U.K. Economy picking up?

HIGH STREET FOOTFALL HAS INCREASED 2.7%

Badboy wrote:HIGH STREET FOOTFALL HAS INCREASED 2.7%

With the latest newd about Cyprus Badboy, the £ has strengthened which will affect exports so with the latest news about Cyprus everything is uncertain

KFC TO CREATE 1,600 JOBS

A FICTIONAL? FILM CONCERNING LEONARDO DA VINCI HAS CREATED OVER 3000? PART/FULL TIME JOBS IN NEATH PORT TALBOT,HOTELS ETC BEING BENEFICATIES.

UK to escape triple dip, says NIESR


Britain will escape a triple dip recession by the skin of its teeth,
acccording to the National Institute of Economic and Social Research.








Manufacturing recovered from
January's weather affected collapse by more than expected Photo: Getty
Images






By Philip Aldrick, Economics
Editor

3:00PM BST 09 Apr 2013


2 Comments




NIESR’s estimate that the economy grew by 0.1pc in the three months to March
came on the back of strong manufacturing data for February that had already
allayed analysts’ worst fears.


Sterling jumped in early trading on rising hopes that the country would dodge
an unprecedented third technical recession in less than five years.


Confidence in the recovery had already been helped by a strong rebound in
manufacturing in February, as output jumped by 0.8pc – double economists’
forecasts – following January’s disastrous, weather-affected 1.5pc collapse. The
broader measure of industrial production also bounced back by 1pc, reversing
much of January’s 1.3pc decline, according to the Office for National Statistics
(ONS).


“With the UK’s largest oil and gas field coming back on-stream in March,
likely leading to another positive gain in output, we are more optimistic that
the UK can avoid its third technical recession,” James Knightley, an economist
at ING, said.


The sharp improvement in manufacturing, which accounts for 7pc of the UK
economy, offset another poor performance by Britain’s exporters. The ONS said
the trade deficit soared to £3.6bn in February, from £2.5bn the previous month.
Economists had expected an increase to £3bn.



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  09 Apr 2013
  
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  09 Apr 2013
  
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  Trade figures set to fuel triple-dip recession
  fears
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More worrying was a 4.7pc fall in exports of goods to non-EU countries – the
very markets Britain’s manufacturers are targeting for growth. Although the fall
in non-EU exports to £11.8bn was largely accounted for by a £329m drop in
exports to the US to £3.16bn, exports the BRICS – Brazil, Russia, India, China
and South Africa – also fell over the month by £178m to £2.2bn.

“There is little sign of a goods trade-led recovery emerging in the UK,”
Scott Corfe, senior economist at the Centre for Economics and Business Research.
“Goods exports still haven’t become sufficiently internationally competitive for
a rebalancing of the economy to take place.”

NIESR’s prediction that the UK has begun to grow again following the 0.3pc
decline in the final three months of 2012 was tempered by its statement that
“the economy [was] broadly flat in the first quarter of this year”. It expects
growth of just 0.7pc this year, marginally more than the Office for Budget
Responsibility’s forecast of 0.6pc.

NIESR confirmed that it still believes the economy will take a full seven
years to recover from the crisis – the worst performance in more than a century.
“We do not expect output to pass its peak in early 2008 until 2015,” it said.


Overall, the trade deficit for goods soared from £8.2bn in January to £9.4bn
– far worse than economists forecasts of £8.8bn. The trade surplus on services,
which has been affected by declining demand for UK banking exports, edged up
from £5.7bn to £5.8bn.

“The volume of total UK exports fell again in February 2013 from January, so
that export volumes have fallen by 7.5pc since the start of the year,” the ONS
said.

The trade data will come as a disappointment for the Chancellor, who has been
looking to a rebound in UK exports to rebalance the economy from consumer
spending to overseas demand. However, the recovery in industrial production
following the snow-affected January will have been welcomed.

The improvement in industrial activity was led by manufacturing, mining and
quarrying. However, Nida Ali, economist at Ernst & Young ITEM Club, said:
“The heavy dependence on the eurozone for exports means that near-term prospects
for manufacturers are poor.

“UK firms have started rebalancing away from their traditional export markets
towards faster growing emerging nations, but we are starting from such a low
base that it will take time for this to have much of an impact.”
=================================
At least the latest figures have shown a tiny improvement, let's hope it improves more each month until the threat of another downgrade is abated.

Jobless Total Up As Income Squeeze Tightens


The squeeze on household incomes tightens even further as
the jobless total rises for a second month.


9:48am UK,
Wednesday 17 April 2013

Pay increases deteriorated by more than was
forecast

UK
unemployment total between March 2012 and February
2013 (in millions).

Month

Apr

May

June

Jul

Aug

Sept

Oct

Nov

Dec

Jan '13

Feb

2.48

2.66

FusionCharts

ONS

Graph: UK's Unemployment
Rollercoaster
Enlarge

• 
  
  
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• 
  [email=?subject=Shared from Sky News: Jobless%20Total%20Up%20As%20Income%20Squeeze%20Tightens&body=Shared from Sky News: Jobless%20Total%20Up%20As%20Income%20Squeeze%20Tightens http://news.sky.com/story/1079245]Email[/email]
  

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The unemployment total has risen for the second month in a row
while average pay increases were found to be at their weakest on record.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the number of people without
work rose 70,000 in the three months to the end of February to reach 2.56
million - pushing the jobless rate up to 7.9%.

The number of people in work fell by 2,000 over the period to just under 30
million - the first time the figure has dipped since autumn 2011.

There were 900,000 out of work for more than a year, an 8,000 increase on the
three months to November, while the number of unemployed 16 to 24-year-olds rose
by 20,000 to 979,000.

However, those claiming unemployment benefit fell by 7,000 in March.

While the jobless figures suggested a reversal in the resilience of the UK
labour market amid the UK's weak economic growth, it was the pay statistics that
will most worry those who are seeking a pick-up in consumer spending to boost
output.

Pay, excluding bonuses, rose by 1% between November and February compared to
a year earlier which was the smallest on record, the ONS said.

With CPI inflation currently measured at an annual rate of 2.8%, the pay
figure demonstrates that prices are continuing to rise at a faster pace than
wage growth at a time when energy bills and many other costs have soared.

Employers have been limiting pay increases as a way of keeping hold of staff
amid the flat-lining economy.

The move has been cited by some economists as a key reason why unemployment
levels fell last year: companies wanting to be ready for when recovery came.

GDP reaction: fears Britain suffering Japan-like stagnation


Vince Cable today warned of “serious issues” facing the economy even though
official figures showed that Britain escaped an unprecedented triple-dip
recession, as Labour MPs warn Britain is entering a period of stagnant growth
similar to that seen in Japan.








Turning Japanese? Labour MPs
claim Britain is in the midst of a 'lost decade' of stagnant growth Photo: Alex Segre /
Alamy





By Robert Watts

12:00PM BST 25 Apr 2013

61 Comments




The Business Secretary said that economic growth of 0.3 per cent in the first
quarter of this year were “modestly encouraging”, but added that the recovery
was a “marathon, not a sprint”.


Mr Cable said: “Today's figures are modestly encouraging and taken alongside
other indicators such as employment figures, suggest that things are going in
the right direction.


“However there is still a long way to go and some serious issues such as the
systemic lack of bank lending to SMEs, the weakness in the construction sector
and the need to press further on trade and exports. These issues all need to be
addressed before people feel like the economy is genuinely starting to recover.”



In the days before the official growth number was published several City
forecasters expected the Office for National Statistics would show the economy
had shrunk during the first quarter.


John Mann, a Labour MP on the House of Commons Treasury Committee, warned
that today's figures confirmed “the Japan-isation of the British economy”.




Related Articles

• 
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  0.3pc GDP growth
  25 Apr 2013
  
• 
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  24 Apr 2013
  

Mr Mann told the BBC: “In Japan, their economy stagnated - sometimes it went
down to below zero, sometimes just above it, but it kept on this very low-growth
trend and kept there for 15 years and it's been a disaster for Japan.

"We are in the same cycle and breaking out of it will need a change of
policy. It's the trend that's the problem, that we have this continuous
virtually-no-growth trend and we are falling further and further behind our
competitors.”

However, some economists were upbeat about the better-than-expected GDP
number.

Andrew Goodwin, senior economic advisor to the Ernst & Young ITEM Club,
said: “We’re optimistic that this will mark the beginning of a more sustained
recovery after several false starts over the past eighteen months.

“The government’s various schemes around the housing market should help to
stabilise the slumping construction sector, while struggling manufacturers will
benefit from the weaker pound and emerging global recovery.

Consumers should also continue to offer some support, making use of the extra
cash they’ve been given through the large increase in the income tax personal
allowance.”

The services sector – which accounts for three quarters of the economy’s
output, grew by a 0.6 per cent between January and March.

Hotels and restaurant performed well, and there was a 1.4 per cent pick-up in
the transport and communications sector.

The output of the construction sector fell by 2.5 per cent. While this
industry has been a persistent drag on the recovery, some economists were
predicting this sector’s size would shrink by as much as 5 per cent.

Nevertheless, the economy still remains 2.6 per cent smaller than it was
before the start of the economic crisis and growth this year is still widely
expected to be no better than 1 per cent.

George Osborne, the Chancellor said: “Today's figures are an encouraging sign
the economy is healing. Despite a tough economic backdrop, we are making
progress. The deficit is down by a third, businesses have created over a million
and a quarter new jobs, and interest rates are at record lows.

“We all know there are no easy answers to problems built up over many years,
and I can't promise the road ahead will always be smooth, but by continuing to
confront our problems head on, Britain is recovering and we are building an
economy fit for the future."

LinkedIn

George Osborne











.









98 Comments
























Where UK economic growth is coming from






'Cautious George Osborne has damaged the
economy'





Debt crisis: live

WHITBREAD IS TO EXPAND ITS COSTA,PREMIER INN,BEEFEATER AND BEERFAYRE BRANCHES AND CREATE JOBS

Badboy wrote:WHITBREAD IS TO EXPAND ITS COSTA,PREMIER INN,BEEFEATER AND BEERFAYRE BRANCHES AND CREATE JOBS

Well that is good news Badboy , did you watch that programme on T.V. last night where the Fashion Guru Wok, Gok? was training a bunch of youngsters and trying to get a Grant from the Lottery to finance a small business for them. They were an unruly lot, not at all disciplined and they had to design a T shirt and have it made with a slogan on th front , "make the change" or something like that. Anyway, he had arranged with JD Sports for them to stand outside the Store in London selling the T shirts , work at the Counter packing them and using the Tills but what they didn't know was Gok had been trying to get a Grant from the Lottery and someone was inside the Store watching them and he was very nervous about the Group's behaviour. They were great, really enthusiastic and when he invited them to a Fashion show they were told their enterprise had been awarded £2 million and JD Sports said they would place orders for them.
Nice to get some good news for a change eh?

Panda wrote:

Badboy wrote:WHITBREAD IS TO EXPAND ITS COSTA,PREMIER INN,BEEFEATER AND BEERFAYRE BRANCHES AND CREATE JOBS

Well that is good news Badboy , did you watch that programme on T.V. last night where the Fashion Guru Wok, Gok? was training a bunch of youngsters and trying to get a Grant from the Lottery to finance a small business for them. They were an unruly lot, not at all disciplined and they had to design a T shirt and have it made with a slogan on th front , "make the change" or something like that. Anyway, he had arranged with JD Sports for them to stand outside the Store in London selling the T shirts , work at the Counter packing them and using the Tills but what they didn't know was Gok had been trying to get a Grant from the Lottery and someone was inside the Store watching them and he was very nervous about the Group's behaviour. They were great, really enthusiastic and when he invited them to a Fashion show they were told their enterprise had been awarded £2 million and JD Sports said they would place orders for them.
Nice to get some good news for a change eh?

VERY GOOD NEWS INDEED,LETS SUPPORT SOME OF THESE BUSINESSES BY SHOPPING THERE!

WHITBREAD IS TO CREATE 12,000 JOBS
HALLELUJAH, PRAISE THE LORD!

Badboy wrote:WHITBREAD IS TO CREATE 12,000 JOBS
HALLELUJAH, PRAISE THE LORD!

Pity it's not manufacturing for export though Badboy.

BSkyB Nine-Month Profits Jump 9% To £994m


The company which owns Sky News says its paid-for
subscription product base has exceeded 30 million for the first time.


9:11am UK,
Thursday 02 May 2013

BSkyB says its multi-product strategy is delivering
strong results












30108944152

• 
  
  
  
  BSkyB, the owner of Sky News, has announced a 9% rise in profits
  and confirmed the creation of 550 new jobs.
  
  Adjusted operating profit for the nine months to March 31 reached £994m,
  partly driven by growth in the number of products customers are paying for.
  
  Sky said its total paid-for subscription product base had exceeded 30 million
  for the first time, with broadband and telephone performing particularly
  well.
  
  It added 152,000 broadband customers over the past three months while 186,000
  more homes took Sky Talk services.
  
  Another highlight from its performance was a fivefold year-on-year increase
  in On Demand downloads, hitting 4.5 million on average per week.
  
  The company said the new roles would be mainly based at its new customer
  contact centre in Newcastle and support growth in its product base.
  Jeremy Darroch is Sky's chief
  executive
  The move meant Sky had created a total of 1,250 jobs during 2013.
  
  Chief executive Jeremy Darroch said: “We have had a good third quarter and
  our multi-product strategy is delivering strong results.
  
  "Increased take-up across our product set led to another improvement in
  financial performance with growth in revenues and profits accelerating in the
  third quarter.
  
  "Group revenues are up 6%, operating profit up 9% and earnings per share up
  16% for the first nine months.
  
  "In our television business, we continue to see rapid growth in our connected
  TV services as customers take advantage of new ways to watch our content. The
  number of internet-connected Sky+HD boxes grew by almost 45,000 every week in
  the quarter, leading to a fivefold increase in On Demand downloads and 37%
  growth in movie rentals against last year.
  
  "Alongside the expansion of our mobile video service with the launch of Sky
  Go Extra, these trends are opening up new sources of future growth and value
  creation.
  
  "These results highlight the way that our successful transition to more
  broadly-based growth has created a bigger, more profitable business. And having
  more ways to grow serves us particularly well at a time when household budgets
  look likely to remain stretched."
  
  He concluded: "We will continue to focus on overall product sales as the best
  means of delivering sustainable growth and returns for shareholders."
  
  The BSkyB share price rose 2% in early trading on the FTSE 100 as the results
  were seen as beating analysts' estimate
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Recommended Stories
  

TESCO'S IS TO HIRE 1,000 PEOPLE AT A NEW DEPOT AT READING.

Britain's underemployment crisis eases, study shows


Britain's “underemployment” problem of reluctant part-time workers is
easing, new research has shown, as more full-time jobs were created for a
seventh month running in April.








More full time jobs were created
in April Photo: GETTY
IMAGES






By Philip Aldrick, Economics
Editor

6:30AM BST 09 May 2013


1 Comment




Demand by companies for permanent staff increased more quickly last month
than in March and the number of full-time appointments also rose, according to a
study by KPMG and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC).


The study will help allay fears that falling unemployment has been largely
down to a growing volume of part-timers and the self-employed who want more
work.


According to recent analysis by David Bell and David Blanchflower, the
“underemployment” rate – which measures those who need more work as well as
those out of work – is 9.9pc, compared with the official unemployment rate of
7.9pc.


Kevin Green, REC chief executive, said: “Demand in the economy is returning,
slowly but surely. Businesses are feeling more confident, hence the seventh
consecutive month of permanent jobs growth.


“It really is one in the eye for the naysayers who talk down our labour
market and dismiss improving employment figures as being 'the wrong kind of
jobs’.”



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Unemployment rose last month, according to official figures, and average pay
rises fell to just 1pc – the lowest rate of growth since records began in 2001.
However, KPMG and REC’s research showed that starting salaries increased in
April for a 12th month running.

According to the survey of UK companies, compiled by Markit, the permanent
job vacancy indicator stood at 54.5 in April, where anything above 50 indicates
growth. Permanent job placements also quickened, with a reading of 52.5.

The number of temporary job placements declined, however, and the rate of
growth in temporary vacancies slowed.

Business news and markets: live


Manufacturing gathered momentum in March, offsetting a fall in oil and gas
production and helping Britain to post a better-than-expected 0.7pc monthly rise
in industrial output.









Image 1 of 2
Manufacturing gathered momentum
in March, pushing up industrial output by 0.7pc. Photo: Alamy



Image 1 of 2
The Bank of England is expected
to hold interest rates at a record low of 0.5pc. Photo: Reuters











By Rachel Cooper, and Ben
Martin

10:34AM BST 09 May 2013

16 Comments



runUpdate = true;



90000
2013-05-09 10:45:53.0
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/business-news-markets-live/10045575/Business-news-and-markets-live.html?service=artBody
This page will automatically update every 90 secondsOn
Off



• Bank of England to unveil interest rate, QE decision at
midday
• Morrisons sales continue to decline in
'competitive' market
• Free
banking at risk as EU wants us to bank anywhere in
Europe
• UK
tax 'not a level playing field', says Sainsbury's
chief
• Cuadrilla
sparks anger with plan to drill for oil in Home
Counties
• Queen's
Speech: Coalition has missed 'last chance' for growth


Latest


10.45 David Cameron has finished taking questions at the
global investment conference (see 10.21 onwards). Let's take a closer look at
what he said about Europe. Signalling that it would be wrong for Britain to
leave the EU, he said that some pessimists "say there is no prospect of
reforming the European Union, you simply have to leave. I think they are
wrong... I think it is possible to change and reform this organisation".



"It is in Britain's interest to remain a country that is uniquely well
connected around the world," he added.


Addressing the Financial Transaction Tax, the prime minister said that unless
it is introduced all across the world, it is a mistake for Europe.




10.41 On the markets, Ben
Martin reports: Another FTSE 100 share to watch is
Old Mutual, up 2.6pc this morning after the insurer reported a
7pc increase in funds under management to £288.4bn in the first quarter, beating
market expectations. Julian Roberts, chief executive, said the
group had been helped by the buoyant performance of global stock
markets during the first three months of the year:

We are pleased with the continuing trends in performance
of our businesses, following the rising equity markets in the first quarter and,
against a backdrop of continued challenging macroeconomic conditions, we are
confident in the prospects for the group for the full year.



10.34 Let's just take a quick detour via the eurozone, where
Greece's jobless rate has again ticked up. Figures from the
country's statistics service show that unemployment rose to 27pc in February,
from a downwardly revised 26.7pc in January. It was the highest reading since
the service began publishing jobless data in 2006.



10.28 Talking about bank lending, the prime minister
acknowledges that sometimes politicians can give contradictory advice to banks.
On the one hand, they say get out there, lend money, finance our recovery. But
politicians are also saying to banks: look at the dangers of what is happening
in other countries with high bond rates and make sure you're properly provided
for. He says we need to have a proper debate with the new regulatory authorities
to get this balance right. He also commends the Funding for Lending Scheme,
saying it has been effective.

ocado/morrision might create 3,000 jobs by 2017

Badboy wrote:ocado/morrision might create 3,000 jobs by 2017

They too are going on line for shopping , have merged with Ocada for delivery, so I wouldn't bank on those extra jobs Badboy.

IT SEEMS THEY WILL CREATE JOBS AT DELIVERY DEPOTS,METHINKS

Cold Weather Puts Freeze On Retail Sales


The UK's economic recovery takes a new knock as official
figures show that consumers held on to their cash in April.


9:44am UK,
Wednesday 22 May 2013

The ONS highlighted poor weather as a factor behind
falling sales

• 
  
• 
  

;



Retail sales suffered their biggest monthly drop in a year in
April as cold weather and restricted household budgets combined to damage demand
on the high street.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) saidf retail sales volumes including
automotive fuel fell 1.3% during the month compared to March, compounding
economists' forecasts for a flat performance.

Compared with a year earlier, sales rose by a far less than estimated
0.5%.

Sales of food plunged 4.1% on the month - its worst showing in almost two
years - while sales of barbeque food and garden furniture were particularly
badly affected as Spring took its time to arrive.

Consumer spending accounts for 60% of gross domestic product (GDP) and it had
been hoped that households would begin to spend more amid signs of economic
recovery and higher employment.

But the squeeze on incomes - a result of stubborn inflation and low wage
growth - has severely restricted demand.

At the same time the ONS released the retail sales figures, it was confirmed
that the governor of the Bank of England continued to support more stimulus
measures to aid economic recovery at May's meeting of the Monetary Policy
Committee (MPC).

But the nine-member MPC voted 6-3 against extending its programme of
quantitative easing (QE) by another £25bn to a total of £400bn - the majority
pointing to signs that the economy was improving.

At the bank's recent inflation report news conference, Sir Mervyn predicted
GDP growth of 0.5% in the second quarter of the year following an initial
estimate of a 0.3% increase between January and March.

The bank is supporting various other measures to help get the economy moving,
including the Funding for Lending Scheme aimed at getting banks to release more
money to firms and individuals.

AMAZON TO OPEN OFFICES IN LONDON,PROVIDE 1500 JOBS.

Badboy wrote:AMAZON TO OPEN OFFICES IN LONDON,PROVIDE 1500 JOBS.

I can't see amazon needing 1500 Office jobs , maybe it will be packers etc

Britain faces decade of austerity, influential think tanks warn


Britain faces a decade of austerity with public spending cuts likely to
dominate the next two General Elections, two leading think tanks have warned.


































By Steven Swinford, Senior Political
Correspondent

2:37PM BST 07 Jun 2013





In a joint study, the Institute for Fiscal Studies and the Institute for
Government warned that a further 250,000 civil servants may lose their jobs
because of sluggish economic growth.


They said that both the 2015 and 2020 General Elections are likely to be
fought on grounds of austerity, and that the situation could worsen with the
decline of North Sea oil and the rising costs of healthcare.


Carl Emmerson, the Deputy Director of the IFS, said that one of the first
actions of whoever is chancellor after the next election in 2015 may be to put
up taxes.


The bleak assessment comes as Chancellor George Osborne prepares to set out
his plans for the first year of the next parliament on June 26.


Julian McCrae of the IfG said that while Mr Osborne had delivered most of the
cuts he had promised after the last election in 2010, Britain's debt rmained
relatively unchanged.



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Although the Chancellor has already conceded that economic austerity will
have to continue into the first two years of the next parliament, Mr McCrae said
international experience suggested it may have to carry on for far longer.

"It is very very rare for people to move out of these kind of holes very
quickly. In 2017-18 we will still have a debt level at over 90%," he said.

"It is not necessarily true that a government has to do something about that
debt level. If you have economic growth going forward, debt will fall. But 90%
is quite an uncomfortable level to be at for the public finances."

An IfG briefing paper drew a comparison with Canada in the 1980s and 1990s
when it took more than a decade to bring the budget back into surplus.

In the spending review, Mr Osborne has to cut departmental budgets by 2.8% -
a reduction of £9.8 billion in real terms.

However Mr Emmerson said the Government's commitment to "ring-fence" spending
on health, schools and international aid meant that the rest of Whitehall faced
cuts averaging 8%.

If the Chancellor agreed that defence and the Home Office should receive
below average cuts, that could mean some departments would see their budgets
slashed by 10% or more.

Mr Emmerson said that by the end of 2015-16 the budgets of some Whitehall
departments which have not been protected from the cuts could be around a third
less than they were when the coalition took power.

The Office for Budget Responsibility, the official financial watchdog, has
forecast that between 2010-11 and 2017-18 the economic squeeze would see the
number of public sector workers fall by 1million.

However, an analysis by the IFS found that under government plans an
additional 250,000 public sector posts could be axed.

IFS director Paul Johnson suggested that ministers may have to re-consider
the balance of spending between health spending and social care as an ageing
population required more people to be treated in the community.

"There are a lot of reasons for thinking that divide should be changed. What
I think would be a shame (is) if it was changed in order to get round the ring
fence," he said.

"That may be what drives it but if that happens then I presume the debate
will come - this is just clever accounting rather than actually a rather clever
way of improving efficiency. It may end up being both."

HERES A THOUGHT,SPENDING ON CULTURAL THINGS LIKE FILM PRODUCTION COULD PAID BACK MORE THAN THE MONEY SPEND,MIGHT EXPLAIN ON EEC THREAD.

Badboy wrote:HERES A THOUGHT,SPENDING ON CULTURAL THINGS LIKE FILM PRODUCTION COULD PAID BACK MORE THAN THE MONEY SPEND,MIGHT EXPLAIN ON EEC THREAD.

Hi Badboy, I think we are in for a really bad time, the US economy has slowed again, even China is now faltering. You must have noticed the sharp increase in food prices particularly in Fruit and Veg . This crisis is going to go on for longer than we thought.