Business News Articles

Cameron: UK faces ‘painful cuts’
David Cameron has warned that the UK faces painful cuts that will affect "our whole way of life" in dealing with the UK's record peacetime deficit. The Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government has already outlined plans for £6.2bn cuts this financial year and is preparing for a Budget on 22 June. The Prime Minister has not yet specified where the cuts will be made. Detail will be ... more

Tube workers vote for strike action
Small and medium-sized business owners have been warned that Tube maintenance workers have voted in favour of going on strike over jobs, pay and conditions. The RMT union said its members employed by Tube Lines had backed industrial action by a margin of nine to one. Transport for London (TfL) is taking over the maintenance work carried out by Tube Lines, but the RMT said a threat to jobs re... more

Staff taking less sick days
Staff in the UK took an average of six and a half days off sick last year - the lowest figure on record, according to a report by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). Employees took 180 million sick days last year, averaging 6.4 days each, down from 6.7 in 2007 and the lowest since the CBI survey began in 1987. Despite the decrease in employee absence the cost to the UK economy remai... more

Manufacturing output grows sharply
British manufacturing output and orders grew at their fastest pace in 15 years in the second quarter of the year, according to data released by the Engineering Employers Federation (EEF). The EEF said a balance of 30% of firms reported a rise in output in the last three months, up from 8% in the first quarter and the highest since the survey began in 1995. The domestic new orders balance reb... more

Planned capital gains tax rise criticised
The government's claim that proposals to change capital gains tax (CGT) will improve the fairness of the UK's tax system have been questioned by a leader economic think tank. The Adam Smith Institute believe that the proposal to increase CGT to levels in line with income tax rates could cost the UK economy between £3bn and £5bn and lead to over 60,000 people losing their jobs. "The idea th... more

BT staff to hold ballot on strike action
BT workers are to hold a ballot on strike action after the company failed to meet a union-imposed deadline for improving their 2% pay offer. The Communication Workers Union (CWU) was seeking a 5% pay increase and will now ballot its 50,000 members. BT revealed earlier this month that it had returned to profit, making £1bn in the year to 31 March. It had made a loss of £244m the previous ye... more

New car sales rise 13.5%
New car sales in the UK increased 13.5% in May compared to the same month last year, according to the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). There were 153,000 new cars sold in May compared to 134,000 in May last year. This is the 11th successive month that new car sales rose. However, the SMMT have warned that the rise may tail off due to ending of the car scrappage scheme. T... more

House prices rise 0.5%
House prices increased by 0.5% in May, according to the latest monthly survey from Nationwide. This rise means that the average price of a UK home is 169,162 – 15% higher than the same time last year. The modest price rises of recent months is being driven by a relative shortage of properties for sale on the market. "Housing market conditions remain characterised by thin transaction vol... more

Cable vows to cut red tape
Business secretary Vince Cable has announced an action plan to end excessive employment regulation that is stifling business growth. In a speech Mr Cable said that the Reducing Regulation Committee – which he chairs – will enforce a new approach to new laws and regulations. There will be an immediate review of all regulation in the pipeline for implementation inherited from the Labour gove... more

Staff motivated by flexible working
Almost 50% of staff have cited flexible working arrangements as the most important benefit offered by employers, according to a survey from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC). Of the 1,167 people surveyed performance related bonuses came second at 19% and 15% of respondents say a good company pension plan is the best perk an employer can offer. "Two years of recession have changed people's attitud... more