Western Mail

The Economy Will Keep Growing Butsowill Forces Driving Inflation

Business editor Sion Barry assesses how the economy is likely to perform in 2008 and discusses the issues facing Welsh businesses THE occurrence of the word recession in the UK media is on the rise. However, while sounding a cliche there is danger of talking ourselves into one. Are we about to experience two successive quarter falls in gross domestic product?

Audit Office Allegations

A senior it specialist working at the Wales Audit Office says he was sent on gardening leave as he was about to start an inquiry into the possible irregular disclosure of confidential patient information. Andrew Hurley, who has been on leave since October 2005, was due to follow up concerns relating to an NHS body called Health Solutions Wales. Wales Audit Office said Mr Hurley's absence from work is unconnected to the inquiry he was about to undertake, and Health Solutions Wales maintained i...

Shot Dad Had Suffered Raids

A welsh businessman murdered in front of his wife and four youngest children in their South African home, had been the victim of several raids before he was shot dead by armed intruders, his family revealed yesterday. Police in Pretoria said last night they were "working around the clock" to find those responsible for shooting Fred Picton- Turbervill, 45, from Ewenny, near Bridgend. Last night, as his family prepared for his funeral, Welsh expats living in South Africa revealed their terrifyi...

Rugby Union: Shane: Gavin's Got That Wales Hunger Again

One in Three Workers in Wales Hit by Brown's New Pay Assault

Almost one third of Welsh workers face being locked into three- year pay settlements after Prime Minister Gordon Brown promised yesterday to get tough on public sector wages. Three-year pay deals, rather than the current annual negotiations, should become the norm to keep a lid on inflation, Mr Brown said. "There's no point in a big salary rise that is wiped out by a big inflation rise. That's the pattern of the past," the PM said.

Experts Weigh Up the Economy's Potential in 2008 and Prepare for Hard Times Ahead

Concerns of an economic downturn have been raised as 2008 gets under way. We canvassed the views of business leaders, politicians and economists to gauge the prospects for the next 12 months Concerns of an economic downturn have been raised as 2008 gets underway. We canvassed the views of business leaders, politicians and economists to gauge the prospects for the next 12 months.: The year ahead:Laura Tenison, of JoJo Maman Bb We have had a very good year in 2007. I think 2008 will be differen...

Quality Lending Rewards Hodge with Profit Up 3%

CARDIFF-based Julian Hodge Bank has reported record pre-tax profits, but said that impact of the global credit crunch will continue for sometime. The bank, whose funding is financed mainly through retail deposits, says its profits are up 27% to pounds 20.4m for the year ended October 31, 2007. By stripping out the results of the disposals - Hodge Insurance Brokers was sold to ProtectaGroup for pounds 3.5m - profit on continuing activities rose by 3% to pounds 16.9m.

Adviser to People Who Are in Debt to Create 200 Call Centre Jobs

A SWANSEA-based firm which advises people who are in debt is creating 200 jobs at a new call centre in the city. Financial Services Data Management is expanding into new offices at Oldway House in the city centre. It says an increase in the amount of debt in the UK and the global credit crunch are behind a rapid expansion in demand for its services. The firm, which employs around 100 staff, has commenced a recruitment drive.

Search On for Cardiff & Co Md

Executive search venture Veredus has been appointed to find a new managing director of the company charged with marketing Cardiff to the world. Veredus, a stand alone business owned by Capita, will this week advertise the position at Cardiff & Co and begin the process of identifying potential candidates for the role. Veredus has five offices across the UK, including Cardiff from where its private sector search operation is run headed by business director Gareth Davies.

Stratamatrix to Move Out of Town

Communications company StrataMatrix is moving its Aberystwyth headquarters to new out-of-town premises. StrataMatrix established in 1979 as Wales' first bilingual public relations agency will move offices from its town centre base in North Parade, Aberystwyth, to the former Milford laboratories building at Iger (Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research) at Gogerddan, near Bow Street. The company operates from offices in Aberystwyth and Cardiff Bay and employs a team of 20 staff provi...

Corus Celebrates Rise in Output

Corus's Port Talbot steelworks experienced a significant rise in output last year. In 2007, Port Talbot's two blast furnaces produced 3.9 million tonnes of molten iron - beating the previous record by around 200,000 tonnes. The Basic Oxygen Steelmaking (BOS) furnaces produced 4.4 million tonnes of molten steel, exceeding the previous record by some 200,000 tonnes. The balance between these figures of 500,000 tonnes represents the volume of recycled material used in the steelmaking process. Th...

Look Out for Turtles Washed Ashore

Walkers are being urged to look out for marine turtles stranded on beaches, after several were found washed up in recent days. The Marine Conservation Society said strong winter winds blow juvenile turtles into the UK's cold seas, where they wash up on the country's beaches. If found alive, the endangered reptiles can be rescued and rehabilitated before being returned to the wild in their native waters, it said.

'It's Just a Feeling of Finalising Things, Like the Last Piece in the Jigsaw'

Sin lloyd has revealed that she is the happiest she has ever been following her whirlwind romance and marriage to millionaire Jonathan Ashman. The TV weather presenter says that although she's never considered marriage as life's ultimate goal, the time was right. "We have such a connection it wouldn't have made a difference if we had been married or not," says Lloyd.

Jessops Clicked Back to Life at Christmas

Struggling camera retailer Jessops drew encouragement from Christmas trading yesterday, after like-for-like sales returned to positive territory. The group, which made losses of almost pounds 70m in its most recent financial year, said it had been left with much less stock after it tightly managed the business through the festive period. Like-for-like sales - stripping out the recent closure of 81 stores - were ahead 0.3% in the seven weeks to January 6, resulting in a fall of 4.7% for the fi...

Chambers Link-Up Favoured As Business Plan Takes Shape

An all-South-Wales chamber of commerce would give business in the region a proper voice, the chief executive of Cardiff Chamber of Commerce said yesterday. Russell Goodway, pictured, speaking for the first time since the collapse of the Cardiff Chamber of Commerce, advocated the establishment of an enlarged chamber for businesses across South Wales. News of Cardiff Chamber of Commerce's demise surfaced last Wednesday when a letter was sent to its members from president Paul Gardner.

Dads Miss a Month Per Year with Kids

Long working hours mean fathers are missing out on spending around a month a year with their children, according to new figures. In a Government-commissioned report entitled The Difference a Dad Makes, The Fatherhood Institute says parental leave does not meet the needs of the 21st century family. It says eight out of 10 fathers regularly work overtime resulting in less time spent with their children.

Argus to Be Printed Outside Wales

A NEWSPAPER which has been printed in Wales since 1892 is to move printing to a site outside Wales. Daily newspaper, the South Wales Argus, made the announcement yesterday , allegedly without consulting union officials. A spokesman for Unite, the UK's largest general workers union, reacted angrily to the move, and said its members had been treated with "utter contempt".

England to Print Newport 'Argus'

A NEWSPAPER which has been printed in Wales since 1892 is to move its printing to a site in England. Daily newspaper, the South Wales Argus, made the announcement yesterday , allegedly without consulting union officials. A spokesman for Unite, the UK's largest general workers' union, reacted angrily to the move, and said its members had been treated with utter contempt. The Newport paper, owned by Newsquest, was was one of the few remaining daily publications to be printed and published in Wa...

Results Lift Topps Tiles Shares Off the Floor

The UK's biggest tile and flooring firm, Topps Tiles, yesterday shrugged off the retail gloom as sales held up despite a "persistently tough" market. Shares in Leicestershire- based Topps soared as much as 9% after the firm achieved UK like-for-like sales growth of 0.8% in the 13 weeks since September 30. Although UK sales eased slightly from the 1.1% growth seen in the first seven weeks of the year, the firm's chairman and founder Barry Bester said prospects for future growth were "positive".

Shares Dive As Easyjet Struggles to Fill Seats

Shares in easyJet tumbled yesterday after the no-frills airline revealed it flew with a greater proportion of empty seats last month. The group saw shares dip more than 12% as it reported a 2.2 percentage point decline in its December "load factor" - a key measure indicating the number of passengers carried as a proportion of available seats. The year-on-year drop to 78.9% marked the biggest monthly decline since April and saw the load factor fall below 80% for the first time in nearly a year.