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news opinion
The highly positive start to 2015 will hearten all in business in the Solent and Thames Valley regions ...
Marketing budgets will, according to forecasts, hit their highest levels in eight years. Last year, budgets were at the highest they had been since 2000, and in 2015 they will grow yet further.
According to the renowned Bellwether report, the planned increase in marketing budgets for 2015 “is more aggressive than anything we’ve seen since data were first collected in 2000“.
Even the prospect of a General Election in May has not dampened the spirits of marketing directors and managers who have been arguing that it’s time to “go for it“ and take advantage of the upswing in the general economy.
Companies hit the ground running on January 5 as soon as they got back from the festive break. This was in marked contrast to 2014 where it took a few weeks for businesses to crank up their activity.
The current slide in energy and commodity prices is no doubt helping fuel the recovery, but there will be economists with a wary eye on China, where growth has slowed, and on Russia, where recession is looming.
These are clouds on the horizon that might well add to volatility back in the UK. The eurozone’s continuing problems won’t help either.
All in all, though, we should look forward to some positive conditions in which this region’s entrepreneurial businesses and high-growth companies can excel.
David Murray Publisher
Reading ranks UK number one for productivity
Reading has the most productive workforce in the country according to a new report published today. Cities Outlook 2015, produced by the think-tank Centre for Cities, ranks Reading number one in the UK for the economic contribution per worker (Gross Value Added), with an average contribution of £70,900 per person to the economy.
The Cities Outlook report is the annual health-check of the economic performance of the United Kingdom’s 64 largest cities. The report defines Reading as the 'Greater Reading' area (Reading, Bracknell and Wokingham) and includes statistics about the levels of technological innovation, levels of employment, earnings and skills levels in the workforce and house prices.
Reading performs well against 12 of the criteria in the report, repeating 2014’s strong performance. Highlights include
that Reading is fifth for start-up businesses, third for the number of businesses per population and second for the highest wages. In terms of the skills of Reading’s workforce, the economic area ranks second in terms of GCSE results and seventh for university- level qualifications.
Nigel Horton-Baker, executive director, Reading UK CIC, the economic development company for Reading, said: “The Centre for Cities report demonstrates the cumulative reasons that make Reading a powerhouse of the UK economy and such an attractive location for business and investment."
Reading has the fifth lowest proportion of people with no formal qualifications (5.4%) and the fifth lowest unemployment rate of the 63 locations included in the report.
Details:
www.centreforcities.org www.livingreading.co.uk
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E.indd 1 THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE – THAMES VALLEY – FEBRUARY 2015 12/11/2013 16:12
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