United Leeds Endeavours Shocked that UK Economy Shrinks by 0.2%

The UK economy has shrunk by 0.2% in the last three months of 2011 according to official figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) today. United Leeds Endeavours looks to see whether Britain is entering another recession.

Economists had originally predicted a 0.1% fall in activity. Indeed these figures are the first quarterly fall since January-March 2010 when heavy snow was blamed for a decrease of 0.5%. United Leeds Endeavours has learnt that the public sector strikes in November, which reportedly lead to almost a million working days lost, could also be to blame for the decrease. Prior to the release of these results the International Monetary Fund cut the projected growth for the UK economy in 2012 from 1.6% to 0.6%.

United Leeds Endeavours listened to George Osborne, Chancellor, as he said that whilst the figures were disappointing they were not a surprise. “They are not entirely unexpected because of what’s happening in the world and what’s happening in the Eurozone crisis.” The shadow chancellor, Labour MP Ed Balls, has criticised the government in light of these figures saying, “By clobbering the economy with spending cuts and tax rises that go too far and too fast, the government has left us badly exposed if the Eurozone crisis deepens this year.”

Mr Osborne appears to reject Mr Balls’ criticism and has pledged to stick to the austerity programme which he believes is essential to deal with Britain’s debt. “Britain has substantial debts. If we don’t deal with those debts, our problems will be worse.”

Managing Director of United Leeds Endeavours is keen to point out that now is not the time for panic. “The ONS advises that these figures are only a preliminary estimate and could be revised up or down by 0.2%.  In fact as a whole the economy grew by 0.9% during 2011.”

United Leeds Endeavours understands that a 0.9% contraction in manufacturing is also heavily to blame. This has been caused by weak consumer spending decreasing demand in the UK and the Eurozone debt crisis has damaged exports.

“2012 is looking increasingly likely to be a very tough financial year for Briton’s and businesses. The Eurozone Crisis has really hit at a time when the economy appeared to on the up. United Leeds Endeavours believes that the next few months are going to be critical to discern whether Britain can pull itself out of this slump or whether we are going to enter back into recession.”

United Leeds Endeavours Watches Brit Break Solo Atlantic Crossing Record

A 26-Year old British man has broken the record for the fastest solo Atlantic crossing in a rowing boat. United Leeds Endeavours looks at the skill and training involved to accomplish such a feat.

Andrew Brown, from Surrey, has completed the Atlantic Challenge in a record breaking 40 days, rowing from Tenerife to Barbados, 2,936 miles. The race is said to be the world’s toughest rowing race. United Leeds Endeavours, a marketing and sales company with offices around the UK, has followed many endurance events before but Brown’s has shown an exceptional level of dedication and grit.

The toughness of the race is exhibited by the fates of a number of other competitors. Two rowers were rescued by a cruise ship after their boat was hit by a massive wave in December. Of the 17 teams that started the race, 8 pulled out because of problems ranging from sea-sickness to poor weather. United Leeds Endeavours learnt that some teams were disqualified after calling for help, breaking the competition rules that forbade external assistance.

Brown’s own journey wasn’t plain sailing, “Everything on the boat was powered by solar panels and for the first two weeks we didn’t have much sunshine. I became really tight on electricity, which I needed to make water.” One of the team at United Leeds Endeavours remarked, “The physical toll that an endurance event like this takes on the body is extreme. Andrew apparently consumed 6,500 calories per day, and lost three stone in weight. The fact that he had to conserve water as well must have been punishing.”

“At United Leeds Endeavours we have a huge deal of respect for the training that goes into endurance events. No matter how hard these guys train they can never fully prepare for feats like this, unforeseen circumstances are inevitable and at some point your body will just want to give up. The fact that Andrew Brown succeeded in a record breaking time shows just how mentally tough he was as well.”

After his first meal on dry land, consisting of a burger and chips, Andrew Brown admitted “I don’t’ think the feeling has quite sunk in yet.” Perhaps a week relaxing in Barbados will give him the well-earned rest that he deserves. For more details of his journey, and to donate to the charities Andrew rowed in aid of, please visit his website http://www.andrew.rowtheatlantic.com/

Many congratulations from everyone at United Leeds Endeavours.

United Leeds Endeavours Congratulates Alabama Crimson Tide on Winning BCS National Championship

The American Football fans at United Leeds Endeavours stayed up into the early hours of the morning on Monday to watch Alabama Crimson Tide drown the LSU Tigers in the BCS National Championship in New Orleans.

Though an earlier match between the bitter rivals back in November had seen LSU nudge out Alabama with a 7-6 overtime victory, Head Coach Nick Saban never doubted that his team could win when it mattered. What had been expected to be a close match was like watching a tidal wave hit. Alabama brushed aside LSU, in their home state, in a thrilling 21-0 victory.

The loss was an embarrassing one for Les Miles and his team, widely believed to be one of the strongest teams in College football history, they suffered the only shutout (gaining no points) in the history of bowl games in the BCS era. An associate from United Leeds Endeavours remarked, “Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron was just too good for them and the Alabama defense was out of this world”

You might ask what a direct marketing company based in Leeds city centre is doing supporting a university American Football team? It appears that the managing director of United Leeds Endeavours has always been a huge American Football fan, “The complexity, the teamwork and skill that goes into a game like American Football is something that appeals to me. Very much like business it is full of strategy and planning.” The director added “I used to follow the Florida Gators but a business associate started to get me interested in his team, Alabama, and I realized that with a head coach like Nick Saban, this was a team which showed incredible skill and dedication and one that I wanted to keep an eye on.

The victory saw Alabama win its 14^th National Championship, more than any other team in BCS history. Head Coach Nick Saban also made history becoming the first coach ever to win 3 National Championship titles. “Coach Nick Saban would go far in whatever field he decided to settle in, he is unbelievably dedicated and passionate about his sport, his team can never practice too hard or be too prepared. His kind of work ethic is something that we pride ourselves on at United Leeds Endeavours.”

The match was particularly poignant for one of the managers at United Leeds Endeavours who was able to watch his cousin, a team equipment manager, on the sidelines. Congratulations Alabama, United Leeds Endeavours looks forwards to celebrating your 15^th National Championship next year!

United Leeds Endeavours Ready To Kick Start 2012

United Leeds Endeavours has had a fabulous 2011 and is looking forward to entering 2012 with a BANG. Their plans are ambitious but they’re confident.

Christmas is over and the New Year is upon us. 2011 has seen United Leeds Endeavours expand as a business taking on more clients and customers than ever before, it will surely be a hard year to beat. However the goals and aims for 2012 have been set and if met 2012 could surely be bigger and better for the company.

Having set the bar high United Leeds Endeavours wants to push sales to the next level through working with existing clients and also taking new clients on board. Their expansion is looking to go international with a new office planned in Italy in the first quarter of 2012.

A spokesperson for the company has said,

“ The goals and aims for 2012 have been set and I’m sure with the right dedication from the management team there’s no reason why as a business we can’t meet our criteria.

Britain has had a tough year in regards to the recession however we have been fortunate and 2011 was an exceptionally busy year for United Leeds Endeavours. We believe that providing exceptional service boosts consumer confidence and this is what has allowed us to grow over the last 12 months. We aim to keep up this high standard of customer care throughout 2012 and believe this will be a major factor in ensure we reach our targets for the year.

We hope to see the economy of Britain start to move in the right direction as a whole over the next 12 months. We truly believe that the Olympics will be a much-needed injection of energy for the country. The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee will also be an exciting occasion for the country and we at United Leeds Endeavours hope with these things to look forwards to, 2012 will be a much brighter year than analysts have been predicting.  From all of us at United Leeds Endeavours, we wish our clients and their customers a very happy and successful 2012.”