Business News Round Up (14/02/19)


Immigration is an ‘economic necessity’ for Scotland – CBI

CBI has warned that post-Brexit immigration restrictions could cause significant harm to the Scottish economy. CBI’s latest study found that continued access to overseas workers is vital for businesses.

https://www.scotsman.com/news/opinion/immigration-is-an-economic-necessity-for-scotland-cbi-1-4872925

Multimillion pound biotechnology research investment for Manchester

The University of Manchester has been awarded £10 million to launch a biomanufacturing research hub aimed to develop new biotechnologies that will speed up bio-based manufacturing in the pharmaceutical, chemical and engineering materials sector.

https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/multimillion-pound-biotechnology-research-investment-for-manchester/

Just 4% of firms expect increased workloads in 2019, CECA warn

Data from the Civil Engineering Contractors Association (CECA) found an unexpected drop in workloads in the last quarter of 2018. Members of CECA reported that after two quarters of growth, 7 out of 10 sectors in the infrastructure industry reported falling workloads.

http://www.infrastructure-intelligence.com/article/feb-2019/just-4-firms-expect-increased-workloads-2019-ceca-warn

Economy lost £8 billion to traffic jams in 2018 – see the nationwide congestion rankings

Congestion cost the UK economy £7.9 billion, with slow moving traffic making it harder to transport goods and people, reducing productivity while increasing air pollution and accident rates.

https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/news/motoring-news/nationwide-congestion-rankings/