Opinion 鈥� Page 374
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Comment
Traders see a brighter future for house prices - but still expect a further 17% drop
Follow the money they say. Well the money punted in the futures market suggests that average house prices still have at least 17% to fall.That puts the peak-to-trough drop at more than a third.But the good news for those selling homes is that the mood among the traders has perked ...
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If it's growth you want, start looking again at house building
I received a bit of a teasing prod this morning from my good friend the editor of CJ, Aaron Morby, when he rang me up to quiz me on house building targets."Don't you think we are seeing a recovery in house building?" Which he followed with: "I hope you don't ...
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Bovis restructure: The recession's wake up call
Searching for a silver lining to recession for construction isn't easy. But there's growing evidence that, dire as the industry's current situation may be, the tough conditions are providing parts of the industry, just like the financial sector, with a much needed wake up call.Bovis Lend Lease's business overhaul, announced ...
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Redundancies ravage the construction workforce - 141,000 jobs gone in the past 12 months
The numbers made redundant in construction over the past 12 months have mounted to 141,000, according to the latest set of figures released by the official statisticians at ONS.Almost 100,000 of those redundancies were made in the six months from October last year to March this year.These figures will grossly ...
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Look east to find some shelter from the storm
My good friend Martin Hewes has just past me some details of the latest Hewes & Associates forecast for new work construction output. It will not make for comfortable reading if you happen to be trading heavily in Yorkshire & Humberside.That region is set to be the hardest hit by ...
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Surveyors feel a stronger pulse in the housing market
The latest survey of the housing market by the surveyors' body RICS has provided yet more evidence that the rate of decay in the housing market may be easing, with the average surveyor busier than at time since last November.The uplift in buyer inquiries seems to be driving the strengthening ...
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Google's favourite architects
Who is the starriest of all the starchitects? Frank, Norman or Zaha? Or maybe Daniel Libeskind or Richard Rogers of Chelsea Barracks fame?Well according to Google the most searched for living architects are Frank Gehry and Zaha Hadid.The search engine reckons that there are 135,000 searches for these two architects ...
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The prince and the profession
So is he about to aim another missile at the architectural profession? Or will he finally offer it an olive branch? As the red carpet is rolled out at the RIBA next Tuesday in preparation for the Prince of Wales' lecture to mark its 175th anniversary, speculation about what he ...
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Watch out for snake oil salesmen purveying good news
There are few things more odious than selling false hope to desperate folk.But I am seeing ever more evidence of this sad occupation.I would have posted a blog on the latest new orders figures yesterday, but I was out of the office either in meetings, on the train or socialising ...
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CommentWonders & blunders
Charles Saumarez Smith simply adores the Royal Academy鈥檚 Burlington Gardens building, but abhors Battersea鈥檚 design desert
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CommentAccidents will happen
Spare a thought for those singled out by fate for special treatment, like the chairman who lost his bag, the woman who preferred injury to dishonour 鈥� and the union man who invented a new way to protest
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CommentWhat would Taiichi Ohno do?
As the Japanese say, waste is futility and failure. But, in the form of overconsumption, it has also been the bedrock of our industrialised economies. Here鈥檚 how we can do without it
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CommentWhy Tesco is a good client
When prices are falling so quickly, owing to lack of workload and competition to secure projects, it is disingenuous to hear clients such as Tesco being criticised for taking advantage of their position
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Spitting in the wind
What options are we exploring, apart from wind farms, as alternative energy sources?
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Looking on the bright side 鈥�
That an industry in recession has managed to retain almost 700 apprentices who were at risk of not being able to complete their training is a significant success 鈥� which was sadly not reflected in your recent feature (鈥淒isplaced persons鈥�, 24 April, page 24) which chose to focus on trainees ...
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Korea advice
Alistair Darling鈥檚 Budget announcement of 拢405m for 鈥渆nergy efficiency鈥� spending is peanuts (24 April, page 12)
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Comment
Dubai鈥檚 secret shame
The plight of a significant number of Dubai鈥檚 migrant workers from the Indian subcontinent is appalling
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British jobs for team players
Regarding Nick Chronias鈥� article on equal opportunities (鈥淟ip service won鈥檛 do鈥�, 24 April, page 52), what a lot of waffle to say that we should all uphold the law
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Action first, regs later
We must conserve our energy and improve the existing building stock to reasonable, if not high levels, as well as raising construction standards