Beam Reach Wiki - User contributions [en]

User:CandyFlick651

2012-05-03T20:12:02Z

46.105.228.172: Created page with "Pressure is rising on Greece's national unity government to agree tough reforms demanded by the country's lenders. The EU, IMF and European Central Bank have made further spendi..."

Pressure is rising on Greece's national unity government to agree tough reforms demanded by the country's lenders.

The EU, IMF and European Central Bank have made further spending cuts, labour market reforms and bank rescues a condition of extending a new bailout.

European Commission Vice President Neelie Kroes told a Dutch newspaper that there would be "absolutely no man overboard" if Greece left the euro.

Greek party leaders are meeting on Tuesday amid a general strike.

A previous meeting on Sunday night proved inconclusive, leading to further last-minute talks between Prime Minister Lukas Papademos and the troika of official lenders on Monday.

The leader of the left-wing Syriza party coalition, Alexis Tsipras, repeated a call on Tuesday either for Greece's debts to be written off, or else for the country to pause its debt repayments for three years.

Meanwhile, public transport and the country's ports ground to a halt as two of the largest Greek public-sector unions began a strike on Tuesday in protest at continuing austerity.

CandyFlick651

2012-05-03T20:11:57Z

User:GretchenMccusker13

2012-05-03T17:26:23Z

46.105.228.172: Created page with "FAIRNESS played a central role in Barack Obama's state-of-the-union address, and I suspect it will play a central role in the president's re-election campaign. But what does Mr O..."

GretchenMccusker13

2012-05-03T17:26:17Z

User:LianeRhone233

2012-04-09T09:28:53Z

46.105.228.172: Created page with "China's inflation rate grew more-than-forecast in March as higher fuel and food costs pushed up consumer prices. Consumer prices grew by 3.6% in March from a year earlier, up fr..."

China's inflation rate grew more-than-forecast in March as higher fuel and food costs pushed up consumer prices.

Consumer prices grew by 3.6% in March from a year earlier, up from 3.2% in February. Analysts had forecast an increase of 3.3%.

Premier Wen Jiabao has cited inflation is one of China's main economic worries and has set a target of 4% for 2012.

Analysts said the data may prompt the central bank to hold back on monetary policy easing for now.

"I think the stronger-than-expected inflation could slow down the pace of monetary policy relaxing, although the basic direction of policy easing is intact," said Wang Jin of Guotai Securities in Shanghai.
Growth concerns
Continue reading the main story
�Start Quote

We maintain our forecast that the central bank may cut the reserve ratio several times this year, but the chance of cutting interest rates has become even lower�

Wang Jin Guotai Securities

China's economy grew by 8.9% in the three months to the end of December from a year earlier, the slowest pace of growth in more than two years.

There have been concerns that its growth may slow even further amid a slowing demand for its exports from key markets such as the US and eurozone.

In a bid to sustain its pace of growth, China's central bank has been easing its monetary policy in recent months.

It has cut the amount of money banks must keep in reserve twice in the past few months, in effect giving them more money to lend to consumers, in a bid to boost lending and sustain economic growth.

There has been growing speculation that the central bank may cut the cost of borrowing in a further attempt to boost growth.

However, analysts said the higher-than-expected jump in consumer prices had reduced the chances of such move, not least because of fears that availability of easy money at low rates may push consumer prices higher.

"We maintain our forecast that the central bank may cut the reserve ratio several times this year, but the chance of cutting interest rates has become even lower," said Mr Wang.

LianeRhone233

2012-04-09T09:28:48Z

User:StarKavanaugh519

2012-04-06T14:21:25Z

46.105.228.172: Created page with "BARELY a week goes by without a report on the level of confidence among consumers, businesspeople and investors. Optimism is what�s wanted�Keynes talked of the �animal spir..."

BARELY a week goes by without a report on the level of confidence among consumers, businesspeople and investors. Optimism is what�s wanted�Keynes talked of the �animal spirits� that influence economic activity. Pessimists are routinely denounced as Jeremiahs. Those who try to bet on falling prices find their activities are restricted.

A cheery disposition may be necessary for societies to function. Daniel Kahneman, a psychologist and Nobel economics laureate, has a chapter in his book �Thinking Fast and Slow� which describes overconfidence as �the engine of capitalism�. No entrepreneur can be sure that his planned investment will succeed but if no one took a risk, new products and jobs would never be created. A certain blindness to the odds may be necessary. According to Mr Kahneman, the chances of an American small business surviving for five years are just 35%. But ask individual entrepreneurs about their prospects and 81% think they have a better than seven-in-ten chance of success.

This self-confidence may be innate, just as most people think they are better-than-average drivers. And it would seem logical that the most optimistic people gravitate towards entrepreneurship. That is good for consumers, who can select from a wider variety of products. Even the failed businesses serve a purpose. Daniel Gross, a journalist, wrote a book claiming that bubbles were good for economies since they leave behind infrastructure (canals, railways, fibre-optic cable) that can last for generations.

But it is hard to make such a case for all bubbles. Anyone who has driven past a row of empty houses in the Irish countryside will realise that optimism can lead to wasteful investment. And Mr Kahneman cites studies that show how overoptimistic chief executives (as measured by the amount of stock they own) were more likely to gear up their balance-sheets and pay too much for acquisitions.

The problem with overoptimism was illustrated by the investment-bank collapses of 2008. The men who reached the top of such risk-taking organisations had, by definition, been successful in their previous bets. They believed this was due to skill, not luck, making them too sanguine about their ability to ride out the crisis.

A further problem with optimism is thus that it is pro-cyclical. The greatest moment of success for optimists will occur at the peak of a boom, when they will feel their instincts have been justified. Previous house-price rises will make buyers more optimistic about borrowing more money; and banks will be more optimistic about the prospect of being repaid.

Financial assets are highly unusual in that rising prices tend to elicit higher demand. Analysts extrapolate recent rapid profits growth into the future, even though profits cannot rise faster than GDP indefinitely. If markets were truly efficient, price-earnings ratios should be lower than average at the top of the cycle, since investors should anticipate a reversion to the mean. Instead, high p/e ratios and rapid profits growth tend to go together.

StarKavanaugh519

2012-04-06T14:21:19Z

User:LibbieSergent184

2012-04-06T13:13:19Z

46.105.228.172: Created page with "The United States has announced it will further ease sanctions against Burma. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said some travel and financial restrictions would be relaxed, wi..."

The United States has announced it will further ease sanctions against Burma.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said some travel and financial restrictions would be relaxed, with Burmese leaders allowed to visit the US.

European Union leaders had said earlier on Wednesday that they would consider taking similar steps.

The news follows by-elections in Burma on Sunday in which pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi's party secured a landslide win.

The National League for Democracy (NLD) took 43 out of 45 seats up for grabs in the polls, which were generally deemed to be free and fair.

Mrs Clinton, who paid a visit to Burma last year, praised President Thein Sein's "leadership and courage".

"We fully recognise and embrace the progress that has taken place and we will continue our policy of engagement," she said.

Under the moves, the US will name an ambassador to Burma and establish an office for its Agency for International Development in the country.

The US would also begin "targeted easing" of the ban on US financial services and investment in Burma, she said without giving further details.
Continue reading the main story
Analysis
image of Rachel Harvey Rachel Harvey BBC South East Asia Correspondent

The recent by-elections are being hailed as an important step in Burma's transition from decades of authoritarian military rule towards a more open, democratic and representative system. But it is a transition fraught with difficulties.

Aung San Suu Kyi will feel that the risk she took in deciding to participate in the elections has been vindicated by the scale of her party's success.

But the real test will be to see how effective she is able to be as an agent for change within parliament.

Harvey: What now after poll landslide?

Administration officials said agriculture, tourism, telecommunications and banking would be among the economic sectors to be considered for the relaxation of sanctions.

Mrs Clinton said that sanctions would remain in place "on individuals and institutions that remain on the wrong side of these historic reform efforts".

The US eased some sanctions on Burma in February.
Political prisoners

The US move came hours after Asian leaders meeting for a regional summit issued a formal call for sanctions against Burma to be lifted immediately to help the country's political and economic development.

Speaking in London, British Foreign Secretary William Hague said EU members would probably be willing to lift some of their sanctions on Burma.

"That does not mean an instant and complete opening up of trade with Burma," he added.

Mr Hague said he would keep up pressure on Burma to free political prisoners.

The Chinese foreign ministry welcomed the Western moves to relax sanctions on Burma, and called for all restrictions to be lifted.

LibbieSergent184

2012-04-06T13:13:15Z

User:HannahReich101

2012-04-05T13:53:09Z

46.105.228.172: Created page with "The European Central Bank has said it will not yet roll back the emergency measures it implemented to contain the eurozone debt crisis. "Any 'exit strategy' talk for the time be..."

The European Central Bank has said it will not yet roll back the emergency measures it implemented to contain the eurozone debt crisis.

"Any 'exit strategy' talk for the time being is premature," ECB president Mario Draghi said after its latest monthly meeting.

He has previously said the worst of the crisis is over.

The ECB recently took the unusual step of lending more than 1tn euros ($1.3tn; �828bn) of low-interest loans to banks.

The ECB provided 530bn euros of low-interest loans to 800 banks across the whole of the European Union - including 37.4bn euros to UK banks - in February, after 489bn euros were lent out in December.

Eurozone leaders also recently agreed to boost joint lending power of the "firewall" - its bailout funds - from 500bn euros to 800bn euros.
'Sufficient wage adjustment'

But since the eurozone central bank stopped buying the government bonds of countries such as Italy and Spain last year, borrowing costs for governments in the eurozone have been rising again.
Continue reading the main story
�Start Quote

It is now up to governments to address the bigger economic and fiscal problems facing the region�

Jonathan Loynes Economist

The yield on Spain's 10-year bond has risen to 5.61%, compared with 4.9% a month ago and on Wednesday, the country raised 2.6bn euros from investors in mid-term loans, almost at the bottom end of what it was seeking.

Mr Draghi said that there were still risks related to a renewed intensification of tensions in euro-area debt markets. However, he said that he expected the economy to grow modestly over 2012.

He warned the eurozone's governments, without singling any out, that they must honour their commitment to reducing and containing debt.

"National policy-makers need to fully meet their responsibilities to ensure fiscal sustainability, to increase the adjustment capacity of product and labour markets, to enhance productivity and competitiveness, and to ensure the soundness of their financial system.

"In particular, countries which have suffered losses in cost competitiveness need to ensure sufficient wage adjustment and foster productivity growth."

Italy and Spain are trying to avoid the fate of Greece, Portugal and the Republic of Ireland by making severe cuts to public spending amid much public protest.

Jonathan Loynes, an economist at Capital Economics, found the ECB president to be "distinctly non-committal with regard to the possibility of further unconventional policy support", such as its cheap loans.

"The ECB has done its job by propping up the banks. It is now up to governments to address the bigger economic and fiscal problems facing the region," he said.

HannahReich101

2012-04-05T13:53:03Z

User:LezlieRamon645

2012-04-05T10:01:17Z

46.105.228.172: Created page with "Stock markets have declined on fears over the state of the US and European economies. In Europe, shares fell after a disappointing Spanish bond sale. German and French shares fe..."

Stock markets have declined on fears over the state of the US and European economies.

In Europe, shares fell after a disappointing Spanish bond sale. German and French shares fell almost 3%.

The European Central Bank also said it would not roll back emergency measures to tackle the eurozone debt crisis, adding to investor concerns.

Wall Street fell 1% after the Federal Reserve signalled that it might not provide more stimulus.

In the UK, the FTSE 100 closed down 2.5%.

In Europe, the Spanish government had hoped to sell up to 3.5bn euros ($4.6bn; �2.9bn) of medium-term bonds, but it was only able to find buyers for 2.6bn euros.

It once again raised concerns about high levels of sovereign debt in several eurozone member states.

Achilleas Georgolopoulos of Lloyds Banking Group said the Spanish bond sale had been "very disappointing".

Market sentiment was further weakened by a survey showing continuing weakness in the eurozone services sector.
Continue reading the main story
�Start Quote

In Europe the economic data is weak and sovereign concerns are flaring up once more�

Kathleen Brooks Financial website Forex

No time for ECB 'exit strategy'
Eurozone services sector 'weak'
Irish services employment 'rises'
Fed stays concerned over growth

Commodities slump

The price of oil and other benchmark commodities also dropped.

Light sweet crude fell 2.4% to $101.46 a barrel, while Brent crude fell by $2.17 to $122.69.

Gold fell 3.3% - to its lowest level since January - and copper dropped 2.8% - send UK-listed miners lower. BHP Billiton fell 3.4% and Rio Tinto dropped 3.8%.

Investor confidence was affected overnight by the US central bank, the Fed, which indicated on Tuesday that it was not considering a further round of quantitative easing (QE).

Under QE, a central bank injects new money into the financial system to help boost bank lending.

Some at the Federal Reserve "perceived a non-negligible risk that improvements in employment could diminish as the year progressed", said the minutes of the March meeting.
Continue reading the main story
Brent Crude Oil Futures $/barrel
Last Updated at 04 Apr 2012, 20:00 GMT *Chart shows local time Brent Crude Oil Future intraday chart
price change %
122.59 -
-2.33
-
-1.87

Meanwhile, ECB president Mario Draghi warned that the eurozone's economic outlook "remains subject to downside risks".

He made the comments after the ECB kept eurozone interest rates on hold at 1% for the fifth month in succession.

LezlieRamon645

2012-04-05T10:01:11Z

User:RoxannaSchaeffer987

2012-04-05T09:01:53Z

RoxannaSchaeffer987

2012-04-05T09:01:46Z

User:MaryleeNoyes498t

2012-04-04T22:55:37Z

FAIRNESS played a central role in Barack Obama's state-of-the-union address, and I suspect it will play a central role in the president's re-election campaign. But what does Mr Obama have in mind when he deploys the f-word? It may not be the case that fairness is, as Scott Adams, the creator of Dilbert, puts it, "a concept invented so dumb people could participate in arguments". But it cannot be denied that fairness is an idea both mutable and contested. Indeed, last week's state-of-the-union address seems to contain several distinct conceptions of fairness worth drawing out and reflecting upon.

Toward the beginning of his speech, as Mr Obama was trying to draw a parallel between post-second world war America and today's post-Iraq war America, he offered this rather stark choice:

We can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well while a growing number of Americans barely get by, or we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, and everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules.

Here we have three distinct conceptions of fairness in a single sentence.

To get a "fair shot" is to be offered the opportunity to participate fully and succeed within the country's institutions. This is, I think, the least controversial conception of fairness in America's political discourse. Conservatives who strenuously object to the idea that the American system should aim at "equality of outcomes" will sometimes affirm "equality of opportunity" as an alternative. But this is a mistake. To really equalise opportunity requires precisely the sort of intolerably constant, comprehensive, invasive redistribution conservatives rightly believe to be required for the equalisation of outcomes. If one is prepared to accept substantial inequalities in outcome, it follows that one is also prepared to accept substantial inequalities in opportunity.

Getting a fair shot doesn't require equalising opportunity so much as ensuring that everyone has a good enough chance in life. The content of "good enough" is of course open to debate, but most Americans seem to agree that access to a good education is the greater part of a "good enough" and thus fair shot. Naturally, there is strong partisan disagreement over the kinds of education reform that will do right by young Americans.

MaryleeNoyes498t

2012-04-04T22:55:30Z

User:SandraFell300

2012-04-04T13:29:55Z

46.105.228.172: Created page with "IN AN ordinary American presidential election, a candidate who had earned a fortune in business and then paid an absurdly low tax rate would barely raise eyebrows. Americans have..."

IN AN ordinary American presidential election, a candidate who had earned a fortune in business and then paid an absurdly low tax rate would barely raise eyebrows. Americans have long considered wealth something to admire and pursue, not vilify and redistribute. Alexis de Tocqueville said he knew �of no country�where a profounder contempt is expressed for the theory of the permanent equality of property.�

But this is no ordinary election. That so much scrutiny has fallen both on how Mitt Romney earned his fortune (in the ruthless world of private equity) and his tax rate (15%, less than what some middle-class families pay) is a sign something has changed. For that, credit a decade in which the median family in America saw its real income fall by 7%, even as the top 1% grabbed a share of national income unseen since the 1920s (see article), and a level of unemployment that, though falling, remains troublingly high. Not many Americans like the tactics or fashion choices of Occupy Wall Street, but quite a few share the movement�s opinion that the economy is tilted in favour of the wealthy.

And so the rich are now a campaign issue. Barack Obama calls for �millionaires and billionaires� to �pay their fair share�: introduce a minimum tax rate on millionaires and return the top income-tax rate to 39.6% from 35%, and the other 98% of Americans would not have to pay more, he claims. Republicans shoot back that raising any taxes would destroy jobs and business confidence. They think you can fill the budget hole by spending cuts alone; many want to cut taxes further.

SandraFell300

2012-04-04T13:29:50Z

User:PenelopeDumont957

2012-04-04T09:25:38Z

PenelopeDumont957

2012-04-04T09:25:32Z

User:GillespieKratz344

2012-04-04T03:04:56Z

46.105.228.172: Created page with "What really caused the eurozone crisis? World leaders probably spent more time worrying about the eurozone crisis than anything else in 2011. And that was in the year that feat..."

What really caused the eurozone crisis?

World leaders probably spent more time worrying about the eurozone crisis than anything else in 2011.

And that was in the year that featured the Arab Spring, the Japanese tsunami and the death of Osama Bin Laden. What's more, 2012 looks set to be not much different. But as eurozone governments hammer out new rules to limit their borrowing, are they missing the point of the crisis?

* The eurozone has agreed a new "fiscal compact"
* Eurozone leaders have agreed to a tough set of rules - insisted on by Germany - that will limit their governments' "structural" borrowing (that is, excluding any extra borrowing due to a recession) to just 0.5% of their economies' output each year. It will also limit their total borrowing to 3%. These rules are supposed to stop them accumulating too much debt, and make sure there won't be another financial crisis.
* But didn't they already agree to this back in the '90s?
* Hang on a minute. They agreed to exactly the same 3% borrowing limit back in 1997, when the euro was being set up. The "stability and growth pact" was insisted on by German finance minister Theo Waigel (centre of image). What happened?
* So who kept to the rules?
* Italy was the worst offender. It regularly broke the 3% annual borrowing limit. But actually Germany - along with Italy - was the first big country to break the 3% rule. After that, France followed. Of the big economies, only Spain kept its nose clean until the 2008 financial crisis; the Madrid government stayed within the 3% limit every year from the euro's creation in 1999 until 2007. Not only that - of the four, Spain's government also has the smallest debts relative to the size of its economy. Greece, by the way, is in a class of its own. It never stuck to the 3% target, but manipulated its borrowing statistics to look good, which allowed it to get into the euro in the first place. Its waywardness was uncovered two years ago.
* 3/9 Italy
Worst offender
* 5/9 Germany
First to break rules
* 6/9 France
Offender
* 9/9 Spain
Top of the Class
* But the markets have other ideas
* So surely Germany, France and Italy should be in trouble with all that reckless borrowing, while Spain should be reaping the rewards of its virtue? Well, no. Actually Germany is the "safe haven" - markets have been willing to lend to it at historically low interest rates since the crisis began. Spain on the other hand is seen by markets as almost as risky as Italy. So what gives?
* So what really caused the crisis?
* There was a big build-up of debts in Spain and Italy before 2008, but it had nothing to do with governments. Instead it was the private sector - companies and mortgage borrowers - who were taking out loans. Interest rates had fallen to unprecedented lows in southern European countries when they joined the euro. And that encouraged a debt-fuelled boom.
* Good news for Germany...
* All that debt helped finance more and more imports by Spain, Italy and even France. Meanwhile, Germany became an export power-house after the eurozone was set up in 1999, selling far more to the rest of the world (including southern Europeans) than it was buying as imports. That meant Germany was earning a lot of surplus cash on its exports. And guess what - most of that cash ended up being lent to southern Europe.
* ...bad news for southern Europe
* But debts are only part of the problem in Italy and Spain. During the boom years, wages rose and rose in the south (and in France). But German unions agreed to hold their wages steady. So Italian and Spanish workers now face a huge competitive price disadvantage. Indeed, this loss of competitiveness is the main reason why southern Europeans have been finding it so much harder to export than Germany.
* ...and a nasty dilemma
* So to recap, government borrowing - which has ballooned since the 2008 global financial crisis - had very little to do with creating the current eurozone crisis in the first place, especially in Spain (Greece's government is the big exception here). So even if governments don't break the borrowing rules this time, that won't necessarily stop a similar crisis from happening all over again.

GillespieKratz344

2012-04-04T03:04:44Z

User:LyndellWyche807

2012-04-03T23:41:10Z

46.105.228.172: Created page with "THE man who the polls suggest will be the next French president, Fran�ois Hollande, claims that finance is his �real adversary� in the coming election. Britain has just str..."

THE man who the polls suggest will be the next French president, Fran�ois Hollande, claims that finance is his �real adversary� in the coming election. Britain has just stripped the former chief executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland of his knighthood. Even Newt Gingrich is attacking the �vulture capitalists� in the private-equity industry. Perhaps the West is set for a �war on finance� along the lines of the �war on terror�, with similar uncertainty about how to define victory.

Politicians seem to have three main beefs with the financial sector. The first is that bankers earn too much. The second is that banks take reckless risks and then need rescuing by governments. And the third complaint is that investors in financial markets have undue influence over an economy through their ability to affect bond yields and equity prices.
In this section

The first two problems are really related. People do not worry too much about footballers� high pay. The problem with bankers is the extent to which they are subsidised by explicit and implicit taxpayer support. (Of course, you might worry about income inequality in general but that is not specific to banks and can be tackled by redistributive taxation.) It is hard to disagree with Paul Tucker of the Bank of England, who has written that: �Those who most espouse the disciplines of capitalism�bankers and financiers�should live by them.�

The problem of banks being �too big to fail� is being addressed, albeit slowly, by the higher capital ratios being imposed by regulators. Higher capital ratios should mean lower returns on equity; over time, this should lead to less rapid pay growth for bankers. Andrew Haldane, a colleague of Mr Tucker�s, has found that the pay of bank bosses correlated well with returns on equity, but not with returns on assets�in other words, managers prospered by gearing up bank balance-sheets. That is now harder to pull off.

LyndellWyche807

2012-04-03T23:41:05Z

User:TillisOakes580

2012-04-03T22:37:54Z

TillisOakes580

2012-04-03T22:37:48Z

User:DawneSawyers190

2012-04-03T21:30:37Z

46.105.228.172: Created page with "Cautious consumers' repayments on credit cards, loans and overdrafts outstripped new borrowing by �305m in February, figures show. This safety-first approach had led to a cont..."

Cautious consumers' repayments on credit cards, loans and overdrafts outstripped new borrowing by �305m in February, figures show.

This safety-first approach had led to a contraction in borrowing through loans and overdrafts for more than three years, major banks said.

The figures, from the British Bankers' Association (BBA), showed a slowdown in activity in the mortgage market.

It said remortgaging levels were at their lowest for 13 years.
'Difficult economic times'

Despite their cautious approach, consumers still spent �7bn on credit cards in February - a similar level as the previous six months, the figures show.

Repayments outstripped new borrowing on credit cards by �39m in February. The repayment in unsecured lending was driven by weak demand, and continued payback, of loans and overdrafts.

Unsecured lending by the banks contracted by 1.8% in the 12 months to February.

"Businesses and households continue to be cautious about their finances in the face of difficult economic times and this shows up in a reluctance to take on new credit, or where possible, seeking to pay back bank borrowing," said BBA statistics director David Dooks.
Mortgage dip

In the housing market, gross mortgage lending by the banks stood at �7.9bn in February, which was 1.9% lower than the same month a year earlier.

With interest rates set to stay at low levels for some time, the number of remortgaging approvals dropped to its lowest level for 13 years at 18,147. Lenders have also become more choosy about who they accept for remortgaging.

The number of mortgages approved for house purchases also fell to 33,103 in February. The average mortgage approved was �146,600.

The BBA said that there had been a jump in activity at the start of the year as first-time buyers tried to get on the property ladder before a 1% stamp duty charge for homes valued between �125,000 and �250,000 is reintroduced on Saturday.

However, activity returned to more "normal" levels in February, said the group which represents the High Street banks.

DawneSawyers190

2012-04-03T21:30:31Z

User:MaryCowles85

2012-04-03T20:15:00Z

46.105.228.172: Created page with "he proportion of shops in Britain lying empty has hit a new record of 14.6% in February, according to figures compiled by the Local Data Company. Vacancy rates had begun to stab..."

he proportion of shops in Britain lying empty has hit a new record of 14.6% in February, according to figures compiled by the Local Data Company.

Vacancy rates had begun to stabilise at the end of 2011, but they have risen in January and February, the LDC said.

It is further evidence of a difficult start to the year for retailers.

Consumer confidence also slipped back in February, the latest survey from Nationwide indicated, largely due to concerns about employment prospects.
Continue reading the main story
�Start Quote

It is a timely reminder to the government... of the significant challenges facing town and city centres up and down the country�

End Quote Matthew Hopkinson Local Data Company

* High Street casualties
* Cautious consumers 'pay off debt'
* Job woes hit consumer confidence
* Sharp decline in UK retail sales

There was an increase in the number of respondents describing their economic situation as bad.

"Consumers also scaled back their expectations for the future, with the forward-looking aspects of the index weakening during the month," said Nationwide chief economist Robert Gardner.

New figures from the Bank of England, also released on Friday, back this up.

Cautious consumers are choosing to pay off credit cards and loans, rather than take on new borrowing, the data indicate.

Evans Cycles, one of the UK's biggest bike retailers, told the BBC's Today programme that it was having to be very conscious about prices.

"We are peddling into a headwind in terms of the consumer economy," said chief executive Nick Wilkinson. "Confidence remains low, getting people to spend money on a bike is about persuading them that it is value for money."

However, Nationwide added that the number of consumers planning to buy household goods - an indicator of confidence - was higher in February than a year earlier.

This reflects official retail sales data for the month, published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) on Thursday.

Sales volumes declined by a larger-than-expected 0.8% in February, the ONS said.

But they were still 1% higher than a year earlier.
'Damaged' High Streets

The Local Data Company said the rise in empty premises was "not unexpected" as retailers continue to cut back and even go bust.

Game, which has 600 High Street branches in the UK, said this week that it was going into administration after key suppliers stopped doing business with them. It is continuing to trade while it tries to find a solution to its debt problems.
Continue reading the main story
'Most at risk towns and cities'

* Bradford
* Derby
* Wolverhampton
* Southampton
* Hull
* Sheffield
* Swindon
* Warrington
* Stockport
* Nottingham

MaryCowles85

2012-04-03T20:14:55Z