Opinion – Page 390
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Comment
Bamboozled by banks
Several articles in Building mention the fact that most building companies have, or are about to, breach some of their banking covenants
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Comment
Black mark
In response to Mr Forlane (19 December), the Construction Skills Register (CSR) would like to make readers aware that the Black CSR card (as it is known in Northern Ireland) is not as easily acquired as he suggests
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CommentHow to stay healthy
Hands up all those who have been tempted to cut training on safety during the downturn? Do so and your business will suffer
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Comment
Construction new orders: the Good the Bad and the Ugly
The latest new orders figures confirm the dire state of work in the construction pipeline.There was a drop of £6 billion in new work construction won in 2008 compared with 2007, which points to a rough road ahead.While there are some reasons for optimism within the infrastructure sector and public ...
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Comment
More than 100,000 construction workers made redundant last year
The latest employment figures provide yet more grim reading for those in construction with the numbers made redundant in the final quarter of last year rocketing to 48,000.The official figures out today show that 109,000 construction employees were made redundant over the year. Some will have got new jobs, but ...
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Comment
Trades not professionals have been hit hardest by construction job losses
I read with interest the Sunday Times story about how quantity surveyors were joining the dole queue at a faster rate than any other group in the UK economy.So I looked at the base figures and, well, came to a remarkably different interpretation.Put it this way, if the Sunday Times's ...
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Comment
RICS report stamps on signs of green shoots in the housing market
For all the excitement created by the Halifax upward blip in house prices in January it now looks increasingly like a freak result, at least that is what the latest housing market survey from the surveyors' body RICS would suggest.Yes I know it seems that for every green shoot spotted ...
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Comment
Beacons of hope in times of trouble?
There is currently much excitement being generated about the probability of construction starting on some of the much-talked of copse of towers planned to slice through the skyline of London.If that prospect smacks of confidence it is in stark contrast to the general prospects for commercial construction in London and ...
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Comment
A phrase I wish I'd coined
As I was giving the recent Rightmove consumer confidence poll a hard time last week, the Bad Science column in the Guardian kept coming to mind.So it was a bit spooky when I read the latest offering from Dr Ben Goldacre.If I was superstitious I would have read rather a ...
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CommentDefeats, green shoots and fees
It’s tough out there and firms are holding their cards close to their chests and their cash even closer. But the important thing is not to panic and take it one day at a time
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CommentThe skyline just got safer
When Building launched its Safer Skyline campaign almost two years ago, the crane industry was in crisis
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CommentOld people aren't dead
Let’s design homes that encourage elderly people to live fulfilling lives – rather than sticking them in institutional spaces in which they simply bide their time
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CommentA fair exchange is no robbery: Currency fluctuations
Money matters: Currency fluctuations have never been much of a concern, but with the pound at an all-time low, parties need a more advanced approach to managing risk
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Comment
The Taylor Wimpey "debt deal buzz" that isn't
Taylor Wimpey shares moved up 8% last Friday and the Daily Mail thinks it knows why.The move came on the back of a similar-sized jump on Thursday.According to the paper, it's the result of a buzz in the City that "an agreement had finally been reached" between the housebuilder and ...
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Comment
Rapid rise in company failures underlines threat to construction firms
The latest insolvency figures make bleak reading and confirm the stress on construction businesses in the wake of the credit crunch.If you add up all the construction companies falling into receivership, administration or company voluntary arrangements in England and Wales in the final quarter of last year you get 226. ...
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Comment
A problem of our making
Regarding the controversy over Staythorpe power station’s use of foreign workers, power plants for the UK are bought through international tender on a turnkey basis
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Comment
A message for the union
I have been a member of Ucatt for many years and though you [Ucatt] are good at representing the workforce on legal matters you are very poor at representing the British workforce on ethnic matters
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Comment
Coming of age
So, “like collaborative working, being sustainable was a child of the boom years”. If so, now is the time for both to come of age and be taken seriously