Business News Articles

UK moves closer to 48-hour week
Euro MPs have voted to end the UK’s opt-out from the Working Time directive, meaning employees could soon be restricted to working a maximum 48-hour week. ... more

Sir ALan Sugar makes list of worst technology predictions
Serial entrepreneur and the star of the hit business programme The Apprentice, Sir Alan Sugar, has been included in a list of the top ten worst technology predictions of all time. In a list complied by gadget magazine T3 Sir Alan's prediction about the demise of the Apple's i-pod in an interview with a national newspaper at the start of 2005 makes the top ten. "Next Christmas the ipod will b... more

Vodafone ends sponsorship deal with England cricket
Vodafone has announced that it is ending its £4m a year 12-year sponsorship deal with the England and Wales Cricket Board after next winter's tour of South Africa. The telecommunications giant has long used marketing and sponsorship in sport to promote itself in local and global markets. The withdrawal from cricket reduces its sporting portfolio to a £30-40m a year deal with F1 Team McLare... more

Small businesses ‘woefully served’ by utility companies
Small and medium sized businesses are to be given new rights for dealing with gas and electricity companies to stop the ‘really terrible' treatment they currently receive, according to regulator Ofgem. Ofgem's chief executive, Alistair Buchanan said that small businesses had been, "woefully served" by energy suppliers and that practices in the industry had to change. The regulator will unv... more

Value of commercial property loans in default rises to £7bn
The value of commercial property loans in breach of their agreed terms has more than trebled in six months and now stands at just under £7bn, according to a report by DeMontfort University. The number of property investors slipping into breach of their contracts and defaulting on their loans is a genuine concern to the banking industry, and to the UK economy. The number of organisations who... more

Unemployment rises to 1.86m
Unemployment in the UK soared by 137,000 in the three months to October, taking the official total to 1.86m. ... more

'Free' Microsoft offer for start-ups
Microsoft are offering new businesses the opportunity to access their software and serves for a nominal fee. The scheme is effectively free for new businesses with turnovers of less than £630,000 with only a nominal fee of $100 to be paid after three years. The scheme, called BizSpark, gives entrepreneurs access to its software and severs as well as its technical support and PR teams. "E... more

Virgin launches fastest ever UK broadband
Virgin Media has launched a new super-fast 50MB per second broadband service - which is more than twice as quick as that of its nearest competitors. Virgin plan to have 40% of its network capable of upgrading to the new service by the end of the year, with the remainder to be completed by summer 2009. Although the increased speed may tempt some businesses to upgrade, the cost may prove prohi... more

Siemens pay £1bn in fines over bribery scandal
Telecommunications company Siemens have tried to bring an end to a bribery scandal by agreeing to pay fines of around £1bn to American and German authorities. The company has also agreed to appoint an independent watchdog to monitor its compliance. The scandal first emerged in 2006, when it was discovered that over £1bn of bribes had been paid by Siemens officials to win contracts in the U... more

Government cuts costs of guaranteed lending to banks
Businesses should find it easier and cheaper to secure loans after the government announced that it is cutting the fees that it charges to guarantee bank borrowing. For some of the largest UK banks the cut will amount to a quarter of a percentage point. It is thought that HSBOS will be the largest banking beneficiary - it could see its fees reduced by 41 basis points. Small firms will hope t... more