No 167: Three More Student Stories

SO we're now on to the third set of story summaries written by A2 students. Once again I am impressed by the high standard of English and Economics shown in this work. Well done!

However, I teach 17 A2 students and have only received 11 stories...... oh dear some of you may be in trouble! 

DEMONSTRATIONS AGAINST TAX AVOIDANCE by Kana Maniwa

On December 4th, in some cities in the UK such as London and Brighton, there were demonstrations against tax avoidance of the owner of Topshop, Sir Phillip Green. They criticise not only Sir Green but also the government itself by saying "If you want to sell your products, pay your tax" and "Nick Clegg, shame on you, shame on you for turning blue". This event gives warning and criticisms of the government regulation over tax.
 
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1335632/Sir-Philip-Greens-flagship-Topshop-closes-protests-taxes-cause-mayhem.html?ITO=1490

UK MANUFACTURING 'POWERING AHEAD' by Alan Chan

The revival of the UK manufacturing sector is due to the strong demand from overseas consumers and a big improvement in productivity, which gives a big hand to the country's recovery as it currently accounts for 13% of the UK's total economic output. However, to maintain the revival of the sector, government should also play a role in it,such as put in more spending,or make some looser policies to attract the firms to make even better performance in certain sectors.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11921894

SNOW CAUSES DISTRIBUTION PROBLEMS by Rauan

Due to weather conditions the Royal Mail is currently not providing its guaranteed next day delivery. Also Amazon one of the retailers said that items might be delayed. Moreover some of the petrol stations had problems in getting fuel into certain areas, especially in Scotland. On the other hand, because there are fewer vehicles on the road during these days, there is less demand for petrol.


A spokesman for the Department of Energy and Climate change said that fuel supply companies are doing their best in order to supply road transport fuels, however in some parts of the UK, weather conditions are causing problems.

In addition the Independent Retailers Association stated that in Scotland and East England many independent petrol retailers are in danger of running out of petrol and diesel. Those filling stations that are in rural areas are most vulnerable.

Tesco, one of the UK’s largest petrol retailers said that all their tankers are operating and that there are no stations closing down or reporting shortages. Together with other supermarkets Tesco had no problems with food supply shortages.

However, current weather conditions affect positively on other businesses. For example Marks and Spencer reported that demand for thermal clothing in past weeks had grown by 121%. Furthermore Asda sold about 100,000 de-icers for car windows.

So according to Howard Archer early changes in weather had impact mostly on retailers.

ttp://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-11904765