Birmingham Post

Why Buses and Trains Must Have Joined-Up City Service

Transport logjams are hurting the West Midlands economy, the Government was warned today. In its response to Advantage West Midlands' regional economic strategy, the West Midlands Business Council says there is a "fundamental need to ensure real improvements and coordinated action for air, road, rail, bus and tram".

Coal and Nuclear Solutions Could Halt Uk Energy Crisis

Might King Coal help fuel West Midlands power? West Midlands Business Council thinks so. In its response to Advan-tage West Midlands' regional economic strategy, the WMBC says the Staffordshire and Warwickshire coalfields are "one of this region's greatest natural resources".

Other Issues

Skills: "The low skills base across the West Midlands region is not just harming people's life chances but is holding back business growth. We need a range of policies from a radical extension of workplace training to improving careers advice to break the skills logjam." Business Finance: "Bridge funding, levering in venture capital investment and developing a suite of Islamic finance products could go a long way to enhancing the competitiveness of Midlands firms."

Small Businesses Rarely Invest Time in Research and Development

We hear a lot about research and development in further and higher education establishments. Too often tapping into this is overlooked by small businesses who think it beyond their business.

City Is Behind Rivals in Payout

Birmingham has emerged as one of the worst cities in a national scheme to reward local authorities for promoting enterprise. The city received pounds 1.8 million from the Government's Local Authority Business Growth Incentive Scheme (LABGI), compared to pounds 17 million for arch-rival Manchester.

Wind Taken Out of Ftse's Sails

London shares ended their winning run yesterday after the FTSE 100 Index plunged by more than one per cent. The flagship index closed 148.6 points down at 6286.1.

Bolstering the Mix

Midland-based Ennstone said subsidiary Ennstone Thistle completed the acquisitions of seven ready mixed concrete plants in its northern and eastern Scottish markets for pounds 1.8 million. The aggregate and construction products company bought five concrete plants from Cemex UK in Aberdeenshire and the Inverness area.

Hotels Braced for Downturn

January's unexpected increase in interest rates has triggered fears of a downturn among consumer service firms, according to a survey published today. While professional services firms are expecting to see increases in business in the next three months, consumer operations like restaurants, hotels and leisure companies are expecting volume and value to decline.

Surge in Demand for Rental Accommodation

Demand for rental accommodation in the three months to January increased at its fastest pace for nine years, figures have shown.. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said that between November and January, 30 per cent more of its members reported a rise than a fall in tenant lettings, up from 21 per cent in the previous quarter. Acceleration in demand came on the back of strong eco-nomic activity, buoyant employment conditions and sustained migration from Eastern Europe, RICS said.

Airbus Fails to Hinder Shares Leap at Gkn

Midland engineering group GKN has doubled pretax profits despite delays to the Airbus superjumbo programme. The Redditch-based group said underlying pretax profits soared to pounds 182 million for 2006, up pounds 73 million on the previous year. Including acquisition costs, the profits rose eight per cent to pounds 221 million, based on flat sales of pounds 3.65 billion.

China, Us and South Africa Prompt Slide ; Market Report Share Prices

A massive pounds 36.2 billion was yesterday wiped off the FTSE 100 Index after the London market was hit by its biggest fall since May. The Footsie reached six-year highs in recent weeks but investors panicked on negative overseas news and sent the index plunging to finish 148.6 points lower at 6286.1 - down 2.3 per cent.

Bodycote Is Going Global

Engineering firm Bodycote International reported a full-year pretax profit rise of 19 per cent due to strong demand. The company, with subsidiaries in Aldridge, Birmingham, Burton- upon-Trent, Cheltenham, Coventry, Daventry, Derby, Dudley, Hereford, Nunea-ton, Willenhall and Wolver-hampton, saw profits rise to pounds 70 million from pounds 58.8 million.

Drugs for Pets Company Realises Profits

Staffordshire-based veterinary products manufacturer Dechra Pharma-ceuticals has posted higher first-half pretax profit due to increased sales and the launch of two key products in Europe. The drug maker, based in Stoke-on-Trent, manufactures medicines for cats, dogs and horses. The results, above expectation, showed pretax profit of pounds 5.9 million on revenue of pounds 125.9 million, an increase of 8.5 per cent, compared with pounds 5.2 million on pounds 116.1 million.

Bristol St Motors has New Owner

Birmingham-based Bristol Street Motors, one of the country's oldest car dealerships, has been taken over in a pounds 40 million deal. It was bought yesterday as a launchpad acquisition by Vertu Motors, an Aim-listed acquisition company headed by former Reg Vardy managing director Robert Forrester.

Blair Backing 'Asset Strippers'

Private equity brings "a lot of benefits" to the UK economy, Tony Blair insisted yesterday as unions escalated protests against alleged asset stripping. The Prime Minister backed the under-fire industry, whose role has become an issue in Labour's deputy leadership race.

Amalgamation Sees Webley Shooting Straight Again

Webley, the brand name for shotguns and air rifles, will be relaunched today - exactly 12 months after it was bought from the receivers. The Birmingham maker of guns - including pistols for General Custer - was bought by Airgun-sport for pounds 1 million last year after falling sales triggered the collapse of its Rubery-based operations.

Digest: Toyota Rising

Digest: Mine Propped Up

Hints of the Big 'R' As, True to Form, Bad News Comes in Threes

There is nothing like a triple whammy to unsettle the stock market. In its latest upward run it has taken individual pieces of bad news in its stride, with no perceptible thought for the ominous build-up of events in Iran. First, there was Alan Greenspan. In the years he was running the Fed, Greenspan took care to talk in riddles. On the one occasion that he strayed from his customary delphic script with the words "irrational exuberance" Wall Street barely blinked. Greenspan was right, but th...

Sports World Chief's Pounds 929m

Sports World entrepreneur Mike Ashley yesterday netted pounds 929 million after selling 43 per cent of his business in a stock market flotation. Shares in Sports Direct International, which owns Sports World, Lillywhites of London and brands including Dunlop, were priced near the top end of expectations after strong demand from City institutions.