Business News Articles

Homebuyer enquiries increase
Home buyer enquiries and price expectations rose to their highest level last month since April 2007, according to figures released by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics). New home buyer enquiries also rose in July - the ninth consecutive month in a row that inquiries have increased. The figures also revealed that only 8% more surveyors saw house prices fall than those who saw th... more

Retail sales rise 1.8% in July
Retail sales in the UK rose by 1.8% in July compared to the same month last year, according to figures released by the British Retail Consortium (BRC). This is the second month in succession that retail sales have risen following June's increase of 1.4%. Sales of furniture and homewares saw their biggest year-on-year growth in three years during July and overall sales via the internet and mail ... more

CIPD: UK job losses declining
The rate of decline in the UK job market is slowing, according to research conduced by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD). In the second quarter of this year the balance of firms cutting jobs over those recruiting in the private sector shrunk from the previous three months' figure of -30% to -2%. This means that recruitment has almost caught up with job losses in the UK... more

Access to new credit eases
Businesses are finding it easier to obtain new credit for the first time this year and are positive about the future availability of credit, according to the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). Of companies seeking new credit lines in the last quarter 27% reported that the situation had improved and 10% said that it had worsened. The resulting balance of 18% is the first improvement in ... more

BAA passengers numbers stabilise
The British Airports Authority (BAA) has reported that the recent decline in passenger numbers slowed in July. The BAA's seven airports - which include Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted - saw traffic numbers in July down 2.4% from the same month last year. However, this decline is a marked improvement on the year-on-year decrease of 5.9% seen in June and 7.3% in May. BAA has attributed the s... more

Postal strike from Friday to Tuesday
Small business owners have been warned that more than 25,000 postal workers will go on a series of strikes again from Friday to Tuesday. In the most widespread postal strike for two years services across the UK will be affected including London, the West Country, areas of Scotland and the Midlands. The Communication Workers Union (CWU) has said that its members are striking over pay, working... more

Interest rates held again at 0.5%
The Bank of England have held interest rates at their historic low of 0.5% and decided to inject another £50bn into the UK economy in the next three months by extending their programme of quantitative easing. The rate hold - the sixth month that interest rates have now been at their record low - was widely expected but economists had been unsure whether the bank would take up its option to pu... more

50% of firms ‘considering job cuts'
Half of UK businesses are considering or are certain to make redundancies in the next six months, according to the British Chamber of Commerce (BCC). The survey of 450 companies also found that not a single firm is planning to increase stock holdings over the next quarter and only 20% of businesses see the UK economy returning to growth by the end of the year. "With half of firms still think... more

Company insolvencies fall 14%
The number of company insolvencies declined by 14% in the last quarter compared to the previous three months, according to data released by the government's Insolvency Service. However, individual insolvencies are 23% higher than they were this time last year. Personal insolvencies hit a record high in the second quarter of the year with over 33,000 individuals claiming bankruptcy. This has ... more

New £5m security fund for SME retailers
The government has unveiled a £5m fund for small retailers to buy security devices to protect their businesses. The £5m fund will provide grants of up to £3,000 to small firms to buy security devices such as alarms, UV markers to detect counterfeit notes and security grills. Partnerships of small retailers can bid for grants of up to £50,000 to help improve a neighbourhood and reduce the... more