Wednesday January 07, 2009
A prayer for the jobless
For people in Britain who have lost their jobs - and for those who have seen colleagues laid off and are troubled by feelings of guilt about still being employed - the Church of England is offering some solace in the form of two new prayers published yesterday. From Print Edition, 07/01/09
Europeans shiver from Russia-Ukraine dispute
Moscow's decision to cut back on natural gas deliveries to the Ukraine has left some Eastern Europeans without heat in sub-freezing temperatures and renewed Europe's fears about relying on Russia's state-controlled monopoly, OAO Gazprom, to supply a growing share of its energy needs. From Print Edition, 07/01/09
Woolworths chain closes doors for the final time
Bankrupt department store chain Woolworths PLC, a stalwart of British retailing for 100 years, turned out the lights at the final 200 of its 807 shops yesterday. Debt-laden Woolworths filed for bankruptcy protection in November. Administrator Deloitte held a huge liquidation sale and announced last month it would close all Woolworths stores after attempts to find a buyer for the faltering chain failed. About 27,000 jobs are being lost. The stores had been due to close by Monday, but Deloitte allowed an extra day so stores could sell their remaining stock. Deloitte has held talks with other retailers to take on the leases of around 300 Woolworths stores and hopes to sell off the firm's Ladybird children's clothes and Chad Valley toys brands. From Print Edition, 07/01/09
British house prices sink 15.9 per cent in 2008
House prices in Britain fell by their biggest annual amount in at least 56 years during 2008, as credit seized up and possible buyers stayed out of the market, a leading mortgage lender said yesterday. The Nationwide Building Society said house prices fell 15.9 per cent in December from a year earlier, the biggest annual drop since it started compiling statistics in 1952. Prices fell 2.5 per cent in December from the previous month, the biggest one-month drop since May's 2.6-per-cent drop. Most economists think the downward pressure on house prices will remain. ''We expect house prices to fall by 20 per cent in 2009,'' said Seema Shah, property economist at Capital Economics. From Print Edition, 07/01/09
