Business News Articles

Small manufacturers experience growth
Stronger demand and companies rebuilding stocks of goods helped boost production among the UK's smaller manufacturers during the last quarter, according to the Confederation of British Industry's (CBI) latest quarterly SME Trends Survey. Just over 40% of small firms surveyed by the CBI said output rose in the three months to July compared to 20% that said it fell. The resulting balance of +21% ... more

Number of business insolvencies drops
The number of firms going into insolvency in England and Wales in the second quarter of this year declined 2% from the previous three months of the year. Just over 1,300 firms were declared insolvent in the second quarter of the year. These corporate insolvencies - accounted for by receiverships, administrations and company voluntary arrangements - were 14% lower than in the same quarter of 200... more

Interest rate held again at 0.5%
Interest rates have been kept on hold at 0.5% by the Bank of England, meaning that rates will stay at their current record low for an 18th month. The Bank's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) also decided not to inject any more money into the economy under its policy of quantitative easing (QE). The holding of the interest rate had been expected but calls for an increase to help ease inflation ... more

New car sales drop 13%
New car sales declined in July, the first drop in a year, according to data released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). There were 136,446 new car registrations last month. a decline of 13.2% from a year ago. The SMMT have attributed this decline to the end of the car scrappage scheme and the fragility in the economy. "A drop in private registrations compared to the sc... more

New system for business red tape
The government has confirmed that it will introduce a new one-in one-out system for any new business regulations. From next month ministers will have to identify an existing piece of regulation to be removed for every new rule proposed and a panel of business experts will scrutinise all new legislation before it is introduced. "By ensuring regulation becomes a last resort, we will create an ... more

House prices rise 0.6%
UK house prices rose 0.6% in July, according to the latest report from the Halifax. House prices have been fairly stable in 2010 but values have changed little since the start of the year. The average property in the UK now costs £167,425. "The increase in the number of properties for sale over the past few months, boosted by the recent abolition of home information packs, has relieved much... more

HSBC report £7bn profit
HSBC has reported pre-tax profits of £7bn for the first six months of the year - more than double its profits for the same time last year. In a sign of the improving conditions in the sector HSBC said the amount of money set aside to cover bad loans had fallen to $7.5bn - the lowest level since the financial crisis began in 2008. However, these figures are angering small business owners as ... more

PM: deficit reduction an ‘urgent issue’
David Cameron and Nick Clegg have written to their cabinet colleagues to restate the importance to reducing the UK's record peacetime budget deficit. The Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister wrote in a letter that the deficit was the 'most urgent issue' facing the country. Cuts averaging 25% are expected of most departments, but some departments such as health and international aid spend... more

Manufacturing sector ‘recovering’
The UK's manufacturing sector exceeded expectation in the first half and growth in thus sector is expected to outstrip the rest of the economy, according to the EEF. The industrial trade body has predicted that the sector will grow by 3.8% this year and 3.4% in 2011. However, the EEF warned that spending cuts in the UK and abroad could hurt manufacturers in the long term "Manufacturing ha... more

British Gas profits rise 98%
British Gas made operating profits of £585m for the first half of this year - an increase of 98%, according to data released by its parent company Centrica. British Gas supplies gas to more than half of the UK's households and saw gas use rise by 8% and added 223,000 residential customers. Ann Robinson, from the price comparison service, uSwitch, said that British Gas and its rival supplier... more