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John Duckers

John Duckers

Price is right for deals in selling spree to beat CGT

Prices held up for companies selling in the rush to beat the April 5 capital gains tax deadline, according to research from accountants BDO Stoy Hayward. Read

House prices in first annual fall for 12 years

The average price of a house in Britain slipped one per cent during the past 12 months, the first year-on-year fall since 1996. Read

Tributes for the man who shook up UK boardrooms

Sir Derek Higgs, author of the 2002 report on the make-up of company boardrooms, has died suddenly aged 64. Read

FSA to get tough on insider dealing

Britain's financial watchdog plans to use jail sentences and tougher fines to crack down on insider dealing, after data showed it may have taken place in over a quarter of takeovers last year. Read

British Chambers of Commerce warns of a gridlocked UK

The UK will become "completely gridlocked" within a generation unless radical action is taken to improve road, rail and air travel, a business leader warned yesterday. Read

Industrial action is an isolated throwback to the 70s and 80s

What does the flurry of industrial action mean for Britain? Are we seeing the start of a new militancy? Read

Gloom as high street sales tumble

The high street endured a miserable March with the biggest fall in sales volumes for more than a year, figures showed yesterday. Read

Ernst & Young appoints six tax professionals

Ernst & Young has further strengthened its Birmingham practice with the appointment of six tax professionals. Read

Mortgage approvals dive as credit crunch takes another bite

Another wave of credit crunch woe swept across Britain on Wednesday marking a new low for the economy. Read

Transtherm plays it cool with AWM grant money

A Coventry water cooling equipment manufacturer has turned up the heat on its competitors after securing a £65,000 grant from Advantage West Midlands. Read

Brendan Connor is late addition in race for AWM chair

A new candidate has been parachuted in to the race for the chairmanship of regional development agency Advantage West Midlands. Read

A slap down for the bleeding hearts

Bravo to a woman for admitting that there are very good reasons why women are in general paid less than men. Read

Rentokil issues City Link warning

Business services firm Rentokil Initial warned that its troubled City Link delivery business – it has its two main hubs in the West Midlands – would make "significant" losses this year after a worsening performance. Read

Wragge & Co sign up for Snow Hill development

Birmingham law firm Wragge & Co has signed up to new offices in Snow Hill in the city, claimed to be the largest ever pre-let agreement in the city centre. Read

Rapid fall in demand for commercial property

The West Midlands is feeling the pinch as the commercial property downturn continues, a survey has revealed. Read

Queen's Awards: Sally Arkley makes it a family double

Iconic Midland manufacturers together with a successful Coventry businesswoman are among the winners of this year's Queen's Award for Enterprise. Read

PWC chief optimistic for future of Longbridge

Longbridge could still have a future under its Chinese owners, according to the Midland boss of the accountancy firm which handled the fallout from the crash of MG Rover. Read

M&B row likely to overshadow Punch reports

Britain's biggest pub company Punch Taverns reports interim results on Thursday, but may find that more attention is paid to its decision to call off all talks over a possible deal with rival and former takeover target Birmingham-based Mitchells & Butlers. Read

VW deal puts MG at Longbridge on the backburner

The prospect of car production resuming at Longbridge has "effectively receded to another planet" with the emergence of a third major player alongside SAIC/Nanjing, it has been claimed. Read

Two left in battle to be AWM chairman

Just two candidates are left in the frame for the chairmanship of regional development agency Advantage West Midlands, as controversy mounts over the critical post. Read

Author Profile

John Duckers has worked for The Birmingham Post for 18 years, most of those as business editor. Formerly with The Press and Journal in Aberdeen, he won a number of awards while working in Scotland including for reporting on the Piper Alpha oil platform disaster. Born on the Wirral, he was educated at Uppingham School and Dundee University. Aged 56, he also acts as 'vicar on earth' producing the John Bright column.

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