrol – it often stops me getting in the car.” PHILIP GIFFORD DELOITTE “I’ve definitely noticed food prices stagnating, especially bread and milk. Prices have risen [...]
Retailers say Portas could limit growth December 13, 2011 RETAILERS and landlords have questioned calls by retail expert Mary Portas for measures that would stall out-of-town developments and create a “level playing field” with town centres. In her long-awaited high street review commissioned by the Prime Minister in May, Portas said Britain’s high streets had reached “a crisis point” and warned they could “disappear [...]
Mary’s method: 28 steps to save the high street December 13, 2011 ● Put in place a “town team” – a visionary, strategic and strong operational management team for high streets ● Empower successful business improvement districts to take on more responsibilities and powers and become “super-BIDs” ● Legislate to allow landlords to become high-street investors by contributing to their business improvement districts ● Establish a new [...]
TOP LINES | WHAT WENT WRONG ON THE UK HIGH STREET December 13, 2011 ● The phenomenal growth of online retailing, the rise of shopping through mobile phones, and the sophistication of the major retailers combined with a crippling recession, have all conspired to change today’s retail landscape, Portas said. ● Town centre vacancy rates have doubled over the last two years. With shoppers flocking out of town, less [...]
