Opinion – Page 427
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Comment
How many foreign workers in UK construction?
The Office of National Statistics has released a paper based on Labour Force Survey data that estimates the number of foreign workers employed in the UK and makes a stab at how many work in various industry sectors, including construction.Leaving aside the assumptions and definitions the figures work out roughly ...
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Comment
Job cuts high on the agenda as house building slides
Taylor Wimpey's move to axe a third of its offices and about 600 jobs in the UK is the clearest sign yet of the pain in the house building sector.It may not be the first cut so far announced, but it is the deepest. And it follows weeks of discussion ...
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Comment
Soros gives bleak warning for UK economy
George Soros, the man who made a $1 billion profit in 1992 from anticipating Black Wednesday, says that the US recession is likely to be longer and more serious than currently expected and economic prospects are "in some ways" worse for the UK.Speaking to BBC's Robert Peston he said that ...
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Comment
Accountants see confidence drop in property and construction
When accountants start to get twitchy it is worth sitting up and taking notice. So, the latest business confidence survey by the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) showing the impact of the credit crunch is spreading is worth taking seriously.Figures of note are that property has ...
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Comment
RICS revises down house price forecast
Transactions are to plunge by 40% this year and prices will fall about 5%, says the latest Housing Market Forecast from the surveyors body RICS.The latest forecast shifts RICS from it position of last September when it was predicting house prices would remain flat. But for the industry at large ...
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Comment
"Wrong tactics" by sellers stoke asking prices for homes
The rise in Rightmove's asking price index to a new record high is the result of out-of-touch discretionary sellers testing the spring market with unrealistic prices, according to the property website's commercial director Miles Shipside.Despite the almost overwhelming gloom in the market, Rightmove posted a rise of 1.2% in asking ...
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CommentFirst impressions: Projects by Make and Sheppard Robson
Another veteran First Impression panellist, this time from Nottingham University, returns to comment on recent images of new projects on the Building website
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CommentLegal special: The OFT and us
Mark Jones and Victoria Slater kick off the analysis by explaining the background to the OFT’s interest in the building industry – which shows no signs of subsiding
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CommentIt just gets worse
When the Office of Fair Trading accuses the supermarkets of price fixing, consumers don’t demand assurances at the checkout that the butter they’re buying has been fairly priced.
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Comment
Joint names insurance: Tyco Fire & Integrated Solutions vs Rolls Royce Motor Cars
Rolls Royce Motor Cars Ltd built a new manufacturing plant in West Sussex. Tyco Fire & Integrated Solutions (UK) Ltd was contracted to provide fire protection services, including a sprinkler system.Unfortunately, during construction, one of the mains supply pipes burst and caused a flood, damaging both the construction works and ...
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CommentYour questions answered: Julia Barfield discusses design and BSF
Last month architect Julia Barfield took part in our webinar on Builidng Schools for the future, here she responds to questions sent in by readers at the time
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Comment
Your questions answered: Bidding for BSF schemes
After last month's Building Schools for the Future webinar, EC Harris' James Bowyer responds readers queries on tendering, whole life costs and resources
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CommentThe bright side
I know, I know … the OFT inquiry is a bit like being sprayed with chicken excrement while eating a three-course meal. But trust me, it doesn’t have to be like that
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CommentThrowaway remarks
Our throwaway society may find it hard to imagine a building made up entirely of recycled components, but that is just what we have to do, says Tarek Merlin
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Comment
So, what’s the damage?
Construction companies accused by the OFT will be wondering how bad things are going to be for them. Here’s the answer
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CommentWonders & blunders
An 18th-century reworking of a German palace is first class, but a student hostel in Oxford barely scrapes a third, says Daniel Moylan
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Comment
Falling pound adds fuel to inflation fire in construction
The latest inflation report from the Bank of England and the comments from the Governor Mervyn King have effectively put paid to hopes that interest rates are on the way down.Consumer Price Inflation leapt back to 3% in April and the Governor has prepared himself to write a series of ...
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Comment
Gherkins and the City
Have you noticed that there is a new measure in town - the Gherkin.Here are two recent examples.In the story about CEBR's estimate of 6,200 job losses in the City one gherkin equates to just over 3,000 City jobs.In the story about the estimate by Drivers Jonas that there will ...
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Comment
Is private house building heading for its worst ever recorded downturn?
The latest Government house building figures appear to add weight to growing fears that unless there is a dramatic turnaround in fortunes the number of private homes built this year could fall by a quarter or more.A fall of this scale would beat the 1974 drop of 24% in homes ...
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CommentWeb watch Back to schools
The three guest speakers at our online seminar on Building Schools for the Future attracted a lot of interest and questions. Chloë McCulloch gives a round-up and looks at the results of our viewer polls