Birmingham Post

Jaime Quinsey, Centre, the Sister of Murdered

Bmw Chairman Hits Out at Auto Bail-Outs

BMW chairman Norbert Reithofer last night warned that government bail outs could weaken productive companies during the worst car sales climate for 40 years. Mr Reithofer broke ranks with other leading figures in the global car industry to warn that state rescue packages were a "mixed blessing".

Birmingham Post: Will the Real Be Birmingham Stand Up? ; Comment

Eight years after the Birmingham City Strategic Partnership was founded, with a remit to corral chief executives from public and private sector organisations into a mega think tank, those who claimed the result would be yet more expenditure of taxpayers' money by an unaccountable quango are beginning to see their fears come true. This body, now re-named Be Birmingham, has no executive powers of its own.

Jaguar Land Rover Doesn't Want a Bail-Out, but a Simple Loan

BMW chairman Norbert Reithofer raises valid concerns in his comments about government "bail-outs" in the automotive sector. He insisted that businesses must retain their independence from government, and warned that support for failing companies undermined those that are profitable, and capable of supporting jobs in the long-run.

Turning the Dream Into Reality ; in Association with Lloydstsb.Com/Corporatemarkets Last Week Half of Birmingham's Business Community Decamped to Cheltenham for Their Annual Round of Important 'Meetings'. Here Melissa Jones Caught Up with a Local Pairing Who Helped Make It Such a Memorable Week.

Any parent has butterflies in their stomach on their child's first day of school, anticipating and hoping that their offspring might find happiness, fulfilment, fame and maybe fortune. But this experience is not just limited to parents; anybody who has a passion for what they do will know that excruciating tension when all their hopes and dreams are put to the test.

Amateur Richard Makes His Point ; in Association with Lloydstsb.Com/Corporatemarkets

Amateur jockey Richard Burton was born in 1976 and lives in Shropshire and with a family history like his it was inevitable he would end up in the saddle. His mother and father both enjoyed riding careers in point-to- points, while his grandfather was an amateur jockey like himself.

Apprenticeship Taskforce Targeting Wider Take-Up ; Training

Ed Balls, John Denham and Sir Alan Sugar are in Birmingham today to encourage a wider take-up of apprenticeship schemes among local companies. The Secretaries of State for Children, Schools and Families and for Innovation, Universities and Skills are touring the country with the celebrity entrepreneur as part of the government's campaign to get 130,000 apprenticeships completed every year by 2010-11.

Maintenance Groups' Pounds 11mplan to Improve Public Transport Access ; Transport

Two of the companies bidding for Birmingham City Council's highways maintenance contract will carry out a multimillion-pound integrated road scheme to improve transport access involving Solihull, Birmingham International Airport, NEC and Birmingham International railway station. Highway service provider Ringway and highways consultant WSP - both part of Birmingham Street Services - are to carry out the pounds 11million transport scheme, which will also include new facilities for cyclists and ...

Amey Delivers Bid the Green Way ; Transport

It's now a waiting game for the two companies hoping to secure a pounds 2.7billion contract to manage and maintain Birmingham's road systems. The final bids for the private finance initiative contract are in fromAmey and Birmingham Street Services with the winner expected to be announced in July. Instead of delivering boxes of paper the bidders were asked to submit bids in an eco-friendly CD format.

Phone Parking in Need of Work

Driving and parking a car in central Birmingham is becoming increasingly troublesome. Having been wrongly accused twice of parking illegally in recent weeks, I devised a cunning plan when making my way to an early- morning business breakfast in the city.

Why Bank Voted for Recession-Busting Pounds 75bn Rescue Plan ; Banking in Association with Iloydstsb.Com/Corporatemarkets

The Bank of England's interest-setting committee devoted much of its meeting early this month to debating the scale, speed and nature of the Bank's planned injection of newly-created money into the economy to counter the recession. The decision to cut the Bank's official interest rate by another half-point to an all-time low of 0.5 per cent was treated as a secondary issue, to judge from minutes of the meeting published yesterday.

Advice to Surveyors of the Future ; in Association with Iloydstsb.Com/Corporatemarkets

The President of the Royal Institution for Chartered Surveyors was on hand in the city yesterday to advise budding students on a future in the field. Peter Goodacre visited the Midlands as part of an initiative to bring students together from the five RICS partnership universities in the region and to advise how to forge a successful career in the industry.

Jobs Go at Failed Electrical Suppliers ; in Association with Iloydstsb.Com/Corporatemarkets

About 250 people will be losing their jobs after two West Midlands electrical appliance firms collapsed yesterday. Sandwell-based Apollo 2000 and Arrow Distributors, from Worcestershire, were shut down because of a drop in sales.

Mps Hit Out at 'Shabby' Government Response ; Sector

The Government's response to a report into its handling of the problems at Equitable life is "shabby, constitutionally dubious and procedurally improper", MPs will say today. In a report published today, the Public Administration Select Committee(PASC) says it is "deeply disappointed" with the way the Government has responded to the Parliamentary Ombudsman's report into its regulation of Equitable.

Buyers Sensing House 'Bargains' ; Housing

The number of homes changing hands rose to its highest level for a year during February as a recent jump in buyer interest translated into increased sales. The average estate agent agreed eight sales during the month, the highest level since February last year and up from a record low of just five in August, the National Association of Estate Agents said.

Residential Lettings Drop Across West Midlands ; Rental

West Midland rents dropped across the residential lettings sector as would-be sellers continued to flood the rental market with unsellable properties. The number of chartered surveyors who said rents were falling quadrupled between the third and fourth quarters of 2008, according to the RICS Lettings Survey. The net balance of chartered surveyors reporting rises in rents in that period fell from -12 per cent to - 48 per cent, the lowest level in the survey's history.

I'm Hungry for City Food Fairs ; Pen Portrait

Name?: Michelle Billingsley. Age?: 31.

Austin Sees Future in Towers Business Park ; Comm Prop

Regional Minister for the West Midlands Ian Austin saw a glimpse of the future at one of Staffordshire's largest business parks - the pounds 125million Towers Business Park at Rugleley. The Regional Minister visited the 100- acre scheme to see how pounds 10.5 million of funding from the coalfields programme had helped transform the former derelict colliery site.

Property Search Facility Upgrade Helps Businesses Consider Staffs ; Comm Prop

Businesses looking to relocate to Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire have given their seal of approval to a new online property search facility developed by inward investment agency InStaffs. The web-based service, accessed through the InStaffs website - www.instaffs.co.uk - was created in 1997 and recent changes have speeded up property searches.

Midlands Trio Lead the Way

Three West Midlands-based construction firms have been recognised for their outstanding performance in the field of leadership in people development. Cundalls, Mouchel Ltd and Thomas Vale Construction Group plc have been named as finalists of the West Midlands Centre for Constructing Excellence (WMCCE)ConstructingExcellence2009 'Leadership in People Development' award, sponsored by the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB).