family money business

Britain?s stuttering economy: Double-dip trouble

AN APPALLING month for David Cameron?s gaffe-prone government took a turn for the worse this week with the revelation that the economy has not, after all, clawed its way clear of recession. Preliminary figures released on April 25th showed that GDP shrank by 0.2% in the first three months of 2012 (at an annualised rate of 0.8%), following a drop of 0.3% in the last quarter of 2011. When Britain emerged in 2009 from the deep recession that followed the financial crisis, the hope was that the economy had enough momentum to maintain a modest recovery, even while the fiscal deficit was being dealt with. But growth, never robust, has stuttered since the fourth quarter of 2010 (see first chart). Now it has stalled, leaving output lower than it was in late 2010.

Nobody expected miracles, but the figures were surprisingly poor. On the basis of earlier surveys,...
The Leveson inquiry: Fatal attraction

Press regulation?s poster boys
THE problem with Rupert Murdoch and his clan, most critics would agree, is that they are too close to politicians. Ministers and opposition leaders have long cosied up to News International, his British newspaper company?and the attraction is mutual. But this week, at Lord Justice Leveson?s long-running inquiry into press misconduct, the intimacy gave way to bunny-boiling acrimony. Jeremy Hunt, the culture secretary, was the main victim.Mr Hunt?s misfortunes stem from the Murdochs? bid to acquire full control of BSkyB, a British satellite broadcaster, beginning in 2010. News Corporation already controlled the company through a 39% shareholding. But politicians and media rivals fearful of the firm?s heft (it owns four national British newspapers) fought hard against the purchase. Some wanted it blocked on the ground that it would erode media plurality. Others called for the bid to be referred to the Competition Commission?a slow, unpredictable process that the Murdochs were anxious to avoid.E-mails and text messages published on April 24th by Lord Justice...
Internship

The Britain section will soon be choosing an intern to work for several months this summer. Applicants should send a letter and an article of about 600 words that they think would be suitable for publication. A small stipend will be paid. Applications must reach britainintern@economist.com
by May 31st.
Bagehot: The pen is mightier

WHEN Britain?s biggest tabloid claimed credit for a Conservative general election victory with the front-page headline ?It?s the Sun wot won it?, its proprietor, Rupert Murdoch, was not pleased. Giving evidence on April 25th to a public inquiry on press ethics, Mr Murdoch explained that he had administered ?a terrible bollocking? to the Sun?s then editor, Kelvin MacKenzie. A ?tasteless? claim, he said. ?We don?t have that sort of power.?The inquiry?chaired by Lord Justice Leveson, a judge?this week shone a light on ties between the media and politicians. The most dangerous revelations were e-mails apparently detailing contacts between News Corporation, Mr Murdoch?s company, and David Cameron?s government during the firm?s abortive bid to buy BSkyB, a satellite-television outfit. The relationship was sometimes friendly, sometimes tense, but always close?and rarely craven on the part of the media firm.Another milestone in the Sun?s political coverage does not seem to have earned a proprietorial rebuke. It happened in 1992, on the night that...
Local elections: Day of dread

Look out behind you, Mr Johnson
SINCE the budget provoked a din of disapproval last month, Downing Street has been looking forward to May 3rd. The losses likely to be sustained in elections across 180 local authorities would be modest for a mid-term government, they calculated. And those losses would be sidelined by the re-election of the Conservative Boris Johnson (pictured, with Labour?s Ken Livingstone) as mayor of London.The government now dreads polling day. It is no longer afflicted by minor embarrassments over the taxation of hot snacks and charitable donations, but by grave questions over the future of Jeremy Hunt, the culture secretary, and its own economic credibility following Britain?s re-entry into recession. The Tories? plummeting national poll ratings?the party trails Labour by a double-digit margin in some surveys?is dragging down Mr Johnson. Polls tend to show him modestly ahead of Mr Livingstone, but they have become erratic. Defeat for the incumbent would heighten the impression of a government under siege.Moreover, the Tories are likely to be mauled in local...
Crowdfunding football: Buy this team

FOOTBALL fans are used to being squeezed by their beloved clubs through rising ticket prices, regular strip changes and stiff charges for food and programmes. They have rarely been asked to bail out the clubs directly. In Britain?unlike Germany, say?football clubs are generally limited-liability companies, the top ones often owned by rich foreigners. But fans of Portsmouth Football Club hope to change that tradition.Portsmouth was relegated from the Premier League in 2010, and will plunge to the third division next season. The club went into administration in February 2010 and again in February 2012. The Pompey Supporters Trust is now canvassing for interest in a takeover of the club by supporters. Fans are asked to put �100 ($160) into an escrow account. If enough do so, a community share scheme to buy the team will be created, with shares at �1,000.Until an arrangement has been reached with creditors, it is not clear how much a community buy-out will cost. But a quick survey outside the team?s ground before a recent game found fans in theoretically generous mood: ?�1,000? and ?as much as I have? were common...
Northern Ireland: Thin skins, thick bills

WELL-CELLARED bile is the mainstay of political memoirs and can attract lawsuits from those who recall events differently. But ?Outside In? by Peter Hain, Labour?s Northern Ireland secretary from 2005 to 2007, is making legal history.Mr Hain is being prosecuted in Belfast on the antique charge of ?scandalising the court?. The case concerns his account of an arcane twist of the peace process in 2006 when he appointed a policeman?s widow to report on the scope of a proposed new victims? commissioner. Aimed at assuaging people outraged at the release of paramilitaries, the move was contested in court?a common event in a system that long lacked its own political institutions.In his book Mr Hain skates over the details of the case, which he terms an ?irritating sideshow?. But he lets rip at the ?lucrative lawyers? industry? created by the local penchant for judicial review. And he attacks Lord Justice Girvan as ?off his rocker?, ?high-handed? and ?idiosyncratic? in asking the attorney-general to investigate whether Mr Hain perverted the course of justice. He recalls wondering if a new property-tax reform had annoyed the judge; and he briefly hesitated before confirming his promotion to the appeal court.Published in January, Mr Hain?s account made only a modest splash. But it did bring an incendiary response from the province?s most senior judge, Sir Declan Morgan. Far from being...
Urban design: Road warriors

You?ll never walk alone
FITTINGLY for a free-trading nation, Britain imports a lot of policy wheezes from overseas. One can now be seen in Exhibition Road, a west London street that contains the Science Museum, the Natural History Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum. At a cost of almost �30m ($47m) and over three years, this 800-metre-long thoroughfare has been converted into the country?s largest ?shared space?. Road markings and kerbs have mostly gone, and it is no longer entirely clear what is pavement and what is road.The approach, which was pioneered by Hans Monderman in the Netherlands, is supposed to promote safety and ease congestion. Removing bossy signs, traffic lights and the distinction between road and pavement prompts drivers and pedestrians to pay more attention to each other, or so the theory goes. Towns and cities in Denmark, Germany and Sweden have abolished such distractions and reported fewer accidents.In some ways the British version is half-hearted. To reach the South Kensington museums, visitors must still cross a busy four-lane road using traffic lights....
The battle for Glasgow: Two left feet

IT IS not merely a party stronghold, but a place where history was made. Glasgow was one of the cities in which Labour began to take shape a century ago. The party has ruled the city council for the past 32 years. If Glasgow is seized by the Scottish National Party (SNP) in local elections on May 3rd it will be an acute humiliation for Ed Miliband, Labour?s leader?worse even than the party?s trouncing by George Galloway, an independent left-winger, in a parliamentary by-election in Bradford West last month.Labour?s local problems first emerged in 2007. The introduction of proportional representation on the single transferable vote system to Scottish council elections that year ended the tradition by which Labour won roughly nine-tenths of the council?s 79 seats. But Labour still managed to get 45 councillors elected, a comfortable enough majority. The SNP was in second place with 22 seats.Then things began to go seriously wrong. Faced with spending cuts, Labour accelerated a programme of devolving services, including housing and building work, to arm?s-length bodies that were meant to run things more commercially. But opponents and the media soon began questioning the contracts, and pointing out that Labour councillors were earning fat salaries on the boards of those bodies. The council leader resigned in 2010, citing exhaustion. In the 2011 Scottish Parliament elections...

The Economist: Britain Thu, 26 April 2012 15:02:44 GMT

Sea Freight Exports - Sea Freight Exports
...options of transport. Using Sea freight exports is one method. There are many advantages to sending your goods this way. Choosing your goods by sea you are taking advantage of a cost-effective method of getting a whole range of bulky, heavy or non-urgent loads from A to B at a global level. There is one company who can offer you the very best service in Sea freight exports in the highly competitive market place today. All export customs formalities & brokerage services including documentary letters of credit, consular documents, bills of lading, Form C88, dock receipts, standard shipping notes, and certificates of origin are handled by them, together with vessel bookings through to destination ports. On arrival of your Sea freight exports their highly trained agents take care of everything through to final delivery to your customer...
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Acrylic Signs - Acrylic Signs
...company`s logo or name can contribute greatly to portraying a professional reputation for that firm. The style of the acrylic signs can vary hugely in a number of different aspects. The signs can be created with different thicknesses, can be cut to any shape and made in any colour, there may even be the possibility of performing a colour matching service. acrylic signs can have a variety of finishes; they can be backed with full images or have a white or frosted etch. A choice of wall studs may be available to mount the signs and complete that professional appearance. There are a number of different uses for acrylic signs, not only can they display the name or logo of a company, they can also display directions, for example, around a large office building. The valuable impression acrylic signs give off or the useful information they present ar...
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Refrigerated Trailer - Refrigerated Trailer
... trays of rotting sausages, therefore, why not invest in a refrigerated trailer and you`ll be able to keep your goods in cool environments? Stock up a refrigerated trailer with all types of perishable foods and drinks and you`ll be able to travel in comfort knowing your goods are suitably chilled. A refrigerated trailer is the ideal type of transport for foods that are likely to perish in warm environments....
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Water Jet Machines - Water Jet Machines
...r jet machines you should invest in for the future. Having looked at numerous options one clear candidate seems to stand out from the rest. The modern ranges of WARDjet water cutting machines are simply head and shoulders above other types of machinery. Manufactured in Ohio, these mighty machines are setting new standards in the water jet cutting industry. If you want automated solutions and a platform that is capable of numerous applications the WARDjet system is the ideal machine for your needs. How many water jet machines can provide you with the ability to mark a part, cut a hole, tap a thread into the same hole and then wash, dry and rotate the part in readiness for an attachment to be fitted? This one-stop platform has these kinds of capabilities plus a while lot more. If you are looking for cutting-edge machine...
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Passport Holders - Passport Holders
...rs with black or maroon being popular choices and plenty of other colours to choose from as well. Each and every one of the Passport Holders is made from top grade leather and this will help to keep their contents safe from harm. You can contact the retailers who provide the Passport Holders and they`ll be able to help you out with any specific design ideas you have in mind. As marketing aids Passport Holders can be highly effective and they can certainly help to promote your company and get it noticed by a range of customers. Used for promotional purposes the Passport Holders are ideal as they look great and will get plenty of use by your valued customers. ...
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Secure Disposal - Secure Disposal
...e has to make sure that all the medical supplies are got rid of by secure disposal . secure disposal is really important because if certain things are left lying around they can cause disease and, perhaps even death. One thing that is really necessary to ensure secure disposal of is used syringes. We have all heard of all the terrible diseases that can be caught from used syringes such as hepatitis and aids. However, this is one are where they are all disposed of very safely. However, out in the environment, such precautions can not be adhered to in the same way. As she tells me, often injecting drug users will leave their needles lying around in the street and in parks and that is where the real danger lies. As she said, often these people will be carrying disease and, because they leave their detritus lying around often in places wh...
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Employees Pay - Employees Pay
...easons it could be for a new challenge or for better pay. Negotiations are often entered into when it comes to the employees pay and some people are better at negotiating than others. If you have been offered a new job recently and are weighing up the financial package that comes with it would you feel confident with any negotiations that were to take place? If not you can always receive help in this area to increase the value of your original package. Consultants can be brought in who can analyse your existing package and compare it to the new offer that is on the table. Once the analysis has taken place a negation guide can be provided to increase the value of the new package. The consultants have helped to increase employees pay many times and they work with clients in all industry sectors. The prospect of working at a new...
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Full Colour Leaflet Printing - Full Colour Leaflet Printing
...anted to promote a new brand I`m certainly invest in full colour leaflet printing to get my message across to the target audience. When you look at the prices of the leaflet printing you quickly realize that it doesn`t cost half as much as you might imagine. Leaflets can be printed on one or both sides and the sizes tend to be either A5 or A4 depending on the customer requirements. The majority of print companies will accommodate print runs of most sizes but if you are running a large campaign then you might need to have thousands of leaflets printed off. Quantities can range from anywhere between 5000 to 100,000 for the larger types of advertising campaigns and they all prove to be highly cost effective. I`m sure most businesses could put the full colour leaflet printing to good use if they...
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Pop Up Banners - Pop Up Banners
...special event or product. These banners will ensure maximum exposure of your brand, logo or important message with minimum fuss or effort. They are perfect for use outdoors, at sporting events like golf days, and just as useful indoors too at exhibitions for example. Pop up banners have many advantages over more traditional vinyl and PVC banners. The pop up design banners are much quicker and simpler to put up and have the advantage of being lightweight, durable and even weatherproof. Once you have ordered your custom made banner there is no further thought needed apart from where you are going to use it. They are easy to store as well as use and will last you a long time if looked after. You can find Pop up banners easily on line and you can have total control over the design or if you need a little assistance jus...
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Hose Reels - Hose Reels
...to lawns and plants. Households throughout the World use hose reels to water prized shrubs and for numerous other reasons as well, including car washing, window cleaning and path maintenance. Garden hose reels can be purchased from various retailers such as garden centres, supermarkets, hardware stores and car accessory shops. With a variety of leading manufacturers such as Hozelock it`s easy to find hose reels that can keep gardens in fine condition. Not only do hose reels benefit gardens though, they have beneficial properties that can help in the workplace setting. Numerous industries use hose reels successfully to help their businesses run smoothly. Industries such as dairy produce, meat preparation and breweries all use hose reels on a regular basis. Similarly chemical works, constr...
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