Opinion 鈥� Page 370
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Comment
Steve Morgan: fresh air not hot air
Someone that spoke to Steve Morgan shortly after he returned to Redrow via a boardroom coup in March said he was pretty upset by what he found.Or as Morgan himself might have put it: "F-cking furious".The scouser had been away from the company he founded in 1974 for nine years, ...
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Recent housing data poses the question: Higher, Lower or Stick for prices?
The latest Halifax house price figures showing a 0.5% drop, stacked on top of recent data from Nationwide, Hometrack and a range of others, suggest that prices may be holding steady.But what should we read into that? Which way from here for prices? Will this period of relative stability (a) ...
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Hopes of a recovery on shaky ground
You鈥檇 be forgiven for thinking that the latest CIPS/Markit Purchasing Managers鈥� Index (PMI) would provide a better read than June鈥檚 figures. After seeing the rate of contraction ease consecutively for four months, the PMI took a turn for the worse fuelling speculation of a 鈥榳-shaped鈥� recession.Coming in with a reading ...
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Little respite from the worse recession on record
Despite all the talk of 鈥済reen shoots鈥� over the last few months, it was apparent that this recession was going to be harsh from the offset and our forecasts for the industry over past year have suggested this. This week sees the release of our latest forecasts and it makes ...
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Comment
星空传媒 Britain's Future promises 45,000 new jobs building homes - That can't be right
Has anyone else prodded the sums on the 45,000 new jobs promised in the 星空传媒 Britain's Future document as a result of the 拢1.5 billion pledged to stimulate building of 20,000 social and 10,000 private homes?I would have had a poke at them earlier but I was sunning myself for ...
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Comment
Recession may cost 800,000 construction jobs - that's one in three
The latest forecast from the Construction Products Association puts the annual peak to trough fall in construction at a shade above 20%.That probably translates to a 22% to 23% fall peak to trough on a quarterly basis, which compares with the 15% seen in the 1990s recession.This is a sharp ...
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Comment
What can you get for 拢1.5bn?
Hard to say how many votes it will win him, but Gordon Brown鈥檚 拢1.5bn contribution to the Homes and Communities Agency deserves a few cheers from the construction industry. The money is intended to deliver 20,000 affordable homes and build the infrastructure to stimulate another 10,000 private ones. The government ...
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CommentRead all about it
Tories鈥� Olympic cash axe plot exposed 鈥� Fury erupts over Mandelson letter snub 鈥� Minister missing presumed frightened 鈥� Quango nepotism probe shock 鈥� and boss has breakfast with Jordan
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CommentWho鈥檚 the fairest of them all?
Housing ministers have come and gone faster than a weaver鈥檚 shuttle 鈥� some doing better than others. Michael Gove gives us the best and the worst and reveals the secret of a successful tenure
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CommentWonders & blunders
George Clarke considers Newcastle鈥檚 Swan House an unforgivably ugly duckling. However, the new courtyard in the British Museum is the epitome of elegance 鈥�
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CommentSummertime and the living is bloody tough
But when did doom and gloom ever get us out of a mess? We have to do whatever is necessary to survive the recession, and that means keeping morale up
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Comment
Bless this our heat pump
The Bishop of Leicester during his Lent pilgrimage blessed the new environment-friendly heating system in All Saints church in Somerby, Leicestershire
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Comment
What does it matter?
I read with interest the article written by Tony Bingham in your 26 June edition concerning the decree by the Office of Government Commerce that only one form of contract should be used for all public work, namely NEC3. In the recent past, I have delivered a number of training ...
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Too many contracts spoil the job
Tony Bingham is clearly unhappy with the use of the NEC for all government contracts
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CommentWhat can you get for 拢1.5bn?
Hard to say how many votes it will win him, but Gordon Brown鈥檚 拢1.5bn contribution to the Homes and Communities Agency deserves a few cheers from the construction industry.
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Comment
How to get rid of a chief exec. Part I.
It would take three or four months to find a new chief exec for a company like Wolseley.So it's arguably no coincidence that it was three or four months ago Wolseley went cap in hand to investors to fund a 拢1bn rights issue.鈥淗ere鈥檚 your money,鈥� the big institutions could well ...
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Comment
Education is flourishing
It was uplifting to see so many fantastic examples of school design recognised at the awards last night hosted by the British Council for School environments. Also great to share the upbeat mood of those in a sector that is still flourishing 鈥� for now at least 鈥� who ...