Business News Articles

Government debt rises by £14bn
Government borrowing rose by £14bn last month to take public sector borrowing for the six months of the financial year to £77.3bn - the highest half-yearly figure since the Office for National Statistics records began in 1946. Overall public sector debt now stands at £824bn, just under 60% of the county's GDP. The government has predicted that borrowingwill reach £175bn this year. There... more

Small companies at ‘risk of fraud'
Small business owners are so busy running their company that they are putting their firm at risk of fraud, according to datareleased by security experts Equifax. Only half of respondents said they regularly check their own business credit report, despite corporate ID fraud, or company hijacking, being one of the most common types of fraud.

 This is where fraudulent documents purporting ... more

Small business confidence grows
Over 60% of small businesses in the UK are confident about their business prospects for the coming year, according to a survey by BT. The survey of over 7,000 small and medium-sized firms also revealed that 45% say their business operates for the better as a result of the downturn, 75% of SMEs believe the economy will see an upturn in 2010 and 35% predict an improvement by January 2010. "Des... more

20% of small firms not credit checking
One in five small companies do not have a credit checking system in place when they take on new business, according to research by Callcredit Direct. The research also revealed that 25% of firms are not checking new businesses credit ratings, as they believe that it is too time consuming, despite the increased danger in the recession of firms defaulting on payments. "In a climate where more ... more

50% of SMEs expect trade to stabilise
Half of small business owners expect trading conditions to remain the same for the remainder of the year, according to data released by Bibby Financial Services. The Business Factors Index showed that 52% of small firm bosses expect trading conditions to remain the same in the short term and 10% expect the economy to have recovered by summer 2010. However, 44% of business owners do not antic... more

Google: ‘economy is recovering'
Google has reported its highest quarterly profit and predicted that the worst of the global recession is now over. The search engine giant reported net profit of £1bn between July and September, up 27% on the same period a year ago. "While there is a lot of uncertainty about the pace of economic recovery, we believe that the worst of the recession is behind us and now feel confident about i... more

Administrations rise 10%
The number of businesses falling into administration has risen by 10% to 2,320 companies during the first nine months of 2009 compared to the same period in 2008, according to data released by business advisory firm Deloitte. Administrations in the wholesale and distribution sector were hit the hardest, experiencing an increase in business failures of 38% in the first nine months of 2009 compar... more

Natwest and RBS launch SME scheme
The Royal Bank of Scotland and Natwest have announced new plans to help small businesses receive loans and get the advice they need. The banks will launch a telephone and email service which aims to "exhaust every avenue in the search for a responsible lending solution that meets the businesses' needs." With many small businesses struggling to access credit through banks, the schemes has bee... more

Government delay new employment laws
The government have announced that they are to delay the introduction of new rights for workers in a bid to give a boost to struggling businesses. The new laws would have increased the rights of agency workers and given employees the right to take time off for training or to perform ‘civic duties.' "With these announcements, the government is sending out a positive message to business. Add... more

Staff that take breaks ‘more productive’
Small business bosses must ensure that they ensure that employees take regular breaks to limit stress and increase their productivity, according to the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas). Acas have claimed that staff that do not take their lunch break or take any breaks during the day are actually being counter-productive, as they would get more work done if they took a break... more