Royal baby briefs

Little prince to spur on consumer spending

THE birth of the royal baby will have a limited yet "overwhelmingly positive" effect on UK growth, according to Howard Archer, chief UK economist at IHS Global Insight.

The most obvious boost will be in retail sales as people buy souvenirs and alcohol to toast the birth, he said.

The Centre for Retail Research has estimated that the baby's arrival could add more than £240-million (R3.58-billion) to the British economy due to a sudden surge in consumer spending . - ©The Daily Telegraph

By George, you can make money on the boy

GEORGE is the favourite name for the prince among British punters.

Bookmaker Coral slashed the odds on George to 7/4 from 4/1 after a flood of bets after the royal birth. James is second-favourite at 3/1, while Alexander is at 6/1.

The baby boy was a surprise to many punters, with earlier odds on a girl being 1/4; with 9/4 for a boy.

George is the name of Prince William's great-grandfather, King George VI. James, the name of Kate's brother, also has strong royal ties. Two English kings and six Scottish kings were called James. - Jackie May

Latest royal will be family man, stars say

THOUGH he was born shortly before the sign of Leo began, the royal prince is a Cancerian like his father and his grandmother, Princess Diana.

Astrologist Catherine Tennant said the Cancer-Leo borderline was an extremely royal moment to be born and that, as a Cancerian, he would stress the importance of family life.

Jonathan Cainer, writing in the Daily Mail, said it was significant the baby was born in the few hours before the full moon as those born at this time tended to be troubled but talented. - Jackie May

After the birth activity on Twitter

ACCORDING to the UK's Daily Mail, only 41% of Twitter posts came from the UK. Americans, Canadians and Australians were the top royal tweeters.

In South Africa, too, folk had some royal tweeting fun. Herman Lategan said: "The birth of a male baby born into royal privilege leaves me cold."

Ranjeni Munusamy tweeted: "If this ?#RoyalBaby was born in SA, Mac [Maharaj] would've issued a statement saying it's a boy, it's stable and President Zuma welcomed the birth."- Jackie May

Obamas: Child born in a time of hope

TRIBUTES flooded in from around the world as royal fans gave their best wishes to the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and their son.

US President Barack Obama and his wife, Michelle, sent the royal couple a message "on the joyous occasion of the birth of their first child".

They said: "We wish them all the happiness and blessings parenthood brings. The child enters the world at a time of promise and opportunity for our two nations." - ©The Daily Telegraph