Some statistics and studies for September – Make of them what you will…..
56% of a recent Future of England Survey felt public spending in Scotland should be reduced and 66% think Scottish MPs should be prevented from voting on English laws if it decides to remain part of the Union after the Scottish Independence Referendum.
Giving a balance of plus 25, a CBI Survey shows retailers optimistic about sales, with more shop owners with expectations of sales rising over the next three months than expectations of sales falling. The highest figure since May 2002, sales have grown at their fastest pace in six months.
London owes the highest amount in mortgages according to The Royal Mail Postcode 40th Anniversary study. The Royal Mail’s online Postcode Finder is one of the UK’s most used webpages with around 100,000 visits a day – more than 40 million a year. There are 3,000 postcode districts in the UK. The postcode HD7 5UZ in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, covers seven streets, more than any other in the UK and Westfield Shopping Centre in Stratford, East London, is so big it has its own postcode, E20, which was previously the fictional location for BBC soap EastEnders.
14% of the 993 of Europe’s largest public companies Accounts showed improved days working capital (DWC) for three consecutive years, shows the European Working Capital Survey. Businesses are benefiting from an increased focus on working capital but sustaining working capital remains a major challenge.
The results of a study in Australia (the first country to standardise packaging for cigarettes) suggests there is ‘no evidence’ behind many of the “fears” proposed by opponents of standardised ‘plain’ packaging of cigarettes and that no evidence was found of small retailers being hurt by the change.
House prices average is now £189,306 according to Nationwide, with a +11% comparable to August rise. Property values were +0.8%, a sixteenth monthly increase and Land Registry figures suggest price increased by +1.7% in July, the biggest monthly upswing in five years, with Merthyr Tydfil beating London as the area with the strongest house price growth at local authority level.
Image and Article credit: Copyright SUF © 2014
