Sunday, February 24, 2013

Work to start a £ 2.3m end of the park

Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering was appointed by South Tyneside Council to develop a waterfront park in South Shields £ 2.3m river. Will stretch the Harton Quays Park along the Tyne from South Shields ferry landing to the Customs House and featuring curved embankment, drinks stall, promenade and amphitheater. Project was funded by a joint South Tyneside Council and the Homes and Communities Agency and work will get under way next month. Councillor Michael Clare, lead member for regeneration and economy, said: "We are determined will benefit local businesses and set a target Balfour Beatty Civil Engineering for 25% of all sub-contractor spending preserved South Tyneside. " Park part of regeneration for the South Shields Riverside, scheduled for completion in 2013.

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Teesside University joined the Middle East construction plans

TEESSIDE University, the world's leading authority on the study of construction, has been working with Middle Eastern universities and multi-national construction technology companies to cut costs and improve efficiency in the construction industry in the Gulf. University, along with the University of Qatar and Vicon HochTief service providers, non-profit event organized to enhance the knowledge base for Building Information Modeling (BIM). Professor Nashwan Dawood, director of Teesside University of Technology Futures Research Institute, is part of an effort to build a knowledge hub for the Middle East and the Gulf of BIM increases construction industry - based in Qatar. This event is seen as very important in the Qatar construction market and 3D Building information modeling is a hot topic today as preparations begin for the run-up to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar - the first Arab country to host the tournament. According to financial analysts to £ 138bn will be spent on stadiums, transport facilities and infrastructure. BIM creates a 3D model allows to live up-to-date information with the multi-purpose functions such as expense tracking, time, use of materials and the use of space to support the task of planning, coordinating design and visualize complex designs. The software can be applied to projects ranging from infrastructure to the stadium. Professor Dawood team working in teams in the world and the tools used to train the major building projects, including bridges and gas rigs. He said: "One of the problems there is always an element of construction is 'suck it and see'. Start to do the job and then suddenly have a lot of problems. Now we can simulate the process early on a computer screen in 3D, working out how it will be done and let it have the supply chain. ' Professor Dawood is estimated that this could save around 5-7% of the projects and help contractors to ensure they meet the deadline. He said: "You could almost take off problems before they occur. Increasing the confidence of clients and therefore increase investment. BIM effective for the management of construction projects throughout their life cycle. ' The three events in Qatar over the next 12 months based on what Prof says Dawood is an essential component for the successful use of four 3D modeling for construction: processes, people, technology and policy. He said: "The events that occurred in what is known as the period of fastest expansion in Qatar. It is interesting to see how much BIM can save time, effort and money. '

Saturday, February 16, 2013

Dominate the eurozone sovereign debt market

Led by THE euro zone sovereign debt crisis market again last week with the sharp sell-off in Spanish and Italian bonds and equity market - the euro zone equity market as a whole fell by about 5% last week. Developed equities, European equities and in the aggregate, are cheap to begin with, but fell recently left the valuation of the euro area appear even less. To policy makers and politicians a clear statement of intent required of us suspect material valuations will rise, but when risk appetite returned either we can expect the euro area, and the Spanish and Italian in it, to lead the rebound in developed market for a while at least. Spot potential Spanish and Italian stock market enhanced when we remember that there are a number of large, liquid companies in each of the actual derived mostly from sales and income outside of their local economies. In our view, the company may have been unfairly tainted by the sentiments of the local economy rather than on the basis of the business driving the sell-off. When we saw some big cap names in Spain, Telefonica and Banco Santander are actually derived two-thirds of its revenue outside the confines of space, but now Trading at close to 40% discount trend. Cheapness alone does not always drive performance, and our colleagues at Barclays Capital is not very positive in one of these companies at this time, believing that the company specific catalysts may be necessary for them to excel . However, given the potential for a revival in risk appetite, the stock is clearly for people to watch closely. At the country level, we note that Italy and Spain are currently Trading at a discount of 11% for the Eurozone, while Greece itself Trading at a premium of 5%. The recent sell-off in equities can be seen in the same country as the worst sing now. Spain and Italy account for 8% and 6% of the European market as a whole, each around which smaller companies (Greece, Portugal and Ireland) account for less than 2%. There's really little we recommend stocks from smaller peripheral countries but we also want the core markets: Remember that Germany and France account for 43% of the entire Eurozone. We simply assume that the immediate bounce, it is more fluid device on the market to lead the way. Investing in stocks is not for everyone. Their values ??may fall and you may get back less than you invested. If you are unsure, you should seek independent advice. Andrew Miller :: regional head office of Barclays Wealth in Newcastle

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Oil release show positive approach

SOME readers may be wondering about the impact of geopolitical events, and the development of international policy, oil prices and market sentiment. Some people might think that, by the end of June, the International Energy Agency (IEA) agreed to release 60 million barrels of oil for the month of July. At that time, it took the stock market was surprised - and oil futures prices fell 6% as a result - and echoed in the equity space, while Treasury yields retreated as well. To provide some historical context, the International Energy Agency, it must be noted, was originally set up as a counterweight to OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) in 1970, on the advice of Henry Kissinger. But nearly four decades of history, it was only the third time it was released strategic stocks - and the first time it has done since 1991, which was during the first Gulf War. Importantly, the IEA agreed to release two million barrels of oil per day for July, with the idea to compensate for the loss of daily production from Libya. The U.S. will provide half of the release, with the remainder taken by Japan, Germany, France, Spain and Italy. Significant contributions to the market losing high-quality light, sweet crude that Libya produces certain. Light, sweet crude is used primarily for the purification of fuel - which is important in industrialized countries, most of those who contributed in some way to the IEA reserve release. But readers can also specify an exciting time: it was about two weeks after the June 8 OPEC meeting, in which the OPEC member states are divided on whether to increase output, and which country (eg, excess production capacity, or not). Prior to this meeting, openly IEA urges OPEC to increase production to meet the increasing demand for oil estimates for the third quarter (July to September) 2011. Meanwhile, in a different context, some say that the U.S. presidential election campaign kick-off, and the American economy is still in a "soft patch" - the U.S. consumer recovery is still rather fragile. Because of this, it can help increase the supply of high-quality crude oil keep a lid on fuel prices, and can be useful. In terms of time, the move also coincided with the final volume of the U.S. Federal Reserve Easing program (QE2) in June, and potentially can be seen in the context of further fiscal stimulus. In terms of near-term picture, we think this move from IEA broadly positive: in fact, the basic supply and demand in the oil market for the third quarter of 2011 is looking for (and more see also) is tight, especially if demand remains strong, as we expect. On the capital market, we still support comprehensive energy stocks. A sector that is strongly linked to oil prices could potentially provide investors with some protection against some still see potential geopolitical risks and also provide exposure to sectors with strong long-term. Andrew Miller :: regional office of Barclays Wealth in Newcastle