Business News Articles

Firms face extra tax burden
Small business owners have been warned that the government has introduced new legislation to allow local authorities to charge companies another business tax. The Business Rate Supplements Act allows country councils and unitary district councils the power to tax businesses to support projects that are aimed at economic development. "Councils now have the power to demand a Business Rate supp... more

BCC: cut interest on bank's deposits
The Bank of England should cut the interest rate paid on bank's deposits to 0% to encourage them to lend money to businesses and individuals, according to the British Chamber of Commerce (BCC). The Bank announced today that interest rates have been held to the historic low of 0.5% for the sixth month in succession. Despite several major high street banks returning to profit recently recent d... more

Interest rates held at 0.5%
The Bank of England has held interest rates at 0.5% for the sixth month in a row and said that it will continue but not extend its programme of quantitative easing. The current rate of 0.5% is the lowest in the Bank's history and is widely credited with helping the economy - even though not all financial institutions have passed the full rate on. The Bank's Monetary Policy Committee last mon... more

House prices rise 0.8%
House prices increased for the second month in a row, by 0.8% in August compared to July, according to data released by the Halifax. Prices in the three months to August compared with the previous quarter were 1.7% higher, the biggest rise in this measure since July 2007. The average UK home is now valued at £160,973. However, property values are 10% lower in the three months to August comp... more

New rule to protect British workers
Jobs will have to be advertised to British workers in job centres for four weeks before companies can employ individuals from outside of Europe, under new government measures to be introduced at the start of next year. At the moment jobs have to be advertised for two weeks before they can be given to an individual who is outside Europe. The minimum salary that will allow an individual to qua... more

Consumer confidence rises
Optimism among British consumers about the future of the economy has risen to the highest point for over a year, according to data released by the Nationwide's Consumer Confidence index. The confidence index rose from July's 61 to reach 63 in August - the highest figure since May 2008. The survey indicates that consumers have a greater willingness to spend as economic data suggests the UK re... more

Paphitis: 'replace old equipment'
Half of businesses in the UK are missing out on savings by not replacing old and inefficient equipment, according to Theo Paphitis. The Dragons' Den entrepreneur is working with the Carbon Trust in its Big Business Refit campaign, which is publishing data which shows that using old equipment is costing businesses £3.3bn in wasted energy. "The Big Business Refit calls on all UK businesses to... more

New recruitment ‘set to rise'
The number of businesses planning to take on new employees has risen for the first time in three years, according to a study by recruitment company Manpower. The research revealed that firms in the sectors of transport, communications, hotels and restaurants were most likely to take on new staff in the coming months. "There are a number of early positive hiring indicators emerging which sugg... more

SMEs not managing transport costs
A third of small businesses have taken no measures to better manage their transport costs, according to data released by Enterprise Rent-A-Car. The survey found that despite 69% of small companies seeing their traffic costs rise 32% have done nothing to make more efficient use of their transport options. The data also revealed that almost a third of small firms do not communicate their trans... more

Business confidence highest for two years
Confidence among business professionals has risen into positive territory for the first time in two years, according to the latest Institute of Chartered Accountants (ICAEW) UK Business Confidence Monitor. The ICAEW have revealed that confidence has risen from -28.2 in the second quarter of the year to +4.8 in this quarter - the highest figure since the third quarter of 2007. This rise in co... more