Sector gap on pensions is widening January 2, 2012 THE GAP between pension scheme provision in the public and private sectors is widening, according to a new warning from actuaries. While over five million government sector workers enjoy the benefits of “open” defined benefit schemes, such schemes are closing on private sector employees, the Association of Consulting Actuaries (ACA) will argue today. Nine out [...]
Activists’ new legal fight January 2, 2012 PROTESTERS who have taken over a disused London courthouse are expected to fight an eviction attempt today. The activists, who claimed Old Street Magistrates’ Court as the fourth Occupy site in the week before Christmas, will appear at Clerkenwell and Shoreditch County Court. Last night they said in a statement: “Mastcraft Ltd, owners of the [...]
Property cash flocks to uni halls January 2, 2012 Investors at home and abroad have committed £840m to UK student accommodation projects in the last year, compared with £770m in 2010, as property developers look to cash in on the soaring number of overseas students. Research by real estate adviser CBRE suggests that last year’s hike in university tuition fees has led to a [...]
North-south housing divide jumps January 2, 2012 The UK’s housing market is now worth just over half its value during the 2007 boom, and the gap between the north and south of the country has widened, research by property agent Savills shows. The active market in London and the south east made up a whopping 47 per cent of all transactions in [...]
BAE Systems wins £133m deal January 2, 2012 BAE Systems has signed a deal worth £133m with the Brazilian Navy to supply it with three patrol vessels. The ocean patrol vessels are already built as they were ordered by the government of Trinidad and Tobago in a contract which was terminated in 2010. Two of the boats were constructed on the Clyde and [...]
Retail layoffs to soar as six chains falter January 2, 2012 MORE than 11,800 retail jobs and 870 high street shops may be lost in coming weeks after six struggling high street names were put up for sale or into administration in December. Retail analysts warned of a potential wave of consolidation in the sector and grim trading updates this month as poor Christmas trading put [...]
High street facing a bleak midwinter as commitments loom January 2, 2012 A PERFECT storm of rental payments, tax deadlines, squeezed consumer spending and stretched lending conditions is swirling round the UK retail sector, with the new year expected to be crunch time for several struggling firms. Not only was Christmas day the latest official quarterly rent payment for retail tenants, but stores also need cash to [...]
Level pegging for top three in Iowa polling January 2, 2012 REPUBLICANS in Iowa will kick off the voting in the first caucus of the US presidential elections tonight, with recent polls putting all of the top three candidates within two per cent of one another. Public Policy Polling put Ron Paul, once viewed as a wildcard candidate, in the lead yesterday, at 20 per cent. [...]
US sells $3.5bn of arms to the United Arab Emirates January 2, 2012 THE UNITED States has agreed the $3.5bn (£2.26bn) sale of an advanced anti-missile interception system to the United Arab Emirates, part of an accelerating military build-up of its friends and allies near Iran. The deal, signed on 25 December and announced later by the US Defense Department, “is an important step in improving the region’s [...]
Iran test fires long-range missiles in Gulf naval drills January 2, 2012 IRAN said yesterday it had successfully test-fired what it described as two long-range missiles, flexing its military muscle in the face of mounting Western pressure over its nuclear programme. The announcement came at the climax of 10 days of naval exercises in the Gulf, during which Tehran has warned it could shut the Strait of [...]
