Business News Articles

Only 30% of rate cuts passed on
Mortgage lenders have passed on less than a third of the historically low base rate to customers, according to research conducted by price comparison site moneysupermarket.com. The Bank of England has cut the base rate from 5% last August to the current rate of 0.5% - the lowest in the Bank's history - but the average mortgage rate has fallen just 1.3%. The typical rate charged on new mortga... more

Sir Alan calls for more apprentices
Enterprise czar Sir Alan Sugar has called on the government to do more to help create apprenticeship opportunities in the UK. The star of The Apprentice has said that the government must do more to create apprenticeships for young and old - especially in the light of the recent unemployment figures of 2.4m. The serial entrepreneur said that the UK's history of helping people learn a trade ha... more

25% of bosses only in office hour a day
Small and medium-sized business bosses are spending record amounts of time away from the office as they attempt to generate new business during the recession, according to a new study of 1,000 SMEs conducted by O2. The research revealed that 25% of small firm bosses spend less than an hour at their desk a day and 10% average just 30 minutes. Over half of respondents attributed this to adopting ... more

UK manufacturers' confidence rises
Confidence among manufacturers in the UK has risen to the highest point since June 2008, according to the Confederation of British industry's (CBI) latest Industrial Trends Survey. The survey found that 32% of manufacturers said they expected the volume of output to fall over the next three months, while 27% said it should increase. Although the resulting balance of -5% represents a slight fall... more

70% of SMEs not cutting IT staff
Small and medium-sized companies are less likely to cut their IT staff than larger companies, according to research by analysts Forrester. Only 29% of SMEs plan to cut back on their IT staff in 2009 compared to 61% of larger businesses. However, the research also revealed that 32% of small firms are planning to cut their overall IT budget due to the effects of the recession.... more

Car scrappage ‘must be extended’
The government should extend their car scrappage scheme, according to Trevor Finn chief executive of Pendragon, Britain's largest motor dealer. The car scrappage scheme provides a £2,000 discount when a new car is bought and a car over ten years old is exchanged. The money is equally provided by the government and the car industry. The government has set aside £300m for the scheme, of whic... more

Spouses most trusted business partner
Half of the UK population believe that their partner is the most trusted person to go into business with, according to a survey by MORE TH>N BUSINESS and Warwick Business School. The survey revealed that 50% would chose to go into business with their spouse compared to 17% who chose their parents, 10% friends and just 2% who picked an existing work colleague. However, potential new business ... more

Small companies cutback green measures
Small and medium-sized businesses are cutting back on environmental measures because of the recession, according to a survey of 7,000 firms by NetRegs. The survey revealed that only one in four small businesses plan to invest in improving their environmental performance next year and found a 75% drop in the number of businesses with an environmental management system (EMS) in place. This is ... more

Inflation rate remains at 1.8%
The Consumer Prices Index (CPI) - a key measure of inflation - has stayed at 1.8% in July, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). The CPI, the measure of the average price of consumer goods and services purchased by households, had been expected by economists to decline to 1.5%. The Retail Prices Index (RPI) inflation measure, which includes mortgage interest payments, also u... more

SME owners losing sleep over recession
Over 40% of small business owners are experiencing sleepless nights worrying about the recession, according to research from Close Invoice Finance. The data also revealed that 70% of SME owner managers are significantly more stressed because of the economic downturn than they were before and 43% admitted that this has had a direct negative effect on their home life. "For their own peace of m... more