Business News Articles

Industrial output declines 0.4%
UK industrial output declined by 0.4% in April compared to March, according to figures released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This figure comes as a suprise as tt had been predicted that output would rise. This is the first fall in monthly production since January. However, experts said the drop should be seen as a correction after a particularly strong jump in output in March... more

Small firms concerned over Budget
Small business owners are worried that measures outlined in the Budget of June 22nd will negatively affect their recovery. A survey by The Forum of Private Business (FPB) reveals that small firm confidence has been dented by fears that tax increases in the Budget could hit small businesses hard. The coalition government is expected to reveal a raft of tax measures aimed at reducing the UK's ... more

Interest rates held again at 0.5%
Interest rates in the UK have been held at the record low of 0.5% by the Bank of England for the 15th month in succession. The Bank also decided not to inject any more money into the UK economy under its policy of quantitative easing (QE). Economists are predicting that interest rates will not rise before the end of year as the Bank attempts to boost the UK's economy. "We fully support th... more

Business owners embrace flexible working
Small and medium-sized business owners are changing the way that they operate and deal with employees according to a survey by T-Mobile. Over 90% of business leaders are now happy to judge employees on results they achieve rather than how much time they spend in the office. In further evidence that working practices are evolving, nearly half of those small business leaders surveyed said they... more

Two 24-hour tube strikes announced
Tube maintenance workers have announced that they will stage two 48-hour strikes over pay and conditions. RMT union members will take industrial action at 7.00pm on the 23rd of June and the 7th of July. The Piccadilly, Northern and Jubilee Lines are expected to be hardest hit. The RMT are concerned that when Tfl takes over the maintenance over several lines at the end of July there will be j... more

BA strike: union prepares new ballot
The Unite union has stated that it will ballot its members on further strike action against British Airways. The announcement comes as BA cabin crew enter the final day of their five-day walkouts. Unite has been involved in a long-running row with the airline which began over staffing levels and working conditions. The union says the main outstanding grievance now is the removal of travel... more

Trade deficit rises
The UK's trade deficit increased in April with both imports and exports affected by the ash cloud that grounded flights in and out of the UK for six days. The trade deficit in goods and services was £3.3bn in April, marking an increase on the previous month's £3.2bn, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Exports and imports declined 0.6% and 0.4% respectively last month as... more

Majority of firms to hire next quarter
The majority of businesses in the UK expect to recruit more staff in the next quarter, according to a survey by Manpower. Recruitment company Manpower's employment outlook survey held steady for a third quarter in a row, with a seasonally adjusted net balance of 1% of firms planning to hire staff between July and September. It has held at that level since the first quarter of this year when ... more

Latest on BT strike
BT have made a new pay offer to workers in a bid to prevent strike action. The telecommunication company have made a two-year offer, worth 2% this year and 3% the following year, plus extra payments of £250, subject to performance. The firm is also believed to have pledged to the Communication Workers Union that it will not make any compulsory redundancies between now and the end of 2011. ... more

Retail sales rise 0.8%
UK retail sales increased by 0.8% in May compared to the same month last year, according to figures released by the British Retail Consortium (BRC). The warm weather and the upcoming World Cup helped boost sales, with purchases of televisions seeing a marked increase. However, Britons continued to be reluctant to buy big-ticket household items amid uncertainty about the scale of public spend... more