Business News Articles

Small firm owners to lose higher tax relief on pension contributions
The announcement by Alistair Darling in the Budget that the higher rate tax relief on pension contributions will be withdrawn from April 2011 for those earning over £150,000 willbe felt by many higher earning entrepreneurs from today, according to chartered accountants MacIntyre Hudson. The Chancellor proposes to withdraw higher rate tax relief for pension contributions from April 2011, with r... more

Third of staff would steal company information for ‘the right price’
Over a third of office workers in the UK would steal company information if the price was right, according to a survey by Infosecurity Europe of 600 employees. Around two thirds of staff think it is easy to sneak information out of their organisation and 88% of employees thought that the information that they had access to was valuable. The types of information that the workers had access to... more

Unemployment in the UK reaches 2.1 million
The number of people out of work in the UK rose by 177,000 between December and February to bring the total number to 2.1m, according to the Office for National Statistics. The amount of people claiming jobless benefits also increased last month by 73,700, bringing the total number of claimants to just under 1.5m. In the first quarter of 2009 there were 462,000 job vacancies - the lowest figure... more

Credit card firms increase charges despite record low interest rate
Credit Card companies have been increasing their interest rates or charges over the past year, in spite of the Bank of England reducing the base rate to a record low of 0.5%, according to consumer watchdog Which? The watchdog found that 28 major credit card firms had either increased rates or charges or reduced the number of interest-free days for purchases. With cash flow increasingly tight... more

Traditional barriers concern female entrepreneurs more than recession
Traditional barriers in business are more of a concern to women entrepreneurs than the recession, according to a survey of women business leaders by Business Link. The survey revealed that 39% of women entrepreneurs feel they have to try harder than men to prove themselves as business leaders and that, despite the deepening recession, it is more traditional barriers that are making it harder fo... more

Free resource helps small firms find work placement students
The National Council for Work Experience (NCWE) has launched a free online information and recruitment initiative to help small and medium-sized companies find work placement students. Find Me A Student! is a central resource for businesses to find local information and contact details for university placement services, job shops and independent placement organisations with student initiatives.... more

5m workers in the UK running their own business after work
Over five million people in the UK are working from home on their own business after finishing their normal jobs, according to a survey by Enterprise Nation. Half of those polled said that their own business was growing and 60% expect to leave their day job to work on their own project within the next year. "In a recession people often set up their own business as a way of taking control of ... more

A fifth of small firms expect to expand over next six months
Despite the recession a fifth of small businesses expect to grow over the next six months, according to an O2 Business Confidence Index survey of 3,000 small firms. The survey found that while many companies are planning redundancies or downsizing their premises to cut costs, 20% expect to expand their business and nearly half plan to invest in new IT to become more efficient. Although nearl... more

75% of small firms implement green initiatives
The majority of small and medium-sized businesses are willing to invest in green technology, despite the economic downturn, according to a survey from SurePayroll. The survey revealed that around 75% have embraced green initiatives such as recycling to telecommuting, regardless of their return on investment. 71% of SMEs surveyed commented that they implemented green practices to be environme... more

Brown may launch state bank to fund start-up businesses
Gordon Brown has announced his attention to set up a new state-backed bank to address the funding gap for new start-up companies. The Prime Minister said the proposed bank would, "provide the finance for more difficult and more risky start-ups for high-technology businesses of the future." Richard Lambert, the head of the Confederation of British Industry, first put this proposal forward las... more