Business News Articles

Global banks agree new capital rules
Central bank governors and regulators have agreed to new rules aimed at preventing a repeat of the recent financial crisis. A deal has been agreed which requires banks to hold greater amounts of capital in reserve. This should mean that banks have a greater ability to absorb losses in future crises and won't have to rely on government bail-outs. "The new rules are a major tightening of globa... more

Royal Mail to be sold or privatised
The government has announced that it will go ahead with the privatisation or sale of Royal Mail. Business Secretary Vince Cable made the commitment after receiving updated recommendations from businessman Richard Hooper. His latest report says the universal postal service can be maintained only by an injection of private sector money and expertise. "Royal Mail is facing a combination of pote... more

SMEs warned about insolvency risk
Small and medium-sized business owners have been warned not to be complacent in the wake of another high profile insolvency hitting the UK by leading trade credit insurer Atradius. Construction giant Connaught, valued just months ago at £500m, has this week entered administration leaving thousands of creditors out of pocket and wondering if and how they are going to be paid for goods and servi... more

Crime costing SMEs £3000 a year
More than two-thirds of small companies have been a victim of crime in the last year that has cost them an average of £3,000, according to a report by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB). The data also reveals that more than a third (39%) of small firms do not report such crimes - showing that not much has improved over the past two years. Nearly half said they didn't think it would ac... more

Interest rates held again at 0.5%
The Bank of England has kept interest rates on hold at their historic low of 0.5% for the 18th consecutive month. The Monetary Policy Committee's decision had been widely expected, but calls have been growing for an increase in rates to curb inflation. CPI inflation was 3.1% in July, above the Bank of England's 2% target rate. "In recent weeks there has been more talk about the need to expan... more

Goods trade deficit hits record high
The UK's goods trade deficit increased to a record high in July after imports rose sharply and exports fell, according to the Office for National Statistics. The total trade deficit - which includes services - widened to its highest in almost five years. The deficit on goods and services rose to £4.9bn, against £3.9bn in June. The goods deficit was £8.7bn, against £7.5bn a month earlier,... more

Cable: new LEPs must be practical
The coalition government has been urged to ensure that new Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs) focus efforts on providing targeted training and business support. LEPs are being introduced following the scrapping of Regional Development Agencies and local Business Link services. The government has announced that it has received 56 proposals from across the country regarding the new service. ... more

Job market growth slows
Job appointments increased at the slowest rate for ten months in August, according to data released by The Recruitment and Employment Confederation (Rec). Rec has said that both permanent and temporary placements rose at the weakest rate since October 2009 and rises in pay also continued to slow. The body did, reveal though that there are opportunities in some sectors, such as chefs, nurses,... more

Manufacturing output rises 0.3%
UK manufacturing output increased by 0.3% in July from the previous month, according to figures released from the Office for National Statistics. The rise means that the year so far has seen an increase of 4.9% - the best annual gain since 1994 Industrial output rose 0.3% in July, recovering from a 0.5% in June, and taking the annual rate to 1.9%. "It's encouraging and we think the outloo... more

Retail sales increase
Retail sales increased in August compared with the same month a year ago, according to figures released by the British Retail Consortium (BRC). Like-for-like sales rose by 1% and on a total sales basis, sales rose by 2.8% compared with a year ago. Strong sales of school uniforms as children return to schools following the summer break has been attributed to the rise which has also been helpe... more