All articles by Brian Green – Page 21
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NewsWe’ll be getting off lightly if the workforce drops 400,000
The latest forecast from the Construction Skills Network (CSN) suggests that the current recession in construction will have led to a drop of about 400,000 in the number employed by the industry once job shedding ends in early 2011.This would mean a drop of about 15% in the workforce. That ...
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Comment
Mum: Are we out of recession yet?
You could feel the uneasiness among economists yesterday when the release of official statistics showed that the UK had just scraped enough oomph together in the final quarter of last year to stage a lacklustre return to growth.Most economists had expected the no-growth bar to be cleared by some margin. ...
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NewsMum: Are we out of recession yet?
Officially the statistics say the UK economy has returned to growth, but remember these figures are only an estimate...
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NewsBrickonomics: A long wait for commercial construction upswing
Each time a commercial property developer hints at making a move in the market I am confronted with the same question by those with an interest in construction work: Is this the start of the upswing?
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Comment
It's a long wait yet for commercial construction upswing
Each time a commercial property developer hints at making a move in the market I am confronted with the same question by those with an interest in construction work: Is this the start of the upswing?This question is usually followed by the suggestion that developers must be keen to build ...
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NewsBrickonomics: December's higher that expected inflation
Consumer Price Inflation at 2.9% in December and up from 1.9% a month earlier… mmm… that’s not what the experts expected. Not by a long way.
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Comment
Reasons to be careful – December’s higher than expected inflation
Consumer Price Inflation at 2.9% in December and up from 1.9% a month earlier... mmm... that’s not what the experts expected. Not by a long way.This morning’s story from Reuters published ahead of the inflation figures had its poll of experts plumping for inflation at 2.6%.No doubt there will be ...
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Comment
Forecasts point to a tough and risky road ahead for construction
The latest Experian forecast is out today and it paints a broadly similar, albeit slightly more optimistic, picture to that of the recently released forecast from the Construction Products Association.The main point of departure is on the views towards housing. Here the Experian forecasters are more bullish, if you can ...
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NewsCounting the price of more work
The latest forecasts suggest the drop in future workload will not be as large as forecasters had previously thought. Fantastic news, you might think. Well, think again
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Comment
Number snacks: 2
Contractors won 61% less in commercial sector construction orders in cash terms in the 12 months to November last year than they did in 12 months to the end of 2007.Here is a graph of orders won for all types of new work on a 12-month rolling basis.The graph shows ...
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NewsWhy the forecast of a shallower recession is bad news
The latest forecast from the Construction Products Association suggests the drop in future workload will not be as large as the forecasters had previously thought
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Comment
Why the forecast of a shallower recession is bad news for contractors
The latest forecast from the Construction Products Association suggests that the drop in future workload will not be as large as the forecasters had previously thought.The graph opposite compares the past three Construction Products Association forecasts.It clearly shows that with each progressive quarterly forecast the expected hole in construction workload ...
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NewsAre UK houses really worth 6% more than a year ago?
According to the Halifax index just out they are, but then we need to look carefully at the raw data to understand the true situation
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Comment
Are UK houses really worth 6% more than a year ago?
The final Halifax index for 2009 has been released and it settles on a December 2009 average house price 5.6% above that of December 2008.This is roughly in line with the figures from Nationwide which show a 5.9% rise.It is easy from this to draw the conclusion that on average ...
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NewsWorkload drops as snow falls
Construction output figures show us the huge impact a cold snap like this can have on projects and losses construction suffers
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Comment
Workload drops as the snow falls
When we suffered a cold snap back in February last year I looked at the impact of the great freeze of 1962/63 on construction output. In a word it was huge.So, as I walked into work this morning chipper as a child as I trudge though inches of snow and ...
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NewsEnding in a whimper
Figures from buyers' body CIPS showed the industry continued to decline in December
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Comment
CIPS figures show construction activity in 2009 ending with a whimper
The buyers’ body CIPS has released its first construction statistics of the New Year and they show the industry continuing to decline in December.The construction index finished the year on 47.1, below the 50 no-change mark for the 22nd consecutive month.But there was some good news. The housing index remained ...
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NewsPundits point to flat house prices in 2010
It’s the time of the year for reflections, resolutions and prognostications. And what can be more fun than guessing the likely path of house prices?
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Comment
Pundits on balance point to flat house prices in 2010
It's the time of the year for reflections, resolutions and prognostications. And what can be more fun than guessing the likely path of house prices?Well I can think of a few things. And I'm also left wondering why anyone would wish to state a house price forecast publicly and put ...