Business News Articles

Bosses struggling to reward staff
The number of HR professionals that believe that businesses are poorly prepared to to manage the risks around how they reward their staff has grown in the past 12 months, according to a survey by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). The survey found that 15% of respondents think that their organisation is poorly prepared to deal with these risks, up from 9% in 2009. T... more

Consumer confidence rises
Consumer confidence in the UK economy improved in August for the first time in five months, according to the GfK NOP Consumer Confidence Index. Consumer confidence increased by four points in August - the first time since February that confidence has risen. August saw increases for confidence in consumers personal financial situation over the last 12 months and confidence in the general econ... more

Retail sales increase again
High street sales increased for the second month in succession, according to the latest CBI quarterly Distributive Trades Survey. The survey also revealed that retailers expect sales to continue growing in September and they are more optimistic about the general business situation in the coming three months. Over half of the retailers surveyed said that the volume of sales rose during the fi... more

20% of workers face 90 minute commute
Long-distance commuting is still the norm in spite of progress in flexible working practices with 20% of commuters travelling over 90 minutes every day, according to research by Regus. The average commute length in the UK is 25 minutes but one in ten commuters travels more than an hour to and from the place of work. Cars are by far the most popular form of commuter transport with 64% using t... more

Why trust is vital in business
Small and medium-sized business owners must create a level of trust with their employees in order to drive their businesses forward, claims leading entrepreneur Nick Ogden. A recent report by Ceridian revealed that the level of trust between business managers and staff has been seriously damaged by the difficult economic climate. The survey of over a 1,000 employees revealed that a quarter o... more

Tube strike date announced
Business owners in London should be aware that Tube workers are set to go on strike on midnight on the 7th of September. There will be a series of monthly walkouts as workers protest against job cuts. The Rail Maritime and Transport Union and secretary Bob Crow and Transport Salaried Staffs Association leader Gerry Doherty are due to meet today to finalise the timetable. The London Chambe... more

Small firms hit by late payments
Small and medium-sized businesses are more likely to accept excuses from late paying customers now than before the recession, according to data collated by positivecollections.co.uk. The data reveals that 74% of small firms are accepting late payment excuses and 10% of companies avoid chasing debts in the first place as they are worried about losing future business or simply feel too uncomforta... more

Mortgage approvals decline in July
The number of mortgage approvals for house purchases declined in July, according to figures released by the British Bankers' Association (BBA). There were 33,698 mortgages approved for house purchases in July, down by 877 from the previous month. This is the second month in succession that mortgage approvals have fallen. Gross mortgage lending by the major banks was slightly below the averag... more

Business confidence falters
Business confidence has declined in the third quarter of this year, according to the latest ICAEW/Grant Thornton UK Business Confidence Monitor (BCM). The BCM has declined from the second quarter of this year 2010, falling from +25.5 to +21.5, a drop of four points. Nearly a fifth of companies are now less confident about the coming year - up from 14% that stated this in the first three months ... more

Think tank: inflation could hit 8%
Interest rates may have to rise to 8% to combat rampant inflation, according to an influential think tank. The Policy Exchange believe that a double-dip recession is likely. This would be followed by an economic boom, which the government would need to respond to by printing mote money. This, coupled with the planned deep government spending cuts, would lead to the fastest economic growth r... more