Date: Tuesday, September 27, 2016 – 11:11 am This course is designed to give participants an impartial and pragmatic understanding (and experience) of some of the techniques that are available for investigating Human Factors issues. Category: Events, Health and safety, HSL, Human factors Source link

©Getty The steep fall in prices afflicting Chinese industrial groups slowed last month to its lowest rate in almost two years, as the prices of metals and coal started to rebound. China’s industrial producer price index fell by 1.7 per cent in the year to July, government statistics showed on Tuesday, a relief compared with a 2.6 per cent pace the previous month and lows of 6 per cent deflation in the second half of last year. More On this topic IN Chinese Economy “Easing deflation bodes well for corporate earnings, particularly in upstream sectors,” said Larry Hu of Macquarie Capital, a financial advisory firm. In an economy plagued by industrial overcapacity, corporate overleverage and a long-term growth slowdown, observers have been questioning how much longer China’s industrial profit growth can continue. Industrial profits at large firms in China rose 5.1 per cent year-on-year in June, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the improvement in industrial deflation in Tuesday’s data compared with the previous month was largely the result of a rebound in prices of metal mining and processing, including steel. The prices of petroleum and natural gas extraction, and of coal mining, continued to rise. In the long term, however, the uptick in steel prices is not likely to have a lasting impact on China’s PPI, said Tomas Gutierrez of Kallanish Commodities. “Steel is generally looking stronger than expected but this is mainly due to low inventories and sustained exports, not really because of the fight against overcapacity,” he added. Meanwhile Zhou Hao, senior economist at Commerzbank, warned that the data could undermine China’s economic reforms, as “rising steel and coal prices may slow down the rate of capacity cutting”. China has come under fire from its trade partners for alleged dumping of excess steel on to the world market. The government has vowed to cut industrial overcapacity as part of its five-year-plan to 2020. But the implementation of capacity cuts has been patchy, with several closed steel mills reopening this spring after the price of steel futures jumped. China’s consumer price index continued to rise, with inflation at 1.8 per cent in the year to July, according to Tuesday’s data. The continuing inflation faced by Chinese consumers, including in imported goods, was largely the result of high food prices. This year’s sky-high pork prices accounted for 0.42 percentage points of the rise in the headline figure, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. In addition, the prices of services such as education, leisure and medical care are rising. Substantial inflation in consumer prices combined with steep deflation in corporate earnings has created an unhappy mix for Chinese consumers, whose wages are affected by corporate profits. Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2016. You may share using our article tools. Please don’t cut articles from FT.com and redistribute by email or post to the web. Source link

Pub operator JD Wetherspoon has appointed Savills and CBRE to handle the disposal of 45 of its pubs. The properties, which are being considered for sale either individually, in small packages or as a portfolio, are located in strong town and city centre locations within England, Scotland and Wales.  Of the 45 pubs, 33 are being brought to the market for the first time. The outlets have strong exposure to London and the South with 23 of the 45 outlets located in these regions.  The launch of the portfolio by JD Wetherspoon follows the successful sale of packages of pubs in recent months to operators including Amber Taverns, Brewhouse & Kitchen, Hawthorn Leisure, Stonegate and Urban Pubs & Bars.  Full details of the properties is available at www.jdwdisposals.com  The properties are as follows: Banbury – Fleur-de-Lis Bathgate – James Young Berwick upon Tweed – Leaping Salmon Birmingham – Soloman Cutler Bootle – Merton Inn Boscombe – Sir Percy Florence Shelley Bradford – Sir Titus Salt Cheadle Hulme – King’s Hall Dagenham – Lord Denman Dartford – Paper Moon Didsbury – Milson Rhodes Ellesmere Port – Thomas Telford Forest Hill – Capitol Fulham – Oyster Rooms Hammersmith – Plough & Harrow High Wycombe – William Robert Loosley Hull – William Wilberforce Ipswich – Golden Lion Islington – Glass Works Lichfield – Gatehouse Lincoln – Forum Maidenhead – Greyhound Mansfield – Stag and Pheasant Milton Keynes – David Garrick Mitcham – White Lion of Mortimer Newbury – Diamond Tap Newcastle upon Tyne – Union Rooms Newport – Tom Toya Lewis Newquay – Cribbar North Finchley – Tally Ho Nuneaton – Felix Holt Putney – Railway Reading – Monk’s Retreat Rugby – Lawrence Sheriff Sittingbourne – Summoner Stirling – Proposed Pub & Hotel Site Sunderland – Lambton Worm Swindon – Groves Company Inn Tamworth – Silk Kite Torquay – London Inn Trowbridge – Isaac Pitman Walsall – Imperial Walton on Thames – Regent West Kirby – Dee Hotel Worthing – Sir Timothy Shelley Source link

Veolia UK has said it wants to grow its retail activities in the UK water market, as the industry prepares for market opening next year. Veolia UK chief operating officer for water, John Abraham, told Utility Week: “Veolia is interested in growing retail water activities and welcomes further competition that enables us to deliver our global innovation and experience to the UK.” Veolia Water Projects – part of the Veolia Group – is a member of Market Operator Services Limited (MOSL), and currently provides water and sewerage services to domestic and commercial customers in the Tidworth and Perham Down area in Wiltshire. Because these areas fall within the supply area of Wessex Water, Ofwat has granted Veolia an inset appointment license to provide these services. The company is now looking to increase its activities within the water market. “Retail water, resource management and sludge treatment and disposal are all areas where we can provide investment, technology and global best practice, which promote greater sustainability and efficiency,” said Abraham. With the English business water retail market set to open in April next year, many small water companies are gearing up to compete with incumbents. Scottish supplier Castle Water has said it would consider buying the business customers of English water companies looking to exit. Chief executive John Reynolds told Utility Week he thought the level of change in the water retail market in England would be “more revolutionary than anticipated”. The company has applied to Ofwat for a water and sewerage supply licence, as has fellow Scottish supplier Clear Business Water. Other Scottish suppliers, including Scottish Water subsidiary Business Stream and new entrant Everflow, have told Utility Week they are considering buying into the English market when it opens. In January, Portsmouth became the first water company to reveal that it would exit the market when competition is introduced. And, early in March, Severn Trent Water and United Utilities (UU) stated their intention to team up and create a new, separate, and yet-to-be-named retail business. Read Utility Week’s analysis: Severn Trent and United Utilities ally: the dawn of a new era? Of the remaining water-only companies (WOCS), Affinity Water, Bristol Water, Essex and Suffolk Water, Sutton and East Surrey Water and Cholderton and District Water all tell Utility Week they plan to remain in the market, with South East Water and Cambridge/South Staffordshire Water refusing to comment. And of the WASCs, eight of nine say they will not exit the retail market, with Southern Water saying it is “undecided”. Other companies have begun positioning themselves for market opening, with Northumbrian Water announcing a rebrand of its business retail arm to ‘Wave’. Utility Week understands Anglian Water and at least one other WASC are set to follow suit. Read Utility Week’s analysis: one year to market opening and WICS chief executive Alan Sutherland’s advice on how to prepare Source link