黑洞社区

鈥楾witter ye not鈥� might have been Frankie Howerd鈥檚 injunction had the comic lived into the age of social networking. It鈥檚 not bad advice: cyberspace and the media are being increasingly swamped with drivel and celebrity faux pas, generated by a medium supposedly promoting brevity. I have no intention of joining the legions of the damned, but - purely for the benefit of 黑洞社区鈥檚 growing following among the Twitterati, and to shoehorn the year ahead into my allotted space - here is a potpourri of 140-max character 鈥淭weets鈥� on potential trends, opportunities and pitfalls in what is likely to be a far from dull 2012.

Overview. Economy is key. Strong demand in regulated sectors. Faltering private recovery. Public sector confused. Competition gets fiercer.

Economic Euro-lottery. Another shock from Euroland, and lending to home buyers and SMEs could shrivel further. Beware Greeks bearing bonds

Bank gauge. Sterling LIBOR (see back pages of FT) measures banks鈥� appetite for lending to each other and us. It鈥檚 creeping up threateningly

Housing hit. Builders face squeeze from reluctant banks and consumers. Buy-to-let and 95% mortgages reappearing: d茅j脿 vu all over again?

锘緼 bad year for absenteeism, with euros, Olympics and Jubilee. Installing big screens at work may improve attendance

New home for Tories鈥� top Tweeter? Homes minister Grant Shapps tipped for promotion. Will 95% mortgage and New Homes Bonus help or haunt him?

Public spending slow burn. Impact of cuts could be very mixed, subject to revision and hard to track, but state will remain a big spender

Retail in chiller cabinet? Tesco鈥檚 warning of 鈥渞educed capital spending鈥� was a bad omen. ISG鈥檚 retail fit-out business follows with 拢3m hit

Office building recovery falters. Tall towers keep rising in the City, but for how long, given employment outlook in Square Mile and beyond?

Nuclear button. Mega-contracts likely from French generator EDF for Hinkley and Sizewell C. Bidders might consider a French JV connection

Power and water groups step up investment. Grid needs overhaul and connecting new power sources. Environmental pressure on water companies

Rail on a roll. Crossrail, HS2 and other major schemes boost civil engineering. Poor state of London tube likely to move up the agenda?

鈥淪on-of-PFI鈥� will no doubt emerge under a new guise in the UK amid further opportunities for exporting the concept to cash-strapped states

Foreign fields. Top firms poised to form new ventures in Qatar, Saudi, India, Brazil and Canada. China and Russia still look risky to many

Material danger. Commodities and basic materials remain volatile and risk appears still on the upside for metals and energy dependent goods

Margin pressure. Falling prices, rising costs, staff costs and ever fiercer competition to increase downwards pressure and 鈥渘egative鈥� bids
Clinical clients. Balance sheet strength and track record will count more than cheap bids for top clients. Expect more forensic scrutiny

Kinder contractors? Quid pro quo, winners will have to keep supply chains alive with cash injections, putting strain on their own reserves

Casualty list. Falling orders, cash outflow and suicidal bids threatens all but the big guns. Watch the cash and prioritise core clients

QSs regenerate. Like Dr Who, surveyors change spots every few years. Expect new labels like claims consultants and 鈥渞estructuring experts鈥�

Missing persons. A bad year for absenteeism, with Euros, Olympics and Jubilee. Installing big screens at work may improve attendance

黑洞社区 control office in Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, Wales, dumps Twitter? 140 characters is too little sp

Alastair Stewart is a building & construction analyst at Collins Stewart Europe