Business News Articles

Sir Alan Sugar announced as new government enterprise czar
Sir Alan Sugar has been has been made enterprise czar in the Prime Minister's cabinet reshuffle. The entrepreneur and star of The Apprentice will have to be nominated for a seat in the House of Lords to enable him to take up a role in Gordon Brown's government. "What needs to be sorted out is the economic climate, small businesses and other enterprises," said Sir Alan after a meeting with th... more

UK firms face £1.4bn carbon bill by 2011
UK businesses will face a £1.4bn bill for carbon credits by April 2011, according to research by carbon and energy consultancy firm IMServ. Record energy prices and a huge increase in ‘green' legislation have resulted in carbon and energy issues becoming a major issue for small and medium-sized companies. "We're seeing a far greater awareness of the Carbon Reduction Commitment within the ... more

Small firms 'investing more in healthcare benefits for staff'
Small and medium-sized businesses are investing more in healthcare benefits for employees than larger companies, according to a survey by Employee Benefits magazine and healthcare provider Simplyhealth. The research revealed that 27% of companies with less than 100 employees have a company-paid Health Cash Plan scheme in place compared to 17% of firms with 100 - 500 employees and just 3% of fir... more

25% of business owners under pressure to cut health and safety
More than 25% of business leaders are under pressure to cut spending on health and safety this year, according to research by The Health and Safety Executive (HSE). The recession has led to pressure on firms of all sizes to cut expenditure, but the survey also revealed the importance of health and safety to businesses. Almost 90% of business leaders stated that people are their firm's most impo... more

Interest rates held again at 0.5%
The Bank of England has kept the country's cost of borrowing at 0.5% for the third month in succession. Since October last year the Bank has cut the rate six times, bringing it down from 5% to the current record low. No new measures have been announced to stimulate the economy, but the Bank is continuing with its quantitative easing scheme. The £125bn quantitative easing scheme is due to co... more

House prices increase 2.6%
UK house prices increased by an average of 2.6% in May compared to April, according to the latest survey from the Halifax. This rise follows three successive months of falling property prices and means that the annual rate of decline has now eased to 16.3% from 17.7% in April. "There are some tentative indications of a possible stabilisation in activity, albeit at a low level," said Nitesh P... more

New car sales drop 25% in May
UK car sales declined by 25% in May compared with the same month last year, according to figures released by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). This is the 13th consecutive month that the sales of new cars have decreased, but the figures do not take into account the impact of the car scrappage scheme, which was implemented on the 18th of May. Under the scheme £2,000 is p... more

Consumer confidence hits highest level for six months
Consumer confidence in the UK reached its highest level for six months in May, according to Nationwide's Consumer Confidence Index. The index jumped two points to reach 53 in May, the highest reading since November last year and follows an eight-point increase the month before. However, only 6% of respondents said they thought the economy was in good shape, compared to 77% that did not. "Whi... more

Business groups praise Enterprise Finance Guarantee scheme
The government's flagship lending scheme to small businesses, the Enterprise Finance Guarantee scheme (EFG) has been praised by business groups for beginning to provide much needed funds for small firms. The chairman of the SME council at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) Russell Griggs predicted that the EFG is on course to hit its lending target of £1.3bn by the end of the scheme i... more

20% of small firms have broken Data Protection Act
Almost one in five small and medium-sized businesses have breached the Data Protection Act (DPA) at least once, according to a survey by The British Standards Institution (BSI). The survey of over 500 small and medium sized-businesses also revealed that 65% of companies provide no data protection training for their staff and nearly half of those surveyed admitted that their business does not ha... more