Business News Articles

UK economy contracts 0.8%
The UK economy declined 0.8% between April and June, according to official figures released by the Office for National Statistics. This is the fifth successive month that the country's GDP has fallen and takes the annual rate of decline to 5.6%, the biggest fall since records began in 1955. Although the decline has eased from the previous quarter's 2.4% contraction, economists had predicted ... more

Water companies told to lower prices
Britain's water companies have been ordered to cut 4% from their bills by 2015 by industry regulator Ofwat. The regulator rejected calls from the water companies to raise prices and stated that prices must fall by £14 per year before inflation. This is good news for small business that have seen their utilities bills rise rapidly in recent years. "We understand times are hard and we have... more

Mortgage approvals hit 15-month high
Mortgage approvals by high-street banks climbed to a 15-month high in June, according to figures released by the British Bankers' Association (BBA). Over 35,000 mortgages were approved for house purchases in June this year, up from 31,000 in May. This figure represents a 65% increase on the amount of mortgage approvals this time last year. "Numbers of new home loans approved by the high stre... more

Rise in start-up bank accounts
The number of new business accounts opened this year is running ahead of last year's monthly average, according to figures released by the British Bankers' Association. Figures show that 45,403 new business accounts were opened in March - more than the average monthly number in 2008 of 43,773. While company insolvencies have also increased, Barclays said there had not been the massive surge ... more

Retail sales increase 1.2% in June
Retail sales in the UK increased 1.2% in June, according to figures released by The Office for National Statistics. This rise is more than the 0.3% increase expected by economists and follows a 0.9% drop in May. Sales in June are up 2.9% from the same month last year. The increase in sales has been attributed to good weather and consumer confidence slowly returning. ... more

Decline in manufacturing sector eases
The decline in the manufacturing sector is continuing to slow, although the majority of firms are still reporting falling business, according to data released by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) Industrial Trends Survey. Of those companies surveyed 43% of firms reported that manufacturing output continued to fall in the three months to July and 12% reported a rise, giving a balance o... more

Sir Alan Sugar takes Lords seat
Sir Alan Sugar has taken his seat in the House of Lords and become Baron Sugar of Clapton, following his appointment as the government's enterprise tsar. Sir Alan's appointment has caused controversy, with Conservative's claiming that his appointment is a breach of BBC guidelines regarding impartiality, and that he should not be allowed to combine his new role with that of the popular televisio... more

Staff: bosses coping well with downturn
Over half of staff are feeling positive about the way that their employer is handling the recession, according to a poll by the Keep Britain Working Foundation. The poll revealed that 52% of employees think that their boss is handling the economic downturn well and almost 25% said that their employer was doing everything possible to help their staff. "The unprecedented flexibility of the UK w... more

UK will recover 'in 5 years’
A leading economic think-tank has predicted that is will take five years for income per head in the UK to return to the same level as before the recession. The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) predicted that income per head would not return to the level of the first quarter of 2008 - before the recession began - until March 2014. The NIESR also believe that the coun... more

FSB call for halt to French blockades
The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) is to issue an official complaint against the French government for failing to prevent port blockades that negatively affect UK businesses. It has been estimated that port blockades by French fisherman cost the British government £6m in April this year. "British Ministers have raised the issue but because of political considerations they have not gon... more