Business News Articles

Over half of small firms see turnover unaffected by recession
Around six out of ten small businesses in the UK have not experienced a change in turnover since the start of the recession, according to research by Mr Site and PayPal. The research found that the top three ‘recession proof' sectors for small businesses are education, manufacturing and the public sector and that the legal, HR and finance sectors have experienced the largest volatility in tur... more

Trade Union Congress: jobs outlook ‘as bleak as 1980s’
The jobs outlook in the UK is bleaker in the current recession than the downturn in the 1990s and bears more similarities to the recession of the 1980s, according to the Trade Union Congress (TUC). The TUC also claim that unemployment - which recently reached a 12-year high of 2.2m - has risen faster in this recession than that of the 1990s and 1980s and has warned against talks of ‘green sho... more

Firms turning to Twitter to fill job vacancies
More than 6,000 companies are using Twitter to advertise job vacancies, according to the social networking site. Businesses pay Tweet My Jobs to send listings to local job hunters interested in their sector. With the number of young people looking for employment rising - latest figures suggest that one in six 18-24 year olds are out of work - the site is a good way for firms to reach the younge... more

New car production drops 43%
The number of new cars made in the UK declined 43% in May compared to the same period last year, according to figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). Several car companies have cut production and asked staff to take time-of as the economic downturn has seriously affected the demand for new cars. "Prompt action by manufacturers to realign supply with demand ... more

Business confidence doubles since start of year
Business confidence almost doubled during the last quarter compared to the start of the year, according to a survey by KPMG. The survey revealed that 42% of company executives said that business prospects are good, up from 22% who thought this in the first quarter of the year. Confidence over the general state of the UK economy also improved, with 53% saying that the UK’s economic outlook ... more

Home sellers drop asking price 0.4% in June
The average asking price of a house in the UK fell by 0.4% this month, according to a survey by property website Rightmove. The 0.4% decline in June ended four successive months of rising prices by sellers, but asking prices have risen 4% since the start of the year. Despite this growth and recent data from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors showing that new buyer enquiries increased... more

Retail rents ‘to decline 11%’
Retail rates across the UK's high streets and shopping centres are set to decline by around 11% between now and the end of the year, according to a report from property consultancy Colliers CRE. With landlords desperate to keep properties occupied in the recession small business owners are being advised to re-negotiate with their landlord to secure a better deal, with some landlords resorting ... more

Royal Mail workers in London go on 24-hour strike
Thousands of post workers across London have gone on strike today in protest over job cuts by Royal Mail. Post Offices across the capital remain open but collection and delivery services have suffered massive disruptions. "This strike action in London is highly regrettable but it is all too typical of the industrial relations problems that have prevented Royal Mail from modernising," said Bu... more

Sir Alan Sugar: BBC to allow new government role
Sir Alan Sugar has reached a compromise with the BBC that allows him to combine his new government role as an enterprise tsar with presenting The Apprentice. The BBC have revealed that Sir Alan has agreed to not make any public appearances in his new government role while The Apprentice is being screened and will not campaign for Labour. "I am passionate about business and enterprise and tha... more

Sir Fred Goodwin to shred a third of his pension
Sir Fred Goodwin, former chief executive of the Royal Bank of Scotland, yesterday agreed to hand back more than a third of his yearly £555,000 pension. A deal was agreed by RBS, the Treasury and UK Financial Investments that will see Goodwin now take home a mere £342,500 a year. Goodwin - known as ‘Fred the Shred' - led RBS to a full year loss of £24bn in 2008, a corporate record that f... more