Warmer April boosted high street’s sales May 19, 2011 HIGH street sales shot up in April according to official figures released yesterday, with the royal wedding and unusually warm weather cited as possible reasons for the upturn. The volume of sales, excluding petrol, was up 1.2 per cent on the previous month, and 2.7 per cent higher than at the same time last year. [...]
Manufacturing back on track May 19, 2011 BRITAIN’S resurgent factory sector remains on track for a strong recovery, according to the latest industrial trends survey from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). Order books jumped to well above the long-run average for the survey this month, up nine points from April. Total orders rose to a two per cent negative balance (from [...]
Skilled staff tough to find as positions left unfilled May 19, 2011 SKILLED labour is increasingly difficult to find, a survey of British employers revealed yesterday. One in six employers indicated problems with filling positions, recruitment firm Manpower UK found, up from one in 12 employers reporting the same issue last year. “Many organisations that have previously cut their headcounts are now finding that they need to [...]
Earthquake-hit Japan plunges into recession May 19, 2011 JAPAN’S economy officially plunged into recession in the past quarter, official figures confirmed yesterday. The devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit the country in March was partly responsible for an unexpectedly sharp 0.9 per cent drop in GDP in the opening three months of the year. “The second-quarter data will be even worse,” warned Julian [...]
Bank: we accept inflation May 19, 2011 THE Bank of England has “chosen to accept” above-target inflation in an attempt to rebalance the economy towards exports and business investment, deputy governor Charles Bean admitted yesterday. Keeping inflation close to its two per cent target “would have required a markedly higher level of Bank Rate and with it most probably a somewhat higher [...]
Fraud against government costs £700m, says KPMG May 19, 2011 FRAUD against the UK government is costing the public purse almost £700m a year, leading consultant KPMG will announce today. Fraud had reached a peak of £679m in 2006-07, before dropping to £286m in 2008-09 following a VAT-related clampdown. Yet fraud surged to a fresh high of £693m in 2010-11. “Financial criminals are now becoming [...]
Fuel costs passed onto consumers May 19, 2011 Businesses in Britain are paying over £250m more for fuel than they were a year ago, research revealed yesterday. And over half (52 per cent) of firms will pass the extra costs onto their customers, Bibby Financial Services found. The research revealed that the impact on Britain’s small and medium sized enterprises is one of [...]
American existing house sales fall May 19, 2011 Sales of previously owned US homes fell in April, a trade group said yesterday, in a sign that the country’s housing market is struggling to recover from the recent financial crisis. Sales slipped 0.8 per cent month-on-month, the National Association of Realtors revealed.
Philadelphia factory growth slows May 19, 2011 Factory activity in the US Mid-Atlantic region grew much more slowly than expected in May, a survey showed yesterday. The Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank said its business activity index slumped to 3.9 from 18.5 in April. Economists had expected a much higher reading.
US jobs market still struggling May 19, 2011 New claims for unemployment benefits in the US fell more than expected last week, but a rise in the four-week moving average to a six-month high indicated the labour market recovery will remain painfully slow. Initial jobless claims fell 29,000 to a seasonally adjusted 409,000. Yet the prior week’s figure was revised up to 438,000 [...]
