Competition for jobs will remain strong in 2010

By James Caan

Published: 8:19AM GMT 18 Jan 2010

Can we turn our fortunes and confidence around for the coming decade? If I
were an employer hiring at the start of 2010, what would I be looking for in
a job hunter’s CV?

This year is an important one, as we’ll have a general election. The
Government has been driving initiatives to help keep businesses buoyant and
to get the young back in employment. But what about the jobseekers
themselves?

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Bill Miller expects US shares to rise 20pc in 2010

By Matt Goodburn

Published: 7:11AM GMT 06 Jan 2010

Legg Mason Capital Management’s veteran chief investment officer and chairman,
Bill Miller, believes the market is underestimating the potential rate of US
GDP growth in 2010.

Mr Miller is tipping the US stockmarket to rise by up to 20pc over the next 12
months, on the back of significant GDP growth, which he predicts could be as
high as 8pc.

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Britsh manufacturing output bounces back

Reuters

Published: 10:43AM GMT 05 Nov 2009

The figures from
the Office for National Statistics add to the raft of conflicting
data about the British economy over the past month.

Factory output rose 1.7pc in September, almost reversing a 2pc decline in
August. This was was much higher than economists’ forecasts and the biggest
gain since July 2002.

However, the ONS said the figures on their own would not lead to any
significant change to its estimate of third-quarter GDP, which shocked
analysts last month when it showed a 0.4pc fall between July and September.

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Recession and unemployment: the worst is yet to come

The economy has shrunk by 5.6 per cent from its pre-recessionary peak (Q1
2008); in the space of just over a year our economy has been returned to the
size it was at the end of 2005. Simply talking about the size of the
economy, however, does not do justice to the nature of recessions.

People, and in particular those who have lost their jobs, feel much more
anxious and less happy than they did in 2005. At their core, recessions are
the bearers of misery: they make people poorer.

Unemployment has increased from 1.7 million people at the start of 2008 to 2.5
million. These numbers are stark but how do they compare with the previous
two UK recessions?

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Factory gate prices rise in September

Prices at the factory gate rose for the first time in five months in
September, with almost all sectors taking part in the unexpected rise,
according to official figures today.

The Office for National Statistics said that non seasonally adjusted output
prices rose 0.5 per cent in September.

It took the annual rate of inflation to 0.4 per cent, the first positive
reading since April. Prices registered a 0.3 per cent fall in August.

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Britain’s credibility with creditors is key

By Damian Reece

Published: 8:14PM BST 04 Sep 2009

A zero outcome for GDP in this third quarter remains a safe bet and I wouldn’t
be surprised if we saw the numbers turn positive. All those “staycationers”
will have given the domestic economy quite a boost in July and August along
with the usual influx of foreign tourists attracted by the cheapish pound.
Cars and construction are the latest sectors to show improvement and the
economic springtime continues.

But it’s fragile and still risks being snuffed out. By far the biggest threat
to any nascent recovery are the dire public finances. A common political
ploy is to distract the citizens from domestic problems by embarking on a
campaign overseas – fixing the international financial system for instance.
But as George Osborne highlighted yesterday, the Chancellor’s main priority
should be a plan to regain Britain’s credibility among its creditors,
otherwise we won’t be able to afford recovery and penury will be our fate.

UK consumer optimism ‘increases’

UK consumers were more optimistic last month about the future than they had been for six months, according to the Nationwide Consumer Confidence index.

The index hit 53 in May, up from a reading of 51 the month before and the highest reading since November.

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Regulators accused of ‘dithering’

A watchdog has accused regulators of “dithering” instead of stepping in swiftly to protect consumers.

The 14-month review studied six regulators covering the food, water, energy, financial, communication and postal sectors. Read more

Ratings agencies admit mistakes

Credit rating agencies have admitted errors were made when assessing some of the financial instruments that have been blamed for the credit crunch.

Representatives of the three main agencies - Standard & Poor’s, Fitch, Moodys - were grilled by MPs on the Treasury Select Committee. Read more

Downturn ‘hitting women harder’

Female workers are being hit harder than ever before in the current downturn, a report has suggested.

A study by the TUC union showed the redundancy rate among women had risen by 2.3%, almost double the rate for men, since last year. Read more

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