Opinion 鈥� Page 399
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CommentThe vision thing
鈥淭he road ahead will be long. Our climb will be steep. The challenges that tomorrow will bring are the greatest of our lifetime.鈥� So said Barack Obama as he became president-elect of the United States of America on Wednesday.
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Comment黑洞社区 demolished to avoid empty property tax
A landowner explains to drivers on the A40 how Gordon Brown's new tax on empty property forced it to demolish its building
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In praise of a happiness
Naturally we wish the new US President Barack Obama well in the tough job he has ahead and in his commitment to boost the nation's construction industry in a bid to improve the massive yet increasingly tatty infrastructure.From the news there would appear to be an international surge in happiness ...
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Orders for new construction work evaporate
The September figures for new construction orders are truly shocking and extremely worrying.In the past I have tended to treat the orders figures with a bit of disrespect because they bounce around to the point where you can't make sense of them.Not now. Put bluntly from May onward, the industry ...
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House prices 16% down and falling faster
House prices fell 2.2% in October to the level they first reached more than three years ago, according to the latest Halifax figures.But how far can they fall?That was a question put to me yesterday. I hate doing prediction, not enough gypsy blood I guess.But I obliged with a suggestion ...
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Skyscrapers and economic crises
I recently mentioned the "skyscraper index" to a colleague. He hadn't heard of it. I deduced he has better things to do than keep up with quirky economic indicators - what, I can't imagine.Anyway, it occurred to me that, if he hadn't heard of it, others also might not have. ...
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Rok: are you still a believer?
When Rok's messianic chief executive Garvis Snook told the Stock Market this morning that the credit crunch would knock 拢12m off its bottom line, some were quick to mutter "I told you so" under their breath.The company's business model has always divided opinion; does a network of sub-contracted tradesmen under ...
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Threat of more job cuts as credit crunch contagion spreads to commercial work
The recession in construction is looking increasingly desperate as the giant commercial sector appears to be heading for a nasty fall.The latest round of data will be a massive body blow to those who sought comfort in the notion that the recession in construction might limit itself mainly to housing.The ...
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Interim Management Statements: Why bother?
Balfour Beatty's market update this morning made fairly unexciting reading.Apart from the news that a couple of PFI schemes have been pushed back due to the current market malaise, the 354 words didn't add much to its interim results eight weeks ago.Same story for Carillion a fortnight ago - whose ...
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CommentThe latest death toll
On 28 March 2006, Lord Hunt, the then health and safety minister, made what many hoped would be a seminal speech in the struggle to make British sites safer.
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CommentWelcome to the bunfight
You probably think American politics is full of weirdos, incompetent ego-maniacs and moose-gobbling creationists. But no, says Chris Addison, it鈥檚 nowhere near as sane as that
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Read the body language
After the inaugural meeting of the CBI Construction Council this week, the demeanour of the construction bosses who lined up to talk about the future said as much about the state of the industry as their words did.John McDonough, the Carillion chief exec, spent much of the time reclined in ...
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Which "consensus" forecast do you believe?
A few analysts were left scratching their heads following Persimmon's trading update on Monday.The uncertainty surrounded its pre-tax profit forecast of 拢135m-ish for 2008.According to FD Mike Killoran it was the market's consensus forecast (the average of several analysts' figures).Not according to one City number-cruncher. "Most forecasts I am aware ...
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CommentMy digital life: Nathan Doughty
This Texan loves to spend time on news websites, satire websites, video editing websites, library websites, meeting websites, blogging websites. And his job? Something to do with websites 鈥�
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CommentElection fever
黑洞社区 hit the streets of New York to find out whether the Big Apple will be backing MCCAIN or OBAMA next tuesday
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CommentQuestion time
Everything鈥檚 getting terribly serious, isn鈥檛 it? This week we ponder life鈥檚 big questions: what can make us happy? How can we save our businesses? And what is making Gary Barlow so miserable?
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CommentThe European enlightenment
In 2010 Europe will emerge from the shadows of low-performance lightbulbs and enter the age of energy-efficient lighting 鈥�
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Who鈥檚 suing whom: A round-up of the writs in the Technology and Construction Court
Merchant Taylors school and old boys association vs Peter Cawdron and Robert Hurran
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CommentLet鈥檚 talk about sects
The Sect of the Great Mystery, that is, as nurtured by the high priests of modern British architecture. Only in the US is there a place for non-believers