Latest news with #Burnside
Yahoo
11-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
NatWest's UK regional growth tracker shows business activity rise in June
The NatWest Regional Growth Tracker for June 2025 indicates a rise in business activity across eight of the 12 UK regions monitored. It marked the most widespread growth since September 2024. The tracker surveyed businesses in the manufacturing and services industries. The expansion, particularly in the East of England, the South West, and London, reflects a positive shift from May's figures, according to the bank. The East of England recorded its fastest rate of expansion in over three years, leading the growth among regions. The South West and London followed closely. While business activity remained unchanged in the North West, it nearly stabilised in the East Midlands and Yorkshire & Humber. Northern Ireland experienced a minor setback after growth in May. New business growth was sustained in Wales, with renewed upturns in the East of England, the North East, the South West, and London. The East of England recorded the quickest expansion in over two years. Conversely, Northern Ireland saw a modest drop in new orders. NatWest chief economist Sebastian Burnside said: 'It was a positive end to the second quarter, with most UK nations and regions back in growth territory. "Even where business activity dipped in June, with the rates of decline being only modest and the performances better than seen on average over the first half of the year, those areas are still in what we dub 'recovery' territory. The same is true for underlying demand. New business either rose or was on a more stable footing compared to earlier in the year.' Employment figures showed a decline across nearly all UK regions in June, except for Northern Ireland, where workforce numbers rose slightly for the first time in five months. Yorkshire & Humber recorded the steepest decline in staffing levels. The volume of outstanding business decreased in almost all regions, indicating reduced pressure on business capacity. The North West and Yorkshire & Humber experienced the sharpest declines while the North East saw a marginal increase. Input price increases slowed across all nine English regions and Wales last month, with the weakest cost inflation in the north-west. In contrast, Northern Ireland and Scotland saw slightly faster increases in operating expenses, with Northern Ireland recording the steepest rise. While average prices for goods and services continued to rise, inflation rates eased across all areas. The West Midlands saw the most significant slowdown, and Yorkshire & Humber had the lowest overall rate of increase. Northern Ireland experienced the steepest rise in output prices. Burnside added: 'The labour market is the main weak spot at the moment, as the combination of wages pressures and underutilised capacity encourages firms to look for productivity gains where possible. "Encouragingly, cost inflation has come down from the highs seen in the spring, dropping even further in June across most parts of the UK. Businesses in all areas have been able to make smaller and smaller price increases of their own in the last couple of months, relieving some of the pressure on demand.' Business expectations for the next 12 months remained positive, with the strongest optimism in the West Midlands. However, confidence decreased from the previous month in most regions, notably in the North West. Earlier this week, Novuna Business Finance revealed that the proportion of UK small businesses anticipating growth has declined for the fourth straight quarter, hitting levels not observed since the 2020 lockdown. "NatWest's UK regional growth tracker shows business activity rise in June" was originally created and published by Leasing Life, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Sign in to access your portfolio
Wall Street Journal
10-07-2025
- General
- Wall Street Journal
‘Summers in Squid Tickle' Review: At Canada's Eastern Edge
In the summer of 1995, Robert Finch was 'heartsick and heartsore, full of guilt and a pain I could find no release from. I had shattered one life and had not yet built another. I was far from home, and yet felt I had no home.' Like many others before him, he wondered if he might find a cure for what ails his heart in one of the far-flung places of the world. Like very few others, he decided that 'Newfoundland seemed like a good place to go.' With those Hemingwayesque words, Finch takes the reader with him, away from his past and deep into the heart of someone else's—that of the residents of Burnside, formerly known as Squid Tickle, an outport on the northeast coast of Newfoundland where the population, at its summer height, soars into the dozens. Squid Tickle—a tickle is a narrow channel of water between an island and the mainland or, in this case, a small island and a larger one—is a 100-mile ferry ride from North Sydney, Nova Scotia. Newfoundland is replete with such outports, located so as to maximize access to the now all but vanished northern cod stocks. As Finch writes, 'Burnside, like many of the outports, is already a largely geriatric community,' its numbers shrinking yearly, the younger generations having left to find employment 'up along,' as the locals say.
Otago Daily Times
22-06-2025
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Call-up for Manu Samoa sees another code switch for Lam
Joel Lam has returned to play for Burnside ahead of linking up with the Manu Samoa squad. Lam switched to rugby league earlier this year, playing twice for Hornby Panthers before a move to Australia. PHOTO: SIDELINE PHOTOGRAPHS Rugby league convert Joel Lam has made a surprise pivot back to union after being named in the Manu Samoa squad to play Scotland next month. The 23-year-old, who previously made eight appearances for Canterbury and one for the Crusaders, switched codes earlier this year to chase a rugby league career. He featured twice for the Hornby Panthers in the CRL Premiership before heading to Australia in April to join Brisbane club Souths Logan Magpies. However, last week Lam was named among 11 uncapped players in the Manu Samoa squad for their match against Scotland at Eden Park on July 18, as well as August's Pacific Nations Cup. The halfback qualifies for Samoa through his maternal grandfather William Lam, who was born in the island nation. 'I've always had the dream to represent Samoa and play for my granddad. He passed away when I was in high school, but he'll be smiling up there, that's for sure,' he said. Lam is related to Samoan international Ben Lam, his brother, Blues midfielder AJ Lam, and their uncle Pat Lam. Joel Lam playing for Burnside ahead of linking up with the Manu Samoa squad. PHOTO: SIDELINE PHOTOGRAPHS Pat Lam played 34 times for Samoa in the 1990s and also coached the Blues from 2009-12. 'We've got 300-plus cousins, uncles and aunties. The Lam family's pretty big over in Samoa, so we're related somewhere down the line,' he said. 'My granddad's one of 21 siblings, and obviously those brothers and sisters have all had children of their own, then those children have had daughters and sons, so we're all related.' Lam marked his return to union on Saturday, coming off the bench to score a try for Burnside in their 64–35 Metro Premier win over Christchurch. He will continue playing for the club until he links up with the Samoa squad on July 9. Lam said despite his switch back to the 15-man game he was still keeping his sporting options open. 'You want to take every opportunity, and I went and gave (league) a crack and there's nothing saying that door's closed either.'
Daily Record
13-06-2025
- General
- Daily Record
Burnside Cubs pitch up for camping adventure
Members of the 113th Glasgow (Burnside) group had a memorable camping weekend, while their annual plant sale again proved a huge success. Cub Scouts from 113th Glasgow (Burnside) had a 'cool camping' experience to round off the session in style as they had a packed adventure weekend near Edinburgh. The eight- to 10-year-olds and their volunteer leaders pitched their tents in a field on the outskirts of the capital and tried new outdoor skills including firelighting and learning to use trangia stoves to prepare their own soup and sandwich lunch. A busy weekend also saw them take part in activities incuding walking in the Pentland Hills, archery, orienteering and even axe throwing – which 'went down a treat'. Their programme included outdoor games, a walk past an alpaca farm, first aid, an escape room challenge and making camp-oven pizzas, plus a movie inside their marquee during a torrential downpour which 'drenched the whole campsite' in the middle of the weekend. Cub leader Allan Whiteford said: 'This was a great adventure for our Cubs. Mixed weather, being self-sufficient in part for lunches and meeting new friends from the east coast helps develop the confidence of Scouts and prepares them for life.' The adventurous residential also allowed more of the Burnside troop's leaders the chance to develop their camp organisation and planning skills and work towards gaining the organisation's camp permits. Group Scout leader Graeme Hamilton said: 'Having a great team of adult volunteers who are prepared to take youngsters away for a weekend of fun and adventure is great and develops their life skills too. 'To do so in challenging weather makes me all the more proud of our Scout volunteers. I'd love more people to join us and be part of our community adventure here at the 113th.' It followed the success of the previous weekend's annual plant sale at the Scout hall on Crawfurd Road – where the group once again recorded a sellout success after doubling the number of plants for sale at the hugely popular community event. Supporters snapped up summer garden bargains – and enjoyed home baking provided by members' families in the tea room, plus children's activities including a bouncy castle and face painting run by Ace Place afterschool and nursery staff, celebrating their 15 years of operating from the venue. Graeme said: 'This has been a fixture in our community calendar for around 30 years and it gets better and better each year. 'It's a great opportunity for the whole of Burnside to get together, and we really do thank our volunteer helpers, other hall user groups and our plant suppliers."
CTV News
04-06-2025
- Automotive
- CTV News
E-bikes prove popular in Halifax while raising concerns for advocacy group
Bird Canada has brought 300 e-scooters and 200 e-bikes to the Halifax region and says in the first 20 days these devices have received more usage here than when the company first introduced them to other cities. Austin Spademan with Bird Canada even says it's 'record breaking' in terms of initial usage. 'We have already clocked over 24,000 kilometers, which is crazy, and across 3,600 Haligonians have used our service. They are riding an average of 2.36 rides per rider,' says Spademan. 'I think it's great to have more active transportation options,' says Alex Setchell, a Halifax resident. Bird Canada, a Canadian company, has a goal of getting people out of their vehicles. 'Both e-scooters and e-bikes are important tools in the tool kits to give people compelling alternatives to either get straight from where they live to run errands within the community or more importantly connect more with other transit options to completely decouple from completely needing a car to get from point A to point B,' says Spademan. Brynn Budden, public affairs advisor with the Halifax Regional Municipality, says the pilot projects for the e-scooters and e-bikes aim to provide mobility options to residents. 'The system is designed to be affordable and easy to use for both residents and visitors and will complement other existing modes of transportation including Halifax Transit,' says Budden. Bird Canada hopes to grow north of Highway 102 and into Burnside, but for now they are taking things slow. 'We have entered a smaller operating area more, it mainly covers downtown and a few other main areas that are those flex flare zones that I mentioned that we built with the United Way. We are going to grow from here with fleet increases over time as the usage dictates that we could use more vehicles. We are going to do this in partnership with HR,' says Spademan. Anyone can use them but there are rules. 'Definitely should be using the road and all the bike infrastructure, not the sidewalk. In fact, if you are riding on the sidewalk, we can tell,' says Spademan. The devices have sensors that can detect if it's in an area where it's not permitted. They also automatically reduce their speed in designated slow zones. There are consequences for riders who don't follow the guidelines. 'We may give you an email as a rider saying, 'Hey, you know, that's not allowed and you might get in trouble for it so do not be riding on the sidewalks,'' says Spademan. The CNIB Foundation feels those consequences are not enough, and it has concerned for visually-impaired people. 'CNIB has done a lot of advocacies nationwide with e-scooter companies as well as municipal officials and the issues seem to be persisting so I am planning on reaching out to the city to discuss the issue further,' says Shelley Adams, CNIB manager for Atlantic Canada. Tara Niecamp, strategic leadership council co-chair with CNIB, feels not everyone is going to follow the rules. 'For those cases where the policy is not enough, there needs to be really strict penalties, whether that comes down to a financial penalty or revoking of the account for those that don't follow the rules.' says Niecamp. 'For individuals with low vision or who are blind, it's not that easy. Walking, you may not see the device which means that you could trip and fall.' Bird Canada says when they introduced these devices in Ottawa, they worked with groups like the Canadian National Institute for the Blind and have developed a lot of features to make their products less of a potential conflict. 'A lot of that revolves around that parking technology I mentioned, just making sure when our devices are parked that they are out of the public right of way,' says Spademan. The CNIB wants people held accountable. 'The municipality needs to hold the e scooter companies accountable for that and in order to do that the municipality needs to have a system in place where they can track the e-scooters being improperly used,' says Niecamp. 'When you are living with a disability, you are encountering barriers constantly and it is requiring a lot of mental energy even to advocate and report them.' Some Halifax residents say they love the idea, but feel there are a few drawbacks. 'I love this idea of having more transportation options like that aren't vehicles in the city but it was way too expensive and it cost about $15 just to get from the commons down to the waterfront and it was pretty direct and I didn't have to wait a whole lot and also it's not a comfortable ride,' says Shannon Kam. 'The cost goes up pretty quickly if you don't think about it. It will be about $3 a minute sometimes, which is a lot, you know,' says Quinn Marnitz. The municipality admits the project is still in the early stages so components like parking locations and sidewalk detection technologies are still being fine-tuned. E-scooters Hundreds of e-scooters and e-bikes have arrived in Halifax. (Source: Emma Convey/CTV News Atlantic) For more Nova Scotia news, visit our dedicated provincial page
