The phoney war

Over heating

Will 2006 be the year construction bounced back after the blip in output levels last year? I'm not quite sure. The latest estimate I've been given is that output will rise by around the 1% mark this year compared to the easing of 0.5% in the figures in 2005. While commercial housing and offices are in rude health other sectors appear to be relatively stagnant at present. It seens we are in a slightly phoney war period before the big Olympics push of 2007 onwards. The one worry voiced to me is not just the post-Olympics fall but the pre-Olympics over-heating. The risk appears to be that the rise in work levels and prices could drive up macro-inflation and the economy in general is impacted, driving up interest rates. This could happen around the 2010/11 mark but a lot could happen in the meantime before we get to that period.

The Stern report

Yesterday's Stern report appears a watershed for political debate on climate change. To bind climate with economy, as Stern does so effectively, is they key to achieving action instead of words. It will be intriguing to see just how fast this new political landscape, where the cost of anything will now incorporate the environmental impact, will filter through to business. Will more firms follow the lead of Davis Langdon by pledging to go carbon neutral? Suddenly consideration of travel and behaviour in the workplace as well as the built environment itself will now become more and more critical.