Tag: Bank

Start up numbers increase in Scotland (From Herald Scotland)



  • The totals represent the number of new firms opening accounts with

    Bank of Scotland, Clydesdale Bank, TSB Bank and The Royal Bank of Scotland.

  • The number of start ups fell by 5.3 per cent, 169, from 3,159 in the second quarter on this year.
  • The rise in start ups compared with last year was driven by strong growth in the number of new construction firms, to 378 from 287.
  • This suggests people are being encouraged to start firms by the strength of the recovery in the construction sector and the housing market from the downturn that followed the financial crisis of 2008.
  • Sole trader start up numbers have increased during periods when people have found it harder to get jobs.


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Builders remain confident despite drop in output



  • Output from the UK construction sector fell unexpectedly for a third consecutive month in September, according to official figures released yesterday, though industry bosses remain upbeat.
  • On an annual measure, output dropped 1.6 per cent in September, the biggest decline for more than two years.
  • The data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that construction output dipped 0.2 per cent in September, after a sharp 3.4 per cent decline in August and against expectations for a modest rise.
  • For the third quarter as a whole, new housing construction slumped 4.3 per cent, its biggest decline in just over three years, reflecting a drop in ­housing starts in the previous quarter around the time of May’s national election.
  • On Thursday, the Bank of ­England’s chief economist Andy Haldane described the UK’s housing market as “broken”, highlighting the long-term lack of construction of new homes particularly by local councils.


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Building giant says plenty of public sector work available in Scotland (From Herald Scotland)



  • THE chief operating officer of building giant Galliford Try has highlighted the strength of the construction market in Scotland where public spending is providing a spur for the sector.
  • Galliford Try runs a big housebuilding operation under the Linden Homes brand.
  • Mr Gillespie said the market had picked up south of the border.
  • Ken Gillespie said Galliford Try’s construction arm enjoyed dramatic growth in Scotland over the last 12 months as it felt the benefit of winning a string of public sector contracts.
  • However, it does not build homes in Scotland preferring to focus effort south of the border, where Mr Gillespie has said it can make more money with less effort.


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Construction adds 6000 jobs in July; unemployment falls to 8-year low



  • The US economy added 215,000 jobs in July, while the unemployment rate remained steady at 5.3%, meeting expectations.

  • Health care added 28,000 jobs in July and has added 436,000 jobs over the year.

  • Some commentators have asserted that the unemployment rate is a misleading measure because the post-crisis decline in the labor force reflects more than demographic factors.
  • Friday’s report means “it will be hard to justify delaying an initial Fed rate hike”, said Scott Anderson, chief economist of Bank of the West in San Francisco.
  • Economists had expected employment to climb by about 223,000 jobs, which would have matched the increase originally reported for the previous month.


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