Business briefs: Construction starts at one–year lows | Weir Group

THE value of construction projects starting on site in the three months to April has fallen at the sharpest rate in almost a year, research today has revealed.

In a further blow for the industry’s fortunes, the latest Glenigan Index predicts that the underlying value of construction projects beginning on site will remain below that seen in quarter one of this year into 2014.

Weir moves into fracking market

Glasgow-based engineering firm Weir Group has launched a range of products aimed at a market worth as much as $500 million (£310m).

These include a tougher, more powerful pump to help shale gas extraction by the controversial technique of fracking, which has been a booming industry in the US and recently moved closer to approval in the UK after being endorsed in an official report.