Opinion 鈥� Page 415
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Comment
Futures market puts house prices in cash terms down by a third by 2011
Punters in the residential derivatives game are putting a very bleak gloss on the direction of house prices.The Tradition Future HPI, which measures future prices against the Halifax (HBOS) non-seasonally adjusted average, puts a value of 拢137,233 on an average house in June 2011. Given that prices peaked at 拢201,081 ...
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Three years of construction recession forecast - is that possible?
My good friend Martin Hewes provided me with a sneak preview of his latest three-year forecast for construction output. It's not a bedtime read for the faint hearted, that's for sure.The Hewes & Associates numbers show a recession in construction stretching out for the three years of the forecast period, ...
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A warm industry welcome
Reading your article on apprenticeships (20 June, page 20) brought back memories of my introduction to the industry as a would-be apprentice carpenter in 1972.
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CommentBorder skirmishes
In reply to Derek Emslie in Scotland (27 June, page 35) who took issue with Caroline Flint referring to 鈥淓ngland鈥� as a world leader in sustainable building...
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The mystified mediator
I feel very sorry for disputants like Alan Danieli (27 June, page 39) caught up in the expensive, acrimonious and drawn out process of construction dispute resolution, especially at the smaller end of the market where legal costs can be so high in relation to the sums at issue.
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Call on me
I鈥檓 pleased to report that that the Federation of Master Builders (FMB) has brokered a deal with the RICS to settle complaints against FMB members.
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It doesn鈥檛 add up
A lot has been said and written recently about the OFT investigation into price fixing. I am amazed that despite the amount of press coverage on this I can find no comment on the profit margins of the contractors involved.
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Comment
Working 25/7
So 鈥� Mouzhan Majidi at Fosters brags (4 July, page 64) that their team worked 24 hours a day..
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CommentSinging the blues
What a diabolical week. The swingeing job cuts 鈥� 4,000 across publicly quoted companies alone 鈥� make painful reading and all the signs are that things are going to get an awful lot worse.
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Comment黑洞社区 buys a pint 鈥� for Inbuilt Consulting
Chosen watering hole: The Paper Mill, Apsley, Hertfordshire聽Ambience: Pleasant faux-country pub by a canal聽Topics: How to salvage Paul鈥檚 architectural agricultural endeavours, and sunflower envy聽Drinks drunk: 5 pints of ale, 2 pints of lager, 3 white wines, 3 red wines, mineral water, glass of tonic
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CommentMy digital life: Robert Adam
Addicted to books, BlackBerries and baiting Kevin McCloud, architect Robert Adam courts controversy online as well as off, as Charlotte Matheson found out
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CommentOoh matron!
Despite the gloom, the industry has been Carrying On, thanks to some deliciously wobbly desserts and some naughty business in a public park
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Comment
House prices are falling twice as fast as in 1990 crash
I'll be honest I wasn't expecting the latest Halifax (HBOS) house price figures to be quite as dramatic as they were - showing a further 2% drop in June.Not that I am overly surprised, but on nothing more than a hunch I had expected the rate of fall in June ...
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Comment
Media plays down housing crisis - 160,000 house building jobs to go
Not a headline you might expect. And let's hope the house building industry doesn't shed 160,000 jobs, but it is looking ever more likely.First let's get one thing out of the way. The media is blamed for hyping the crisis we now find ourselves in. To hold that view is ...
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CommentEastern promises
The UK鈥檚 own history makes it uniquely placed to partner China in transforming old industries and leading the world in putting eco principles into practice, says John Prescott
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Comment
Withholding notices: Aedas Architects vs Skanska Construction UK
This dispute arose out of works done on contracts to renovate some schools in Midlothian. The claimant sought periodical payments but was met with refusal because the Defendant claimed that it had large and on-going contra set-offs which were much more than what the claimant was pursuing.The claimant argued ...
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Comment黑洞社区 buys a pint 鈥� for Atkins, Shanghai
Paul Rice associate director, Atkins ShanghaiStuart Macdonald, 黑洞社区 鈥� and 20 drunken Australian embassy staff and guests
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CommentOnly yourselves to blame
Managers found guilty of causing death by a 'gross breach' of care are liable to criminal conviction, but the Corporate Manslaughter act is clear on how to avoid a prosecution
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Comment
Fool's gold
If Michael Gove gets into government, he鈥檒l have to learn pretty quick that we haven鈥檛 had a system based on land-use planning since 2004.