SWO Economy News http://economy.swo.org.uk/swo-economy-news.rss Through the West of England LEP website you'll now find the Executive Summary to the West of England LEP Quarterly Economic Bulletin and the Barriers to Growth Survey Report. These documents are available to download from the LEP website at http://www.westofenglandlep.co.uk/about-us/economic-intelligence/reports-and-surveys http://economy.swo.org.uk/news/all-news/?entryid9=55442 Thu, 02 May 2013 11:18:50 GMT 20130502111850 Thu, 02 May 2013 11:18:50 GMT 20130502111850 Thu, 02 May 2013 11:53:54 GMT 2013050211115354 False Access the latest Quarterly Economic Survey results for the South West, compiled by Business West. The Business West quarterly survey provides a regular assessment on the economic situation of local business and is a valuable source of intelligence for businesses, politicians and policy makers. On a national level, results from the survey feed into the British Chambers quarterly survey, recognised as the largest and most representative independent business survey. There were 537 responses to this quarter's survey - an increase of over 200 from the last survey. http://economy.swo.org.uk/news/all-news/?entryid9=55369 Wed, 24 Apr 2013 10:16:19 GMT 20130424101619 Wed, 24 Apr 2013 10:16:19 GMT 20130424101619 Wed, 24 Apr 2013 10:38:11 GMT 2013042410103811 False Business activity in the South West private sector declined for the second successive month in March. However, the rate of reduction was fractional. New business also fell for the second month in a row, and at a modest pace. Backlogs of work declined solidly, while staff numbers fell only marginally. Output charges were raised at the strongest rate in 18 months. For more download the latest Markit / Lloyds TSB PMI Report for the South West. http://economy.swo.org.uk/news/all-news/?entryid9=55313 Mon, 15 Apr 2013 21:23:45 GMT 20130415212345 Mon, 15 Apr 2013 21:23:45 GMT 20130415212345 Mon, 15 Apr 2013 21:23:45 GMT 201304152192345 False The South West Business Tracker has just been published providing 'real-time' information about the performance of some of the most significant publicly traded businesses in the region. The April 2013 update to the Business Tracker highlights the continued strong performance of the stock market over the first few months of the year reflected in SW Business Tracker companies. The consolidated price index continued to rise strongly during January and February, with a small downward adjustment taking place in March as the overall market paused for breath and digested contrasting events such as the Cypriot crisis and recovering US consumer expenditure. The period saw several of our companies announce strong trading figures. Hargreaves Lansdown, Supergroup and Unite all reported a healthy set of results. In contrast, Imperial Tobacco, Rotork and Kingfisher issued more cautious trading updates - all citing different reasons for weakness. This includes foreign exchange movements, inclement weather and - in the case of Imperial Tobacco - the black market for tobacco products. For more on the performance of individual companies click on the link below. http://economy.swo.org.uk/news/all-news/?entryid9=55274 Wed, 03 Apr 2013 15:27:43 GMT 20130403152743 Wed, 03 Apr 2013 15:27:43 GMT 20130403152743 Wed, 03 Apr 2013 15:34:35 GMT 201304031533435 False The Q1 2013 British Chambers of Commerce's Quarterly Economic Survey (QES) shows that the economy has made progress, but there are still some mountains to climb before it is fully back on track. The new survey, made up of responses from more than 7,000 businesses, shows that most key balances in both the manufacturing and service sectors strengthened in the first quarter of 2013. Export balances in services are particularly strong, with deliveries and orders near the all time high in 1994. Business confidence and investment are also up, and cashflow, although still relatively weak, is now positive for both manufacturing and service sector businesses. http://economy.swo.org.uk/news/all-news/?entryid9=55272 Tue, 02 Apr 2013 16:15:51 GMT 20130402161551 Tue, 02 Apr 2013 16:15:51 GMT 20130402161551 Tue, 02 Apr 2013 16:24:21 GMT 201304021642421 False Please note that these figures, sourced from NOMISweb, are not seasonally adjusted, and so may differ from those published elsewhere. Last week's claimant count release highlights that the total number of working age people (16-64) claiming Job Seeker's Allowance in the South West increased from 88,817 to 90,670 between January and February 2013, (+1,853, or 2.0%). It also shows, however, how the total number of claimants in the South West is lower than this time last year -having fallen by 8,269 or 9.1%, Between February 2012 and February 2013, the number of claimants fell by 8,269 (-9.1%). Over the same period in England, the number of claimants also dropped by 5.1% over the same period. The number of 16-24 year olds claiming JSA increased from 24,685 to 25,830 between January and February 2013 – (+1,145 or 4.4%). Overall, over the past year, this number has however fallen by 5,230, (-21.1%). For all LEPs over the past year, claimant count has gone down– . However, all except Cornwall and Isles of Scilly LEP, have seen an increase in claimant count figures over the past month. For Cornwall and Isles of Scilly LEP, there were a total of 10,484 claimants in February 2013, a decrease of 143 from January 2013 (-1.4%) and a decrease of 632 from February 2012 (-6.0%). For the Dorset LEP, there were a total of 10,237 claimants in February 2013, an increase of 390 from January 2013 (+3.8%) but a decrease of 727 from February 2012 (-7.1%). For the Gloucestershire LEP, there were 10,517 claimants in February 2013, an increase of 205 from January 2013 (+1.9%), but a decrease of 565 from February 2012 (-5.4%). For the Heart of the South West LEP, there were 27,302 claimants in February 2013, an increase of 642 from January 2013 (+2.4%) and a decrease of 3,368 from February 2012 (-12.3%). For Swindon and Wiltshire LEP, there were 10,436 claimants in February 2013, an increase of 485 from January 2013 (+4.6%) and a decrease of 1,315 from February 2012 (-12.6%). For the West of England LEP, there were 21,694 claimants in February 2013, an increase of 274 from January 2013 (+1.3%) and a decrease of 1,662 from February 2012 (-7.7%). http://economy.swo.org.uk/news/all-news/?entryid9=55255 Mon, 25 Mar 2013 17:49:48 GMT 20130325174948 Mon, 25 Mar 2013 17:49:48 GMT 20130325174948 Thu, 28 Mar 2013 10:19:01 GMT 2013032810101901 False