Business News

With a new report from the Association of Graduate Recruiters out today (FRI) showing that like-for-like graduate vacancies are down, Midlands FTSE 100 company Severn Trent has revealed that it is bucking the trend by taking on a record number of grads this year. The company, which is based in Coventry and which supplies water and waste water services to the Midlands and mid-Wales, will be taking on 45 graduates this year, compared to 27 last year.

Commonwealth Secretary-General, Patricia Scotland, will convene the 11th Commonwealth Women’s Affairs Ministerial Meeting (WAMM) on 6 to 8 September 2016 in Apia, hosted by the Government of Samoa. At the triennial event, ministers and leading campaigners on gender equality will celebrate women’s leadership and promote better equality to deliver global goals on development, human rights and climate change.

The afternoon drop in productivity across the nation's meetings attendees is a well-known occurrence according to a recent survey, with 44 percent of respondents confirming they feel less productive between 2-4pm. A recent global survey by Hilton, which uncovered the habits of British, German and U.S. meeting attendees, revealed that over one in three (34 percent) admitted to feeling drowsy or falling asleep during meetings after lunch.  

Council leader Cllr John Clancy declared ‘Birmingham is open for business’ after signing an agreement with Chinese property development company Country Garden worth up to £2 billion to the Birmingham economy. Cllr Clancy is on a week-long trade mission to China and Hong Kong, where he is looking for big-money investors to build houses and create jobs across the city.

The number of people moving home in the first half of 2016 was significantly higher than in the same period last year. New figures from the Lloyds Bank Homemover Review show 174,000 people moved into a new property between January and June, a rise of nine per cent on the corresponding six months in 2015 and almost 50 per cent more than the 2007 low. Such an increase was reported despite some experts claiming the property market was affected by Brexit uncertainty in the second quarter.

Qatar Airways has once again been recognised as one of the leading airlines in the world in the recent Condé Nast Traveller ‘Readers Travel Awards’ held in London, United Kingdom. The airline was awarded the coveted ‘Best for Business’ accolade with readers highlighting Qatar Airways’ industry leading on-board experience and premium lounges.

The winners of the 2016 HM Awards for Accommodation Excellence, presented by Sealy Posturepedic, were named in front of a record 700 attendees last Friday night at Sydney Town Hall. Hosted by television personality Larry Emdur, the HM Awards have, for the 14th time, recognised the accommodation industry's finest staff, properties, brands and chains across Australia, New Zealand and the South Pacific.

West Midlands food and drink producers are being invited to tempt international buyers with their tasty treats at an exclusive “meet the buyers” event in Staffordshire next week. Organised by the Department for International Trade (DIT) West Midlands, the free, day-long event on September 8, 2016, at Halfpenny Green Vineyards, Bobbington, Staffordshire, aims to introduce buyers to the region’s food and drink makers.

Nine of West Midlands’ most talented property professionals are in the running for nationwide recognition after making it on to the shortlist for the 2016 RICS Matrics Young Surveyor of the Year Awards. The annual awards launched three years ago in a bid to raise awareness of, and reward inspirational role models in the land, property and construction sectors.  Hundreds of young surveyors from across the UK – aged 35 and under - were nominated, with a shortlist of 78 aspiring to be crowned ‘Young Surveyor of the Year’ in their respective sector or specialism.

The first tenants have moved into homes built as part of a £1.7 million City of Wolverhampton Council pilot project to deliver newbuild council housing on four small derelict sites across the city. The works were carried out by the council’s Strategic Construction Partnership (SCP) contractors, - Wates Living Space and United Living – who have delivered 12 homes at Redcotts Close, Fallings Park; Hughes Road, Bilston North; Welbury Gardens, St Peter’s; and Sunset Place, Spring Vale.

HomeServe has been named as one of the UK’s best companies for supporting its employees’ work-life balance. The UK home assistance company came third in a study by independent jobs and recruiting marketplace company Glassdoor, which rates companies based on the feedback from their employees. Only financial recruiters Goodman Masson (1^st) and telecommunications company Cisco Systems rated higher. 

Birmingham Airport is supporting childhood cancer by being part of its awareness campaign.  From the 1^st September Birmingham Airport’s Air Traffic Control Tower (ATC) will be lit up gold from dusk to dawn to support a group of parents of children with cancer to raise awareness of children’s cancer. 

Elementary entrepreneur Gabrielle Goodwin recently raised $28,000 on Kickstarter with the help of her mom Rozalynn. She will use the capital to manufacture new designs and colors for her hair accessory solution GaBBY Bows. The mother-daughter duo solved the age-old problem of disappearing girls’ hair barrettes by inventing The Double-Face Double-Snap Barrette by GaBBy.

Key industries in some Commonwealth nations could take massive hits if appropriate steps aren’t taken following the UK’s departure from the EU. The forecast over so-called Brexit comes from policy experts’ analysis in two new research papers published by the Commonwealth Secretariat. "Brexit is a journey into unknown trading arrangements, both for the UK dealing with the EU, and the UK’s trading relationship with a large number of developing countries. Many have benefited from EU trade preferences," said Dr Mohammad Razzaque, head of the Secretariat’s international trade policy section.

This autumn, Jumeirah Carlton Tower is celebrating its 1960s beginnings with a 'Sixties Knightsbridge Style' exhibition in collaboration with Harrods and a Swinging Sixties Afternoon Tea.  On display in an area of the hotel's Chinoiserie lounge, the complimentary exhibition will run from 10th September to 20th November and will feature photos taken in the hotel in the 1960s, as well as images and clothing from the Harrods archive.

The most iconic packaging on British shelves has been revealed...as the Cola-Cola glass bottle. A study of 1,500 Brits explored the influence of packaging and branding on everyday shoppers and found that one in six thought the Coca-Cola bottle was the most identifiable in terms of packaging, and was just as recognisable without its logo or the product itself.