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From pianos to APVs, Britain is cutting back

May 1st, 2009 by admin | Filed under Daily News, Recession, Retail, UK Small Business, UK employment.

Signs that the UK is still in the deepest depths of a recession are all around us, and seem to come from a different direction every day. Yesterday it was the turn of the UK’s last surviving piano manufacturer, to announce that it will be ceasing operations with the loss of 90 jobs.

Milton Keynes based Kemble and Co came to the conclusion to close the piano lid for the last time, largely on the instigation of principal shareholders, Yamaha who decided that operating a UK plant was no longer financially viable.

Not only will be no longer being hearing the tinkling sounds of piano cords in the UK, but also a lot less sonic booms as well. That is because BAE Systems the British defence and aerospace company will also be closing close three plants in 2009 with a loss of 500 jobs. The news of the plant’s closure, in Guildford, Leeds and Telford, came after the British government announced their decision to delay the purchase of armoured vehicles, due to budget cuts as well as the planned staged withdrawal of troops from Iraq and Afghanistan. BAE’s Global Combat Systems Vehicles and Weapons unit had already laid off 200 people in November 2008.

The FTSE 100 closed on Thursday at its highest level since mid-February, up 54.12 points, to 4,243.71. Since reaching a six year low in March the FTSE 100 has steadily climbed by more than twenty percent, with eight percent of that being achieved in April, making for the highest monthly percentage rise since April 2003. The FTSE 250 closed the day on 7,529.0 Sterling rose slightly against the dollar and fell against the Euro.

Pound/US dollar 1.4767
Pound/Euro 1.148
Pound/Japanese Yen 146.83
Pound/Swiss Franc 1.6839

Wall Street shares had an indifferent day on trading, largely under the shadow of the Chrysler announcing that it will be seeking Chapter 11 protection
The Dow Jones Average dropped 17.61 points to close at 8168.13. Nasdaq fell by 5.36 to close 1507.84 points.
Next in the line of crude oil giants to announce that the glory days appear to be over, at least for the time being, is Exxon Mobil Corp who announced a major drop in profits in the first quarter of 2009, their biggest profit drop since 2002.

In the aftermath of Chrysler’s collapse, Detroit auto giant General Motors now also face a genuine threat of bankruptcy. The company’s shareholders have prepared an alternative plan to present to the administration’s auto taskforce, allowing them to retain 58 per cent of the company’s equity in the likely event of reconstruction.
Another American giant, Berkshire Hathaway, and their iconic chairman Warren Buffett will find themselves under shareholder pressure for the first time in many a long year at Saturday’s annual gathering. Traditionally loyal shareholders will be expected to ask Buffett to explain how the widely diversified group had returned their lowest profits in history.

This global recession takes no prisoners that much we know. But when diamond production drops by 90 per cent in the first three months of the year at the world’s top diamond miners, then that really is a conversation stopper. South African mining group De Beers has announced that they will be temporarily ceasing operation in their African mines, due to the almost total lack of demand for luxury diamonds.

In Asia, it was announced that South Korean exports have fallen by 19 per cent in April compared to the corresponding month last year , as well as being the sixth consecutive month of plunging exports.

Despite statistics that show a degrading export market bringing with it a rise in unemployment, the Korean economy posted some minor growth in the first quarter of 2008, driven by Government stimulus packages.
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