City A.M.’s at-a-glance guide to the key points of Osborne’s mini-Budget November 29, 2011 UK ECONOMIC OUTLOOK • The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) has slashed the growth forecasts it made in March. • Its central forecast for 2011 has been revised down to 0.9 per cent from the 1.7 per cent March prediction. It expects 0.7 per cent year-on-year GDP growth in 2012, instead of 2.5 per cent. [...]
Pride before a fall: Osborne looked to special interests, not the UK’s perilous state November 29, 2011 THE Autumn Statement showed that George Osborne has failed to grasp the gravity of the economic crisis facing the UK. Urgent action was needed to brace the economy for double-dip recession and the fallout from the euro crisis. Instead, the chancellor announced a big increase in government borrowing, together with a series of measures that, [...]
CLOUDS GATHER AHEAD ON OSBORNE’S BIG DAY November 28, 2011 THE UK will fall victim to a second recession, a leading economic forecaster warned yesterday, pushing up unemployment and further damaging George Osborne’s hopes that he will be able to meet his deficit reduction target. The figures will make for grim reading for the chancellor, who will today deliver his Autumn Statement just hours before millions of [...]
Huhne calls for energy backing November 23, 2011 CLIMATE change secretary Chris Huhne hopes his “Green Deal” will kickstart £14bn private investment in insulating draughty homes by 2020. In his annual energy statement, Huhne said policies to increase efficiency and boost participation in renewable technologies would save households about £94, or seven per cent off the annual utility bill. But he conceded rising [...]
Mitie looking for deals as profits grow November 21, 2011 FACILITIES manager Mitie said it had benefited from austerity Britain’s spending cuts as it reported a small rise in first-half profits. The firm, which screens baggage at Heathrow airport and helps keep the Royal Opera House up to scratch, won contracts across the shrinking public sector, pushing it to a 0.8 per cent rise in [...]
Outsourcer Mitie sees healthy sales pipeline November 21, 2011 Outsourcing group Mitie has posted a small profit rise and said a significant bid pipeline leaves it confident of further growth, as governments and businesses seeking to cut costs sign up for its support services. Mitie, whose customers include Tesco and London’s Royal Opera House, said its pre-tax profit before one-off items for the six [...]
The captain of industry who says the UK needs to be more like Asia November 20, 2011 FROM the CBI’s offices on the second floor of the Centre Point tower, you get a great view of the construction site that will eventually become the Tottenham Court Road Crossrail station. It is fitting that the CBI, which was one of the railway’s biggest supporters, is so close to the action, and a reminder [...]
National Grid earnings grow with cost cuts November 17, 2011 NATIONAL Grid yesterday reported a rise in first-half pre-tax profits and said it was on track to deliver strong full-year results. Britain’s biggest energy distributor said first-half profits rose two per cent to £953m, and was up 19 per cent excluding the impact of Hurricane Irene. That compared with estimates of £985.1m, according to a [...]
Rebalancing the economy is a priority: The carbon floor price needs to be scrapped November 17, 2011 POLITICIANS of all parties are keen that the British economy’s fortunes depend less on the work of City A.M.’s readers. Chuka Umunna – Labour’s shadow business secretary – told Bloomberg this week that under the last government growth “was too concentrated in too few sectors, and in too few regions”. Similar sentiments have been expressed [...]
Supermarket price war dents inflation November 15, 2011 CONSUMER price inflation in the UK dropped slightly in October, figures out yesterday from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed, though it remains well above the Bank of England’s target. Headline CPI inflation fell from 5.2 per cent in the year to September to five per cent last month. A 0.9 per cent fall [...]