By John Walker on December 6, 2009
British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) Economic Forecast - December 2009
Ahead of the Chancellor’s Pre-Budget Report, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has today published its latest Economic Forecast. The business group, which calls itself “the National Voice of Local Business”, has made downward revisions to its GDP expectations for 2009 and 2010, but is more [...]
Posted in Economic Cycles, Employment Levels, England, Forecasts, Lending and Borrowing, Political and Economic Philosophies, Public Spending and State Aid, Scotland, Taxation, UK Budget, Wales | Tagged British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), capital investment, double-dip recession, GDP, international credit rating, labour market, public spending cuts |
By John Walker on December 4, 2009
An international consortium’s breaking of a binding contract has led Corus, Europe’s second largest steel producer, to partially implement the proposal announced in May 2009 of mothballing some of the facilities belonging to the Teesside Cast Products (TCP) business in northeast England.
TCP’s Redcar Blast Furnace, Lackenby steelmaking and the South Bank Coke Ovens will be [...]
Posted in Cleveland (& Redcar), Down sizing / Retraction, Employment Levels, Manufacturing, Metal and Metal Products Manufacturing, Skills and Training, Vehicle Manufacturing | Tagged Corus, Hartlepool, Lackenby steelmaking, Redcar Coke Ovens, Redcar Wharf, Skinningrove, South Bank Coke Ovens, Tata Steel, TCP’s Redcar Blast Furnace, Teesside, Teesside Beam Mill, Teesside Cast Products, Teesside Technology Centre |
By John Walker on October 29, 2009
Ministers gave further backing for British manufacturing excellence today with Business Minister Pat McFadden announcing an increase of Government funding to £40 million for a new manufacturing technology centre (MTC).
Since the Manufacturing Strategy was published in 2008, Government has set out a new activist approach to supporting the economy. The transition to low carbon and [...]
Posted in Employment Levels, IT and Telecommunications Services, Ideas and Innovation, Leicestershire, Manufacturing, Nottinghamshire, Product Research and Development, Skills and Training, Technology, West Midlands |
By John Walker on September 24, 2009
All 1,000 workers at a potash mine in the North York Moors National Park will be working hard this autumn, after Export Credits Guarantee Department (ECGD) and UK Trade &Investment (UKTI) joined forces to help their company secure a major export order.
Cleveland Potash Ltd (CPL) feared it may have to make some tough cost-cutting choices [...]
Posted in Brazil, Employment Levels, Expansion, Financial Services, Lending and Borrowing, Mining, Energy and Utilities, UK |
By John Walker on June 23, 2009
London workers spent an additional 1.3m hours getting to work on the morning of Wednesday 10th June alone due to travel disruptions caused by the Tube Strike, equivalent to 188,000 lost working days. A survey of 1,000 Londoners, commissioned by Citrix Online, found that 33% of London-based employees were disrupted by the strike by London [...]
Posted in Employment Levels, Industrial Relations, London, Organized Labour / Unions, Transport and Distribution |
By John Walker on April 1, 2009
1 April 2009 marks the tenth anniversary of a National Minimum Wage in the UK. The Low Pay Commission was established in 1997 and proposed the structure and rate for the National Minimum Wage, which was implemented on 1 April 1999. Since then, the Low Pay Commission has produced seven more reports, recommending successive increases [...]
Posted in Employment Levels, UK |
By Hazel on March 9, 2009
The cost of trademark fees and services could be reduced following a new review The Intellectual Property Office (IPO) announced today (March 9). This will be done with a public consultation.
Reduced fee packages and new support services could mean business save up to £700,000 per year. The aim is to help businesses register trademarks more [...]
Posted in Employment Levels, Industry Specific News, Politics & Legislation, Startups, UK, Worldwide | Tagged government reviews, IPO, patents, trademarks |