Tourists desert UK in July as Brits flee rain September 13, 2012 TOURISTS deserted the UK during July, data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed yesterday, while Britons escaped the gloomy weather abroad. Overseas residents made 3.2m visits to the UK during July, a fall of five per cent on the previous year, with earnings falling six per cent to £2bn. At the same time, [...]
Government waives estate agent rules to help property start-ups September 13, 2012 WEBSITES that host adverts for private property sales will no longer be subject to estate agency regulations, the government announced yesterday. The change in policy is designed to make it easier for homeowners to contact purchasers directly through start-up websites by reducing the regulatory burden. At the moment such websites are legally responsible for ensuring [...]
US budget deficit widens to $191bn September 13, 2012 ■ The US budget deficit widened to $191bn (£118bn) in August, mostly due to monthly benefit payments that were made earlier because of the September labor day holiday weekend. The deficit in August 2011 was $134bn. The Treasury Department said yesterday that receipts totaled $179bn in August, up $10bn from the same period last year. [...]
Brazil announces tax breaks September 13, 2012 ■ Brazil announced tax breaks for more than two dozen industries yesterday, the latest in a flurry of stimulus measures to bolster a slow recovery in Latin America’s largest economy. Finance minister Guido Mantega said the government will cut its economic growth estimate to two per cent this year from a previous three per cent, [...]
Indian economy to overtake China’s September 13, 2012 ■ The Indian economy will overtake China in 2048 to become the world’s largest economy, according to Professor Douglas McWilliams, Mercer’s School Memorial Gresham Professor of Commerce. In last night’s inaugural lecture, McWilliams, predicted that Chinese growth, which is already slowing, will decline to around four per cent during the 2020s. He attributes part of [...]
Brits take more train journeys as MPs criticise UK bus services September 13, 2012 BRITAIN’S railways have seen a surge in traffic in the last quarter – but the bus network, which carries three times the number of passengers, remains “the Cinderella of public transport”, according to MPs. More than 360m train journeys were made in the three months to 30 June, a rise of four per cent on [...]
London-based projects flatter profits for Kier September 13, 2012 CONSTRUCTION firm Kier Group yesterday reported a two per cent rise in full-year profit, as strong growth in its London-based operations helped to buoy profit. The FTSE 250-listed construction company, whose operations range from building power stations to providing outsourcing to local authorities, posted pre-tax profit of £70m in the year to 30 June, up [...]
Gold estimates up at African firm September 13, 2012 ■ Gold miner African Consolidated Resources yesterday upped its resource estimate to 3.2m ounces of gold, from 513,000 ounces, at its Pickstone-Peerless gold project in Zimbabwe. The gold firm says that 1.5m ounces are “open-pittable” at a good gold grade. It is moving the project forward this month with a feasibility study, which is targeting [...]
Bridge Energy lists on AIM September 13, 2012 ■ Oslo-listed Bridge Energy yesterday confirmed plans to list on the junior stock market. The North Sea explorer and producer will debut on AIM on 27 September with a market capitalisation of around £78m. Bridge Energy, which has oil and gas exploration and production operations in both the UK and Norway, has been listed on [...]
Revenues increase at Safestore September 13, 2012 ■ Self-storage retailer Safestore yesterday reported revenue of £24.9m for the third quarter up from £24.1m the year before, with occupancy up 8.8 per cent over the quarter. Revenue per available room was up to £18.71 in the UK, up six per cent on the same period last year. Chief executive Peter Gowers said that [...]
